38 IOWA DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ficient moisture in the soil to maintain a healthy growth of the corn 

 plant, and at the close of the month nearly all fields gave promise of a 

 heavy yield. Oats, barley and wheat made fairly good stands, but headed 

 out shorter than usual. The hay crop was lighter than usual, but the 

 Quality was excellent. As a whole, June was an ideal month for farming 

 operations, and the staple crops were above the ten-year average on 

 July 1st. 



The average daily temperature in July was 3.5° below the normal for 

 the State, the mean being 70.9°. The nights were cool, but the day temper- 

 atures were sufficiently high to maintain the normal growth of com and 

 other immature crops. The average rainfall was 3.04 inches, which is 1.31 

 Inches below the normal. The cool nights brought on heavy dews, and 

 the humidity of the air was about normal, serving to mitigate the 

 drouthy conditions in districts where the rainfall was lightest. The dis- 

 tribution of rainfall was quite unequal, ranging from less than two inches 

 in about one-fourth of the State to more than 5.00 inches in a large area. 

 The driest areas were in the southeast and the northwest quarters of the 

 State. Except in a very small area there was sufficient moisture to main- 

 tain a healthy growth of corn, which was generally well advanced and 

 promising at the close of the month. Hay and small grain were harvested 

 in good season, under favorable conditions to maintain a good quality of 

 these crops. There was less than usual damage by windstorms and hail in 

 July. 



August was the warmest month of the season, the average temperature 

 for the State being 74.1°, which is 2.1° above the normal. It was 3.2° 

 warmer than July, which is usually the warmest month of the summer in 

 this latitude. The average rainfall was 3.95 inches, which is 0.38 of an 

 inch above the normal. The distribution was unequal, the northern sec- 

 tion having nearly twice as much moisture as the average of the southern 

 section. The larger portion of the rainfall came in the first decade, and 

 the balance of the month was favorable for harvesting, threshing and 

 other field work. At the close of the month the corn crop was in a very 

 satisfactory condition, and much of it well advanced toward maturity, 

 giving promise of more than an average yield. The summer months were 

 favorble for apples, peaches, cherries and most of the small fruit crops, 

 and garden truck. 



September was warmer than usual, with more than the normal amount 

 of rainfall, and excess of sunshine in the larger part of the State. The 

 mean temperature was 67.2°, which was 3.4° above the normal. The aver- 

 age rainfall was 4.16 inches, or 0.85 of an inch in excess of the September 

 normal. The northern and western districts received much more than 

 the other parts of the State. The bulk of the rainfall came in the second 

 decade, and the balance of the month afforded ideal conditions for farm 

 operations, and the normal ripening of corn and other late maturing 

 crops. The month was wholly exempt from damaging frosts. Conditions 

 were favorable for fall plowing, and seeding fall wheat and rye. .All crops 

 were well matured at the close of the month. 



