Meteorological Journal at Marietta, Ohio, for 1843. 279 



hills, but not in low grounds ; 25th, wood anemone ; 26th, fumi- 

 tory and birthwort ; 27th, peach in bloom generally — last year it 

 opened on the 19th of March, a difference of thirty eight days ; 

 29th, plum in bloom. On the morning of the 25th there was a 

 frost, but not so hard as to injure the blossoms of the peach. It 

 is a curious fact, that on the borders of the Ohio River, we rarely 

 fail in having one frost, or more, when the peach is in blossom. 

 This I have noticed for more than thirty years. 



May 1st, pear and cherry in bloom ; 5th, apple in blossom — 

 last year it was open on the 2d of April, a difference of thirty 

 three days ; a few tulips of the early varieties open ; 6th, red-bud 

 in bloom — this fine flowering tree usually opens at the same time 

 with the apple ; 7th, Cornus florida ; 8th, white oak putting out 

 its leaves — the old Indian rule for planting their corn, and was 

 probably founded on ancient observation, that before that period 

 the earth was not sufficiently warmed for the corn to vegetate in a 

 healthy manner ; 9th, apple shedding its blossoms ; 13th, quince 

 tree in bloom ; 16th, purple mulberry ; 17th, Calceolaria lutea ; 

 18th, hickory ; 19th, black walnut shedding its aments ; 22d, 

 Ribes villosus; 24th, Acacia robinia — this is a very cautious tree, 

 and never puts out its bloom till all danger from late frosts is past; 

 25th, Prunus Virginianus ; 27th, rose Acacia, in gardens ; 30th, 

 white Chinese peony. 



The mean temperature for the summer months was 71° # 15, 

 which is 3° -71 above the summer of 1842. The amount of rain 

 in these months was only 7*45 inches, while in the former year it 

 was 15-75 inches. This small amount of rain, less than half that 

 of 1842, will no doubt in part account for the increase of heat, 

 there being less of clouds and more sunshine. June 2d, there 

 was a smart frost in the morning, but not so hard as to destroy 

 the young and tender fruit of pears, apples, &c, it being protected 

 by the shelter, and by the radiation of caloric from the leaves. 

 7th, Osage orange in bloom ; 8th, peas fit for the table — in ordi- 

 nary years they are ready by the 20th of May. 9th, strawberries 

 ripe; 11th, various hardy roses in bloom; 18th, Franklinia; 

 23d, cucumbers ready for eating — grown in the open air, but pro- 

 tected when small by a box, like a hand glass ; 26th, Sambucus 

 in bloom ; 27th, purple mulberry ripe ; 29tb, red Antwerp rasp- 

 berry and currant; July 1st, Catalpain bloom. The ripening of 

 the early summer fruits is not so much retarded by the action of a 



