SKETCHES Of the Weather and Progress of Vegetation at Kingston in Ulster County. BY CHRISTOPHER TAPPEN, JUN. Read before the Society, January 28th, 1817. March 30. Spring of 1802. April May 4. 10. 3. FOREST TREES. Sugar Maple and Button Wood-bud. Wild Plum and Sassafras in flower. 5. Alder, Birch, Black Oak, 9. Elm, Dogwood,flower. 11. Bass Wood, leaf 13. White Oak, 14. Walnut, Chesnut,flower. The soil of this place is sandy and its situation genThe weather this season was dry erally elevated. and cold. The predominant wind from the northeast. The average temperature of the month of May was 60 deg. Spring of 1802 and 1804, compared, Atmosphere by Farenheit's scale. May 1802. May 1804. Sunrise 76 8, P. M.. 50 60 The result is, that although the atmospheric heat was less in 1802 than in 1804, yet the vegetation of 1802 was most forward. There was no frost in May of either year. The prevailing winds in both seasons were northeasterly. But the winter of 1804 was unusually severe; and may have retarded vegetation by the severity and longer continuance of the frost in March and April. There was a fall of one inch of snow, April 6, 1804, and then nothing had yet vegetated. On the 17th of the same month, there was a severe hail storm. The result shews a tardiness of vegetation in 1816, of about fourteen days, and is easily accounted for by the remarkably cold and dry weather which distinguished this season. The greatest heat this summer was Aug. 18, 92°, but on the 20th it fell to 64°, and on the 21st there was a severe frost, destructive to corn and buckwheat. There has been frost in every month this season. Might not the annual variations of the weather during harvest be noticed by the flowering of the bass wood as a sort of standard? This tree opened its flower in 1816, on the 20th July. |