THE CLIMA TE OF KANSAS. 693 
of July, yielded bountiful crops, the first severe frost of autumn occurring on 
the 30th of October — too late to damage the well ripened ears. 
In their effect upon the population the summers of Kansas are far less op- 
pressive and exhausting than might be inferred from their frequent length and 
high temperature. Of the sixteen summers which have come under our observa- 
tion eight have been cool and eight have been hot. During this period the 
number of days on which the mercury reached or exceeded 90° has averaged 42 
for each year, reaching a minimum of 20 in 1877 and a maximum of (>% in 
1 88 1. The cool summers are delightful, and there are important compensations 
by which the hot summers are rendered far more tolerable than those of States 
to the east of Kansas between the same parallels of latitude. Among these com- 
pensations are the very general coolness of the nights, no matter how hot the 
days may be ; the unusual dryness of the atmosphere, which cools the surface of 
the body by a more rapid evaporation of the perspiration, and the almost con- 
stant brisk movement of the air, which rarely becomes calm. 
The autumns of Kansas furnish the most enjoyable weather of the year, the 
mild Indian summer frequently continuing to nearly Christmas. During the 
present year (1883) building operations have been carried on without interrup- 
tion up to the close of December. 
The winters of Kansas have enough rigor to protect the population from the 
chronic languor too often engendered by a southern climate. Without the ex- 
treme severity which benumbs the faculties our winter temperature is sufficiently 
low to impart that healthful stimulus to mental and physical activity which seems 
essential to the highest development of the human race. 
Of the sixteen winters whose records are before us, nine have been of mod- 
erate temperature, with mean between 26° and 32° ; three have been severe, 
with mean below 25°, in one winter (of 1873-74) reaching 22.84°, ^.nd four have 
been exceedingly mild, with mean above 32°, in one winter (of 1877-7S) reach- 
ing 39.54° The average number of days in each year on which the mercury has 
sunk below the zero point has been seven, the number varying from sixteen in 
1872 to one in 1882. The winters generally break up in February, the first wild 
flowers often appearing before the end of that month. The lowest temperature 
during the sixteen years was 26° below zero ; the highest was 108° above zero on 
August 5, 1874, giving an extreme range of 134°. 
Kansas may be divided into three sections in reference to its rainfall. East- 
ern Kansas has an average annual precipitation of from thirty to thirty-five inches, 
according to the locality ; central Kansas has from twenty to twenty-five inches 
while western Kansas has from ten to fifteen inches. In the first two sections 
the supply is ample to sustain a diversified agriculture, while in the third section 
it is altogether inadequate for agriculture, although sufficiently abundant to grow 
the grass for immense herds of cattle and sheep. 
Wherever meteorological records have been kept for a long series of years, 
as at Ft. Leavenworth, Lawrence, Manhattan and Fort Riley, there is indisputa- 
ble evidence that the effect of settlement has been to considerably increase the 
