OFFICIAL DOCUMENT. No. 6. 



SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 



OF THE 



SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE 



Hon. John K. Tener, Governor of Pennsylvania: 



Sir: It is my duty as well as pleasant privilege to submit 

 to you the report of the operations of the Deijartment of Agriculture 

 for the year 1911, together with climatic conditions and their effects 

 on the farm crops of the State; also a report of the crop yields of 

 the State, agricultural stafistics from the Thirteenth Census not 

 available for my report of 1910, and some suggestions for work 

 along lines for which this Department should be equipped. 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 



The year opened with moie than normally warm weather that 

 continued throughout the month of January and nearly all of 

 February, which has been exceeded only two or three times within 

 twenty-five years. The average temperature ranged from four to 

 eight degrees above normal during the month of 'January. The 

 precipitation was below normal. Snowfall was comparatively light 

 and winter crops had little protection, but on account of the mild 

 weather they suffered little or no injury. Only during two short 

 periods, did the temperature go below normal in February, and this 

 was in sections where low temperatures generally prevail. Snow, 

 varying from two to tw^elve inches, fell in various sections of the 

 State, but did not remain on the ground for any extended time, and 

 as already stated, winter crops did not suffer from cold as is usually 

 the case when they do not "have the snow covering. The average 

 rainfall throughout the State was as much as an inch below normal, 

 except in a small section in the northwestern part of the State. 



MARCH 



The weather conditions during March were, in general, throughout 

 the district, typical of the month, except that the temperature was 

 most of the time from two to five degrees below normal, and, there- 

 fore, the month was more wintry in character than the two previous 

 months, with the exception of the warm wave which passed over the 

 western part of the State the 10th to 12th, causing fruit buds to swell 



^ slightly. This was followed by a cold wave which culminated in 

 temperatures below zero doing damage to peaches and other fruit 

 in this section of the State. In the eastern part of the State the 



^ severe cold waves, destructive winds and heavj^ snows, have not 

 been equalled in any March for a number of years. The average 



S:^ precipitation was below normal by more than one inch throughout 



^ (3) 





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