The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-04-30

WAsnrSGrox. April 81. 1879.

mysterious parsonage "Oid proo5'
becomes possessed of this fore-knowl-
edge OF the cJming weather.
Being elan inquisitive tara of mind,
| wandered into the Chief Signal or
ics where these forecasts are made,
aud to my great satisfaction | met
my old friend DR.. Pe"rad. from
st ystown, who 10 one the wealth
err observers on duty there.
The Signal Service is a branch OF
the War Department snk is composed
of a corps of four hundred and fifty
men specially instructed for this
work, which they perform uader the
guidance of the Chief Signal Officer,
General Albert J. Myer. The ain
aim Of the service is to give protee-
tion to commerce, by warnings, on
all the 50. coasts OF the United States,
and Il he shores of the lakes to
wa.ch the river changes along their
courses 10 the great river valleys F; to
note at seasons the temperatures at
fecting calsl commerce; u carry
telegraph lines by which meteorolog-
ical reporte may be had owe regions
considered impracticable for such
construction ; to maintain q system
Of connected stations on the sea . /;
to take charge of the recognized sys-
em VI voluntary mete geological OBJ
servations on this continent 10 addi-
tion to the regular system Of the ser
vice 10 aid dirs city all tie farming
population ia the harvesting of their
crop (, aud finally, t. put lu The pow
er OF every citlzsn IT, know, each day,
with reasonable accuracy the ap-
proacbIag weather changes.
To carry out this design. observing
sIations have been established 10 all
parts Of this eouutry, aud III each
one, acafeful watch is KEEP of the
weather Each station is furnished
with carefully compared aud accurate
Instruments, and the greatest care
and accuracy is required in the taking
of observations. Three observations
at intervals of eight hours are tekeu
daily at the same moment Wash.
layton time and Immediately tele-
grsphed to the central Office at Wash.
ington, aud it is from the Information
received from these reports that the
indications are made up As soon
as received at the ofice 10 Washing
TOD, the reports are spread upou
charts prepared for the purpose, and
by q careful study of these charts the
Chief Signal Officer is able to make
his forecasts. The promptness with
which this work is performed is as
tonisbing. In two hours time the
reports from oyer one hundred aud
fifty odd stations are RECEIVED, spread
upon the charts, the deductions made
aud teiegFsphed all over the country.
The Doctor is in robust health, but
is minus an arm, which be lost a little
over q year ago, from en- injury re.
ceived in New York city, from being
blown from the roof Of his Office dur
ing a severe storm in 1876. The loss
vi The member don't seem to bother
him much 10 the discharge of bis du-
ties, and 10 fact be says the loss of
his arm is a good barometer, and as
serts that the cid one-armed and oue-
legged veterans would make The best
kind of observers, as they would al
ways have their weather indicator
with them.
The brilliant paper Of DR.. Mitchell,
read before the Academy of Sciences,
at their meeting 10 this city q few
days ago, on the Influence OF storms
and magnetic elecLrition GA neural
gle pain, is Of Interest 10 this conuec-
zion.
The points of Or. Mitchell's essay
are as follows;
Captain CstiiD, United States
Army, loss a leg during the war, aud
SINCE that time has suffered from
traumatic neuralgia, sometimes in
he heel, but more frequently in the
toes. of the ahseGt foot. He has car
fully noted the effects produced on
himself by changes Of the weather
DR.. Mitehell's own studies in this
case, as be says, "would never have
proved successful had il not been for
be usual ability, interest 10 the task,
aud perseverance ut the accomplish
ed gentlepal Who uss oprgedme by
making his own torments useful ID
the ISOLATION of the question Of how
far weather affects The production Of
certain kinds of psiu.n
The hourly observations cover a
par,93 o, FIVE wears. For the lst quar-
ters OF these ave yssfs tbere sere
All hours OF pain for 'he secoud
quarters. 2,l02 bcufs for ibe third
quarters, 2.656 honrs; end for the
last quarters, 2,2al hours. The best
yield Of pain is 10 January, Febrc.
AIRY anil March, aud ihe poorsst ip
the third quarters, July, August and
September. During these Eve years,
while the sun was south of the Equa-
tor there were 4 e92 hours of pain,
against 4,i5s hoprs While it was
north of the Equator ; and the grGa,:
est spougt OF bais vas 10 the quar-.
tiers beginning with the Winter sol
stiee, aud The least was 10 those bs
with the Summer solstioe.
The average duration Of the attacks
ior the first quarters was p hours,
and for the third 1uarters bhIy iI.9l
BY taking the four years radiag
j January l, 1879, it is found that of
Inc rs, storms charted by the Signal
Bureau, 29s belong TO tbe two Win.
ter quarters, against 239 for the Sum.
quarters. Hence we have the
of the number Of stor#s al The
Winter quarters and Summer quar-
tiers corresponding to the fslio Of the
amount of neuralgia for these respect
i've periods, and the ratio of average
duration Of each attack for the same
time corresponds closely With the
retio Of the respective total amounts
af renraigla fdr the ssme periods
The average distance Of the storm
st the beginning Of the
neuralgia attacks was
$50 miles. Storms coming from the
sosst aFs fslt f4-.best CT,
very soon after, or as they are lros
'ing the Rocky Mountsins,n while