The Southern herald., 1892-02-26
rHE WEArHER BUREAu.
some Interesting Facts Ia Regard to This
Branch Of the Public Service.

some Interesting Facts In Regard to This
branch Of the Public Service.
A visit to the Cotton Exchange in
search Of weather information diseloses
the fact that the old tme-worn sign
~. S. Signal Service" which for SO
many years has guided the citizens
Of Memphis, to the dignitary who
keeps the cases on the billiards and
cold waves. has given place to q brand
new card bearing ''U, 5. Department Of
Agriculture, Weather Bureau"
The transfer Of this Bureau from the
War Department to the Department Of
Agriculture. and the change Of name
from ''Slgnal Service" to weather Bu-
reau" took place on July 1, 1891, and
thus all in a day Ave hundred weather
prophets lost the plumes and tinsil Of
soldier and became members Of the great
army Of agriculturists. Figuratiyely
speaking they "beat their knives into
pruning hooks and their swords into
plowshares."
Since the weather has been turned
over 10 the Department Of Agriculture
Q little review Of the old Signal Corps
may not be out Of place. The Signal
Corps as q military organization was
frst suggested prior TO the civil war, by
Gen. A, J, Myer, an officer OF the United
States Army, and at that time connected
with the Surgeon Generals office. The
diflculty OF communicating with the
various divisions of an army, especially
during an engagement and when the ex-
igencies Of the case required an crler
be sent with the utmost safety and dis
patch, occasloned serious embarrassment
at times, and turned the attention Of
military men TO the invention OF some
method that would overcome the diff
Guilty, aud the result gave birth to the
Signal Corps, which has since obtained.
Gen. Myers plan was to adopt certain
principles OF tclegraphy, as the dots and
dashes, to represent the letters Of the
alphabet, using hags, which we're waved
to the right to represent dot and to
the left to represent dash. By this
means 1t was found perfectly practica.
bic, In ordinary atmosphere, to commu'
nicate readily at distance OF ten miles
during the dsy, and equally satisfactory
results we're obtained by the use oi
torches or colored lights at night.
, Since Gen. Myers time much i'm
provement has been made on this sys
, tenn by the invention Of the heliogrspl
. and electric light. The heliograph Il
} Fan instrument the principle OF which Il
to communicate by the reflection OF sun
light from properly arranged mirrors
. and has long been in use BY the Amer
D lean Indians, however in very crud,
p form, and during tho Apache campaign
in 1895 was used by the United State
Signal Corps successfully at distanc
: OF 1875 miles.
AT the termination Of the civil war tn
system of communicating by the use q
-, signals had attained a very high degre
a OF perfection, its value UNIVERSAL
a recognized and its future assured wit
improved results. 1t was at this tim
that the work of making daily weathe
reports, which has become such prom
inent feature Of the service, and whic
has proved so valuable to the public
warning them against possible dangt
from storm visitations, was placed
charge Of the Department. This latt'
phase was introduced by Prof. G.
Abbie, IN 1868, and the results given
| the Cincinnati Merchants ExchanE
and various other similar organization
His professional labors In this directiC
N met with so much favor and commend
A tion from the commercial association
a throughout the country that 1t led
n the presentation OF Q memorial to Co
J press smbodylng his views and prayir
the support of the general governme
for the enlargement Of the systeI
> The necessary enactment and approprl
ton was made and the first daily repor
Il. wore promulgated, by telegraph,
q November 8, 1870.
- Since the introduction Of the work
r,s making these weather reports th
es branch Of the service has steadily groV
he and expanded almost to the exclusion
he Its original military character, volum
m Of climatic history have been gather'
ur thousands Of dollars worth of proper
nd have been saved, and 1t is now look
| upon and acknowledged TO be one of t
nd great and indispensable branches
governmental service. In the State
m Wisconsin alone, on August Gath OF u
'.~ u. year, $4,000, representing about o.
.od third OF the cranberry crop Of II
Of State, was saved by q prediction o
ON killing frost.
Id. The transfer OF the meteorologi
portion of the Signal Corps to a ci
department has long been under disc
sion, and was the natural result o
complete change in the character OF
ful work from that which it was origina
ent intended to perform. lthas grown fl
ant military and mechanical to pur
to scientific organization and the laws
les limitations of the War Department W
lies found to hamper and retard Its progr'
hey Under the reorganization Prof. NJ
and W. Harrington, Of Ann Arbor, Mi
ose was appointed head of the Bureau "
sell tho title Of Chief Of the Weat
n.y. Bureau. Prof. Harrington Is q I
eminently fitted for the position, a
aIS 4ho dent Of meteorology, associate edito
w .n the American Meteorological jour
-;th and Professor Of Astronomy in the
wa. versity Of Michigan. In 1870 he az
as astronomical aid to Mr.. W. H. Z
Of the United States Coast Survey
i'm, its earliest reconnaissance conducte
in a Alaska. He studied at the Univer
at Leipsic; in 1875 was appointed
fessor Of Astronomy and Matthews
we &. tko cchool Of kha Chinaea off1cl