1158 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXX, No. 12 
tions at Vineland, as the rainfall record 
at the end of November, 1923, for that 
station stands as follows: 
Inches. 
Deficiency for 1917_ —5.10 
Deficiency for 1918_ —7.94 
Excess for 1919_ 12.61 
Deficiency for 1920_ —. 44 
Deficiency for 1921_ —10.07 
Deficiency for 1922- —. 86 
Deficiency for 11 months of 1923_ —3.96 
Accumulated deficiency 10 _ 15.76 
The progressive accumulation of a 
deficiency of this amount had a pro¬ 
gressively increasing effect upon the 
ground water level, as was evidenced 
in the last three years of the work by 
the failure during the summer and 
autumn months of many of the shallow 
The rainfall, while only 5.10 inches 
below the average annual precipitation, 
was so distributed as to result in a de¬ 
gree of drought during the growing sea¬ 
son which affected the yields of many 
crops. An excess of 2.52 inches in 
March did not make up the shortage 
for the preceding months, there was a 
deficiency of 1.55 inches in May, 3.94 
inches in August, and 0.93 inch in Sep¬ 
tember, the other summer months 
showing normal or a few hundredths 
more than normal precipitation. An 
excess of 5.26 inches in October fell 
mainly toward the end of the month, 
too late to directly affect crops. The 
six “ growing months,” April to Sep¬ 
tember, inclusive, received 6.10 inches 
less than the normal precipitation for 
Jan. Feb Mar. Apr. May June July Aug= Sept Oct Nov. Pec.- 
Fig. 2.—Maximum, mi n im um, and mean monthly temperatures at Vineland, N. J., in 1918, with 
average mean temperature for 49-year period for comparison 
wells in the vicinity of the vineyard. 
Water is usually obtained everywhere 
in the area by wells driven to a depth 
of 15 to 25 feet, but many of the shallow 
wells failed entirely in the autumn of 
1921 and yielded considerably reduced 
supplies in 1922 and 1923. 
The year 1917 was characterized by 
an average mean temperature 1.9° 
below the 49-year average, the mean 
temperature for the separate months 
exceeding the average only in January, 
March, April, and August. May was 
markedly cool, 5.7° below the average; 
June and July were normal; August 
1.6° above normal; and the remaining 
months of the year 3.1°, 2.6°, 1.9°, and 
5.4° below the average. 
the period, so that the grape crop was 
grown with a material shortage of water 
and ripened in a period of abnormally 
cool dry weather. 
Climatic Record for 1918 
The climatic conditions for 1918 are 
graphically presented in Figures 2 and 
3. Figures showing percentages of pos¬ 
sible sunshine at Vineland are not pub- - 
lished separately, but a record of days 
classified as “clear” (having 0 to 30 
per cent of cloudiness during hours of 
possible sunshine), “partly cloudy’' 
(having 40 to 70 per cent of cloudiness), 
and “cloudy ” (having 80 to 100 per cent 
of cloudiness) is kept, and these data 
10 These figures represent a close approximation rather than an exact statement, for the reason that the 
rainfall records for Vineland are incomplete or missing for March, 1917, September, 1918, March, 1919, 
July and August, 1920, and February, 1922. Figures for the stations at Bridgeton, 123^ miles southwest 
of Vineland, and Hammonton, 17 miles northeast, have been supplied for the missing months, as the rain- 
f all at these stations closely approximates that occurring at Vineland. 
