PRECIPITATION RECORDS. 



73 



conditions in their relation to crop production. These considera- 

 tions apply more aptly to cases where the precipitation seems to be 

 sufficient. If the monthly precipitation shows a marked deficit 

 during the growing season, it is reasonably safe to assume that the 

 crop suffered from drought. 



An examination of the accompanying table shows that when the 

 whole record is considered there was an excess above normal pre- 

 cipitation in 16 out of 30 instances and a deficit in 10 instances. 

 There were 4 instances where the record was incomplete. 



When we consider only the 19 cases where the observations were 

 made during the same year that these tests were made, we find that 

 there was an excess in 11 instances, a deficit in 6, and incomplete 

 records in 2. 



Considering only the observations made at the 1 1 stations the year 

 previous to the tests reported, we find that in 5 instances there was 

 an excess, in 4 a deficit, and in 2 incomplete records. 



It is apparent, therefore, that the average annual precipitation 

 throughout the area was somewhat above normal, both during the 

 years reported in these tests and for the year previous to the first 

 reported tests. A detailed study of Table XXXI in connection with 

 the yields reported in the respective tests may assist the reader in 

 the interpretation of results. For a full discussion of these relations, 

 however, it would be necessary to have the daily as well as the 

 monthly precipitation, for the reasons already stated. These 

 records are, of course, on file in the Office of Dry-Land Agriculture 

 Investigations, but it has not seemed advisable to enter into a dis- 

 cussion of this phase of the subject in this bulletin. It may, how- 

 ever, be taken up in some future publication. 



187 



