94 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 



The Monthly Weather Review presents under a single cover fairly 

 complete statistics and a discussion of the weather in all parts of the 

 United States and to a lesser extent of the adjacent oceans. This 

 purely statistical record alone is highly prized and extensively used 

 by various marine, commercial, and agricultural interests^ The 

 Review also serves as an important aid in the teaching of meteorology 

 in primary and secondary schools; also as a medium of exchange 

 for workers in the field of theoretical as well as applied meteorology. 

 It is now in the fiftieth year of publication, the first issue having 

 appeared in the early part of 1873. 



^ The early numbers were devoted to a resume of the storms of the 

 month, accompanied by charts showing the path followed by each, 

 with short paragraphs upon the distribution of temperature and 

 precipitation. All of these original features have been carefully 

 preserved and greatly amplified with the passage of years, and many 

 new topics have been added. 



The forty-ninth volume contained 745 pages of text and tables 

 and about 120 charts. The fiftieth volume will contain a somewhat 

 smaller number of pages, about the same number of full-size charts, 

 but with the addition of three small inset charts which add con- 

 siderably to the information graphically presented. 



Three contributions to meteorology have been printed during the 

 year as supplements to the Monthly Weather Review, and the manu- 

 script of a fourth is awaiting final action previous to being sent to 

 the Public Printer. 



INVESTIGATIONS IN SEISMOLOGY. 



The important work of collecting and publishing earthquake data, 

 begun December 1, 1914, has been continued during the year. 



Instrumental records have been obtained by instruments owned 

 and operated by the bureau itself at Washington, D. C, Northfield, 

 Vt., and Chicago, 111., and similar data secured from various seismic 

 observatories distributed from Panama to Canada and from the 

 Hawaiian Islands to Porto Rico. 



The noninstrumental reports rendered by the regular and coopera- 

 tive observers of the bureau recorded 83 separate earthquakes strong 

 enough to be felt by the unaided senses in the continental United 

 States during the calendar year 1921. The great majority of these 

 resulted in little or no damage, but the widespread shocks which took 

 place in Utah in September, the latter part of October, and first of 

 November caused moderate damage. No important earthquakes oc- 

 curred in our outlying possessions. 



VOLCANOLOGY. 



The funds available for the conduct of observations of the glowing 

 lava beds of the Kilauea Volcano have remained the same as hereto- 

 fore and have barely sufficed to maintain the program of work as in 

 the past. Some additional investigations by borings supported by 

 funds from the Hawaiian Volcano Association were made during 

 the year. 



