FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
59 
of sun spots on the rainfall of India and 
other countries: 
Rain from—pulse.. 
No rain pulse. 
Rain from X pulse 
No rain pulse. 
Rain from—pulse.. 
( 1897. 
\ 1898. 
( 1879 (part.) 
( 1879 (part.) 
I 1880 central year. 
( 1881 (part.) 
1881 (part.) 
1882. 
| 1883. 
1881 (part.) 
f 1884 (part.) 
1886 1 central y' r ' 
[ 1887 (part.) 
( 1887 (part.) 
\ 1888. 
( 1889. 
It is often asserted as a fact by old res¬ 
idents of Florida that wet summers are 
usually followed by mild winters. In 
studying rainfall it was found to be the 
greatest at the maximum and minimum 
of sun spot activity. In other words, it 
would appear that there is greatest heat 
activity in the sun during the years of 
these periods about five and one-half 
years apart, more moisture being evap¬ 
orated into and precipiatated from the 
atmosphere. It follows, therefore, that 
during the dryer intermediate years 
there is greater liability to cold winters. 
I have therefore prepared a table of these 
years, and it is interesting to note how 
closely the historic freezes in Florida 
come to these periods: 
1836 
1841 ) 
1842 \ 
1847 
1852 ) 
1853 \ 
1858 
1863 ) 
1864 ] 
1869 
1874 ) 
1875 \ 
No record. 
DEG. 
Feb. 7, 1835 8 
.1845 20 
.1852 20 
.1857 16 
No records. February 20, 1864, snow; 
orange trees killed at Brooksville. 
j Dec. 1868 20 
.( Dec. 1870 19 
j 1873 24 
. 1 1876 24 
1880 
1885 ( 
1886 f 
1891 
1896 ) 
1897 ) 
1902 
1907 ) 
1908 f 
1913 
1918 ) 
1919 f 
Note —Bracketed years follow maximum and 
single years minimum sun spots. 
In looking over this table it is most 
natural to suppose that variations in ex¬ 
tremes from the years indicated as far as 
Florida is concerned have been equal¬ 
ized by severe cold in other parts of this 
or the Eastern continents, or perhaps in 
the Southern hemisphere. 
It would appear also that the cold ex¬ 
tremes have been coming ahead of the 
culmination of the cycles for the past 
two periods. 
There has been a gradual tapering off 
in the intensity of the extremes for the 
past three years. 
It does not appear from this short pe¬ 
riod whether intensity of extremes is 
greatest after a maximum or minimum 
of sun spots yet there is an approximate 
regularity that would lead to the ex¬ 
pectation of three or four years of com¬ 
paratively mild winters before extremes 
are encountered again. 
The uncertainty as to whether the 
mountain billows of cold air will break 
from the polar regions with greatest 
force on the Eastern or Western conti¬ 
nents, the small knowledge that has been 
gained of the light warm upper air cur¬ 
rents that flow North to replace the 
heavy cold air waves, the short periods, 
comparatively, for which data have been 
gathered of magnetic and meteorological 
. Dec. 28, 1880 19 
1884 21 
Jan. 12. 1886 15 
.March, 1890 27 
Dec. 30, 1894 14 
Feb. 8, 1895 14 
Feb. 12, 1899 10 
Feb. 18, 1900 19 
