gi.ea:nings in ree culture 



the temperature at Portland, Me., was the 

 same as that at Atlanta, Ga. ; and the same 

 line on the same day ran through Chieago 

 and Kansas City, almost around to San 

 Antonio, Texas. In other words, it was 

 just as warm in Portland, Me., and Chicago, 

 at 8 o'clock, April 20, as it was at Atlanta 

 and San Antonio. On April 18, the same 

 isothermal line of 50 degrees started from 

 Portland, went down to Asheville, N. C, 

 away up to Chicago, Alpena, Mich., and 

 clear up to the northern part of Lake Su- 

 perior. 



The barometric changes are no less freaky. 

 The area of precipitation or slight rains is 

 shown by a dark shading. \evy often when 

 we get a" rain at Medina we wonder if there 

 was only a local rain, or whether it covered 

 a large portion of the United States. By 

 consulting these maps two days aftei-ward 

 we can tell exactly hoAv far our Medina rain 

 extended. Two weeks ago the maps showed 

 that the April showers covered all the east- 

 ern states, the entire lake region, and ex- 

 tended down to a narrow line covering the 

 territory immediately surrounding New Or- 

 leans. A few days afterward this area of 

 precipitation kept getting smaller and 

 smaller until it disappeared altogether. 



During the last few days it has been a 

 little cloudy, and we hoped it was going to 

 rain, for our rheumatic bones seemed to feel 

 that way. There was a very light sprinkle 

 with clondy sky. These Governm.ent maps 

 showed that for over a week almost the 

 entire United States was shownng a high 

 barometer — that is, no rain. In fact, the 

 map was practically white all over, and it 

 has been so for a couple of weeks back. 

 (White means no precipitation.) We now 

 know without any guesswoi'k that there has 

 been no rain to amount to anything in the 

 United States for the last ten days. Al- 

 ready letters are coming in. to show that it 

 is getting dry. The farmers in our locality 

 are complaining that the wheat needs rain. 

 When wheat suffers, the clovers suffer. It 

 is not too late yet for rains to come so that 

 the clovers will yield a crop of honey; but 

 we are getting near the danger-line. Unless 

 rain comes within a few days, and that, too, 

 over a large part of the I'^nited States, tliere 

 will not be much clover honey in the United 

 States. Already we hear of forest fires in 

 Michigan and Pennsylvania, and these fires 

 rarely occur unless it is getting pretty dry. 

 The failure or partial failure of the clover 

 crop will have a decided tendency to boost 

 prices on honey. The westein beekeepers 

 in the inigated regions may well smile, for 

 what is bad for the eastern brethren is often 

 a good thing for the western beekeepers. 



But Mr. Frank Rauchfuss, an authority 

 on Colorado alfalfa, says there has been an 

 insufficient supply of snow in the moun- 

 tains; and when we saw him he feared that 

 the alfalfa yield would be curtailed some- 

 what, if not short. In this issue our Cali- 

 fornia correspondent speaks of its being a 

 little dry in the sage region, notwithstand- 

 ing the heavy rains early in the season. 

 Our Weather Bureau maps show that there 

 has been but very little rain in the sage 

 districts of California during the last Aveek 

 or ten days. We were notified when on the 

 western Coast that there might be ever so 

 much rain for the sages early in the season; 

 but unless there was a good shower just 

 before or about the time they come into 

 bloom the sages might fail. It is not too 

 late at this w'riting, April 21, to get the 

 needed rains in California and the central 

 states. 



Later, Ajiril 23. — Some fine rains with 

 warm Aveather have come in the nick of 

 time. 



Still later. — General light rains on the 

 22d fell in northea.stern Ohio, Indiaiu\, 

 Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, 

 and as far south as Alabama. There were 

 also rains over the whole of California. 

 Whether these were enough to help out 

 the sages and the clovers we cannot say. 

 There were no rains for the same period in 

 eastern United States, comprising New 

 England, New York, Pennsylvania, and 

 ]\Iichigan. 



April 25. — The rains have come for New 

 York and Pennsylvania. Michigan still dry. 



PROSPECTS IX THE CLOVER AREA. 



In our next issue we shall be able to toll 

 the story. The practical bearing of this 

 whole thing is its reference to the honey 

 market — that is to say, the Weather Bureau 

 maps, we hope, are going to enable us to 

 forecast the honey crop, both east and west ; 

 but it should be said that in the irrigated 

 regions, and where high mountains are not 

 too far away, but high enough so they liold 

 snow the year round, the honey crop is 

 almost a sure thing; but in order to hold 

 snow the mountains must be somewhere 

 about two miles high above the level of tlie 

 sea. Tliis is one reason why the Rockies 

 and the Sien-a Nevadas furnish such im- 

 mense quantities of irrigation water from 

 the melting snow for the valleys beneath. 

 Very often there will be a severe drouth in 

 the eastern states when the constantly melt- 

 ing snows of th" mountains cause the val- 

 leys to blu.ssom like the rose of Sharon. 



