Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-26
WIN
Fosters Predictions as to the
Cotton Crop Were Right.
WILL NOT EXCEED LAST YEARS
The Early Gathering Makes the Crop APP
pear Larger Than 1T Is-Next Year
WIN be Famous Drouth
Year With IL Hot Summer.


Special 10 the Gazette.
ST.. JOSEPH, Mo Nov. 20.-Our astrono-
mers have divided the year into four Sea-
sons, and they give December 2lst Us the
beginning of winter, and, except IN the eX-
IRENE Northern parts OF the
United States and in the most elevated
mountain ranges we seldom have real WIN
ter before the middle of December, While
the middle of November is quite early for
winter weather in the great valleys along
the 10th deg. Of north latitude.
predicted that winter weather would
occur in the northern mountains early IN
October, and that it would gradually spread
to the valleys earlier than usual. Care
less newspaper editors have commented on
this so as to make the impression that
predicted winter TO begin all over the coun-
try in October. The middle of November
would be very, and November p. unusually,
early for real winter in the middle lati-
tudes of the United States, and there is
ample time after these dates for long hard
winter.
Some Of the cotton planters and dealers,
for a time, regarded my prediction that the
cotton crop this year would not exceed that
of last year as mistake, but they now see
that was right Early frosts, extremes
of weather, excessive rains and excessive
drouths have each taken a hand in cutting
down what at one time promised to be the
largest crop ever grown, and now the.crop
is reported as being less than that OF last
year.
Expecting an early winter and the
weather being dry and favorable for pick
ing, the planters have made unusual speed
in gathering their cotton, and this has
thrown the cotton so rapidly into the mar
kets that New York and English specula-
tors have made use of it to depress the
prices, claiming that the crop was the lar
gest ever grown. Cotton picking is about
over and there is great and sudden fall
ing off in the number of bales taken to mar
ket. After criticising my predictions as to
damages that would surely result to the
cotton crop the dealers and planters noE
see that | was right.
To some extent the same is true of the
e6ffhs<ya9a. Farmers anticipated an early
winter ana SfzsanS. the gathering, which
,smsskss the crop appeal lesyasss6aS il is,
and SpeSu3Ators are using this to depfesss
the prices. Neulis time nearly all the corn
is cribbed and the%eaIton ginned fully four
weeks earlier than fSoal. The crops are
good, but not so great as Npresented.
These preliminaries open the way for 4
very important long-range forecast, and
make it this early in order that%planters,
farmers and local dealers may hav1the ad-
yantageyof it, A serious drouth WIN aAect
the crops in the cotton states dSheSo 9th
half OF the corn belt next year. This 5dta&
will not be ;general over the dyDuthl distrl4ss
mentioned, above, but wilsbccusT in Wy
larg@ spots along and soutAhbf ting 4Oth eeS.
of north latitude. The sane lntpencei4hat
caused the drouth thiSsfall WI be much;
greater during the Hpp- growing saeason
next year. The storms eentersss WI cross
the continent far TO the north, as1they have
for three months past, and this invariably
causes drouth and very hot weather south
IF the TRACKS The heaviest
next year will occur in the highlands and
near the 45th deg. of north latitude.
Those who were reading my weather
letters in 1890 will remember that pre-
dicted good crops for the United States for
1891, except in the extreme north and the
extreme southwest Next summer Will Ges
as excessively warm as the past spring and
summer, prior to August, were excessively
cool.
My last letter gave forecasts OF the storm
wave due to cross the continent from 18th to
21st, and the next will leave the Pacific
coast about the end, cross the great central
valleys from 23rd to 18th, and reach the
Atlantic coast about the 18th This storm
will be at its greatest force on the Atlantic
coast about the Goth and will be OF much
more Importance in the Eastern than In the
Western states. Dlsagreeable, cold weather
will follow this disturbance, and severe
gales. possibly blizzard. The blizzard
follows the storm center and IS usually
behind the storm center one or two days.
The wintry weather will be more severe
following the next disturbance.
During drouths, such as occurred during
this fall, the effects OF storm waves are not
so noticeable as when the rain or snow sea-
son comes in, and while the storms are run
ming far to the north, some DO not under
stand the utility OF my forecasts. But the
storm center, although thousand miles
away, is still the key to the weather, and
the temperature, direction of the wind and
the force change as the storm moves east
ward during drouth, and the storm waves
move across the continent just as regularly
during drouth as at any other time.
SCIENCE NOTES.
Cholera, smallpox. sunstroke, the grip,
yellow fever, dlptheria and other epidemic
diseases affecting man; hog cholera, pink
eye, Texas fever and other diseases Affect
ing the lower animals, are periodic, caused
by the changed condition OF our atmosphere,
brought about by sudden increase OF cleo
tricity, caused by the position OF the plan
cts Jupiter and Saturn.
will not undertake to discuss all these
diseases nor all the epidemic positions of
these two great planets. Saturn occupies
six of these positions in 2919 years, three OF
which are easily traced IN historical Stats
tics, and Jupiter occupies four OF these po-
sitions in Ills years, two OF which cause
important epidemicS.