120 EXPERIMENT STATION RECOED. 



I'egards the distribution of the rainfall throughout the year, while in America 

 the rainfall is chiefly governed by the changes which occur in actual tem- 

 perature. 



"At the same time in America the temperature changes render the farmer 

 more or less independent of the rainfall, while in England the rainfall largely 

 determines the nature of the crops which the farmer produces. In England 

 wheat is not grown well where the annual rainfall exceeds 30 in., yet the 

 greatest attention is paid to wheat in northeastern America where the rainfall 

 is at least 40 in. per annum. In England cotton and tobacco are not considered 

 by the farmer as possible crops ; in America in an area which is at least as cold 

 as Lancashire during the winter the great warmth of the summer makes both 

 these crops valuable to the farmer." 



The rainfall of California, A. G. McAdie (Univ. Cal. Puds., Geogr., l (1914), 

 No. 4, pp. 127-240, pis. 8, figs. 12; aJjs. in Nature [London], 94 (1914), No. 2346, 

 p. 184). — Detailed data drawn chiefly from records of the United States Weather 

 Bureau and extending in some localities over a period of 63 years are sum- 

 marized and discussed in this report. 



Among the chief factors controlling the rainfall of the State considered in 

 the report are the diversified topography, the prevalent westerly winds from 

 the Pacific Ocean, and the relatively cold California current. The State is 

 divided into five climatic sections corresponding roughly with the principal 

 watersheds, and for each is given the most prominent climatic features and 

 a general statement of the distribution of rainfall and its- variation with alti- 

 tude. Detailed information is given in tables and plates. It is shown that 

 summer in California is practically a rainless season. Certain parts of the 

 State, however, are shown to lie within the zone of maximum intensity of 

 rainfall in the United States. For example, a maximum annual rainfall 

 of 153.5 in. was recorded during the past 10 years in Del Norte County, and 

 amounts exceeding 100 in. are recorded at many other j^laces. Apparently 

 the heaviest monthly rainfall in the United States (71.5 in.) occurred at Helen 

 Mine, Cal., in January, 1909. 



The rainfall of San Francisco is discussed in considerable detail. The annual 

 mean for 64 years at this place is 22.6 in., the maximum annual rainfall 38.8 

 in., and the maximum 9.3 in. The longest drought recorded was 175 days in 

 the summer half year of 1903. 



Nitrogen in rain and snow, N. Knight (Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., 20 (1913), pp. 

 189-191). — This article reports briefly a continuation of observations on the 

 amount of nitrogen in rain and snow carried on in 1910 (E. S. R., 30. p. 211). 

 The methods used in the collection and examination of 14 samples of snow and 

 13 of rain, or rain and snow, are described and the results are tabulated 

 without comment. 



SOILS— FERTinZERS. 



The Rothamsted memoirs on agricultural science (Harpenden, England, 

 1914, ^^ol. 8, pp. 528, pis. 7, figs. ,101). — This, the eighth volume of these memoirs, 

 contains all the scientific papers published from the Rothamsted Experimental 

 Station during the years 1902-1912, except those on partial sterilization of the 

 soil. These are to be included in the next volume. The subjects of the papers 

 included are Wheat Grown Year After Year on the Same Land, by J. B. Lawes 

 and J. H. Gilbert; The Mechanical Analysis of Soils and the Composition of 



