Richland beacon., 1877-02-10
Can We Control the Weather!

In a comparatively recent number Of Lip
pircous Magazine appeared the following
Interesting article on this subject:
/ The old fantastic notions that prevail every
where in the infancy of.civiliza'ion gradually
give Place TO the conviction of human reSpol.-
sibility as The Mid in its development, adj
vances from simplicity to complexty. The
savage, through his ignorance Of natural laws.
Is everywhere at the mercy of the elements.
Nature seems inlmical To his peace and
happiness. He is scorched by the summer 5
heat and chilled 10y the winters cold; he
suffers from hunger, wild bel,ts devour him.
the simplest maladies are beyond his control,
and few miles OF water impose an irnpass
able barrier TO his misratons. The history
of the development Of man from the savage
10 the civilized state is the history of the de>
velopmeht of. new functions or powers, and
the sense Of personal responsibility increases
in a direct ratio herewith Formerly man
felt little or no selfreproach when the young
and vigorous were stricken down by disease.
when death invariably followed a severed
artery, when pestience ragged. when iamines
decimated communities; even grea, contagra
tions and bloody wars were consi Iered the
whom man might not re!aiI except in rare
instances, through long surplicaton> TO exeter
pity, or through sacrifices to appease their
wrath. The tendency of the cultivated intel
iigence is ever more TO find the causes of
wars, famincs. pes,ilences, poverty, crime,
intemperance and all evils rather in our own
ignorance Of natural laws than in the anger
or caprice of divin,ies. Lord PsIm-rston is
l,<..l
Glasgow, who prayed for the appointment Of
day Of fasting and prayer to avert the
spread of cholera: -Gentemen, the white
wash brush has been found more effective"
Is ii possible that man, whose genius has
filled the world with comforts and luxuries
through labor-saving machinery. tanned the
strongest animals, and made them do his
bidding, chained the giant steam, and CON-
PEELED il to carry his railway trains and ships
over all the earth, and even made the light.
ming his obedient messenger-is it possible
that lie must forever continue to see his fair
fields, his promise-laden harvests, bIighted by
drouths and floods, by armies Of devouring
insects. and by untmeiy fros's! Ii must be
that he is destined to grappls and conquer this
problem as he has grapped and conquered
others; and in the establishment Of weather
bureaus in this and other countries a grand
step has been made toward the conditions for
the solution. We shall by and by possess an
uninterrupted line Of teIegrapbc cornmunica-
ton around the globe and then the phlIc-ophy
Of the tides and the rise and progress of
storms can be studied as'never before.
We know how persistent is the belief
among the people that tue weather may he
foretod. Steinmetz in his admirable work,
Sunshine and Showers" says that "io doubt
that science Of the weather is possible is TO
doubt that atmospheric disturbances are gov
erned 10y fixed laws; and he has so far mas
tered the science that lie advocates the use Of
the hygrometer, j! for no other motive, to
avoid the wear and tear of umbrellas by
carrying them when not needed. He relies
upon this instrument. in connection with the
evaporation guage, for his predictions; and
he says that since using them be has never
been cangbt in showers without an umbrella,
nor been inconvenienced by carrying one
when not needed. This is important, for,
aside from its Inconvenience, an umbrella
costs more than an ordinary bygrometer,
which consists only OF two common ther.
nometers hing side by side, one having its
bulb encased in piece Of thin muslin which
ends in cup Of water. When the air is
dry the evaporation from the muslin will be
rapid. This will cool tue mercury and con-
dense il. When the atmosphere is absolutely
saturated with moisture-which case some>
times occurs-the two thermometers will
mark the same degree Of temperature.
When the air is very dry the difference will
lie considerable; and at any time the differ
ence, doubled and snbtracted from the lower
degree, will approximately show the dew
point. When this difference is beyond FIVE
degrees there is very little probability Of rain.
however cloudy the sky may be; but when
the difference is less, and especially if there
should he but the slightest fall of the mercury
in the dry bulb thermometer, heavy showers
are imminent Often in dry weather our
rain hearing clouds remain for hours just on
the point Of condensation. A slight fall Of
temperature is needed to effect this. In Rus
sia. during the cold ,f winter, il window in
a crowded ball room be suddenly opened, the
company are surprised by fall Of snow in the
room, covering them with fakes just as though
they were out Of doors. The cause is the
sudden condensation and fruezing Of the
varor IA Tie Ivcin Cy the influx Vi cold air.