The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-27
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS,

AUSTIN, TEX, Dec s, 1891.
The plan Of the experiments conducted In
Texas by Gen. Dyrenforth aud party may
be briefly described as an imitation of a
battle. The theory was that a battle was
almost invariably followed by rain, and the
plan OF the experiments was, in the gener-
ais own words, ''ro initiate the effects of a
great battle as nearly as possible" This
was entirely unscientific. Nature cannot
answer clearly when a number of questions
are put to her at once. The proper plan
was not to mix up the different elements
which exist In battle, but to try the
effects of the elements singly. The
questions which ought to have been put to
nature are-First: what is the effect of
smoke by itself!" Second: what is the
effect of conclusion by itself 2" Third
what is the effect of an ascending current
OF air free as much as possible from smoke
or concuSsionp AS regards the first ques-
ton it ought to have been known 70 man
commissioned to make such experiments
that Aitken Of Scotland had demonstrated
by experiments on a small scale that rain
drops do not form even in saturated air I'M
less particles are present to act as nuclei
Hence the air may often be saturated
but no rain fell merely from the want
OF smoke particles upon which to con-
dense. The fall Of the rain will not in
general follow Immediately on the produc-
ton OF smoke because the air may not then
be saturated, and the sequence of this rain
some time after the battle point to smoke
as the active element. have been in,
formed by Gov. Lubbock, who was COVER
nor OF Texas during the war, that a crank
wrote to him asking for a supply of gun
powder, as he had invented machine for
scattering the smoke IN order to produce
rain. He was informed that all the gun
powder was needed for different purpose
and was asked whether he was sure that he
or thn affRa Aws,, "a u
seems to me that this crank would have
made better use Of the $1,000 than has
been made by the Dyrenforth party,
From the account given of the operations
in the North american Reuietc one may
doubt whether the general understands the
nature OF sounds. 1t is supposed that warm
and cold currents of air in the atmosphere
may be mixed by making big noise. Now,
sound speaks out by a wave motion of the
air, the particles themselves performing
only small excursion; and even the sound
produced by great explosion dies away at
small distance in the air. Nothing inn
presses one more at the top of the Eiffel
tower than the great silence. Observations
at the tower have shown that there may be
warm currant Of air above while there Is
colder current over the city; could such
currents be mixed the mixture might be
saturated, but the mixture cannot be made
by explosions produced on the ground.
Whether such currents can be mixed suffi-
GENTLY TO start a rain by making an explo-
sion near the boundary between the cur
rent or by establishing a vertical current
are important practical questions, but no
conclusive information has been obtained
from the experiments made in Texas.
A. MACFARLANE.
do not believe that a shower can be pro.
duced by the disturbance of the air caused by
ryhi rh
whether the explosive be a solid, liquid or
combination of gases. If the particles of
water which are distributed through the cir
happen in certain isolated instances to be on
the point Of agglomerating the disturbance
of the air may facilitate the process and a
few drops heavy enough to fall be
formed, but by no means in sufficient
number to cause a shower, 80 that so far as
the noise was concerned the most of Gen.
Dyrenforth's efforts were in vain. Since
gases In expanding absorb heat, aEd since
the cooling of a vapor causes it to oondense,
If large quantities of hot gas are introduced
into the atmosphere it may be that sufficient
condensation will he caused to produce a
precipitation. 1t is my opinion, however,
that the results would be far TOO meager to
justify the expense.
The most plausible method is. undoubt-
eddy, as Prof. Blake of Kansas has sug-
gested-to introduce into the atmosphere
large QuduDlIleS Oh minute SOnQ particles
which may serve as centers for the forma-
ton of drops of water from the extremely
minute vaporous particles which are sus-
pended in the air. These solid particles can
be introduced by explosions from balloons,
being either the products Of the explosions
themselves or extraneous matter scns-
tered by the explosions. That this will
inevitably produce shower at the place
where the explosion occurs I think quite
improbable. That 1t will facilitate a
precipitation in some place at time subse-
quent to the explosion is probable. II the
air is abnormally dry, or il strong currents
of air are = es9nt, which will tend to scat
ter the dus. ARTICLES before the drops are
formed, certain time being required for
this. the result is predetermined.
For ordinary purposes of irrigation
doubt the practicability of the method, but
in times of threatened water famine in
cities, especially for those which are not
very far from large bodies Of water, the
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