Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-06
FREAK|SH WEATHER
D|SARRANCED CROPS

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4.-Phenome-
nal heat accumulation which has
marked weather conditions all over
the northern hemisphere this year
has produced equally remarkable and
erratic outputs Of agricultural crops.
according to summaries of American
and Foreign production compiled for
and by the agriculture department.
The worlds bread /erops. curiously
enough. came to abundant fruttion
, In spite of drought and heat which
persisted all during the growing sea-
son. The world in 1921, up to Sep
tember 80. it was indicated, would
have q total wheat crop Of $1,000
600 bushels greater than in 1920.
Another freak, fruit crops. almost
in worldwide sense, not havoc
from cold in a season which has set
new records everywhere for solar
by the fact that last February the
sun got at It's work of bringing
spring, weeks in advance of nor
NAL, and trees and shrubs respond
ed by budding out, and finally COM
ing into flower and bloom by March
in nearly all areas where fruit is
grown. Frosts could not be averted
year the United States willy produce
about 103, 100000 bushels of apples
against 244.000,000 bushels in 1920
Only the orchards of Pacific coast,
northern New. England and northern
New York escaped.
Cotton, however, suffered greatly
and the agricultural department ex-
perts assign the weather as perhaps
the principal cause for SO per cent
reduction in output. The mild
weather of winter and spring gave
its famous insect enemy, the boil
weevil.. fall freedom to live and
thrive, and even let him move north
many miles from previous ATTITUDES.
Later drought and sun conspired to
cut down production of the fiber. =
European fruit and subsidiary
crops were sharply reduced, the de-
partment finds, although the bread
grains survived. Their success, it
was said, was due to the fact that
they were chiefly fall-sown crops
which grew we'll in the midwinter.
The spring sown grains, root and
forageS, including oats and barley
wheat. in the United States as else
where, lived through but yielded lit
tie. Russia was the one exception
In northern territory. but. in terms OF
statistical averages, the department
says, little grain was soWn there.
Italian lemons and Grecian currants,
two of the greater commercial fruit
crops. were both found in fair con-
dition this fall.
AS to the causes, of the heat accu-
mutations, the weather bureau sug-
gestS that the usual seasonal inter-
change of AIR between the polar and
tropical regions was this year badly
disarranged by atmospheric pressure
distribution, although any certainly
on the subject is hardly possible. The
barofpeter in 'semi-permanent high
pressure regions" over the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans was found to have
maintained higher degree than nor
NAL. which might have had an effect
in diverting transforms to the north
all through the season.
Then the decreased snowfall of 1921
and the thinness of ice on streams
and lakes allowed solar heat, normal
" expended in melting and evapora-
tton, to be started up, the bureau
says, in heating the soil amp atmos-
phere. Observers are convinced that
these two conditions played some
part in the results.