20 A NEW TYPE OF RED CLOVER. 



may contribute to a considerable extent to tlie success of clover 

 growing in this area. 



Orel occupies an elevated position in comparison with the govern- 

 ments which border it on the south; on this account its climate 

 resembles more strikingly that of the states that bound it on the north. 

 Its relatively high altitude, exposing it completely to the winds, is the 

 cause of the more or less sudden changes in temperature to which this 

 area is subject. These changes are induced by the warm winds which 

 come from the south, southeast, and east, and by the cold winds from 

 the north, northwest, and west. The mean annual temperature at 

 Orel, the nearest point to Yeletz for wliich complete meteorological 

 observations could be found, is 40.9° F. The seasonal means are as 

 follows: Spring, 38.48° F.; summer, 66.11° F; autumn, 43.08° F.; 

 winter, 15.08° F. The absolute maximum temperature thus far 

 observed is 97.5° F., while the absolute minimum is —29.2° F. An 

 average for a period of years show^s 107 clear days, 127 with rain or 

 snow, and 131 variable. The normal annual precipitation is 20.2 

 inches. The rivers of the Orel government are covered wdth ice on 

 an average for 119 days during the year — from the first part of 

 December until early in April. The climate will thus be seen to be a 

 relatively temperate, continental one, resembling that of central 

 Russia in general, but having somewhat more variable atmospheric 

 conditions which often prove unfavorable to agriculture. Devastating 

 storms are not infrequent in summer, while snowfalls accompanied or 

 followed by high wdnds are common in winter. 



From this brief characterization of the climatic conditions of the 

 region from which Russian seed No. 16 was obtained, its likeness to 

 that of our own northwestern prairie country can be easily seen, and 

 added reasons for the promise of this strain of red clover in the North- 

 west are readily discernible. A beneficial change of seed has been 

 accomplished between two regions having typically similar climatic 

 conditions and soils that are singularly alike both in mechanical 

 structure and chemical composition. The presence in both of a 

 relatively large quantity of lime in a perfectly combined state is per- 

 haps one of the most important similarities between these two widely 

 separated soil areas. 



The following table summarizes the more salient climatic features 

 of Orel and the regions of America where clover No. 16 has already 

 been grown and where, on the basis of the showing made in the grow- 

 ing season of 1905, the best results may be expected from its future 

 cultivation : 



95 



