The San Francisco call., 1910-12-27
Cheer UP,A Wet
SPELL is COMING!
Weather Man Says So, and He
Surely Ought to Be on
the Inside
Farmers, Reassure Your Crops
They'll Get SOused Ere the
Spring Arrives

The paucity Of rain throughout the
state during the last three months is
beginning TO excite .uneasiness among
certain growers and produce mer-
chants. all OF which is entirely un-
necessary, according to Professor Nc
Adie Of the government bureau, who
expresses confidence that the coming
three months will bring all the rain
that win be necessary for bumper crops
in 1911
A study of the table Of statistics pre-
pared by the weather bureau TO show
the miXimum and minimum rainfall for
each month Of the last 60 years shows
that during the month Of October for
nine years there was absolutely no rain
Iail at all, Yet the average rainfall dur
Ing the wet season caused ample mois-
ture for the crops. During October of
this year .65 Of an inch Of rain fell.
In the month Of November, 1890. there
was no rainfall. yet the seasonal aver
age ran TO l7-5S inches. The rainfall
Tor November Of this year was As Of an
finch
During December. 1876, there was no
rainfall, but the seasonal average
reached 11.9S inches. Although this sea-
sonal average was below normal, vet
crops to maturity. The rainfall for the
present month OF December up TO u
o'clock last night amounted to I6s
inches.
From the above it can be seen that
frequently other years have lacked rain
during the latter months Of the year.
but were favored with ample moisture
during January. February and March
This year the rainfall is said to be just
about sufficient to loosen the earth
properly for plowing purposes and the
farmers have taken advantage of the
TACT TO turn over their fields and SOW
their crops in anticipation of the rain
OF the coming January. February and
March
Speaking Of the rainfall for the year
past and the prospects for the balance
OF the year, Professor AIcAdie said yes
terday:
Although there has been a scarcity
OF rainfall this spring and fall there is
absolutely no reason to feel that more
rain is not coming, as some people
seem TO think. 1t often happens, as
our statistics show, that there are
heavy rains in January. February and
March although the preceding months
may have had little fall The season OF
1SSS-lS99 was quite similar to the
season Of the past year, yet the rains
after the first Of the year brought out
splendid crops The season OF 1854
1856 was likewise similar to 1910. but
the crops came out well with the
spring rains.
1t often happens that It is not
so much the amount of rain that falls
during the wet season as it is the dis
tributiOn Of the rainfall through the
growing period that counts 1t is
quite true that the rainfall for the last
three months was hardly one-third of
what IL should be, but there is nothing
81 the general character Of the pressure
distribution TO lead us to expect that
the rest Of the winter would be lack
ing in rain.
so far as this Office has been in
formed there is no suffering from the
lack Of rain There has been enough
rain for fall blowing and planting and
can not yet see any occasion for
worry among the farmers and stock
men. A fall season such as just passed
should be more desirable than other
seasons when the rainfall was so
heavy as TO greatly hamper plowing
and planting and made all crops late %
An interesting fact in the rainfall
chart for the last 81 years is that during
the month Of January of 1861 the rain
fail amounted TO 24.36 inches During
that month ii was an absolute impossi-
bility for the farmers to plow or SOW
and the crops that year as a con-
sequence came exceptionally late.