, 1873-06-14

WAsntNoroN, Juno 4, 1879.
Your attention ii tnvitsd to my friond,
- - PROBABILITIES.
| no is not dlfnoult ,peraon to know for ho
opoua his conversation in the unual way, about
tho woAther; and gotta OIL that themo with dift-
guilty. ula amusemonts arc simple, ouftivatihg
bulbs and lying kites and tho roof OF his houno
Ia covered with toys which exotic tho envy Of al
the neighboring boys. - =.
HE uoxuE. :
It ia an old-faBhtoned house, With head put
on It Of MAusnrd, and rough-ooated, and tho back
stairs lead down into o yard where outhouBoa
arc strewn about, full Of good-naturod workimon
making mapa. It il queer plaoo altogether.
Wiros 60 ovor tho noighboring houscs, pouring
into 1t; voathor-vauos-so1h old-fashfonea,
some made Of hollow cups turned sfdewfHo-
swing and voor upon tho roof. It looks Nko =
witoh-fnotory. And yot 1t Ia c1oao by tho great
oflco OF tho Secretary OF War, to whom Proba-
biiitios must report himself three tinoa day,
and ~, In ancient tiunes, commando1u novor went
to battle without looking for agna, flying birds;
or indicationa Of some kind, war agnin consists
Of watching tho woathor, and sooing how
phobus aets his cloudy battalions.
TIE anAhp-arAsrEH.
Tho name Of probabilitieo, With tho myHtory
removed is Abort ]. Myer. Ho is an oflcor-
light complexion, md pair Of Intelligent
eyos, and sort Of reasoning address.
His heaa is ra4hor small than otl,osuiso,
md the forehoad inclined. Ho enterod tho army
in 1854, and waa transferred to tho limo In 1860
aa Major and Chief Signal Oficor. His preaont
rank ie Colonel in tho regular army, aud Briga-
d1er.general By brevot, 10 organized tho sig-
nal-Corpa Of the army, and, aftor tho war, with
rare expsnaiycnesa, ndapted and extended tho
theory Of signaling to civil usos, and pro)cctoda
System OF observation md prognoatioation which
should aorve tho uaoa Of agriculture, unyiga-
tion and tho comfort Of society.
H1s USE. =
Tho telegraph VAS to DO the transmittor Of
simultaneous observations over tho great Area
Of tho country, upon, temperature. moisture.
| motoorology, the effect of those influences
| could bo computed with somo degree Of
! probability by the educated Judgment Of
constant Psognostjossors at ths centrsi oiso'
Thus the Signal oihce-noE called by the pub
| lio tho Weather -Bureau--ai1ns to produce tho
widest and ncat pleasing economy ever oon-
tributed By acionce, mechanics, and Govern
and tho teet-captain, tho old woman drying
clothes, and the Gonersl Of Expedition, tho
miller on the brook and the coaster on tho Gulf.
The possibilities Of this Office In tho human
Weather Is the invi.ible, but Byatomatto .goycrn-
mont of tho world tho chemistry and o1halk-
ton, the docility md the expression, tho obedi-
enee aud the oct, of tho globo. Man has Cotton
with ono stocking snd ono auapendor
on, and damned tho appearance Of tho morning.
For tho first time in tho hintory Of our speoioa,
| ho is not now required to look out Of tho vim
tho degree Of his ignorance: He may lathsr his
face, and, with that aye which has not been
Boaped, regard tho bottom Of tho column In his
morning -newepaper, and oxclaim, like uover-
eign, that, since the weather-rcports began,
| thcro has boeu no nera-
Said to Gen. Myor:
General, yo4 should na nrits oyor your I'd door
"Ohl said tho General :. tho Dible is grant
ve.thor-book. 'Tho wind bloweth whero it
lseh and on s,,+.. cip't not .el Whence , it
deduction from that. Yes, tic people md tic
press Of tho country have supported thls bureau
4 with an appreciation, and unanimity which
.hxvo oyerridden the colder opinion Of mon pro-
i fosHodly statesmen and sayans The usefulness
will not cease at tho present mark but civilian
,tion, by the cable systena, will, In fow years,
mount guard over the irmamont in oyory coruer cruz
before they are woll compounded. want to get
a few stations in that worry important part OF our
hemisphere. tho West Indies"
I
The interior Of the sigual-O OfIlcs building dis
closes the newest fruits In the arts Of photo.
graphy, printing, and instrument making. The
camora il employed to noto tho slightest grada'
tions in baromotrio, thermometrio, or aremoms.
trio noyemonts and, turnod upon the clouds
themselves. 1t is beginning to deal NTH them Al
Larater might haTe drawn hfs system Of phyBi.
ognony. Tho establishment Of tho Weather-
Bureau has aharpencl tho human Wits in this
direction, and every week develops IN improve
| fnant nr a gur1natj1n nv whtch vn1lnR certaintV
advances over old probability. There ia grclt
glass oaso Of clouds in tho ottico formed OF raw
cotton drawn out In the form of stratus, cirrus,
oumulus, or niubus and this. With the delicate
and involved Instruments, aud the daily prognos
tications, form the work OF two or three Wost.
Pointers, who nightly write their lesBon without
eonsultation, and bring it up to compare will
tho woather-rogmen Of next day, AS fascinnt
gratifying in result, the soionco Of meteorology
in this vast continental aoadony, must reac1
q development hithorto unknown and, by ths
! desperation of stations over the country, each
mission In itsef, the riHlng generation will bl
drawn to natural philosophy Like the housewife
to her Yankee clock.
! Notable about tho Weather -Dnrsau Is the aim
plicity and civil etraightforwardness OF the ap
paratus and TIM corps. Tho instruments dis
,, patched to distant stations arc the best, but o
tho plainest and mort portable description an
tho renowned maps, which make, WHOM boun1l
|
sottor, On ainglo adjustable steol plate.
, Out Of thiB ohico may arine tho direct inter
i position Of man and Government in tho manage
mont OF tho weather, which Ia theno9t step bo
youl accurate prognostication. Tho influence o
timber, bogs, etc., in modifying climate, is bo
ginning to be understood BY common people
but an organization like tho bignai~ofaoo hs
, tho ability to play chosa with tho weather, an
I anticipate operations beyond tho horizon, deal
. ing with whole degrees Of latitude and longitude
j | 1iko squares on t!io board.
NATURALIZATION.
+ Noticeable, alsot rs i foftuity, perhaps cor
: aoquent Of this establishment, ia tho riso OF poI
ular scionce NJ social force In all parts Of til
!. country. 4 proudcr tostimonial scientific ua
a mover rocoiyed than Prot. Tyndnll from til
o | American cities. Tho Popular Science MONTH,
t olited by Dr.. Youmans, the ndetatigable pis
q .neer In that cansei ia successful publication
J.. and ia attracting contributors like Herbol
. Bponcer. Every year tho number Of our inlan
!, o1p1orlng-parties lncreaBes. aud 1t ls rumoro
that the Darwiuian theory is greatly stffenod II
49, u I