MONTHLY REPORT. 



Depaet:ment of Agriculture, 



Statistical Division, 



WasJiingtonj D. C, September 21, 1875. 



Sir : I herewith submit for publication a digest of the crop-returus 



for August and September, some notes on the resources of Maryland , 



and various minor statistics. 



Eespectfully, 



J. R. DODGE, 



Statistician. 

 Hon. Frederick Watts, 



Commissioner. 



The annual reports. — The statistical correspoudeuts of the Depart- 

 ment have endured patiently the delay of Congress to provide their 

 quota of Reports of Agriculture for 1372 and 1873. After a year's delay 

 an appropriation for the publication of editions of those volumes for the 

 use of the Departnient was made, and one of each was sent to county 

 correspondents and their assistants, and two copies e;s:tra have recently 

 been sent to each county. Many correspondents, knowing that the 

 report of 1874 was made to Congress last January, and properly expect- 

 ing its receipt in imnted form, have deemed the sending of duplicates 

 of 1873 a mistake. The annual for last year is indeed printed, the 

 Senate having ordered an edition of 1,200 for its own use, the largest 

 number obtainable without a joint resolution, but no provision has as 

 yet been made by Congress for any distribution whatever. The Depart- 

 ment should be promptly supplied with an edition for its official dis- 

 tribution and exchanges, especially to its faithful and gratuitously 

 working correspondents. As to a general distribution, the English plan 

 of sale at cost should be adopted, but not unless the rule is made to 

 apply to all documents. 



DIGEST OF RETURNS. 



The returns of September, and indeed those of August as well, have 

 been full of the records of somewhat remarkable meteorological phe- 

 nomena. The frequency, severity, and general distribution through a 

 wide area of storms of rain and hail are noted throughout our correspond- 

 ence of the past two months. In July the Gulf States had more 

 occasion to fear a continued drought than excessive moisture; and dry 

 weather was at the same time the rule in latitudes above the northern 



