RAIN. It has been said that drought scares the farmer, but that too much water absolutely destroys his hopes. This has especially been found to be a truism in the West, and hence the impetus given-to surface and tile draining within the last few years, especially the latter, since it not only quick] the soil of superfluous moisture, but in times of drought, through intercirculation and condensation of vapor in the pores of earth, causes the accumulation of moisture, within the soil. In relation to the rainfall of the country. it has been determined that throughout the Northern States the fall of rain during the summer varies from nine to fourteen inches. 'The region including all the great lakes from the mountains of northern New York and valley of Lake Champlain to the west ern extremity of Lake Superior, extending along the southern border of Lake Ontario and the east end of Lake Erie, then passing southeast to include almost all of Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna, the high region of Virginia to the border of North Carolina, eastern Kentucky, northeastern Ohio, all of Michigan, a small por tion of Indiana, and the borders of Lakes Michi gan and Superior, in Wisconsin, appear to be favored with a smaller fall of rain during the summer than any other parts of the vine-grow ing districts of the United States east of the Mississippi. Over this region, which may also properly include the ' coast of New England, there occurs in summer the average of about ten inches of rain. There is a district over which nine inches only are deposited, but it is quite limited, and extends from Rochester west to the end of Lake Ontario, and not much further south than Buffalo. A similar contracted dis trict of eight inches summer rainfall occurs, in the mountains of Virginia. As regards the fit ness of the latter for vine-growing we have no information. The region over which the fall of nine to ten inches of summer rain extends includes all the localities where the cultivation of the vine has, in the northern section of our country, been attended with the largest share of success. At Cincinnati and St. Louis the fall of rain for the summer months is about fourteen inches, and this deposit of moisture occurs over most of southeastern Virginia, the Carolinas, where it reaches fifteen inches; most of Ken tucky, middle Tennessee ; but equaling that of the Carolinas in the western part of the two last named States, the southwestern corner of Ohio, the southern border of Indiana. all the south, southwestern and Western parts of Illinois, including one-half of the State ; southeastern Iowa, and all the eastern half of Missouri to the Ozark mountains. Between the northern bor der of the rain district of fourteen inches thus appropriately designated, and which can only be properly' defined upon a map, and the district of ten inches fall before noted, there is interpolated a very irregularly shaped region, over which there is deposited in the average of summers abqut twelve inches of rain. This extends over
almost all of New Hampshire, all of Vermont except the northwest corner and valley of Lake Champlain, all of New York except the north east mountain region, the valley of the St. Lawrence and lake borders before noted, as hav ing nine and ten inches fall, and the lower valley of the Hudson, where eleven inches are deposited. It also includes all o( eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, the northern part resem bling the valley of the Hudson, and passing southwestwardly between the two districts before named, extends in a narrow belt through Mary land and Virginia, crosses the mountains in western North Carolina, ranges along the west boundary of Virginia, extends over southern, middle, and western Ohio, nearly all northern and middle Indiana, all northeastern Illinois and Wisconsin, except the lake borders, and over most of Iowa and Missouri not before excepted. The table page 776 will be interesting not only to those living in the regions' irectly named, but generally, since it shows that the opinions usually current, in regard to the rainfall of the great plains have been erroneous. This table as given also affords unexpectedly favor able results, particularly in regard to the critical seasons of spring and summer. Of more than twenty stations near or on the plains, but two or three show marked deficiency of rain, even in summer;, and in spring, April and May at the South, and May and June at the North, are always marked by a fair amount of rain. A report to ,the United States government a few years since says: There is, it is true, need of observation at a much greater number of places, and conducted for longer periods. A few years more of the present fullness of observation will, warrant more decisive judgments as to the quantities anywhere at hand to be utilized in some way more than is dohe at present. If, at the localities of Fort Atkinson, Fort Kearney, and Fort Sully; on this side of the plains, a summer aggregate of ten inches or more is to be relied upon, and at Fort Lyon, Golden City, Laramie, and Cheyenne, five to seven inches can be relied upon for the same season, the assurance is certain that forest growth may be anywhere maintained after the first efforts and dangers of planting are past. Comparing these quantities with the records of rainfall in Europe, the facts appear in a still more striking light; the whole interior, and indeed much of the west of Europe, having a small quantity of rain. The following are condensed results by seasons, and generally derived from long periods of observation.