68 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



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Cooperation with Forest Service. — The experiment station 

 jointly maintained by the Forest Service and the Weather Bureau at 

 Wagon Wheel Gap, Colo., has been maintained throughout the year. 

 The main effort has been centered in securing climatological and 

 hydrological measurements in the lower watersheds. 



The Weather Bureau keeps a detail of its skilled observing force 

 at the Wagon Wheel Gap Station, but there are other projects in 

 Western States where it simply furnishes the instrumental equipment. 



EMPIRICAL RULES FOR FLOOD FORECASTING. 



The construction of a set of empirical rules for the forecasting of 

 floods on the principal rivers of the United States was begun some 

 years ago and has been carried on continuously ever since. During 

 the current year rules for the rivers of South Carolina have been com- 

 pleted and sent to the flood-forecasting center of that State for trial 

 and such modification as may be found necessary by practical experi- 

 ence. The object in reducing the flood-forecasting rules to writing is 

 twofold: First, to preserve the experience gained by the different 

 officials who have been connected with the work, and, second, to 

 minimize the labor that an official on being assigned to any district 

 that is new to him will have to perform in order to become fully ac- 

 quainted with the regimen of the rivers in the district. 



Forecasting rules have thus far been prepared for the majority of 

 the principal rivers of the interior valleys. 



METEOROLOGICAL RECORDS AND PUBLICATIONS. 



The Annual Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau, containing 

 climatological data for the calendar year 1913, was printed and dis- 

 tributed as in former years. The customary serial and statistical 

 reports of the Bureau were also issued without interruption. The 

 constantly growing demand for these seemingly dry and uninteresting 

 documents indicates the increasing extent to which the public is 

 learning to make use of the valuable information they contain. 



The biennial report on daily river stages, containing the daily gauge 

 readings for 526 stations, has been put through the press and is now 

 available for distribution. 



The National Weather and Crop BuUetm was prepared along the 

 lines adopted at the beginning of July, 1914, except that during the 

 present season the date of issue was changed from noon Tuesday to 

 noon Wednesday of each week and provision made for the printmg 

 of weekly weather forecasts and a more extensive discussion of the 

 effects of the week's weather upon the principal growing crops, both 

 of which changes appear to have met popular approval. The change 

 in date of issue from Tuesday to Wednesday was a most welcome one 

 to the station officials, as it offered much relief from the usual con- 

 gestion of work on Mondays and afforded a better mail service in 

 coHecting data from their various correspondents. 



Telegrams containing summaries of the more important features of 

 the weather and crop conditions over the great corn, wheat, and 

 cotton districts have been furnished the principal Weather Bureau 

 centers in those districts promptly each week for distribution to the 

 public. Likewise the section d.irectors have been authorized to give 

 to the press and others interested, at 12 noon on the date of the issue 



