THE FARMER AND THE WEATHER 15 



planting and harvesting are the busiest seasons, while 

 the winter is the time of least work, although the good 

 farmer can find plenty of work to do even in the winter. 

 The work from day to day is controlled by the weather. 

 A heavy rain may prevent the farmer from tilling the 

 soil or harvesting the hay or grain. A clear day with 

 dry air is just the time for cutting hay so that it will 

 dry quickly. 



A great problem. - - The growing season is the most 

 important time of year for the farmer. It is the 

 period from the last killing frost of spring to the first 

 killing frost of autumn. The longer the growing season, 

 the greater is the yield of farm products. One of the 

 great problems for the farmer is to arrange the planting 

 of his crops to avoid the killing frosts of spring and 

 yet have them mature before the autumn frosts. A 

 late frost in the spring or early summer sometimes 

 does great damage to plants, especially to fruit trees. 

 An early frost in the fall may injure the crops. Some- 

 times a hard frost occurs before the corn is ripe, and 

 serious damage to the crop results. In sections of the 

 country where the growing season is too short for 

 the suc^^sful growing of a crop, much work is being 

 doneJffplant breeding to secure new varieties which 

 wjiffriature early and thus be safe from frost. 



Rainfall. - - The total amount of rainfall during the 

 year is of far less importance than the amount and fre- 

 quency of rain during the growing season. In the corn 

 belt of the United States the yield of corn from year 



