St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1892-03-19

wen, Should Descend Alike
SH, LA, SATURDA1
| TnE WEATNEa 0vNeAU.
Osos Iatssssala6 Faso n RsgaeA - NJ
Dsaaah q The Hah1s sssvlea.
A visit 20 the Cotton Exchange In
search q weather information dieeloses
the fact that the old tims-worn sign
''U. 9. Signal Service" which for %
many yess has guided the citissns
Of Memphis, 70 the dignitary who
''keeps tho cases" on the bliszards and
cold waves, has given place 70 brand
new card bearing 'U. 8. 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 ''Sigual Service" to "Weather Blu.
reau" took place ON July I. 1891, and
thus all IN day Ave hundred weather
prophets lost the plumes and tinsil Of .
soldier and became members Of the great
army Of agriculturists. Figurstively
Speaking they 'beat their knives into
pruning hooks and their. swords into
plowshares."
Since the weather has been turned
over to the Department Of Agriculture
little review Of the old Signal Corps
may not b out Of place. The Signal
Corps - . military organization was
6rst suggested prior to tho civil war, by
Gen. A. J. Mysr, an ofioer Of the United
States Army. and ct that time connected
with the Surgeon Generals ofiee. The
dihnculty Of communicating with the
various divisions Of IN army, especially
during IN engagement and when the ex-
igencies Of tho case required IN order
b sent with the utmost safety and dis
patch. occasioned serious embarrassment
ut times, and turned the attention Of
military men TO the invention Of some
method that would overcome the din
Guilty, and the result gave birth 70 the
Signal Corps, which has since obtained.
Gen. Myers plan was to adopt certain
principles Of telegraphy. - the dots and
dsshes, to represent the letters Of the
alphabet, using nags, which were waved
70 the right to represent dot and to
the left to represent dash. BY this
means 1t Was found perfectly praotica-
BILE. In ordinary atmosphere. 70 commv-
ID A. a. a. - AAA
during the day, and equally satisfactQry
results were obtained by the use Of
torches or colored lights at night.
Since Gen. Myers time much i'm
provemsnt has been made on this sys-
ten BY tho invention of the helio9raph
and electric light The heliograph IL
IN instrument the principle Of which II
to communicate BY the reflection Of sun
light from properly arranged mirrors,
and has long becn in use BY the Amer
lean Indians, however in very crude
form, and during tho Apache campaign
in 1855 WAS used BY the United States
Signal Corps successfully st . distance
Of l25 miles.
At the termination Of the civil war the
system Of communicating by tho use Of
signals had attained . very high degree
Of perfection, its value universally
and its future assured with
improved results. 1t was st this time
that the work Of making daily weather
reports, which has become such . prom
inent feature Of the service. and which |
has proved 20 valuable to tho public in |
warning them against possible danger |
from storm visitations, was placed in !!
charge Of the Department This latter |
phase was introduced BY Prot. C. A.
Abbie, in 1868, and the results given to |
The Cincinnati Merchants Exchange
md various other similar organizations.
His professional labors in this direction
met with 30 much favor and commenda-
lion from the commercial associations
the country that IL led to
The presentation Of . memorial to Con-
yress embodying his views and praying
he support Of the general government
loe the enlargement Of the system.
rhe necessary enactment and sppropria-
Eion was made and the 6rst daily reports
we're promulgated. by telegraph, on
November 9. 1870 gs1
Since the introduction Of the work Of
making these weather reports that
ranch Of the service has steadily grown
md expanded almost to the exclusion Of
70 original military character. volumns
Il climatic history have been gathered,
housands Of dollars worth Of property
,ave boon saved, and it 10 now looked
lpon and acknowledged to b one Of the
|reat and indispensable branches Of
service. In the State Of
Wisconsin alone, on August e4th Of this
'ear, slss. 200. representing about one
bird Of the cranberry crop Of that
Itate, was saved by prediction Of .
Iilling frost. t Il
The transfer Of tho meteorological
'ortion Of the Signal Corps to . civil
apartment has long been under discus
ion. and was the natural result Of .
omplete change in the character Of it.
vork from that which It was originally
to perform. lthas grown from
military and mechanical TO . purely
organization and the laws and
Of the War Department were
ound 70 hamper and retard IL progress.
Since the transfer Of the Bureau to
he Department Of Agriculture many :
hanges have been made and new
satures added with . view Of carrying
ut the oppressed intention Of Con-
Tess to especially develop and Qxtsnd
he work In the interest Of agrictlture.
he circulation OF the weather maps
- been largely increased, the daily
oreoasts telegraphed 70 places not
sached before, State weather service
stablished In vsrioas States. and it - q
he aim and desire Of the administsa-
lon - far - possible to place the cli-
,stological information which he's been
athered during tho last twenty years.
, we'll - the latest weather inSorma-
Iea, before all Glasses whose interests .
N In any way b benefited by scientific .