TWENTY-FIRST ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART II 103 



normal development on July 1. More than half of the July rainfall oc- 

 curred during the first week. Temperatures though generally below nor- 

 mal were high enough, in connection with the heavy rains of the first 

 week, to cause rapid development of diseases of spring wheat which for 

 the second year in succession was almost a failure in the western and 

 northern counties. Hail storms were unusually prevalent the first half of 

 July. The greatest damage, approximating $100,000, occurred in Scott 

 county on the 9th. 



Harvest and haying weather was generally favorable. Though oats 

 got a bad start and looked unpromising till late in June, they made a re- 

 markable showing at harvest and threshing time. The yield was above 

 normal and the quality good. At the close of August, 91 per cent of the 

 small grain had been threshed, which is 20 per cent more than normal 

 and the largest in the last ten years. Winter wheat yield was good though 

 slightly less than the ten-year average. Spring wheat was disappointing. 



From July 14 to September 8, temperatures were almost continuously 

 below normal. As a result, corn became more and more backward, so 

 that by September 7, the bulk of the crop had only reached the hard dough 

 stage and was considered to be three weeks late. Reports from hun- 

 dreds of correspondents on September 1 indicated that with normal 

 weather only 42 per cent of the corn would be safe from frost by Sep- 

 tember 20. But the unexpected happened in that abnormally warm and 

 dry weather, September 9-27, forced the corn to mature rapidly, so that 

 when killing frosts came from September 29 to October 1, they did not 

 damage more than 10 per cent of the crop and this was easily absorbed 

 by feeding on the farms. Killing frost did not visit the southeastern 

 counties till October 29. The corn crop of 1920 is the largest ever pro- 

 duced in Iowa and the quality is very good. Warm and generally dry 

 weather in October dried the corn so that husking made good progress 

 during the last half of the month, except in the north central counties 

 where locally heavy rains and warm weather made cribbing in large 

 quantities unsafe. At the close of November, corn husking was 77 per 

 cent finished. "Hogging down" corn averages 7 per cent this year as 

 compared with 8 per cent last year. 



The cool summer was very beneficial for potatoes. The yield per acre 

 averaged 110 bushels, which has been exceeded but twice in thirty years 

 and the total crop is more than twice that of last year on less acreage. 

 It is rather rare that a bumper crop of corn and a bumper crop of potatoes 

 are raised in the same year. 



Fruit, truck crops, sugar beets, pop corn and sweet corn were all good 

 crops. 



Soil conditions were generally favorable for seeding winter wheat dur- 

 ing September and in. some counties the acreage was increased over that 

 harvested this year. Growth continued till checked by the abnormally cold 

 weather of November 9-17. Of the acreage seeded, 90 per cent made good 

 growth and became well established; 8 per cent germinated but made 

 little showing above ground; and only 2 per cent did not germinate up 

 to the beginning of winter. Fall plowing made good progress till checked 

 by dry weather in October. 



