, 1875-07-10

belief, and Prot. Ben. SllIIman says: al
consider that the matter you have in hand
is q perfect fair subject of experiment"
There is reason to believe that the
materlals-the aqueous vapor-required
tor making rain, and the conditions neces-
sary for its condensation, are always pres
ent, requiring only that the process shall
be set in motion. The vast quantities Of
aqueous vapor in the air around us~.vapor
that forms the principal portion of our
rains-as thought by Prot. NJ. F. Maury
IN his Physical Geography of the Sea, is
supplied by the south east trade wind Of
the Pacific Ocean. He shows, by facts
and arguments which seem unanswerable
that the air of this trade-wind becomes
a great southwest vapor-bearing current
over our continent. TO my mind the re-
Gently published observations of the Sig
nal Corps of the army go far to confirm
his theory, for it is found that nearly all
our principal storms move across the coun-
try from the westward and southwest
ward. The trade-wind which furnishes
the air and yapor for this current blows,
with slight Interruptions, perpetually /;
from which it follows that the current it
self is practically a constant one. Above
this current, Maury argues, there must be
q polar current flowing in nearly the OPP
posite direction.
1t is a fair conclusion therefore from the
teachings of such high authority that there
are always vast quantities of aqueous va
por, transparent and invisible, passing
over US, whatever may be the condition
OF the air at the earth's surface; and that
the cold necessary for it's condensation is
always near it. This conclusion cores
ponds with the one arrived at by me
through a totally different process Of rea-
soning, namely, a collection and examina-
ton of facts relating tothe occurrence OF
rains after battles.
With regard to my plan for the proven
ton Of drouths, I do not argue that any
system should be inaugurated to that end
until some experiments shall have been
made to. determine whether or not it is
practicable. There is, evidently, some
great truth at the bottom of the matter,
and it is important that we should ascer-
tain what that truth is. Espy, who! some
80 years ago, proposed to bring rain by
building large fires, was on the track of
it in one of its manifestations. 7 think
that experiments with powder and can
non would show ot4only that storms, can
be originated in that way, but that the
centers of the storms that, are constantly
moving across the country in a general
eastward direction will be attracted by
heavy conclusions so that they can be led
to those parts of the country where rain
is, at any time, most needed. "49 4.
A very common objection made to the
experiments which | propose, is, that they
would be very expensive !; but if the coun
try can aford-3to send expeditions in
search of the North Pole, cannot We afford
to burn some of our damaged powder in q
matter like this3 And when we consider
that at the present time lit is.Isaid
that a million OF human beings are starv-
ing to death, as the result of the, failure of
their usual rains /; and. that mot many
years since over 600 lost their lives, in
our own country from a forest FIRE that
was "a consequence ofadropth, .how iusig-
nifcant will appear the qp estioho q few
thousand dollars spent inT determining
whether such calamities capnot be pre-.
vented in the future.-Edward Powers,
New York