Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-11-12
Affair. ON the Virginia side.


AN EXCEPTIONAL sEAsos-THE nor SEPTEMBER
KILLING FROST IN OCroBEE-FaILURE OF THE
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES OF THE FAMINE YEAR.
1916.
Correspondence Of THE EVENING STAR.
FALLS CHURCH. Va, Nov. IL, 1881.
"While the earth remaineth seed-time and
harvest, ETC.. shall not cease" The man
who reads his Bible, as he ought. knows this is
Scripture. More than this. if he be an observ-
ing man he relies upon its annual fulfillment
with all the confidence that he has in divine
promise. And thus 1t is. if the seed-timc Is late
men say the harvest or the season necessary to
mature the crops, will be heightened out-will
be correspondingly late Last spring farm
work, from the unfavorabeuess of the season.
commenced from three to four weeks later than
usual. expected to see the summer lingering
IN the lap of autumn until all the crops should
De matured and ready for harvesting. But the
scripture was but partially fulfilled not fully
September was the warmest one throughout
that ever remember to have seen. There was
intense summer heat from beginning to end. the
TWO or three changes of temperature during
the month were so short and SO slight as not to
oe cause Of sensation physically. But the
month was exceedingly dry. Late crops could
not grow Summer weather continued into
october and until the 18th Of the month, when a
change came, but too slight to be apparent dur
.is ehc udy DuF1ngtEe night the temperature
!eii faster. From, say 9o'clock Am. to between
IL and IL, the heat was very OBJ
pressive, when rain threatening clouds hove
up IN the west. and i'm Washington for few
minutes the wind raised clouds of dust and was
accompanied with a fine. brisk rain. During the
nisht loiioWlng. asstated above. the change of
temperature was great SO that Just before sunrise
on the 3th. the mercury indicated 4S degrees
during that day, wind was strong from the
northwest and the temperature disagreeably
cool. On the morning of October 9th there
was frost, killing FROST" From the fore
noon OF October 4th-mark it-with but slight
change OF temperature during the pm
OF that day-and an oppressive sum-
mer heat. to the morning of the
9th. there was the very fall of tempera
ture OF between 50o and CO.. resulting as stated
In killing frost. Late corn. late drilled fodder
corn, tomatoes. sweet potatoes. common late
potatoes. lima beans and cucumbers were with
rare exceptional cases, killed. had had a sort
OF faith that the weather would continue mild
and that rain would come and the late potatoes
have time to form tubers fit for the harvest but
the promise does not seem to be made good this
year. We had. however. only q partial
failure of the harvest" By the way. there
was complete failure of the harvest
according to the recollection of INV paternal an
cestor: in 1916 There does not appear to have
been but little summer weather that year. NV
father related to me the fact that during one
day in June of that year he thought he suf-
fered more from cold than he had in any day
during his life. Corn froze when in the roast
ing ear, and though the people tried to cure it,
IL decayed. There were times during that sum-
mer when the ''snOw flew like great guns" The
winter following was one of great privation and
distress among the people. L. S. A.