Evening star., 1942-03-12
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook of Science PROGRESS
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henru.

PartS OF IL have been abnOrmally warm
and parts subnormally cold for most of
the country, but both warm and cold
spells have persisted unbroken for weeks
at time.
Usually, says DR.. J. B. Kincer. chief
OF the Genealogical Division of the
United States Weather Bureau, winter
weather is quite variable from day to
day. The present seasons behavior, he
says. can be explained only on the basis
Of stagnant air masses.
Gigantic masses of frigid air from the
Arctic and of warm air from the tropics
constantly are smashing against each
other in the upper atmosphere Nor
mally three or four days are required
for one to push the other out of the
way. This year they have done very
little pushing.
Another curious feature Of the season,
says Mr.. Kincer. is that it has con-
siStently grown colder as 1t advanced.
For most Of the country, and especially
the East. the temperature for the three
months of winter as a whole has been
about average.
The temperature of Boston. for ex-
ample, has been one degree above nor
mal-but it was two above in December,
one above in January and two below in
February.
For the whole winter Atlanta has had
q deficiency of one degree-but 1t was
three above for December and exactly
normal for January.
The picture is very similar for all the
country.
December was an abnormally warm
month almost everywhere. Temperatures
for the country as whole ranged from
two to 10 degrees above the average.
The pattern began to take definite
shape in January. The entire first half
Of the month was persistently cold and
the last half abnormally warm. Early in
the month subzero temperatures pre-
vailed everywhere from the Appalachians
to the Rockies and penetrated the deep
South with minimum Of 16 above re-
ported from Northern Florida.
The last two weeks saw a remarkable
reverse with the thermometers going 20
W ~ oCSl dDONC lllC aver dSC lOI IllS
month over much of the Northwest
The abnormal warmth continued well
into February when 1t changed to alb
normal cold for most areas This has
retarded spring work in the South
Over much Of the East precipitation
has been deficient. following an ex-
tremely dry fall. For the middle Allan
tic region. for example. snowfall was the
lightest in nearly decade. Most Of the
ground water, vitality essential for agri-
culture. was used up during the autumn.
1t must be replaced during the winter
and spring and only If the next three
months are unusually wet can thi. be
done.
The Southern States, however, have
had plenty Of rain late in the season and
spring planting has been held up by
soggy Soils
The Nations 100000 cows must pro-
duce 25000,00O.00O pounds of milk
nearly 100000, 900 quarts-this year.
This is necessary to provide the Amer
lean people with the customary amounts
OF milk. butter and cheese and at the
same time maintain shipments to Eu-
rope. 1t means a S per cent increase
over 1941.
Can the COWS do it2 A crucial expert
ment. extending over three years, which
gives an Affirmative answer to this ques-
ton. has Just been completed by the
Department of Agriculture's Bureau Of
Animal Husbandry. Approximately 400
COWS in 10 States-South Dakota, Michi-
gan. Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Delaware, New York. Maryland, Virginia
and MiSsiSsippi-were studied
Each cow was considered as a milk
making machine. Her job was to turn
grain. grass and silage into milk. The
experimental animals were divided into
six groups. One was fed approximately
the same rations as 40 per cent of the
mich animals in the United States.
Other groups were fed progressively
larger amolSlts until point was reached
where their appetites failed. If they ate
any more they became Ill.
The Department of Agriculture ex-
perts found that there was a progressive
increase in milk production with the
amount of feed, up to the maximum The
animals provided with all they could eat
yielded approximately half as much
again more than those fed on the lowest
level.
1t also was determined, says T. E.
Woodward, who was in charge of the ex-
periments for the Bureau of Animal
Industry, that cow herself Is q very
good judge Of how much she can eat.
Once she gets sick she is not apt to
make hog Of herself again. The milk
making machine has a semi automatic
shut-off in the animals own nervous
system.
The increase, it was found, is progress
lively less as the food is increased above
the median ration. Eventually the eco
nomic problem supersedes the physio-
logical and the dairy owners problem is
to balance the cost of extra grain against
the price of the extra milk. This varies
with market conditions through the year.
For the present. Mr.. Woodward and
his colleagues believe, the best solution is
to increase the amount of silage and
the quality Of the pasturage which can
be accomplished with increased fertiliza-
ton before the growing season is we'll
underway. Pasture grass is cheaper than
corn.
An enormous increase in milk pro-
duction might be brought about with
improvement Of herds, but this is hardly
q practical solution during the emer-