The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-14
A SCIENTIFIC. NUISANCE.

A SCIENTIFIC NUISANCE.
1t might have been supposed that the es-
Enlistment of the Signal-service Bureau for
the sole purpose of heralding atmospheric
changes in advance of their occurrence would
eliminate the weather as a subject of CONVEX
sation from general society. It having been
determined by scientific observation and cal
culation that the temperature of the day was
to be of certain degree, that the barometer
was high or low, that rain or snow, or sunny
Skies as the case might be, was to be ex-
pected-the exact condition of the atmosphere
having been announced by bulletin or morn
ing papers, it might be thought that the ques-
ton was taken out of the field Of discussion
and speculation. The settlement of the
weather problem by official proclamation each
day seemed, to hopeful minds, reason why
it should be dismissed from the consideration
Of civilians and amateurs. Were their hopes
realized2 Far from it, Do we not talk
about the weather far more than
was the case when each man was his own
prophet, and when what he knew Of the APP
proach of cold or warm "wave" was gained
by a squint at the sky or sniff Of the air when
the wave was at handa Then each one made
his own prediction, and if subsequent occur
rences verified it, SO much the more did he
enjoy the weather that came, be it never so
cold or stormy. Those who made no preten-
sions to weather-wisdom went on their way in
serene Inconsistencies OF the approach of
blizzard or blast from the tropics They
shiyered before the one when it came, and
sweltered under the other, comparatively
cheerful, however, in the hope that it would
last but day. Though arctic or torrid tenn
perature fingered for weeks their ignorance
of it's probable duration helped to keep the
hope of speedy relief alive, and thus assisted
in making the unpleasant period endurable.
Now all this is changed. The Signal-service
stations have but to report that biz
Yard is bearing down upon US from the
Northwest, and, though it be forty-eight
hours distant, the air, balmy as May mo-
ment before, instantly grows chill. We
would enjoy that mild day if were not for the
assurance that zero came after. We look anx-
iously at the flagstaff, and, seeing the omin-
Gus black banner, straightway feel that frost
is nipping us, and shiyer of the spine brings
the conviction that the coming storm is to be
very severe and disagreeable one, indeed.
We talk it over with our neighbors; we study
indications" and learning that no change for
the better is to be looked for before the end Of
week, we despair. Finally the expected
visitation comes, the mercury drops-further,
| it may be, than had been announced-but we
manage to get along with tolerable degree OF
| comfort-much greater, in fact, than had
been expected, though it would be greater
still if we did not know precisely how
| long it must be before q change
would come. Or perhaps after all
the warnings, the threatened blizzard
! fails to arrive-the most scientific weather
sharps are not infallible-and the various
| ''wayes" roll about at times in an erratic way,
not previously outlined in any charts. In
either case, we have suffered, in anticipation,
more chills and twinges than the actual ar.
rival Of an unheralded old-style s'cold-snap'
would have brought us.
The Signal Service may be great boon te
farmers, shippers and business men generally;
doubtless it is, though to casual observer il
doest not appear that since the advent of ths
J bureau fewer cattle are frozen to death on the