40 



BULLETIN 716, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



Hay yielded 1-i- tons per acre in 1912 and 1916, the best two hay 

 years, while in 1914, the poorest hay year, the yield was slightly 

 less than 1 ton. 



For each crop there were good years and poor years, but in no 

 year were all crops good or all crops poor. The year 1912 had 

 average com and wheat yields and good oat and hay yields; 1913 

 had good corn jdeld, average oat yield, and low wheat and hay yields; 

 1914 had an average corn yield, good wheat yield, and low oat and 

 hay jdelds ; 1915 had average yields of corn, oats, and hay and a good 

 wheat yield; in 1916 the yields of corn, wheat, and oats were low, 

 while that of hay was good. There was no year without some good 

 crop, so that each year had a fair amount of feed for the stock. The 

 crop yields, as a whole, were 'highest in 1912 and lowest in 1913. 



Table VIII. — Yield per acre of the principal crops on 25 farms over a period of 

 ■five years, 1912-1916 {Palmer Township, Washington County, Ohio). 





Crop. 





1912 



1913 



1914 



1915 



1916 



Five-year 

 average. 



Com 





bushels.. 



43 



52 



43 



44 



35 



44 



Wheat 





do.... 



14 



9 



18 



18 



11 



14 



Oats 





do.... 



34 



31 



25 



28 



24 



29 



Hay 





tons.. 



1.5 



1.1 



.9 



1.2 



1.5 



1.2 



The reason assigned for the poor wheat crop in 1913 was injury 

 from Hessian fly and for the poor crop in 1916, winter killing. 

 The reason for yearlj^ variation in the yields of com and haj^ may 

 best be found in the rainfall diagram on page 8. It is generally con- 

 sidered by those who have made correlations between rainfall and 

 corn yields that the amount of rainfall during the month of July 

 greatly influences the corn yields. July, 1913, had greater rainfall 

 than any other July of the five-year period, and it was the year 

 with best corn yields. On the other hand, July, 1916, had less rain- 

 fall than any other July of the period, and 1916 was the year with 

 lowest corn yields. July, 1914, had little rainfall, but the season be- 

 ing the latest of any of the five years, the rains of early August 

 sufficiently offset the July drought so that the corn yield for that 

 year was about normal. 



The total rainfall during the months March to June, inclusive, or 

 during the growing season for hay, was greatest in 1912 and 1016, 

 the two years with best hay yields, and least in 1914, the year with 

 lowest hay yields. 



THE KIND AND AMOUNT OF LIVE STOCK. 



The total amount of li\e stock kept each year is shown in Table 

 IX, together with the percentage each kind represented of the total 

 productive live stock. There was a gradual yearly increase in the 



