The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1892-06-02

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M[EL!.!! S,ci;:.,ss '''a xss'',s;l We; ssl
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@~--,-ZzCs3 long as their predic-
= W. trr7TWrn7FT tioNS turn out cor
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and i'm licnat;on arise. People have TO
use for prophets who exhibit 1alilblllty
like ordinary niortals.
Pruphcsying about the weather is al
ways an ANXIOUS bus mess. 1t is very
differei.t from II nm ns an oracle after
the Delphic pattern, dispensing ambigu-
Gus replies TO fool quest ons. II the
rainmaker of the Congo Promises
shower ana it fails to arrive he is dis
Gre lifted as a fraud. 1t is much the
same way in the Signal Office at Wash
| ington.
| The weather reports. which come by
telegraph to the Signal Office at
O'Clock every night, are euriosi'ies in
| themselves. Here IS an actual specl-
m' n, illustrating the style:
BOSTON. March Bashful barn.aid
dammit le bony hirsute pirate.
/. is won .erful V hat /. lot this means.
"Basiiful signifies that the barometer
is 81. II and the temperature 30 degrees
Fahrenheit. "Barmail" tells that the
win | is from the north aud that
firty-two hun .rtdths of an in h o. ra n
has fallen daring the last twenty-eour
hours. "Damnatle" says that the We
locty of the wind is twenty-five miles
an hour AMI that the highest tempera-
tu-e during the day was ~ degrees.
"Eony" declares tina: the sky Is covered
with crrus clouds. "Ifirsute" makes it
known that the observation, We're made
a, s =. M: that the dew point is Sh ard
that the local prediction is for fair
weather. Pirate mmunicatcs the
fa t that TIL highest wind velocity dur
ing the day was iifty-two miles an hour.
Each letter il every Wort! means somc-
| thing, and in this way it is possible to
cundense d al of information within a
brief space. each observer having his
own key 10 the cipler for making up
dispatches.
These disrat, hes be-in 10 ro'Er in at
Q O Il, ok in the evening from l3n signal
sta.i rs all .yer the cotn,ly. As fast
! Us they arrive they are translate by an
| expert IN o ord nAr2 English. He reals
| them aload in Il sing song tone, while
| / ur skilled men al desks close by Jot
| down the information they onvny on as
many outline maps of the United states.
| On ea.h map the 15D signal stations are
! indicated by as many mall circles. in
which the facts Lo.ed ar Pc. cled with
| symbols and figures. One operator
| records the con 1itien of the clouds and
! the direction Of the wind at every point.
II it is clear at thieago. for example,
| he leaves that c'rcle unmarked. Sup
posing that it is cloudy. he marks l:n"s
! across it, If partly cloudy, he shades
only onc-half of the circle. Ia n is in
dicat,d by the letter r." snow by the
letter "S.'' The point from which the
| wind blows j. shown by an arrow. By
equally simple means the second opera
| tor reco DIS changes of temp ratu:e, and
! the third puts down laromctric changes.
The fourth registers the t mperature
and barometer at the time the obserya-
;ions were made. the velo iy Of the
wind and the amour. of rainfall during
the past twenty-four hours.
These maps. when finished, present
| a complete picture of the meteorological
| conditions at p. m. all o er the United
| States. Upon their showing the prophet
| only one of the three il on duty at any
| given time-bases his predictions.
| Meanwhile. however, other things have
| he:n going on.
Two swift .omrositors, sitting on tall
stools at ease near by, set up in tabu-
lar form the data given in the dispatches
/ ct he. :. Iaf them al
Instead Of single letters they have type
words and figures in their boxes, deci-
| mails to int!l; a-e arometer heights. etc.
| Thus they are cnablcd 10 do the work
| with surprising rapidity, and 50 accu-
ratcly is it performed that no reading of
| proofs is necessary. The table made in
this way is to be printed in the right
hand lower corner of the weather map
published for the next day.
At the same time still another expert
sits in front OF a brass plate exactly the
! size of a weather map OF the Unite
| States. The plate is perforated with
| $50 square holes, corresponding in ro-
sition to the signal stations. They are
not labeled in any way, but he knows
them all by location peri. city, 50 that
when the translator OF the dispatches
calls off Sacramento or Minneapolis. he
fits little slug of lead in.o the right
hole without a moments hesitation.
| The slug bears an arrow crossing cir
Gle, and the way in which it is set to
point indicates the direction of the wind.
| If YOU will look at Il weather map you
| will see these arrows scattered all over
it, and will also notice that the circle
through which each passes shows the
state of the weather at that station.
Snrposir that it was clear at the hour
Of observation. the circle will be white;
if rainy. it VIII be black The useful
ness of this brass pate will be presently
seen.
III. ir,p,,et Gets i'll His WORK.
At this sage of the performance,
vii n the contents of the 100 dispatches
Earc all been no.cd on the maps, re-
corded upon the brass plate. and set uI
in tyte. the prophet steps in.
He has been keep ng an eye upon the
situation all the while, but now the time
his come for him 10 analyze the presen,
situation and forecast the future for one
day, two days, three days ahead. No
wonder that he passes his hand through
his hair, while his eyes assume a CLASSY
look, premonitory of Il prophetic ducE
fit, as he feels the at1latus of inspiration
coming upon him. Turning to clerk
at his side, he begins TO dictate in a low
voice, saying:
For New England, far weather
westerly winds, followed by increasing
cloudiness and probably light SHOWS.
And SO on until the prospect 70: tho
entire country has been declared in de
tail. The clerk writes the forecasts
with stylus in manifold, one copy BE-
ing handed at once to the printers, who
set it up in type. Ali the words neces.
sary for the purpose are cast entire ii
separate types, SO that it is quick work
but the case containing them has ne
less than 1850 boxes, and that is good
many for the compositors to keep in
mind. The other copies of the manifold
are passed over to clerks, who telegraph
the predictions to the press association
and to observers in different parts Of th'