The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1879-06-26
A PHENOMENAL SEASON.

A PHENOMENAL SEASON.
SOME REMARKS ON THE PRESENT, AMI
PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE.
Hiawatha Correspondent Champion, June IA.
Jupiter Pluvius is certainly boss OF
the weather in Brown county now.
Since the sixth we have had rain every
day, except last Sunday, when it merely
threatened us here and rained off to-
wards the railroad center" Monday
threatened us with tornado, but let us
of with a rain at night. Tuesday night
at eleven O'Clock Brown county took her
children in her arms and went to the
cellar. On the twelfth we had storm
from four p. m. to 6 p. m, attended
with king'1ightning-that is, light
ming that comes to the earth. The rain
fall was very large, and during the
storm the wind shifted to nearly every
point of the compass. Yesterday at one
O'Clock p. m. it came ON us again from
the northwest, and in ordinary seasons
it would be called deluge. AT six
O'Clock p. m. it struck us again from the
southwest, and the rain fell in torrents
for about an hour. At eleven o'clock
last night. however, the big rain of the
season fell, also from the southwest.
The Oldest man alive never saw it rain
harder. The wind was very high, and it
seemed as if the windows would give
way from the pressure Of water against
them. This morning good, old-fash-
toned, gentle, soaking shower set in at
half past five, and it is keeping it up at
this writings a. IN.
Editors, l suppose, keep all of those
things that others should keep in their
scrap-boOks and will ask you to repro
duce that which was current early in the
spring, or perhaps in the winter, in re-
gard to the violence of meteorological
phenomena for this year. 1t was said
that great cyclones and tornadocs would
prevail, in parts Of the earth, while dis
tressing drouths would prevail in others
and oil this in consequence of some
conjunction or opposition of planets.
l do not know the merits of this sort of
prophecy, but this is certain-it has
been well fulfilled in Kansas. We have
had pinching spring drouth, sufficient
to greatly injure small grain. When we
have storm, we have one of greater
violence than usual. higher winds, more
lightning, more hail, and more rain than
usual. observe one thing peculiar to
this season. Nearly half of the storms
rise in the Southwest thing unprece-
dcnted. Again, they come up with the
wind, whereas the average summer
storm comes up against it. As this can
not last ii is highly probable that it will
end with a considerable degree of
drouth. According to the doctrine of
sequences in meteorological phenomena
it is about time for us to expect dry
spell. The excess of water pumped up,
upon the plains and mountain slopes,
should ose-of-the-.June-risc
for-lS79 begin descent to its minimum.
space the words to indicate that there
is little doubt as to when it will begin
because | do not know that the excess
sive pumping up closes with this year,
and as the almanac-lnakers allow them
selves margin of day or two by
saying:
About-this-tSm -look-Out-foi-r rain, 4"
| ask the same margin in months. The
history Of Kansas drouths begins in 1888,
SO far as | can trace; the next one
was in l843; the next one was in
lS47; the next in 1854; the next in
1850; the next in 1864 the next in 1870
and then came 1874; and the next in
this order of sequences, will lie between
August first, 1879, and August first,
1880. Ii does not follow that decline
in the rainfall to about sixty per cent. of
the average, As will most probably occur
in that interval, will make famine
year. We all know that for crop pur-
poses light rains, well distributed, serve
An excellent purpose.
Again, crops have been hurt by pinch
oftwO or three weeks dry weather oc-
curing at critical period.
The three consecutive dry years, SO,
"a and IS, were by no means famine
years. 1854 was very dry on the lower
plains, and it extended to Illinois, but
crops were raised at Iowa Mission and
on the Platte Purchase. in Missouri.
that were vastly better than the Illinois
crops.
The prudent farmer should move eau
tiously for the ensuing year. He should
diversity his crops, pillow deep, and in
the fall where it is possible. should
not invest spare money in stock this fall
unless l could hold crop TO feed it, l
should not be in great hurry to dis
pose Of this years corn crop, if able to
hold il until the next is in sight Yet
remember this is merely precautionary.
and pretty good advice for all seasons.
am confident our fall of water will go |
short when the present deluge ends.
think it will end soon. II cannot hurt
crops here seriously if il should not rain
in six months : it may be that the short
age will be SO distributed as to make all |
our burdens as light rs they were in "a
md 20.
Before closing this for the mail | note
hat Mt ten O'Clock Il. IN. the sky is clear.
md the wind from the south and hot.
Of course the rainy spell cannot close
with this. The saturated earth must
yield to the air again portion of its
moisture. And this being now borne
up the hill must return again in storm
,r shower. Another portion flows into
he Missouri and '.rolls down to the
'ea''-lost to us for this year. How
title this at time may be judged from
he fact that our local june storms prac-
ically add nothing to the June rise At