70 ANNUAL REPORTS OP DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The MontHy Weather Review has continued to appear monthly, 

 presenting numerous important scientific papers bearing on all 

 branches of meteorology and climatology. By authority of Con- 

 gress the Weather Bureau has been authorized to include seismo- 

 fogical investigations in its work, and on December 1, 1914, a section 

 including seismological reports was added to the Review and regu- 

 larly published thereafter. The Review contains, in addition, statis- 

 tical tables presenting the results of meteorological observations at 

 all the regular stations of the Bureau. 



A committee on scientific papers was appointed during the year to 

 examine and pass upon the merits of scientific papers submitted by 

 Weather Bureau employees, not only to determine their appropriate- 

 ness for publication, but to give proper credit to their authors for 

 application and abilities thus represented. Twenty papers have 

 been examined and four have been published in the Monthly Weather 

 Review. 



A monograph by Messrs. Bowie and Weightman, presenting an 

 extensive study of the movements of storms across the United 

 States, was published at the end of November as Supplement No. 1 

 to the Monthly Weather Review. A unique collection of meteoro- 

 logical and phenological observations by one man at the same place 

 for over 30 years was offered to the Bureau by Cooperative Observer 

 Thomas Mikesell, of Wauseon, Ohio. This collection compiled and 

 edited by J. Warren Smith will be published as Supplement No. 2. 



The assistant editor translated Dr. Besson's pamphlet, ''Different 

 Forms of Halos and Their Observation,' ' for publication in the Re- 

 view. This very useful guide was also issued separately in octavo 

 pamphlet form and distributed to the Weather Bureau observers as 

 an aid to them in improvmg our records of halo phenomena in the 

 United States. It is a satisfaction to be able to report that some 

 improvement in our observations is already noticeable. 



Beginnmg in May, 1915, the Monthly Weather Review was put on 

 a regular monthly schedule by the Government Printing Office, 

 thereby insuring its pubUcation on the last day of each month, 

 instead of on widely different dates as in the past. 



PRINTING DIVISION. 



A printing office is maintained at the central office of the Weather 

 Bureau in Washington, for the purpose of promptly printing and dis- 

 tributing weather maps, bulletins, charts, etc., relating to current 

 meteorological conditions. It is indispensable that this printing 

 office be maintained under the supervision of the Chief of the Weather 

 Bureau, for the reason that the maps, bulletins, charts, etc., must be 

 printed and issued as promptly as possible after the information con- 

 veyed therein becomes available, as any material delay in their issue 

 and dissemination would render them of Uttle value. 



The printing office in Washington also supervises similar but much 

 smaller printing equipments maintained at the principal stations of 

 th'^ Bureau throughout the country and which hkewise prmt and dis- 

 tribute local weather maps, bulletins, and important meteorological 

 information. Incidentally the printing ofl&ce supervises other work 

 of a printing nature that does not require to be immediately issued 



