Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-08-24
BRATTLEBORO LOCAL.
THE DROUTH.

Little Rain Has Fallen for Several
Weeks, Crops Are whiting, Springs,
Wells and streams Running Dry---
The village All Right, Thanks to the
Pumping station.
BrattlebOro and vicinity are now suffer
ing from the severest drouth in years.
The grass in many places presents the APP
pearance of being completely dried, crops
in gardens are wilted badly, and every
where in the vicinity of highways the trees
and vegetation are covered with dust.
No rain has fallen since Aug. 0, and the
precipitation at that time was only one
tenth of an inch. Rain has fallen on only
five days since July 9. The fall July IA
was IA of an inch; July %, go; July "a,
.21; July 20, .2S.
Brattleboro seems to be the particular
spot which the rain shuns, as there was a
heavy rainfall in different parts of New
England Monday. AT Boston there was a
fall of 1.6j inches. At place as near by
as Wiliamsvlle rain fell throughout Mon
day forenoon. Within the past two weeks
there have also been showers at Putney,
Jacksonville and other places in this
county.
Brattleboro has reason to thank its lucky
stars that the pumping station was put in
at West River last season, else the village
would be suffering genuine water famine,
and the danger to property from fires
would be cause for apprehension. There
is very little water flowing into the reser-
voir in Highland park from the springs
which were originally the only source of
supply, and that little is growing less each
day. The pumping station, however, gives
an ample supply and the reservoir in now
about half full The pump at the station
has been running regularly II hours day
for some time, last week it was run two
nights, and this week every night. Owing
to a breakdown Monday night work had
to be suspended Tuesday, pending the ar
rival of piece of machinery from Hol-
yoke.
Households supplied from the several ac-
queducts have about half the usual supply
running through the pipes. The Northern
acqueduct supply was never so low, and a
similar condition exists at the acqueduct
on Prospect hill.
Probably one half of the springs and
wells in the town are dry. The brooks are
very low, many of them being at point to
which the water has never fallen before.
In cases where mills depend upon water
for power operations are practically sus-
pended.
The Connecticut river looks as if it was
trying to crawl into its boots, and the logs
at the foot of the stone pier of the toll
bridge are in sight. 1t is said however,
that the water in the river is several inches
higher than last year, when it reached the
lowest point for 10 years. The abundance
of the snowfall in northern Vermont and
New Hampshire last winter had much to
do with keeping the river from falling low
er this summer, and there has been more
rainfall this season north of here than in
this immediate vicinity.
There has been little real loss sustained
as yet through the drouth, although the
farmers in some places complain that the
crop of rowen has been ruined. The con-
tinuation of the drouth few days longer
however, would see the beginning of great
damage to crops.
Here's hoping it will rain by the time
you read this article.