The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-11-21
A Wonderful Project.

WOnderful frOJeCt'
Perhaps the grandest scheme lor tne uti-
lization OF science which the mind OF man
has vet conceived, is that recently broached
by Commodore Maury looking to the estao-
lishment, by international cooperation, OF
general and systematic plan OF meteorologl-
cal observations and crop reports, through
the medium OF Conference OF the leading
metecrologists of this and other nations,
similar to that which was held at Brussels
in 1858.
There are two purposes, in particular, that
Commodore Maury seeks to effect by the
establishment OF an uniform international
system OF meteorological and crop re-
ports. The first is the dissemination
throughout the rural districts, both at home
and abroad, of forecasts Of the weather from
day to day, 80 that farmers shall be able the
better to guard their crops against the ipJu-
ries they so often suffer from cyclones, and
storms, and prolonged foul weather; ana
next that they shall be furnished with trust
worthy reports Of the crop prospects IN all
parts of the world, and thus, by an easy cal
culation, ascertain whether the market price
of their products is likely to rise or decline.
At present, owing to the vague and uncer-
tain accounts that reach them, they arein-
capable of fixing the market value OF their
products, and are obliged to take what the
middlemen think proper to give. Usually"
SAYS Commodore Maury, 'the buyer asks
sthe seller the price Of the wares. But with
aregard to all Of the chief agricultural sta
ssples, the producer knows so little about
ssthe yield in competing States and coun-
stries, that he is compelled to go and ask
sthe buyers about it, and request them to
"hx the price What" he asks, ''would
syou think if your neighbor, who, wishing
'to sell horse, should go to the man who
'wanted to buy, and ask him to iz the
"value and set the price? Yet this is ex-
s'actly what you do with your cotton and
''grain, rice, sugar and tobacco, and all OF
s'your staple productions. To relieve you
from this, and to put you on footing with
''the factor in knowledge as to the yield OF
'the crop everywhere is exactly What these
resolutions aimtg do"
We do not care to go into the details by
which Commodore Maury illustrates the de-
pepdence OF the farmer and the planter upon
the factor. The fact OF this dependence is 80
well known that it will be very generally
conceded. He also says, and very truly, that
the reports OF the crops, as given to the pab-
lie through the press, or to the farmers
through the circulars of factors, are partial
and often wrong. He does not assert that
this proceeds from design. He disclaims i'm
pugning the integrity OF the factor; but he
holds that the mode OF acquiring the infor-
nation is at best irregular, and is often de-
ceptive, and he cites numerous instances,
drawn from what are regarded as the best
authorities in proof OF his assertions.
He next takes up the current reports OF
the cotton crop, and to show how frequently,
by over-estinates, the price has been de-
pressed, he gives the following table. He
says:
'The cotton crop after it had all gone for
ward, and had been delivered for shipment,
was found to fall below the estimates In the
following named years, as follows, viz: The
real crop OF