CHOICE OF A REGION 503 



arid regions, the frequency of hot winds is of very great 

 importance. Crops are frequently damaged by hot winds, 

 when the moisture present might carry them along in 

 normal weather. 



308. Hail. The frequency of damage by hail is also 

 to be considered. Hail is much more frequent in some 

 regions than in others. It is most frequent in some parts 

 of the semi-arid regions. 



309. Length of season. The number of days between 

 frosts and the frequency of injury from late spring or early 

 fall frosts are very important climatic features. The 

 danger of frost is often the controlling factor in fruit 

 growing. The crops that can be grown depend not only 

 on the length of season, but on the amount of sunshine and 

 heat. A day in the corn-belt is a very different day from 

 one in New England. Corn that matures in 100 days in 

 Illinois usually requires over 120 days in New York. 



Information as to the climate of different states may be 

 obtained by writing to the United States Weather Bureau 

 at Washington, or by writing to the State Experiment 

 Station. A few states have published valuable bulletins 

 on climate. Some of these are listed at the end of this 

 chapter. 



FERTILITY OF THE SOIL 



310. Importance of fertility. The natural fertility of 

 the land is usually the most important single point to 

 consider in buying a farm. The man who buys a good soil 

 at a reasonable price can usually add other things. But 

 if the soil is not naturally good, the other good points can 

 never make it so. In fact, man rarely makes a really rich 

 soil out of one that was naturally poor. Nature had un- 

 told ages to grow crops and allow them to fall back and 



