The Portland daily press., 1876-02-21
THE FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
MeteOrOIOgy.

MeteOrOlOgy.
1t is to be regretted that the study of me-
teorology is so generally overlooked in our
systems of home and school instruction. In
its broadcast sense, this science embraces all
the terrestrial and atmospherical phenomena
occasional and constant, which are intimate
ly related to heat, light, electricity and mag
netism. In this extended Specification, it in
cludes not only portion of physical geogra-
ply, and the far distant realm of the stars,
but also those intermediate conditions and
changes which belong to climatology. All of
this is useful. and essential to complete ed
ucation; but hardly to be compassed by the
ordinary student Confning the term there
fore to its original meaning, as descriptive of
those things In the air, which we see daily
and continually and no reason can be given
why every district scholar, and every farmer,
should not be familiar with their diversified
phenomena which are so closely connected
with the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and
which have such an important influence over
them.
With the single exception of the mariner,
no man among men needs so much to be able
to foretell the changes of the weather, and to
anticipate the consequences, as the husband
man-as large part of the profit or loss of
farming, depends upon the exercise of skill,or
the lack of it, in this very direction. The
questions, When shall / SOW, or gather into
barns? What precautions shall take, or
what protection provide for man or beast?
and others of a similar character, are contin-
ualy presenting themselves and cannot be de-
cided without well founded judgment.
The man whose weather-wisdom is based up.
on profound and intimate acquaintance
with the laws of nature, may confidently
look for success in his agricultural operations;
while on the other hand the man who is ig-
norant, or regardless of them. or who believes
in the moon and old wives fables, will ordi-
narily suffer loss.
Some one has said, "That the shepherd,
whose sole business it is to observe what has
reference to the flock under his care, who
spends all his days and many of his nights
in the open air, under the wide spread can
opy of heaven, is obliged to take particular
notice of the alterations of the weather, and
when he cares to take pleasure in making
such observations, it is amazing how much
progress he makes in them, and TO how
great certainty he arrives at last by mere
dint of comparing signs and events and con-
Meeting one observation with another. Every
thing in time becomes to him weather.
gauge; the sun, the moon, the stars, the
clouds, the winds, the mists, the trees, the
flowers, the herbs, and almost every insect,
animal and reptile with which he is ac-
quainted-all these become to such person
instruments of real knowledge" All this is
true of the farmer, and more; as he has
larger range of employment and therefore
wider opportunities for observation-we
merely propose however to call attention to
narrower sphere of instruction-but still I'M
llmited-in the broad panorama that each
day unfolds in the grand and stately march
of the clouds above his head. The clouds
not only bear the storm along the sky, but
as avant-couriers announce its coming; and
are ever ready to communicate the desired
information to the inquiring and discerning
eye.
We are not able to give any simpler or
more rational theory of the laws that govern
storms, than that advanced by Prof Blasius,
a learned German who has recently pub
lished the results of his twenty-five years
observation and experiences His conclu-
sions are that:
ct ha of
currents of air-one cold, the other warm
or one polar, the other equatorial.
2. Most of the winter storms are produced
by the warm equatorial current moving north,
and climbing over the cold polar current.
These all come from the southern semi-circle
Of sky,
3. Most Of the summer storms are pro-
duced by the cold polar current moving
south, pushing the warm equatorial current
before it, These come from the northern
semi-circle.
A. The place of meeting of the two cur
rents is the area of calm, and of low barome-
ter. The opposing currents neutralize each
other, produce calm, heat the air by fric-
ton (and perhaps electricity, and the bar
ometer falls.
8. The region of high barometer is that of
either current before it meets opposition.
The reign of highest barometer is that of the
coolest current, because the air is heavier
than that of the warm current and exerts
more pressure.
6. The gradient is the slope of one cur
rent over the other. In the winter it is very
gradual, because the warm current is the
aggressor, and slopes far over the cold one.
In summer it is sleeper, because the cold
current banks up against the warm one, and
cannot climb over it, for its great weight.
The rain area is all under the slope.
These conclusions are based upon the fol-
lowing observations.
The evidences of opposing currents are
clouds. There are no storms Except in des-
erts) without clouds. They form, whenever
a warm current meets cold one, which con-
denses its vapor or when warm current
rises perpendicularly to cold region. The
equatorial current, sloping far over the polar,
as in winter, develops its own vapor in thin
stripes, the stratus, which are the precursors
of winter storm. The polar current, push
ing back the equatorial, as in summer, con-
denses the vapor of the latter in heavy
masses, the cumulus. If when we have
gentle north wind we see thin stripes arising
in the south and climbing northward thicker
and broader, as in winter, we know that
northeast storm is coming. 1t may oscillate
back before reaching the zenith, in which
case it is put off for twelve or twenty-four
hours, but it is sure to retu m. If storm
passes over us, comes back and clears of in
the north our next change will come from
the south as before. If it passes entirely
over and clears from the south, our next
change will be from the north. If in sum-
mer we see long, low bank of cumulus
cloud arise in the north, when the wind is
southerly, and advance slowly against the
wind, a southeast storm is coming. The less
wind there is with us, the more probably
will it burst over our heads. If there is a
dead calm, so much the more probability of
Al Lii T