May 25, 1S83.] 



SCIENCE. 



471 



reached on March 20 was only one-tenth of a de- 

 gree higher than the lowest for the season. It is 

 hardly to be expected that Wauseon will continue 

 furnishing such records as this. The mean daily 

 range of temperature over the whole state was 19.2°, 

 which is also unusually great. 



The amount of precipitation during the month was 

 less than is usual for March. The mean depth of rain 

 or melted snow was 2.18 inches, while the mean of 

 observations extending over several years is 3.17 

 inches for the month of March. Rain or snow fell, 

 on an average over the whole state, on twelve days in 

 the month. A thunder-storm of considerable vio- 

 lence, and covering a considerable area, occurred on 

 the evening of the"l4th. Westerly winds prevailed. 



Missouri weather-service, St. Louis, 



Weather report for April. — The average temper- 

 ature of April has been 56.7° at St. Louis, which is 

 about half a degree above the normal of Engelraann's 

 series. Since 1837 the mean April temperature has 

 once reached 6fi.8° (in 1844), and in 1857 it fell to 

 44.1°, a rangp of 22.7°. The extremes during the last 

 month have been 32.2° (on the 24th) and 85.6° (on 

 the 14th), which are very ordinary temperatures. In 

 April, 1857, the lowest daily minimum was 18°; 

 while in the years 1838, 1843, and 1855, the highest 

 maximum reached was 93°. In the state the maxi- 

 mum temperature has been the highest in the central 

 part, Glasgow reporting 93°, Miami 92°; while at 

 Cairo, III., the highest temperature reached was 84.5°, 

 that at Keokuk being 85°. The lowest minimum 

 reported was 22°, at Centreville; and twelve stations 

 out of twenty-one reported the minimum as 32° or 

 below. . 



Tlie rainfall at the central station has been 2.62 

 inches, the normal rainfall being 3. 70 inches. At 

 the St. Louis water-works, however, the rainfall has 

 been 3.87 inches. The rainfall has been heaviest, 

 or more than 5 inches, in the extreme south-eastern 

 part of the state. In the central-western part, and 

 in a narrow belt extending therefrom to Macon and 

 Shelbina, the fall has been less than 1 inch, while in 

 the north the fall has been over 2 inches. At four 

 P.M. on the 14th a severe local storm, which was 

 apparently an incipient tornado, did considerable 

 damage at Hannibal. Its track was about three 

 hundred feet wide. Similar storms, with hail, were 

 observed seven miles west and ten miles north of 

 Mexico. A small tornado having a width of fifty 

 to seventy feet, passed through the western part 

 of Pleasant Hill between half-past seven and eight 

 A.m. A portion of a rail fence was carried eight feet, 

 and set down without materially changing the rela- 

 tive positions of the rails. 



In the dry area of the past month, where ice-crust 

 did damage to the wheat during the winter, additional 

 damage has been done by the drought and high winds 

 of the past month. At Savannah not over one-tenth 

 of a crop is left, and farmers are planting the ground 

 in corn. Meadow is also light. In the south-eastern 

 part, however, the plentiful rains have repaired to 

 some extent the damage done to wheat, and it is turn- 

 ing out better than was expected. Thus far the ffuit- 

 crop has not been materially injured by frost, the 

 cool and uniform temperature having been very 

 favorable. 



State university of Kansas, Lawrence, 



Weather report for April. — During this month the 

 temperature was high, the rainfall was a full two- 

 thirds of the normal quantity, and the cloudiness, 

 wind-velocity, and humidity were each considerably 

 below the averages. The only frost was a harmless 



hoar-frost on the 24th. All kinds of fruit-trees were 

 in blossom from the 10th to 30th. 



Mean temperature, 57.18°, which is 3.17° above the 

 average April temperature of the fifteen preceding 

 years. Highest temperature, 89.5°, on 13th; lowest, 

 35°, on 24th; monthly range, 54.5°: mean at 7 a.m., 

 51.02°; at 2 p.m., 67.7°; at 9- p.m., 55°. 



Rainfall, 2.12 inches, which is 0.92 inch below the 

 April average. Rain fell on nine days. There was 

 no snow. There were two thunder-showers. The 

 entire rainfall for the four months of 1883 now com- 

 pleted has been 6.44 inches, which is 1.31 inches 

 below the average for the same period^ in the past 

 fifteen years. 



Mean cloudiness, 40.11 % of the sky, the month be- 

 ing 8.80 % clearer than the average. Number of clear 

 days (less than one-third cloudy), 16; entirely clear, 

 6; half-clear (from one to two thirds cloudy), 9; 

 cloudy (more than two-thirds), 5; entirely cloudy, 2: 

 mean cloudiness at 7 a.m., 45.07 %; at 2 p.m., 43.33%; 

 at 9 p.m., 31.33 %. 



Wind: S.W., 22 times; S.E., 20 times; N.W., 17 

 times; S., 13 times; E., 3 times; W., 3 times; N.E., 

 12 times. The entire distance travelled by the wind 

 was 12,936 miles, which is 1,248 miles below the April 

 average. This gives a mean daily velocity of 431 

 miles, and a mean hourly velocity of 17.96 miles. 

 The highest velocity was 50 miles an hour, on the 

 14th. Mean velocity at 7 a.m., 15.60 miles; at 2 p.m., 

 22.40 miles; at 9 p.m., 15 miles. 



Mean height of barometer, 28.957 inches ; at 7 a.m., 

 28.969 inches; at 2 p.m., 28.917 inches; at 9 p.m., 

 28.984 inches; maximum, 29.473 inches, on 24th; 

 minimum, 28.289 inches, on 22d; monthly range, 

 1.184 inches. 



Relative humidity: mean for month, 53.33; at 7 

 A.M., 64.7; at 2 p.m., 36.7; at 9 p.m., 58.6; greatest, 

 100, on 5 th; least, 10.5, on 17th and 24th. There 

 were two fogs. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The first meeting of the Ohio state forestry asso- 

 ciation was held in Cincinnati, April 25 and 26. 

 Several papers upon tree-planting and forestry were 

 read ; the most elaborate, based upon the preliminary 

 publications of the tenth census, being that of the 

 United States commissioner of agriculture. The 

 meeting, however, if we may judge from the meagre 

 reports published in the Cincinnati papers, produced 

 no new facts about forests or forest management, 

 . and quite failed to arouse any local enthusiasm. 



It is difficult to decide how far these forestry con- 

 ventions, of which several have been held during the 

 past year or two in different parts of the country, 

 serve the cause their promoters desire to foster. 

 Forest preservation has become, from various points 

 of view, a question of great national importance for 

 the United States. Economists are properly alarmed 

 at the prospect of a speedy exliaustion of some of 

 our must valuable varieties of lumber, although the 

 moi'e serious dangers which threaten the country 

 through the effects of improper forest destruction 

 upon the flow of rivers and agricultural prosperity 

 have hardly yet received proper attention. 



Conventions of self-termed 'friends of the forest' 

 have thus far failed to bring about any reform in the 



