THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART III. 1(57 



REVIEW OF THE CROP SEASON 1902. 



January, 1902, was warmer than usual, the daily mean temperature 

 being about five degrees above normal, and the average precipitation for 

 the state was below normal. February temperature averaged about four 

 degrees below normal and the precipitation was less than the normal 

 amount, the larger part coming about the close of the month. The winter 

 as a whole was about as moderate and favorable as the average in this 

 section. 



March was warmer than usual, the mean temperature ranging from 

 four to seven degrees above the normal. Wintry weather of considerable 

 severity prevailed from the first to the fourth and from the fifteenth to 

 the nineteenth, but the balance of the month was montly springlike and 

 unusually favorable for early farm operations. The soil was in excellent 

 condition for plowing, and seeding of spring wheat and oats was well 

 advanced before the close of the month. The season opened from ten 

 days to two weeks earlier than the average in this section. The cold 

 wave and high wind, prevalent from the sixteenth to the eighteenth, 

 caused some damage to winter wheat in the southern and central coun- 

 ties, and delayed spring seeding in all parts of the state. The average 

 precipitation was below normal, but there was ample moisture to facili- 

 tate plowing and for germination of grain. 



April was slightly cooler and drier than usual, the abnormal condi- 

 tions prevailing for the most part through the first and second decades. 

 The last decade was seasonably warm, and copious showers relieved 

 apprehensions of a serious drouth. The worst features of the month were 

 the frequent dust storms and strong gales, which caused considerable 

 damage to windmills, trees and light structures, and wrought some injury 

 to newly seeded grain crops in exposed localities, by uncovering the 

 grain or blowing the loose soil into drifts. The conditions, however, were 

 generally favorable for field work, and more than usual progress was 

 made in seeding and preparing the ground for planting corn. In southern 

 localities the planters were started about the twenty-eighth to thirtith of 

 April. The germination of small grain was retarded by the cold and dry 

 weather in the first half of the month, but there was considerable mois- 

 ture below the dry surface to quicken the growth when the soil became 

 warmer during the last decade. At the close of the month the grain crops 

 were making a fair stand and the outlook was generally promising. The 

 foliage and bloom on fruit trees appeared very near the normal period. 

 There was a fair prospect for apples, plums and cherries, but peach buds 

 were not in evidence, and the smaller fruits did not give promise of full 

 average crops. Pastures and meadows were late in starting, but the growth 

 was fairly good at close of April. 



In marked contrast with the preceding month, May was warm and 

 showery. The daily excess in temperature was about four degrees. The 

 average rainfall for the state was 5.39 inches, which is 1.42 inches above 

 normal. There was great inequality in the distribution of rainfall, rang- 



