The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-12-31
WHAT is NORMAL
DEPARTMENT. 'OF AGRICULTURE
EXPLAINS 1T.
Full Normal Condition Is Not Neces-
sarily Average Condition of
Any Crop.

As many OF the reports Of the sta
tisticlan of the department of agrl-
culture are based upon comparison
with the full normal It Is mat
ter of the greatest importance that
there should be clear understands
ing OF what the term really means.
To begin with. full normal con-
dhion IS not an average. giving prom
Use of more than an average crop.
Furthermore. fail normal condi-
ton does not indicate a perfect crop.
or a crop that Is OF promises 10 be
the very largest In quantity and the
very best IN quality thar the region
reported upon may be considered
capable Of producing. The full nor
NAL indicates something lass than
this, and thus comes between the
average and the possible maximum.
being greater than the former and
less than the latter.
The full normal may be described
as a cordlfion Of perfect healthfulness
unimparied by drOuth, hail insects
or other injurious agency, and with
such growth and development as
may reasonably be looked for under
these favorable conditions. As stated
in the instructions 10 correspondents.
Il does not represent a crop OF extra
ordinary character. such as may be
produced here and there by the spe-
cial effort of some highly skilled
farmer with abundant means, or
such as may be grown on a BIT Of
land OF extraordinary fertility. or
even such az may be grown quite ex-
tensiyely once IN dozen years IN a
season that Is extraordinarily favor
able to the crop 90 be raised A fun
normal crop. IN short. n neither den
Client on the one hand nor extraordi-
narny heavy on the other. While a
full normal condition Is but rarely
reported for the entire corn. wheat
cotton OF other crop area. al the same
time or In the same year. fits local oc-
ourrerce Is by no means uncommon.
and WHENEVER 4 Is found 10 exist Il
should be indicated by the number
100.
Sometimes a favorable season for
planting = followed By a favorable
growing season. with no blight ard
no depredations by Insects. the result
being full normal condition At
other times a full normal condition
may be maintained by conditions
that are exceptionally favorable in
one or mere particulars courserbal-
ancing conditions that are urfavor-
able in other particulars Thus a
crop may have had such an unusually
good start that II may pass without
injury through a period OF drcuth
that would otherwise have proved dis
astrous TO Il. OF rs more than ordi-
nary vigOr and potentially may fully
offset some slight injury from in
sects.
The full normal not berg every
where the same. In determining how
near the conditions OF any given crop
II 10 Il, correspondents VIII usually
find II an advantage TO have a deh-
mite idea OF what yield per acre wculd
constitute a full normal crop in tlts'r
respective distriots-that Is, how
many bushels, pounds or tons per
acre OF a particular crop would be
produced IN season that was dis
tlnctly but not exceptionally favor
able. In a region where 80 bushels
of corn may be taken as the full nor
nal yield a condition OF 90 would
give a prospect OF crop OF % bushels
and so crop OF % bushels n 40
bushels be considered the full normal
yield. 90 Cor 10 per cent. less than
the fun normaD would indicate a
crop OF 36 bushels. so one OF 80
bushels. aud 30 one OF 2s bushels
For the reason that the fun nor
NAL represented by 100, does not in
dscate a perfect or the largest posi-
bile crop, Il may occasionally be ex-
ceedcd. The condition may be so ex-
ceptlonally favorable as TO promise a
crop that will exceed the full normal.
and II will accordingly have TO be ex-
pressed by f05. no. or whatever
other figures may seem warranted by
the facts-i05 representing per
cent. above the full normal; 10. 10
per cent. and so forth.-Crop Re
porter. =