The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-12-01

other, az, for instance, O dry seago
and bad crops. Your fields have th
same area and soil this year that the
had last. Your labor upon them i
the same. Why is not the yield To
same? Simply because the season
were different.
THE AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS
are not the only interests 10 be bene
fitted by fOTecastlng the weather an'
crops; and that the money article.
thatar issued daily from the financia
centres Of the world, rs the great EN-
| pOriums Of commerce, abundantly
show. Hence, in the city articles 0
the London Times and other Journal;
are such expressions as these: 18th,
weather for the last few days has beel
uniayorable to the crops; consols ana
! securities generally have been drop
| ing Or, "Ihe weather is glorious
| for all growing crops; securities are
looking mp; even Nottingham laces
and stockings feel its influanaaa an.
are active" 70 the relations between
the weather and the crops in England
effect the public securities not only
there hut all over the world. Touch
the weather and you touch the crops;
touch the crops and you touch consois;
touch them and you touch the value
of all leading articles in trade and the
credit and security Of every State,
city. and corporation in this country
that has paper on the stock boards OF
Europe or America. ! believe
THE AGRICULTURAL BUREAU
has already in its employ agents in
thcvariOuS States to collect agricultur-
al information. It's organization for
receiving the monthly or rtri-mouth-
IN reuorts as to the staple crops of tie
various sections may, for aught /
know, Le complete, for | am not in
formed rs to the details of that Office.
am under the impression, however.
that there Is in this bureau abundant
room for improvement, as well III or
glnizatiuu as in conduct and manage
meut; for its Uttcrauces rs to the yield
of crops are not, in commercial circles,
received even with as much conf
derce as are the private circulars Of
produce dealers. The conference
would deal with these defects and give
efficiency 10 both.
THE METEOEDLOGICALO OFFICE,
though the more recently established,
is the more deserving of commenda-
ton. Its forecasts OF the weather are
instructive, but they are too vague as
vet 10 be OF much practical value.
Here is IA fair sample of its predictions,
called Probabilities, - as any of you
may see ia the daily papers. took
this from the first paper | happened
LIS p r. an
OF
WEATHER PROBABILITIES.
WAsHIEGTON, August ll.-CleaT
and warm weather VIII probably be
experienced On Saturday from Mis-
souri, TO Lake Huron and westward.
y low bayometerwith cloudy weather
will probably continue from Louisia-
ma 90 West Virginia and eastward. \
low barometer with cloudy weather
and local storms viii probably extend
during the afternoon over New York
and new England.
There is nothing in these "proi-
abilities that YOU can utilize There
is no reason why, with the means and
appliances under the control Of that
office, You should not reasonably CX-
uect To- have timely waTning-at least
~ e.rt4ia great changes ia tAe atnlo7=
nhere that You c0u profit by. After
while the iulOruation-as knowledge
and experience iEcTea>e-mGy be
more specific. But a. they are, these
probabilities are 50 vague that ship
masters aui farmers who felt lively
interest in them at first, are beginning
to ask each other, chi BJHO?'
Nevertheless, considering this Office
is new it las made good beginning
But the time IS cpHliHg, and his p'ul
o. 4 hUs'eH II, 5ChsH these ''pTOJUbI-
cS'' should become "cei7diBtiCS.' ~ and
De nagre specific and practical; for
how can such vague things as | have
quoted be utilized? OF what use can il
be t0auy living soul to know that a
Glow barometer with cloudy weather
and local storms viii probably eX-
tend during tomorrow afternoon over
New York and New England:u
Now, If it had said what counties and
parts Of New York and New England
these local storms would reach.
and give some idea of their character
and Observation-Disclosures, wind,
rain, or hail s,orm-we should have
something that might be OF practical
account. But let us suppose, merely
i0F the sake ofiliustratiOn and by way
of showing the main features of the
plan, chat the proper meteorological
stations have been occupied ana that
the observers and cO-opeTators report
uuon the crops as well ms upon the
weather. and that at first and in a
tentative way
\ SPECIAL CROP RErORTER
be assigned to every district of 10000
Square miles iD the Staies. II is his
business to travel over his beat con-
tiHuaiiy and put himselfiu communi-
cation with Intelligent farmers IN ali
parts OF il, and through them, together
with bis own observations, 10 keep
the central Office posted By regular re-
ports lsgy monthly at first rs L. the
state and promise of each one of the
staple crops of his district. At the
same time the meteorological ohSeFv-
ers in tie district would send forward
their observations and reports in de-
tail, for the same period, also by mail,
while tie telegraph Observers keep
up their daily reports, both as to
FIVE crop reporters for Alabama, i've
Tor Tennessee, four for Re2tUGsy, and
ioug iUr OhIJ-aHd So On for this coun-
Try. Ia Europe, twelve for Great
Britain, nineteen for France, one for
Holland, one for Belgium, aud Sd on.
These reporters would have their at
tenJion at the first going of, so us not
20 be lost in wilderness of data, di-
Tected chiefly: in Alabama to cotton
and corn; in Tennessee TO corn and
wheat IN EcGtuuky 70 ezra, wheat,
hemp, and tobacco; in Ohio 10 corn
and wheat; and in cacs Slate a i,i
county TO its chief staples only. 81
far Tie plan IS simple enough, and
may be carried out easily for this
country by i,5eif. but it now requires
% bring other nations into the plan
and to include within it.
THE SYSTEM FOR THE SEA
which has tean so rich IL its results,
bu1 which | could not carry out to fail
harvest through lack OF cooperation
on the land. The atmosphere must be
observed ny ob-ervers stationed in all
paris of ths world and acting in con-
cert, before VIC can hope 10 Understand
its movements aud comprehend the
laws which govern them. Until SOME
such system OF observations ba estab-
Iished We may hope in vain for our
childTeu's children to see the
SCIENCE OF METEoRoLOGY
assume the dignity or claim the ao-
cuTsey that belonged to aslromonly In
the days OF our great-Srahd-falhers. !
appeal, 10 you, therefore, not only as
hu bandmen, for your own sake but
30 philosophers, phiiauthropists and
ftis' ds of SCIENCE also, to lend me
ynur ASH ,4uCe IN tnis scheme. Eu-
rope Il rla f,rit. There hes Just
ben held there grand international
COZ gres- fir The advancement of cos
mogIsp'ic. gaogranhical aad cUru-
at;rrciai Eno@ie'fgs' / submitted this
p'ar then. = correspondent writes