Arizona republican., 1901-05-16
THE WEATHER BUREAU
The Important Work of the Crop Sta
 tistical Division.

In late issue of the New orleans Pirayune the following was said on the occasion of the presidential party of the administration of the agricult- ual department and the work of the weather bureau:
 The Picayune halls with welcome the presence in this city of Hon. James Wilson, secretary of agrieuture, as member of the presidents party.
 This gentleman has devoted much time and attention to the promoting of the agricultural interests of Louisiana, as well as of the entire country He has made several tours of observation, in the course of which he has extsn- sively visited the south and south west.
 Already the beneficent effects of his non-partisan administration are being felt. and by no people more than those of the south and southwest Louisiana, where. largely through his broad-mind- edness and the liberal policy of his administration of the affairs of the agricultural department. such encour- agement and substantial assistance have been given by the national gov ernment as have developed the great and rapidly growing rice industry in the state. The already great cotton. sugar and other agricultural indus tries are very deeply inter sted in an accurate weather and crop report. The weather bureau f the agricultural department has for many years given Louisiana. in common with other states. weekly reports that have been A aas.,. .l Q | maintains 1S0 full meteorological sta tions. and has over BOO intelligent farmers equipped with the necessary instruments, who telegraph daily to designated Centers. to be tabulatsd summarized. printed and distributed for the information of the general pub lie, the temperature and rainfall from the growing cotton. corn, rice sugar cane and wheat fields. It has in each state a complets system for the collec- ton cf every kind of information rel ative to climate and crops and is equipped with trained employees for that work. and for the printing and dissemination in the shortest time of weather and crop information.
 Secretary Wilson has done we'll SO far; he has greatly improved the char acter of the work performed by the several bureaus of the department. an1 it is not out of place to suggest that as he travels across the country he make careful inquiry as to the value of his crop reports.
 The weather bureau if well organ ized and equipped for the collection of information concerning the crops. and it would ssem entirely fitting that the gathering. collatng and publishing of crop statistics might we'll be committed to this bureau. This could be done by consolidating the crop statistical division with it. The work of every observer of the weather bureau has an intimate relation to crops, and no reporter or crop writer can profitably consider the problem of crops or agri culture without having recourse to full weather reports.
 There is no interest superior to ag- riculture. It is in the handling of it's products that commerce finds its chief busins ss; it is in manufacturing the products that labor finds the greatest measure of employment. Where agri> culture fails to meet due encourage ment. neither the pursuits of peace nor of war can flourish. because the very first concern in every nation is to feed