St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1860-09-13

ing of with Locomotives resting on something
less substantial than Iron rails. Meteors Of
unprecedented size and brightness shoot thro'
the heavens. Ear4hquakes~ in Georgia and
South Carolina and in Japan the earth opens
and swallows at one gulph eight thousand peo-
pie and the prediction is, of atempest that
will exceed in violence any atmospheric dis
turbance on record. Are oil these the work of
chance, or are there immutsble lawsto. which
all these apparently cratic phenomena can be
referred. Can it be that when man con pre-
dict to second Of time when an eclipse of the
sun or moon will take place. even thousands
Of years hence, that the most common events
that effect his person shall forever remain un-
unexplained. Undoubtedly there are, as I'M
changeable laws as those which keep the sun
in its place and the earth in its diurnal and
annual revolutions, and tho time may not be
far distant when some Newton Of Meteorology
shall arise and so interpret these laws that
even the hourly changes OF the inconstant wind
shall move in accordance to predecated plan
made months and years before. Tothis end the
record Of overy observation will aid, however
unimportant they may appear to the superb
cial observer.
This is; long preface to what set out to
say, which was to make q few comparisons
from my records of the four past summers, viz:
l857-58-59- go, that is the three summer
months Of each year. It has been found by
observation andtexperience that wherever the
temperature Of summer averages $50 there corn
is sure crop; that is the rule. ~
The extremes Of the Thermometer have been
$50, 36o-lO2o, 44o--l01o, 42o-90o, 45o. The
means .54o-72 $3.50. 72o-67:6Oo, res
pectively. The mean for the four summers
7O.l7o. r. ..p
Westerly winds have prevailed amounting in
all to lo8 days. Distributed thus, 22-19-31-
&c days each respective summer. Next comes
the Southerly winds, then the calm, which
amounts to IS days in oil, thus, 81 -9-9-29.
The mean force Of wind, assuming 0 entire
calm, high wind, IS miles per hour, 10 vio-
! lent hurricane, 100 miles per hour, has been
1.67. In each summer, IDOL. 841.82-l.4 3.
There has been "a cloudy days viz: $685.
Is each summer, and 81 entire clear days, viz
34-l4-l9-l5, and the average c,oudiness 3.C8,
in which represents entire clearness and 10
entire overcast. 3.17-4.l9-3.60-3.78 means
of each respective summer.
Of rainy days, 2l-14- 28-26, 80 in all; and
4l.66 inches rain fell each summer having g.
46-7. 56-16. s2-8.72, by which it will be seen
| that the precipitation OF water in 1859 is doub-
le that of any other year. All will recollect
the floods Of last year, in which so much dam
age was done, and this is exclusive Of what
fell in the latter part Of May, which was con-
siderable.
On the whole these records and comparisons
| show a remarkable uniformity during the peri
| cd of growing crops, the lowest average Of any
month being only little over 40 less and the
highest little over 20 more than the average
Of the whole.
| There arc numerous other results and COM
parsons which a tabular view presents, but
which would take up too much space to emit
merate Is it 'stoo cold for corn" Observa-
| ton and experience answer no. o. &.