DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 91 



lined in my last year's report, arrangements were being completed as 

 rapidly as possible with all of the principal telephone companies whereby 

 our forecasts are distributed to all of their exchanges before 11 a. m. each 

 morning. By advertising in their directories, telephone subscribers 

 are advised that by calling central any time after 11 a. m. they can 

 secure the official weather forecasts "for tonight and tomorrow." Dur- 

 ing the year many independent companies adopted this scheme of 

 forecast dissemination, the principal one being the Michigan State 

 Telephone Company, and by their most cordial and business-like co- 

 operation, we now reach over 1,000 exchanges of that company and 

 over 100,000 subscribers. 



The matter of placing weather forecasts before the farmer has always 

 been one of the most difficult problems presented to this service, flags 

 are costly and have proven a means which accomplish only limited 

 distribution. 



The rural mail carrier promised much better results, but unfortu- 

 natelv, the system of issuing forecasts in the weather bureau and the 

 leaving time of most of the rural mail carriers prevented a general use 

 of the rural mail route. Under the system which has become very per- 

 manently established in the weather bureau our forecasts are not avail- 

 able to the public until about 10 a. m. 



The conventional leaving time of most of the rural carriers is between 

 7 and 8 a. m., so that a carrier is far out on his route before the weather 

 forecast is available. 



The telephone, however, has done much for the weather bureau in 

 solving this problem. In most rural districts the time is close at hand 

 when nearly every progressive farmer will have access to the telephone, 

 if not his own, that of some nearby neighbor. In my own opinion the 

 telephone and the improvement of our rural highways will do more 

 for the farmer than any other two agencies. The Michigan farmer is 

 realizing this fact more every day. 



Outside of the collection of meteorological statistics and the dissemi- 

 nation of weather forecasts the central office has accomplished an im- 

 mense amount of administrative work which is necessary in keeping 

 this large machine in motion. The correspondence involved in receiv- 

 ing reports, furnishing instruments, stationery and instructions to 119 

 observers is great. Besides this, we furnish blanks for all of the 

 various telephone exchanges, franked and printed cards to every fore- 

 cast distributing center, of which there are over fifty. 



The weekly, monthly and annual publications of the service have 

 continued along the same lines as in former years. All data published 

 is displayed in detail, and in the same form and style as the reports 

 published in other states of the union so that it can be readily com- 

 pared with any other report issued in any other state. 



C. F. SCHNEIDER, 



Director. 



