PROCEEDINGS OF THE OHIO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 245 



7 days throughout the summer. Mr. Mills has visited the farms 

 and is now correlating the crop data with the temperature, rain- 

 fall, and sunshine. 



In England systematic phenological observations have been 

 made for a good many years, and frequent studies have been 

 made of the advance of the season, and some of weather and 

 crop development. 



The United States Weather Bureau maintains a very elab- 

 orate meteorological service in the interest of shipping and 

 agriculture, but there is a dearth of systematic, continued and 

 extended phenological records from which definite studies can 

 t)e made. 



One noted exception to this statement is the splendid and 

 remarkal)le series of records kept by Mr. Thomas Mikesell of 

 Wauseon, Ohio, part of which have recently been published in 

 Monthly Weather Review Supplement No. 2. 



In this report there has been published 13 different items 

 regarding 16 different fruits from the time the buds start until 

 the trees are divested of leaves ; ten dift'erent items on 20 differ- 

 ent field and garden crops ; eigth items relative to 48 different 

 forest trees, shrubs and vines, and the dates of blossoming of 114 

 different plants. These are for a period of 30 years. 



For the same period the daily rainfall, and daily maximum, 

 minimum and mean temperatures have been observed by Mr. 

 Mikesell and are published in the same volume. It is believed 

 that this pamphlet contains the most complete local record of 

 the development of plant life to be found in this country, although 

 it represents only a part of the phenological records kept by ]\Ir. 

 Mikesell. 



PERSONAL INVESTIGATIONS 



A\'hile this country has comparatively few records for mak- 

 ing extended field studies of weather effects as is being done in 

 Russia and Canada, it has seemed to the speaker that we have, 

 in the crop yield and meteorological statistics that are being reg- 

 ularly collected and published, data available for determining the 

 critical periods in the growth of staple crops. 



The important thing seems to be to get the data for a period 



