in the easterii part of Massachusetts. 207 



Constant rains, at the period of flowering, are very injurious to 

 fruit, as they wash off the fertihzing pollen or dust, and thus 

 prevent the fruit from setting. But this is as likely to happen 

 at an early season as at a late one. Scarcely any of the crops 

 commonly cultivated in this country are injured by a cold 

 spring or a cold summer, except Indian corn, and this depends 

 much more upon the heat of July and August, than upon the 

 earliness of the spring. 



Neither does it appear that a cold and backward spring is 

 generally the signal of a cold and unfavorable summer. 



The cold summer of 1836 was preceded by a spring which 

 was backward at the beginning, then very forward until the 

 20th of May, when a cold easterly wind and fog came on, 

 which lasted for twelve days, with only some intervals of fair 

 weather of a few hour's duration, and with no change of wind. 

 The spring of 1830 was very early in the beginning, and be- 

 came exceedingly early during its progress, until after the 

 flowering of the apple tree; but in the month of June and the 

 first half of July the season was exceedingly cold and backward. 

 In 1837, the whole season, both spring and summer, was 

 cold and backward throughout. 



In 1839, the season was rather early, but was the most reg- 

 ular throughout of any season I have known. 



On the six days following the 15th of Feb. 1828, the ther- 

 mometer rose to 52°, 50°, 50°, 57°, 52°, 52°, on each of the 

 days in succession, according to the record which Nathaniel 

 Lord, Jr. Esq., of Ipswich, has kindly furnished me. These 

 days were generally fair, and the nights mostly without frost. 

 On the 21st the common alder began to flower. 



At Medfield, Mass., twenty miles south-west of Boston, in 

 1820, the thermometer rose to 68°, 72°, and 70°, on the suc- 

 cessive days of March 24, 25, and 26. On the morning of 

 the 30th it fell to 8°. 



In 1833, on the 29th of April, my Kendall's thermometer, 

 in a shady and airy situation, rose to 85°, while Mr. Lord's 

 thermometer, also in the shade, rose to 90°. The newspapers 

 stated that it stood at 85° in the shade, the same day, at Mon- 

 treal in Canada. 



In 1826, on the successive days of May 13, 14, 15, 16, 

 and 17, Mr. Lord's thermometer rose to 88°, 84°, 96°, 97°, 

 and 92°. The nights were also very hot, and the whole five 

 days nearly as hot as the hottest summer days known. 



