Los Angeles herald., 1891-02-17
THE SEASONS RAIN.
DROPS PRECIOUS AS GOLD TO ALL
THE STATE,
Crops Saved from the Straits of Fuca
All the Way to the Mexican Line by the
Downpour.

Very early in the season Professor
Finley, signal service officer at San
Francisco, issued very learned dis
QUESTION on the outlook for rain for the
season. 1t was not one to create much
confidence. The gentleman is most pro-
foundly informed as to the workings OF
the important bureau which he repre-
sents but being a newcomer to the
coast, he is not we'll posted by expert
ence in the customary conduct oi
California weather, and still less so in
the vagaries of the weather for which
California is noted.
At the time, and frequently since
then, the HERALD took occasion
to point out the encouraging
facts that late rains in this state are
worth twice as much as early ones, and
that the late rains never fail, or so rarely
SO that the law can be very generally
depended on.
This is matter people cannot trust
their memory for. There is no trick oi
memory, or rather OF forgetting, so de-
ceptive as the facility with which the
ordinary mind lets go Of its hold on the
facts as to what the weather was in
some former year. Yesterday the wri-
ter ventured to express his opinion,
based on the experience of twenty-six
winters, that March is pretty sure to
develop fair amount of precipitation
in California, and particularly in the
southern end Of the state. A bystandei
instanced last year as one in
which March was very dry.
He was dead wrong. There were several
nice rains last year in March. The
HERALD speaks by the record. Inlfour-
teen years there have been but one that
was nearly dry. There were two others
when the precipitation was not heavy,
but the rule is for March to give down
from an inch and half to five or six
inches of rain. February is less to be
relied on, many years being credited
with very little rain in that month.
January is the only month in the year
as certain as March.
The current season is likely to prove
the most nearly perfect on record, as to
weather. The rains prior to the turn of
the year were not heavy; nor is it at all
desirable they should be. The last
week in September developed about
one>tenth of an inch of rain, falling in
half dozen days. 1t was merely show
ers which laid the dust and purified the
air. The same remarks apply to October,
which gave two showers on the 9th and
10th. In the first week of October there
were two similar showers of very slight
volume. Thus up to the end of Novem-
Der the rainfall was a mere bagatelle,
made up of beggarly account OF dust
laying showers. The closing month of
the year came to the front with total
of 2.S2 inches of rain, falling on seven
different days, but most of it fell be-
tween the 4th and 9th OF the month. On
the 10th and Goth was another rain, and
the month closed with the third storm,
small one. The new year came, and
the total precipitation of the season was
only 2.5S inches of rain. The December
precipitations were just sufficient to start
the grass. That is an ideal record, such
as few seasons could match. If all the
years could be depended on for similar
dispensation in the way of rain, our eli
mate would be even more admirable
than it is.
On the sixth OF January came quar-
ter OF an inch of rain. February opened
in perfect order with thirty-six hun
dredths of an inch on the second and
twenty-eight hundredths on the third.
On the sixth the clouds returned and
gave down thirteen hundredths of an
inch, and on the sixteenth, yesterday
morning, the storm OF the season began,
which lasted up to last night. At $
O'Clock yesterday evening the downpour
was total OF 2.76 inches, and the total
for the season to that hour was 6.35
inches. Thus, February gives total of
3.54 inches, and February and January
have $40 inches out of the total of 6.35
inches for the season. The position al
ways taken by the HERALDis that rain be-
fore the first of December is detriment
rather than benefit to this section that
December rains are of rather question
able benefit; that an inch Of rain in JAN
uary is better than two inches in Decem-
ber, and that an inch in February or
March is still better than in January.
These rules are subject to modification
according to the features OF the season.
If heavy rain starts the grass and
grain, it would be bad thing to have
the next rain hold off too long. This
would be intensified were dry north
winds to develop and sap the soil OF
moisture.
Another weather canon OF the HERALD
is that 10 inches OF rain, OF which q or Z
inches fall after the 1st Of January, are
ample to produce excellent crops in this
section. After several years Of
abnormal precipitation even less rain
under the same conditions nswlll do. The
present season is very likely to develop
Just such fall of rain. There needs
only 8. 65 inches more to fall to give us
just ten inches. OF this two-thirds
would be late rains, and do the maxi
mum ofgood.
As the matter stands today, since the
end of last March, nearly full year,
there have not been to exceed twenty
five days on which a trace of rain fell,
and of these twenty-five days there we're
not more than seven which developed
rain Of more volume than shower.
TOURISTS RECEIVED.