84 ANNUAL RKPORTS (JF DEPAUTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



AGRICULTURAL METEOROLOGY. 



The i)i'iiu'ipal roiitiiir wuik of this division is the collection of 

 temperature luul raiiilaH data anil the eil'ect on crops and I'arui 

 operations and the publication of this information in weekly weather 

 and crop bulletins. These reports are issued at 11 a. ni. "\^ ednesday 

 and Cover the weather conditions up to 8 a. m. Tuesda3^ The Na- 

 tional A\'eather and Croj) Bulletin is issued at Washington, while 

 local bulletins are i)ublished at the section centers in each State. A 

 special Corn and Wheat Region Bulletin is published weekly at 

 Chicago covering the grain-growing States, and a special Cotton 

 Kegion Pjulletin is })ublished at New Orleans covering the cotton belt. 

 There is a growing and insistent demand for these reports, especially 

 for the National Weather and Crop Bulletin. 



The weekly issue of the National Weather and Crop Bulletin was 

 continued throughoui the winter months and was combined with the 

 Snow and Ice Bulletin, which heretofore had been published as a 

 separate report. This arrangement was found so advantageous that 

 it will be continuerl in the future, as it seems important to give in- 

 formation each week on the effect of snow cover, or lack of it, on 

 meadows and grain fields, the effect of high or low temperatures on 

 fruit and southern truck crops, and the effect of weather on ranges 

 and stock. 



SPECIAL SERVICES. 



The collection of temperature and rainfall data and the publication 

 of daily Indletins were continued in the principal grain, cotton, sugar, 

 and rice States. This service should be extended to include the grain- 

 growing districts of AVyoming, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, 

 and Pennsylvania. The weekly collection of data in the range dis- 

 tricts in Texas, New^ Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Wj^oming was con- 

 tinued. This service should be extended over Montana and other wun- 

 ter-grazing States. The collection of meteorological data from spe- 

 cial stations in the tobacco, fruit, truck, and alfalfa-seed districts was 

 continued during the critical periods to aid in issuing warnings and 

 damaging temperatures. 



The special weather-warning service for spraying operations was 

 extended to additional counties in western New York and into the 

 central and lower Hudson Valley in the eastern part of the State. 

 Special forecasts appear to be essential in determining the proper 

 time for spray applications in all fruit districts. The special investi- 

 gations in the citrus and deciduous fruit-growing districts of the 

 Pacific coast were continued and resulted in the publication of Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin 1096, " Frost and Prevention of Damage by It." 



COOPERATION. 



Cooperation was continued with other bureaus of the Department 

 in maintaining special meteorological stations at various points in 

 different sections of the country, as an aid to research and investiga- 

 tions of the many agricultural problems in which weather is an 

 important factor. 



