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., .., .- DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 201 .,' give quite generally low yields of crops. The crop record for the past 2,Q'yearsisl1!l\Ys that only in one y!!arout of five are satisfactory crops p~odu~ed. . The temperature ranges from a mean of 24.40 for January. to a mean ()f 75.90 .for:-JuIY. with rare extremes as .much as 400 below and 1100 above zero, The growing season or frost free period, is suffi- cient for the production of all 'crops common to the general territory. The wind velocity is a Ij.ttle higher and the rel;1tive humidity. a . little .lower than in east€rn Nebraska, which tends to decrease somewhat the efficiency of a giv<!n amount of rain. However, it is only during periodf; of drought and hot winds that. these three factors,-ternpera- . . ture, relative: h\lmidity. and wii1d .,velocity, become injurious to crop production. During' such periods they coinbine to greatly increase the rate of' transpiration and the consequent de!Dand of the crop 'for water. If, during such periods, the soil is lacking in moisture, injt1ry results,-the amount of. damage depending upon the dryness of' the. soil and length of time such unfavorable conditions obtain. Precipitation. Rainfall is the one great limiting factor to crop production within the area. Not only is the total amount generally insufficient for 'good crop. yields, but the distribution is uncertain 'and fr.equently very unfavorable:' Droughts, of greater or lesser severity are frequent, occurring almost every year, and in the main .during the past twenty years have resulted in unprofitably low yields. While the rainfall is probably as favorable as formerly, there has under cul- tivation been a gradual loss of organic matter from the soil, which has made the rainfall less efficient. and has resulted in a gradual deCline in ~rop yields: The difficulty of putting the land to grass or legumes under a limited rainfall makes the maintenance of the organic content of the soil almost impossible. Annual' Precipitation. The mean annual rainfall during the last 20' years-1904 to 1925"":"at Holdrege, Minden, and Hastings Govern- ment Weather Stations is 23.35, 24.05, and 25.42 inches, respectively, .an average of 24.27 inches for the three Stations. The annual rain- fall together with its monthly distribution for the Holdrege Sta- tion is shown in Table 1. While Minden and Hastings have a little more. rainfall, its distribution is much the same as for Holdrege. The average annual rainfall is not a dependable normal, as it var- ies greatly from year to year. For example, the record at Holdrege shows that during the 20 year period it has varied from a minimum of 13.67 in 1920 to a maximum of. 40.73 in 1915. During that time the annual rainfall has been below the average 13 'years and above the average 7'years. For six consecutive ye-ai's;'1909-J:6"r914;"every~-"- year was below the average, giving a large accumulated deficit. The average annual rainfall is little more than an index of the probable ........<_1 I: ,. f , " ( " L: L , .-,.. ,.. ,. . r (~.. . ~"': tl..:: " r . . to r ~. (