The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-09-04
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! ., TIIpnAY SEPTEMBER 4, 1870.
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,,.,,,, ma Sess York Times Of Monday.]

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z ~. ,ss. York Times Of Monday.1 =
nsa i;una, Bureau, popularity known 10 :
!. Nc No atlId Probabilities" begar
~, snar the publication OF westher but e.
~. n.s :.hscb. ii IL reasonably hoped, may pr owe
~, .as,,shie 10 the world at large as the daily
!. .S,,orts of our own meteorological CO. Edition
M ~ ma. The object Of this bulle din IL to
az sayost the results. OF observations through.
nj Tho Northern Hemisphere & the same
- nent OF tine, aud permit 81 .ady Of atmo-
srhcr,c movements which, lot limited to
nv continent or sea, may enr IDLE observers to
srsce storms from wbefcvf 4 they may arise,
throuoh their whole conrf e, until they dissr-
near, The project is vast indeed. II We
thought it wonderful when We were first,
sn,d daily what bad Just taken place IN the
above our own country and
what would pro oabiy occur, With such an
nnnroach to correctness that the weather re.
-nnrt became q guide as to umbressas and
rvarsa,pes. But ncw General Myef declares
shat ~the limits Of any continent are too
sscaEs to allow proper study OF TIE atmo.
snhere.o This seems 20 be acknowledged by
sii she principal alsteoroIogists In the world !;
nysi the result is q eombination Of savans,
which extends frOEa Siberia to California, to
make simultaneous observations and careful
reports. ~---- -,
modification, OF the forces Of nature. The
wind bloweth where 1t listefh; but there is
this difference between US and the men Of
two ,thossand years ago; yes, even of one
hundred yesrs ago, that we nos know
whence it coneth and whittier 1t goeth
And we know this, not by any revelation, OF
diyinatiop, or ingenious conjecture, but sin
Oly BIZ careful, patient observation, and the
use N reason. Meteerology is one OF the
last applications of the modern system Oh
philosophical inquiry, which is merely the
careful accumulation and study 81 FACTS
and It promises to be one OF the mos'
valuable. When observers trst began 10 re.
cord the standing Of the Thermometer ana
the barometer, aud to watch the Wlnds,
there were doubtless people enough VINO
wondered what these men were incoming
about, and who thought and said that they
might be much better engaged ABOUT some
thing PRACTICAL" something that would 90
some good. Now, IL they would tell us when
q storm was coming, that would be something
!, worth knowing" And then they turned
away from the students Of nature on
the wea,her-wise old men aud the moon
to watch her changes, although they bage
about as much to do with the changes In
the weather as they have with those Of The
~ money market. But science went steadily
on, watching and thinking, aid now sbe
does tell US when q storm is coming. Tbe
weather-wise men did, and do, the like
in more limited way by the same pro-
* cess. There are no men born with
s gift Of weather. wisdom. 1t is not divine
faculty, or even an nstioct. Weather.wis.
dom is merely the, result Of observation and
of reasoning. Some men have habit o,
observing the sky, the clouds, the currents
of wind, the feeling of moisture or OF dry
ness 10 the air. They NAV do this almost
unconsciously, but they do 1t, and from it
they draw conclusions and according to
the correctness Of their perception and their
reasoning do they get into credit as weather
prophets. Our Signal Bureau merely watches
with hundreds of pairs Of eyes, and studies
the facts,in the atmosphere of continent
instead of those OF little horizon Of thirty
miles In diameter, and hence come the range
/, of its knswlsdge of atmospheric action AID
Its ability to announce what Is likely to oe'
cur. Aud now it is proposed to take hem.
isphere into the field of simultaneous obser'
Yation. ...,-... .....
x The results of this plan, If it is efficiently
carried out, cannot fail to be advantageous
but 1t may be reasonably doubted whether
the advantage will come just in the way ir
which it is expected. Indirect consequence.
of scientific investigation are not uncommon
Aud it must be confessed that, with all the
patient observation and accumulation o.
facts by the zaeteorologists, the results have
+ thus far been small; 80 much so that there
can hardly be said to be yet system of me
teorolegy. no law of atmospheric action o.
sufficient scope has been discovered to enable
the meteoroiogist to look more than few
hours into the calm or the connection OF the
elements &; and il may at least be questioned
whether this method of simultaneous Oh
servation at stated times of day Is likely to
be as fruitful as that adopted BY Professor
Basius, the results of which, thus far, be
has recently published in volume.
He says that observation has taught him
that "no storm would be accommodating
enough to develop itself just at the specified
periods for Observing" In his opinion, Z" a
storm must be treated rs an individual,
which is subject to development" And
he proposes the task, which, be admits, Is
difficult, but declares to be both possible
and essential, Of taking storm at its
earliest appearance, and not losing sight
OF 1t for one moment until it is known
throughout its whole extent, in all its parts,
from beginning to end. This seems reasona.
BILE; and it certainly is the perfection of in.
ductiye investigation. Observation upon this
system through twenty.four years has led
Professor Blasius to the conclusion TINT
storms are Of three kinds, and he
Classics them thus: l.. Local aor yer.
teal storms, which are produced by
tendency of the atmosphere to re.
establish in q vertical direction az equi.
hbrium that has been disturbed, the charac'
teristic cloud being the cumulus. 2. Pro-
gressiye or lateral storms, LIE result OF ten
dency to reastablish in q lateral direction
disturbed eqaAibrium, the characteristic
cloud being the Stratus. 3. Diagonal storms,
which travel locally and are Influenced by
the confguration OF the ground, of which
tornadOes, hatlstorms, water.spouts, and the
like. are examples the characteristic cloud
being the conus. The direction of these last,
a most terrible and destructive storms, be
finds to be the dagonaiof the two opposing
currents by which they are produced. II
d will be remarked that the character and
form Of. the clouds which ill the sky
I at any given time are,l according to
! this system of observation, most i'm
porant to the conclusions to be
8 drawn. This is directly at variance with
the general mode OF meteorological obserya-
tion. in which the, barometer is looked to as
almost the only guide. Professor BIasius's
method takes US back to the old weather
wisdom; built Is act the worse on that &C.
count. 1t is certainly in accordance with
- the reign OF law that the forces OF nature
should show like indications under like cir
cumstances, and Professor Blasius has only
TO watch and record TO establish bis more in
teres.ips and picturesque theory. But of
this we may be sure, that upon one system
or uDon the other Sr nrnre .nroh.hlu ,,non