The Portland daily press., 1874-12-04
The Sis nal Service.

The report of Gen. A. j. Myer, chief signal
officer of the United States army, having in
charge the subject of national meteorology, has
just been presented to the Secretary of War,
aud is an interesting document. The publica-
ton of the weather probabilities in the newspa-
pers of the country is but one item in the cata.
logue of the useful purposes of the system, thus
involving careful record several times day
of variations of temperature, barometrical pres
sure, the direction of the winds, condition of
tie sky, the rain and snow fall, etc., with OBJ.
servatiops of the meteorological phenomena
and those recurring periodically in the animal
and vegetable kingdom. The system also en-
braces careful study of the condition of the
waters in our western rivers, by means of
which, announcements of threatened rises in
any part of their extent are transmitted to
their lower portions in time for the protection
of property and life against their dangers.
The territory embraced within the circle of
the observations of the bureau is not limited to
our own country, in which both the older and
newer portions are covered, but involves
much wider field. Stations have been estab-
lished on st. Paul Island in Behring Sea; at st.
Mlchaeps in Norton Sound, not far from Behr-
ing Straits; at Fort Yukon, and across the
northernmOst portion of the Hudsons Bay
Territory, with the concurrence of the Hud-
SUI y Day OOupduy. EVeu OE6eulduu, A8Dfd.
dor, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Russia have
combined to form a line of posts encircling the
globe at which observations are taken at the
same absolute moment of time, corresponding
as nearly as possible to 7.35 A. NJ. at Washing
ton. Furthermore, the more southern observa-
tories in Europe and Asia are cooperating in
the same general plan of observatOries; while,
beside the stations of the Signal Service in the
West Indies, not few frst-class establish
ments in South America render their assist
Dv1 NIx.ru kt.< Ax,ksv
of the world have been called into play by Gen.
Myer in his plan of simultaneous observations.
The signal Office has been so satisfactory in
its operations that it has received charge of
the system of neurological observations, which
for a number of years have been carried on by
the Smithsonian Institution, whose numerous
observers now transmit their communications
to the War Department. The Medical De-
partment of the army has also surrendered to
this Office its branch Of similar observations so
that the bureau now controls the entire mete
geological interest of the United States
The Office, in addition to supplying daily to
the papers the probabilities OF the weather,
publishes each day review of the weather for
the preceding seven days, and map showing
the condition of the atmosphere at 7.25 A. M.
of each day. Monthly is issued a review of the
weather for the month. with maps showing the
mean barometric pressure, the temperature, the
RAINFALL etc. 'a aep1 .sla z
For the benefit of shipping, cautionary sig
the lakes and sea-coast; and for the benefit of
agricultural communities, many of which are
out of the reach of daily newspapers, the
probabilities" which are to appear in
the morning papers, are sent at midnight
from Washington to twenty centres of
distribution scattered all over the couHtry,
where they are at once printed upon bull
letins enveloped as rapidly as possible in wrap
pers already stamped and addressed, to the dif-
ferent post offices within such radius as can
be reached by the swiftest conveyance by p.
M. of the current day. At these post Offices
the bulletin is expected to be cOnspicuously
posted. The average time elapsing from the
ton till it appears in the interior towns and vii
lagos from Maine to Louisiana is ten hours.
During the past year 6286 bulletins have been
distributed. .t. a5 frt..r
The system has been connected with the va
rious life-saving stations upon the coasts, the
double purpose being served of obtaining OBJ
servations at those points, and also of giving
warning of storms in order that the humane
objects of the stations may be aided. The men
engaged in this branch of the signal service are
all skilled telegraph operators, and are familiar
with the system of international codes. eau
tlonary signals are displayed at all these sta.
tions, so that approaching ships are warned of
danger, and when shipwreck is imminent aid
can be summoned from other ports, while the
lite-saving service can be concentrated from
other stations. The signal service has in
charge the building Of United States lines of
telegraph in Texas and Arizona, upon which
much progress has Ibeen made 1t is proposed
ultimately to connect all the military posts by
telegraph The result expected is the enlarged
efficiency of our small army.
In closing his report Gen. Myers calls atten-
tion to the Importance of placing the system of
which he at present has charge upon more
permanent basis.