DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 63 



ance throughout the year, the difficulty can be appreciated. The meteoro- 

 logical record to be of value must not only be taken with standard instru- 

 ments, but should be regularly taken at a stated time every day which 

 does not exclude Sundays and legal holidays. The only way that the 

 service can show its appreciation of this constant, daily labor is by furnish- 

 ing the observers with all of our publications and by cordial relations with 

 them. We have been quite fortunate in securing some valuable publica- 

 tions and also a considerable allotment of seeds and by visiting them 

 occasionally and inspecting their instruments, splendid results have been 

 attained. The data which is collected by the voluntary observers is daily 

 becoming of more value to the citizens of the State and what is more to 

 the point, the State at large is coming to appreciate them by using the 

 reports more and more. At present with our 120 stations and 9 regular 

 weather bureau stations the State is well covered with a network of 

 carefully obtained data and too much credit cannot be given to the 

 voluntary observers, both individually and collectively, for their splendid 

 work. 



The forecast distribution continues very large and through the medium 

 of the rural mail route is reaching out in the agricultural communities, 

 where it is of great value : and as the farmer learns to use and appreciate 

 the forecast he will soon be able to get as much benefit therefrom as his 

 commercial brothers of the larger cities. It is hoped that in another year, 

 when improved facilities for distributing forecasts will probably be 

 available, that we will be able to reach thousands of farmers promptly 

 every day, who have never before been in receipt of the forecasts. 



The Weekly Climate and Crop Bulletin continues holding a high place 

 in the estimation of the public. It has been published during the past 

 year during the planting, growing and harvesting seasons and is widely 

 published both in the newspapers of the large cities and also in the smaller 

 country newspapers. The great demand for the bulletin and the informa- 

 tion it contains is the best criterion of its value to the people at large. It 

 is furnished free on application to the Lansing office. 



A monthly and annual summary have been published as in previous 

 years without any particular change. They are homogeneous in data and 

 style to the bulletins published, in other states so that they are more 

 readily appreciated by all readers and make our work comparable with all 

 other state weather services. This is a very important desideratum. As 

 a matter of record these bulletins are widely sought for and much used. 



Xo particularly new work has been taken up by the service, but the 

 work which has been in hand for some years back has been vigorously 

 prosecuted and much office work done in the way of compiling back records 

 and putting them in handy shape for ready reference so that the files at 

 Lansing are easily referred to and very handy to get at. 



C. F. SCHNEIDER, 



Director. 

 Lansing, Michigan, 

 June 80, 1902. 



