18G0. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



83 



on the 12th ; the lowest was 34°, on the 15th and 

 16th. The extremes of September, 1858, were 

 82° and 28°. The warmest day was the 11th, hav- 

 ing a mean temperature of 70.33°; the coldest was 

 the 14th, with a mean temperature of 47°, Avhen 

 the weather was severely cold, with a heavy gale 

 of north-west wind, rain squalls at 9, A. M., and 

 snow squalls occurred in some of the towns of 

 Western Massachusetts. 



There were a few fine days during the first part 

 of October, but generally tlie month was cold, 

 quite cloudy, and dry, and unpleasant winds pre- 

 vailed during the greater part of the time. North- 

 west wind was very predominant, forming a char- 

 acteristic of the month, there being fifteen days of 

 wind from that quarter, generally strong, and of- 

 ten a heavy gale. The north-west wind was unin- 

 terrupted during the last seven days of the month, 

 and in the last thirteen days there were eleven of 

 north-west wind. Dark, heavy cumulose clouds 

 generally attended, presenting a gloomy, Novem- 

 ber aspect ; and on the whole the month was quite 

 November-like, being much rougher than October 

 usually is, and far from what October is expected 

 to be. 



The scarcity of rain was a marked feature in the 

 weather, only two inches of rain fiiUing in the 

 whole month, and only eighteen one-hundredths 

 of an inch fell after the 8th, or during the last 

 twenfij-fhree days. More or less rain, however, 

 fell on six days, the greatest fall at one time being- 

 one inch and forty-four one-himdredths, on the 

 8th. There was heavy thunder and sharp lightning 

 during the afternoon and evening of the 8th, and 

 occurring in the midst of a long, cold, north-east 

 rain storm, with the thermometer at 45° to 42°, 

 was quite a novelty. It was the only thunder 

 storm of the month. 



The mean temperature of October was 45.63°, 

 being 3.66° colder than October, 1858, and 3.1° 

 colder than October 1857. The warmest day was 

 the 4th, with a mean temperature of 63.33°; the 

 coldest was the 26th, having a mean temperature 

 of 31.83°. The highest temperature of the month 

 was 75°, at three, P. M., of the 4th ; the lowest 

 was 23°, at sunrise on the 26th. There were fly- 

 ing snow-flakes on the 31st. 



The first ten days of November were quite fine 

 and warm, even Indian summer-like, but on the 

 12th a heavy storm set in, commencing with snow 

 and sleet during the morning of the 12th, but the 

 temperature rising, and the wind becoming strong 

 from the south-west, the air was warm and humid, 

 with mist, till the morning of the 13th, when pow- 

 erful rain set in, with thunder and lightning oc- 

 casionally. The rain continued through the day, 

 with sleet again in the evening, the wind having 

 changed to north-west at one P. M., and between 

 noon and sunset the temperature fell from 62° to 

 35°. During the storm, 1.13 inches of rain fell, 

 the first that had fallen for twenty days, or since 

 the 22d of October ; and during the thirty-three 

 days between the 8th of October and the 12th of 

 November, less than two-tenths of an inch of wa- 

 ter fell. In consequence of this long continued 

 drought, and from a scarcitj' of rain during sever- 

 al months previous, the streams and springs had 

 become lower than at any time previous during 

 the year, the Connecticut standing within a few- 

 inches of low water mark ; and mills and fiictories 

 were incommoded by the lowness of the streams. 



Many fine days occui-red during the remainder 

 of the month ; and generally the weather was 

 quite mild, even rather Avarmer than usual, and 

 the whole month was much more agreeable than 

 the month of October. On the 22d, there was a 

 storm of rain, preceded by an inch of snow ; and 

 during the stoi-m, eighty-eight one-hunch-edths of 

 an inch of rain fell. The ground Avas also Avhitc 

 with snow on the morning of the 26th, but the 

 storm having changed to rain, it soon disappeared. 

 Not more than two inches of snow fell, in this 

 part of the Connecticut Valley, in the Avhole month, 

 but some of the hill towns of western Hampden 

 and Hampshire counties continued Avhite with 

 snow from the 22d till the end of the month. The 

 whole amount of Avatcr that fell dmung the month, 

 was two and three-fourths inches. 



The mean temperature of November, was 41.3°, 

 being only 4.33° colder than October, and 8.35° 

 warmer than November, 1858. The warmest day 

 was the 18th, the mean temperature of the day be- 

 ing 47.17°; the coldest day was the 25th, having 

 a mean temperature of 30.33°, being but 1.5° 

 warmer than the coldest day of October. The 

 highest temperature Avas 66°, at 2^, P. M., on 

 the 5th ; and the loAvest temperature Avas 23°, on 

 the 21st, being the same as the minimum temper- 

 ature of October. , 



In short, the season as a AA'hole Avas exceeding- 

 ly unpleasant, though the fine Aveather of Novem- 

 ber somCAvhat redeemed its general character. The 

 unseasonably cold weather of the first half of Sep- 

 tember came near accomplishing what had been 

 often threatened in the summer months — the de- 

 struction of crops by frost ; and the corn crop did 

 not escape material injury ; and the rough, Avindy 

 Aveather of the following months rendered the 

 gathering of the fall products very disagreeable. 



The mean tem]3erature of the three autumn 

 months Avas 48.03°, and taken together, Avere 0.57° 

 Avarmer than the autumn months of 1858. The 

 mean temperature of the same at sunrise Avas 

 40.68°; at noon, 53.25°; at sunset, 49.75°; and the 

 mean maximum for the same time Avas 55.42°. 

 (Ordinarily the maximum, or highest temperature 

 of the day, occurs at not far from three, P. M.) 

 The mean temperature of September, at sunrise, 

 Avas 48.43°; at noon, 63.57°; at sunset, 57.87°; 

 Avhile the mean maximum of the month was 64.93°. 

 Of October, the mean temperature Avas, at sunrise, 

 38.35°; at noon, 51.09°; and at sunset, 47.61°; 

 mean maximum, 53.39°. Of November, at sun- 

 rise, 35.27°; at noon, 45-1°, and at sunset, 42.77°; 

 mean maximum, 47.83°. 



There was more or less rain on tAventy-three 

 days, the Avhole amount equalling 6.19 inches, or 

 tAvo-tenths of an inch less than fell in the month 

 of June. Rain fell on eleven days in September, 

 on six in October, and on the same number of 

 days in November. The first snoAA'-flakes were ob- 

 served here on the 31st of October, and the ground 

 Avas barely AA-hitened with suoav on the 12th, 22d 

 and 26th of November. 



During the three fall months, (ninety-one days,) 

 there Avere tAventy-two clear days, and six- 

 teen cloudy, and of the remaining days clouds 

 Avere rather predominant in tAventy-three, and 

 thirty Avere tolerably clear. In September there 

 Avere seven clear days, four cloudy, eleven tolera- 

 bly clear, and eight others in which the clouds 

 predominated. In October, eight clear days, six 



