WEATHER BUEEAU. 171 



report on the preliminary campaign in the Maple Creek watershed 

 has brought many expressions of commendation from farmers and 

 hydraulic engineers. 



EFFECTS OF FORESTS ON CLIMATE AND STREAM FLOW. 



As stated in my last report, the Weather Bureau and the Forest 

 Service, with the permission of the Secretary of Agriculture, are 

 cooperating in an exhaustive study of the entire question of forest 

 effects upon climate and stream flow. It is believed that the data 

 to be secured will be of such a character as to shed valuable hght upon 

 the subject. The experiment station at Wagon Wheel Gap, Colo., 

 established for the purpose of this investigation, is now on a firm 

 basis, and a complete series of observations has been made during 

 the last eight months. Cooperative meteorological stations are also 

 maintained in the Coconino National Forest in Arizona, and in the 

 Fremont National Forest in Colorado, data from which will be 

 available for study and comparison in connection with the records 

 at Wagon Wheel Gap. 



However, it should be well understood that no results obtamed 

 in this semiarid region would be of any value as a criterion for deter- 

 mining problems in connection \vith run-off that obtain in the humid 

 regions of the East. It is hoped that in course of time an experi- 

 mental area may be secured and the necessary plant installed in 

 both the Allegheny and White Mountain regions. 



DIVISION OF OBSERVATIONS AND REPORTS. 



The new "Division of Observations and Reports," formed during 

 the year, has supervision of the collection and distribution of tele- 

 graphic meteorological reports, the distribution of forecasts and 

 warnings, the issue of station maps and bulletins, and the marine 

 work of the bureau. 



At the close of the year there were in operation 197 regular observ- 

 ing stations. The station at Jupiter, Fla., was discontinued during 

 the year and one established at Miama, Fla., in its place. New 

 stations were also established at Fort Wayne, Ind., and Dayton, 

 Ohio. Of these regular stations 164 take two observations daily, 

 at 8 a. m. and S p. m. ; 25 take one observation daily at 8 a. m., 

 and 8 take one observation daily at 8 p. m., seventy -fifth meridian 

 time. These observations are telegraphed to Washington and over 

 circuits to other stations for use in making the daily maps for fore- 

 cast purposes and the daily weather maps and commercial maps for 

 issue to the public. 



The United States is divided into six forecast districts, with 

 centers at Washington, D. C. ; Chicago; Denver; Portland, Oreg. ; 

 San Francisco; and New Orleans, at which places the forecasts are 

 made and telegraphed to distributing centers. From these points 

 they are furnished to the pubhc by telegraph, telephone, and postal 

 card. 



SPECIAL METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS. 



There are 50 special meteorological stations in operation. Of these, 

 19 are for use in the general forecast work of the service and in 

 making special frost predictions for the orchards of Oregon, Wash- 

 ington, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado; 8 for use in frost predictions for 



