The Valley Naturalist. 
EstaMisM January, 1878. 
(NATURE DISCERE MORES.) 
Henry SKaer, Publisher* 
Volume I. 
SAINT LOUIS, MO., NOVEMBER, 1878. 
Number 11. 
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Autumnal Pictures. 
AUGUSTA LAKNED. 
I see the hills where cattle graze, 
The hills soft meshed in silver haze, 
The gold brown brook and ancient bridge, 
And old red mill beneath the ridge, 
And dim lights on the orchard side, 
With moss grown trees low branching wide; 
The hamlet nestled in the glade— 
A drowsy nook that loves the shade. 
The dusty highway, long and brown, 
Slow creeping out beyond the town 
To breast the hill side in its strength, 
A silent treeless mile in length. 
Far to the hanging woods on high 
That with their verdure soothe the eye 
With myriad dyes of dusky green 
That wear September's richest seen. 
O'er old stone walls the blackberry twines, 
Inlaced with wanton gadding vines, 
The clematis and wild fox-grape, 
The shad-bush and the feathered brake, 
And woodbine curled in cedar spire 
That soon shall glow a line of fire; 
No darker could the elder gleam 
With fruitage dipped in Stygian stream. 
All freaked and splashed with guiltless blood 
The sumach flares along the wood; 
The mullein takes its lonely stand 
Upon the hilly pasture land, 
Where slow the cricket's voice is heard 
Plaining some monitory word, 
Shrilled by a small black-coated Mar 
Who preaches 'neath the furse and brier. 
The golden rod from myriad whorls 
Its sunny oriflammes unfurls, 
And triumphs o'er the dusty way, 
Companioned by the thistle gay, 
That spreads a disk so rosy fair 
To feed the pretty birds of air, 
And foremost with a twittering note 
The dainty goldfinch swells its throat. 
The noontide warms the quiet air 
With scent of apples spiced and rare, 
And quinces by the mossy well 
Feel in their veins old Midas spell, 
While clusters on tbe bronzing vine 
Breathe out an odor half devine. 
From thick embordered, bosky trees 
Comes now the murmurous hum of bees. 
Far off the golden stubble land 
Lies in a warm and glowing band, 
As if old earth, sunned through and through 
Had ripened to a richer hue; 
Clouds mottled like the ringdove's breast 
Move softly onward toward the west, 
With rifts of deep and tender hue, 
A nameless depth of gentian blue. 
In perfect beauty, flushed and sweet, 
Dear autumn comes with glowing feet; 
Her tanned cheek wears a sunset dye, 
A laughing light is in her eye; 
About her shapely anbles brown 
Swells out a modest russet gown — 
With here and there a color dash — 
A breast-knot of the mountain ash. 
Her round arms globed melons bear, 
And scarlet leaves have crowned her hair. 
— [_Ex. 
Meteorological Report of Monticello., 
Jones County, Iowa. 
BY M. M. MOCJLTON, MONTICELLO, IOWA, 
The temperature for the month of Octo- 
ber, 1878, has been above the normal, and 
more rain has fallen than in any other year 
since 1854 with the exception of the years 
1855, '56, '58, '61, '63, and '77. The highest 
temperature for the month was 80° on the 
14th against 82° last year. The lowest tem- 
perature reached was 27° on the 27th against 
24° last year. The mean temperature for the 
month was 49° 9' against 49° 7' last year, and 
was 2° 7' above the normal. The tempera- 
ture of well-water was 50° 1° above last year. 
The first snow of the season was showered 
down upon us on the 28th, four days earlier 
than last year, making only 245 days between 
snow storms. Only .50 inch fell and it melted 
off before evening. This makes ten times 
that snow has put in an appearance this 
month since 1854. Rain fell on seven days 
against 13 days last year. The total amount 
of rainfall was 8.82 inches against 6.21 inches 
last year and was 1.25 inches above the nor- 
mal. 
Zodiacal light was unusually distinct on 
the evenings of the 2, 11, 18 and 19. It thun- 
dered and lightened on the 1, 8, 10, 13 and 
15. A lunar halo on the evenings of the 4, 
12, 13 and 15. Hazy on the 7, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20 
23 and 27. Frost on the 19, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28? 
30 and 31. It hailed a little on the 1 and 8„ 
A lunar corona on the 7. A rainbow on the 
afternoon of the 14. A tornado on the 8. 
The people of Monticello, Iowa will have 
occasion to date back to Tuesday, October 
8th, 1878, for the next two generations at 
least. It was general election day for state,, 
county and township officers, and just as the 
town clock in the school-house tower indi- 
cated half past five in the afternoon, a des- 
tructive tornado struck the southwestern 
portion of the town, and passing off in a 
northeasterly direction, totally destroyed 10 
dwelling houses, 2 churches, 9 barns and sta- 
bles, 1 ice house, and more or less damaging 
42 other buildings. The day opened with a 
temperature 55° at 7 a. m. Nimbus clouds 
and a fresh breeze from the south and a little 
springling of rain at 10 a. m. Also again at 
noon. The temperature at noon was 73°, and 
nimbus clouds and a gentle breeze from the 
east. The temperature remained at 73° up 
to and including the lime of the tornado. 
The wind came from the east until the ar- 
rival of a stronger current of air from the 
southwest, when the weather vane backed 
around via the north to the s. w T . 
For an hour previous to the arrival of the 
storm a huge bank of nimbus clouds 
w 7 ere seen piled up in the west and south- 
west, with occasional vivid flashes of light- 
ning accompanied with loud peals of thun- 
der, and when this ocean of nimbus clouds 
approached from the southwest, a light strip 
appeared at the horizon and widened as the 
storm made headway in its course. The fric- 
tion of the wind rolled up the underside of 
the black clouds, and they had very much 
the appearance of the waves of the ocean 
coming in from sea before a heavy gale of 
wind. 
The first damage done was the total des- 
truction of E. K. Murdock's dwelling house,, 
3 miles west and 1 mile south of Monticello 
in Castle grove. Then following a line north- 
westerly, destroying the dwelling house of 
Mr. Brunthear in this township, damaging 
the school-building in District No. 3. Then 
passing through the south portion of town, 
crossing Kitty Creek at Skelley's ford, and 
totally destroying James Sloan's dwelling 
house in Sec. 23, 1 mile east of town, then 
across the Maquoketa river, destroying the 
German church in Richland Township, Sec. 
19, 4 miles northeast of town. 
The storm was a quarter of a mile in width 
and lasted less than one minute in any one 
(65) 
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