WEATHER BUREAU. 69 



meteorological data in the aid of aeronautics and "ballistics. Public 

 schools and otlier educational institutions also showed continued in- 

 terest in the work and publications of the Weather Bureau. 



At the end of the year there were 546 paying subscribers to our 

 various periodical publications, exclusive of the Monthly Weather 

 Review, and the total receipts from that source amounted to $697.17. 

 An additional amount of $117.90 was received from the sale of blank 

 weather maps for school use. Subscriptions for the Monthly 

 AVeather Review are received and filled by the Superintendent of 

 Documents, Government Printing Office, who requires 125 copies each 

 month for that purpose. 



To guard against an improper use of information regarding crop 

 conditions in advance of the time set for its release to the public, all 

 copy for the National Weather and Crop Bulletin is now set up by 

 our printers in a locked room of the Division of Agricultural Meteor- 

 ology, and the advance sheets are printed on a proof j)ress in the 

 same room for distribution to the press and telegraph companies at 

 the appointed hour. 



The principal publications issued during the year included the 

 Monthly Weather Review and Supplements; Daily River Stages for 

 1917; Climatological Data for the United States, by Sections; In- 

 structions to Cooperative Observers; Daily Washington Weather 

 Map ; National Weather and Crop Bulletin ; Snow and Ice Bulletin ; 

 Forecast cards, daily except Sundays and holidays: Weekly Fore- 

 casts; and Monthly Meteorological Summary for District of Co- 

 lumbia. 



Some of the more important features of the publications of the 

 past year are mentioned in the following: 



Station annual summaries with comparative data forming very 

 full local histories of the weather have continued to be published at 

 the larger stations, and some heretofore without such summaries have 

 been enabled to have them printed through courteous cooperation 

 with officials at stations having printing facilities. These local cli- 

 matic histories have a wide circulation and afford convenient means 

 for the distribution of important information needed by the public. 



The snow and ice bulletins were issued as usual, and some improve- 

 n.ents were possible in the extent of the information heretofore ob- 

 tainable in the remote mountain sections of the West, by the hearty 

 cooperation of the Forest Service, and other agencies of the Govern- 

 ment whose officials are required to make occasional visits in the high 

 mountain districts forming the headwaters of important streams that 

 supply the great irrigation systems. Reports on the snowfall dur- 

 ing the past winter showed at the close a marked deficiency in the 

 usual supply of well-packed snow over several important drainage 

 systems. Later advices show a serious shortage of irrigation water 

 in these regions, and much loss to crops in areas dependent thereon 

 is reported. These bulletins have a large circulation and are in con- 

 stant demand, particularly by the irrigation interests. 



Several reprints of the sections of Bulletin W, " Climatology of the 

 United States by Sections," were provided for during the year. The 

 editions of many other sections are rapidly becoming exhausted, and 

 it is hoped that practically the entire set can be brought down to date, 

 more important data included, and all reprinted in the near future. 



