News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-08-08
THE PHENOMENAL WEATHER
Wherein Some People are Mistaken
in Regard to 1t.

Many are inclined to regard the wei
spring and summer of 1889 as unprece
dented, but this is q mistake. The
rainfall since January exceeds the aver
age by 1908 inches, and has probably
been greater than in any year since the
establishment of the Weather Bureau
and the compilation of accurate statis-
| tics; but in the spring and early summer
of 1859, Just thirty years ago, there oo-
CURED thirty-nino consecutive days dur
ing which rain fell at some hour of the
day, and during that entire period c
sun never shone clear of the clouds fo1
two hours at q time. But there are
records of much heavier rainfalls than
even the above, just as there are records
of the most extraordinary and pro
tracted dry spells, when all nature was
parched, and the springs and water
COURSES -eeesed- -fer-months and even
years to yield necessary supplies. Still
the public is probably content with the
magnitude of recent experiences in the
way of showers, and does not want an
increase.
What causes these phenomenal cloud
bursts is mystery. 1t is claimed that
sun spots exercise a direct influence up
ON the weather, and that large one is
at present visible on the surface of that
luminary. The Weather Bureau denies
this, but the Weather Bureau itself is
not infallible. So long as we are ignor-
ant OF the causes of these spots. and un-
able to determine their effect upon the
earth, persons are at liberty to advance
the sun-spot hypothesis in default of a
better. There can be no doubt that the
sun itself has direct influence upon
the temperature, and consequently the
comparative dryness or wetness OF the
seasons, and there is no good reason
why unusual processes taking place in
that orb may not also exert an influence
one way or the other. A vast number
OF people imagine that the moon affects
the weather. Here, too, the Signal
Corps comes in as an obiector and with
more reason. About one-half of the
advocates of the moon theory say that
1t will pour when that orb is on her back
with her horns pointing upward, be-
cause, as they say, "she is choke full of
water; while the other half claim that
1t will rain when her horns are pointed
downward, because, as they say, "she is
going to empty herself" Obviously,
one or the other set of theorists must be
wrong, and it is natural to infer that
Doth are, as neither can give sound
reason for the faith that is in them.
But, theory or no theory, the rain
continues to fall. July has been in
hinlteIy worse than her predecessors of
che year. Not only is there Immediate
danger from floods, rs the sad expert
ence OF the past two months has clearly
proven, but the action of this pheno-
menal volume of water on the beds of
railroads and the contiguous .embank.
ments, must make travelling more or
less insecure. The utmost vigilance
cannot always provide against accidents
while such weather lasts, and the COM
panies should be doubly careful in MAX
ing inspections.
Nor are the floods and the dangers to
the railroad tracks the only misfortuncs
that follow in the wake of these remark
able downpours. Farming operations
IN many parts OF tie State have been
over and over again suspended. Corn
and tobacco have both been planted
late, and in many places these crops
have been washed out or drowned, while
IN not few very small proportion of a
crop has been cultivated. Wheat har-
vest has been delayed or interrupted,
and much of the wheat that has been
stacked will sprout or rot before tllresh-
ing begins. Vegetables and fruits have
in like proportion been damaged by the
rains, and the losses of the farmers-the
men who are least able to bear disaster
will amount in the aggregate to many
millions of dollars. 1t may be some
consolation to those who lose, that what
they have left will probably bring higher
Baltimore American.