Evening star., 1915-02-18
Success of Crops
Depends on Weather,

fore of very great Importance to all
those directly or indirectly interested d
in wheat There is, for instance. the
great plains area where there is no
more than enough moisture to make a
wheat crop, even when conditions are
favorable. There the farmers prepare
their lands in such way that every
drop that falls will be stored in the
soil instead of being allowed to run
off. Their success depends upon their
ability to hold this moisture. If a rain
falls over the great plains today that
is sufficient to insure a crop, it means
that hundreds of millions of bushels
should enter the estimates that would
otherwise have been excluded. If there
is too much rain in other sections, as
Iowa. at certain seasons, it means that
the wheat will smut or rust and
that deductions should be made
The, farmer is given this informa tion
just as completely and directly as the
broker in the Chicago pit. Any farmer
in all the wheat belt may get his bull
letin every day by simply writing to
the weather bureau and asking that 1T
be sent to him. With this before him,
he may study the conditions of the de-
veloping seasons and draw his own
conclusions as to the probabilities of a
large or small crop; may intelligently
decrease or increase his acreage, hold
sell his grain.
These facts are also obtainable for
corn and for many other staple crops.
An interesting publication of this class
is the Cattle Region Bulletin. One of
these is issued every day at Amarillo
Tex, 1t reports temperatures and rain
fall throughout all that big stretch OF
country that makes up the open range
region of west Texas, New Mexico and
Colorado. 1t indicates the presence OF
clouds over the great prairies that sur
round Abilene, where the big-hatted
cowboy is still monarch of the plains
1t tells of the register of the ther-
mometer at Del Rio, where Mexican
meets American by the lonesome Rio
Grande. 1t reveals the weather con-
ditions at Fort Morgan, where the
plains of Colorado break into the shad-
ows or the towering Rockies In addi-
tion, II sets forth in footnotes the gen
eral conditions of the range in all that
stretch of country to which America
still looks for much of the meat that
comes to its table.
But there are services performed for
the farmer that are even more specific
and personal than
VCner SERVICES these. There are.
More Specific. frr,. or instance the
Rogue River valley in Oregon. and
9SNi Go VI Olilci which get
an identical service. In the sprine
after the buds have appeared on the
trees. the nip of Jack Frost means the
loss of an entire crop. and may amount
TO thousands of dollars to indiyidual
farmers When temperatures are play-
ing dangerously near the frost line the
weather men become unusually vigil
lant. The General Office in such a COM
nunity gets its reports at freouen,
intervals and from all directions. I,
stands ready to flash out the danger
signal at any moment. If reports a,
o'clock on any given evening show
that there temperature below forty
the Indications are that there is a crisis
at hand II the weather is clear the
danger is intensified. because the radia
tion of the heat OF the earth Is facili.
tated by such conditions. If there is II
absence Of wind. there is again a
multiplication of the danger, for still.
ness helps Jack Frost
When these three conditions conspir.
the warning goes forth. Telephones
buzz to all the substations From
these individual warnings are agar
telephoned to individual orchardmer
throughout the community. The warn.
ings state that orchards on hillside:
are safe until the thermometer of the
Hiilsfdes can stand greater cold thar
the valleys. because the air Is gener
ally IN motion there The valley frui