The record-union., 1899-05-04
WEATHER VERSUS CLIMATE.
FACTS THAT SHOULD INTEREST
FARMERS.
Climate is of Far Less Importance
to the Agriculturist Than
the Weather.

The United States Monthly Weather
Review, published in Washington, ~.
u, an an article under the head Oh
Notes by the Editor" says:
1t Is commonly said that the climate
Is the average weather of century
or some long period of time, and that
the climate represents normal or aver
age conditions, while the weather Is
the temporary condition prevailing at
any moment.
Statistics have been compiled to
show some of the relations between the
average crops sand the average climate.
1t may all be summed up by saying
that for crops raised out of doors the
relation is too complex to present any
results of positive value to either the
farmer or the biologist. The fact is,
that the innumerable combinations be-
tween the varying. conditions of wealth
er, soil and plant will, at any stage OF
growth, affect the plant and crop to
an important extent.
1T is the weather, not the climate,
that is of Importance to the farmer.
The weather is everything; the climate
is an abstract idea that has very little
interest for him. For example, c. F.
R. Wappenhans, Section Director for
Indiana, states in his February report
that where the wheat was well pro-
tected by snow the exceedingly cold
weather did but very little injury,
whereas in the northern portion of the
State, where but little snow had fallen,
many fields appeared to be injured In
some places, although the top of the
plant looks brown and dead, yet it is
NStll green lower down near the sur
race of the ground.
Such illustration might be cited for
every variety of plant in every variety
of location. 1t Is the combination of
the weather with peculiarities of the
soil and plant that produces favorable
or unfavorable conditions Plants are
sometimes injured in the Southern
States by a. cold wave because the pre-
ceding warm weather had developed
them rapidly, while ON the same date
those in northern regions escaped unin-
jured+ because the steady cold weather
had retarded their development.
Most of our fruits and grains are
being cultivated in regions that are
Tar removed from their native hab-
itats. We have spread all over the
United States the peaches that came
from Persia, the corn from Central
Mexico, the wheat from Egypt and
India, and so on Indefinitely. The sue
cess in raising profitable crops in any
part of the country must depend upon
the frequency with which injurious
weather conditions recur.
A favorable locality Is not one
whose average climate is favorable, but
one in which the extreme seventies Of
the weather do not recur too often.
The cultivation of peaches, oranges,
grapes and other fruits whose plants
require five or ten years to mature may
be profitable if killing weather does not
reeur oftener than once in ten or
twenty years. Tobacco and cotton and
the grains that must be started annu-
ally may be cultivated profitably if bad
seasons do not recur oftener than once
in five years
We would invite our readers to re-
view carefully their own personal
knowledge of local crops in their re-
speetive districts, and communicate to
us statement, as to the dates and
manner in which any given plant or
crop was injured by the weather at
any time during the past ten years.
When a cold spell occurs it is com
monty stated that this has destroyed
the peaches or the corn, or has injured
the tobacco, etc, but these statements
are often guesswork We believe them
implicitly at the time, and yet the re-
sulting crop turns out about as usual,
showing that our judgment was quite
erroneous.
AS a rule, during the months sue
ceedlng disastrous freeze. nature does
her best to repair the damage, and
often succeeds to a surprising extent.
The plant has within it what may be
called a power to struggle against ad-
versity, and to accomplish a crop if
this be not entirely impossible.
we commend to all the careful
study of the true relation between the
weather and any given crop, and a de-
termination of the relative frequency Of
good, average and poor years"