34 Agricultural Manual 



temperatikk 



The general distribution of temperature for the state and the 

 changes thai take place from season to season may best be indi- 

 cated graphically by charts, showing the average temperature for 

 those months that are fairly representative of the different seasons. 



For this purpose the months of January, April, July, and 

 October have been selected. As the charts are self-explanatory, 

 further special reference to them is unnecessary. The temperature 

 of the Great Lakes division is largely influenced by the proximity 

 of Lake Ontario, which borders it on the north, and by Lake Erie, 

 which forms a pari of the boundary line on the west. 



Lake Erie, lying directly in the path of the prevailing westerly 

 winds, produces an important effect, especially over the land that 

 slopes toward the west. The Chautauqua County "' Grape Belt," 

 which extends along the southern shore of Lake Erie for a distance 

 of about sixty miles and is from two to six miles wide, has the most 

 equable climate in the state, except the region along the Atlantic 

 Coast. This is directly due to the tempering influence of the lake, 

 which holds vegetation in check in the spring until the danger 

 from frost is over and gives long, mild autumns with unusually 

 late fall frosts, and winters much less severe than are experienced 

 in the more elevated sections a few miles to the west. 



The effect of Lake Ontario in modifying the conditions along 

 its southern border, while not so marked as that of Lake Erie, is 

 important, especially when cold waves attended by low tempera- 

 tures sweep down from the Canadian provinces, the differences in 

 temperature between the northern and southern sides of the lake 

 frequently amounting to twenty or more degrees Fahrenheit. 

 Probably the most noticeable influence of Lake Ontario is over that 

 part of the St. Lawrence division lying between the lake and the 

 Adirondack Mountains. Here the prevailing westerly winds that 

 traverse the cut in- length of Lake Ontario produce their maximum 

 effect, tempering the heat of summer and the cold" of winter, 

 except when the lake is frozen over. As a result the springs are 

 backward and cold, but the autumns comparatively warm. The 

 winter season is severe owing to the frequency of storms and cold 

 waves. 



