Climatic stress and Maine agriculture, 1785-1885.

This study documents the relationship between climatic stress and Maine agriculture during the period 1785-1885. To locate evidence of possible climatic stress, a climatic record for the region was reconstructed. Instrumental records for Maine locales during the 19th century were kept by amateur meteorologists and by various agents of federal and local government. The earliest records begin in the 1810s. For the period prior to 1820 there exist a number of qualitative weather diaries. These have been analysed by means of a content analysis technique to develop a quantitative record which is generally comparable to the later instrumental climatic records. To supplement this climatic information a record of changes in Maine agriculture has been compiled, utilising state and local agricultural society reports as well as federal records. To round out these records, local newspaper and diary materials have been surveyed. These data are used to examine the interrelationships between Maine climate and Maine agriculture in the century after 1785. -Authors