Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-24
MAKING OF WEATHER
The Chief of the Weather Bureaus In.
teresting Talk.
Ancient SuperstftiOns and Recent At
Cost of Artificial Rain.

graphic society was held at the cosmos
Club last evening and was largely attended
many being compelled to stand because Of
the lack Of seating accommodations. The
entertainment offered was a paper on
Weather Making Ancient and Modern"
by Prof. Mark w. Harrington Of the United
States weather bureau. He treated the sub
ject In an interesting way from an Amer
lean standpoint and said there are three dis
tinct sorts of weather making that have
been employed in different ages.
The first depends upon superstitious and
religious methods. Then follows the degra-
dation of these religious ideas into folklore
remnants, which have a curious persistency
in civilized countries. These are psychic
and opposed to them is the third method,
mainly American and intensely practical. 1t
is not only the pagan Indians who have
tried their hand at weather making. Their
ChristianZed descendants have also tried to
control these operations Of nature. In he
transition times between paganiSm and
throw a curious and instructive side light
on this question. AS Illustrative Of this
point the lecturer related the following we'll
authenticated incident:
Boycotting the Divinity.
I'm the Department of Castanas there had
been no rain for nearly year. and the peo-
pie were brought to such a pass that they
were actually dying Of thirst, to say moth
ing Of the total destruction Of all crops and
other vegetation. The alcalde Of New San
Salvador promulgated a number of resolu-
tions on the subject, as follows:
Considering that the Supreme Creator
has not behaved well in this province, as in
the whole of last year only one shower of
rain fell; that in this summer. notwithstand-
Ing all the PROFESSIONS, prayers and praises
II has not rained at all, and consequently
the crops Of Castanas, on which depend he
prosperity OF the whole department, are en-
tirely ruined, it is decreed:
Article /. If. within the peremptory Pc
Rod OF eight days from the date of this de-
cree. rain does not fall abundantly. no one
will go to mass or say prayers.
Article =. II the drought continues eight
days more. the churches and chapels shall
be burned, and missals. rosaries and other
objects of devotion will be destroyed.
Article 3. If,finally, in a third period of
eight days, 1t shall not rain, all the priests,
pious nuns and saints, male and female
Will be beheaded. And for the present per-
mission Is given for the commission Of all
kinds of sin. in order that the Supreme
creator may understand with whom He has
to DEAL
The most remarkable feature Of this
anair is the fact that four days after these
resolutions were passed the heaviest rain
fall known for years was precipitated on
the burning community"
The lecturer reviewed at length the yari-
GUS schemes that have been proposed for
the CONTROL Of the elements Of the weather
tornadoes, rain, etc. The Objectionable side
TO rain making, he said, was that the phe-
nomenon to be produced cannot probably
De controlled as to area covered and may
occur where 1t is not wanted.
Noise and Rain.
In closing his paper he Summarized his
ideas Of weather making in a series of
questions and answers. He said there is no
reason in theory or practice to make us
think a noise will make rain. "A concus-
sion, he said, will probably jostlc the
dropiets in a cloud and may bring a few
togetner, which may coalesce and become
large enough to cause them to drop to the
grounds few scattering drops only. Z.
ting particles of spongy texture will
absorb the moisture hydroscopicaIly: IL the
ar Is dry this Will make ii d-ier and pre-
vent ram. II the air is very moist and
near saturation any solid particles in the
ar Wil facilitate the condensati ton
F" itness the experiments of Aitken am,
barns; Tnus when other conditions are
very favorable. an addition Of much dust
OF SMOKE to the air might determine a fan
OF rain. Mr.. Gatham saws he has sue
ceeded in producing rain by the expansion
OF carbon anhydride. Mr. Baudouin saws
electric connection with cloud aids in rain
ao 1,,, A confagration will quite prob
ably produce rain under favorable circnn,-
stances 1t acts in the line that nature
acts according to the best of our knowl-
cage. Condensation is the result of Chilling
the air The chilling by rnixture-the Hute
tonlan theory. century old-is now known
10 De 1nefhcient. The chilling in nature
seems to be due either to the ascent of air
ana Us consequent expansion and loss of
heat, or the chilling of one cloud BY having
the shadow of higher cloud fail on r.
IN sunlight. The chilling by ascent is the
method evoked in the Espy plan and an.
pears to be by all odds the most effectire
rain producer in nature
Artificial Rain Making.
IF rain can be made, how much will .,
cost? This is truly an American and ou,te
appropriate to the fin de steele. Mr.. pow.
ers-who by the way. says that Mr.. Dy
renforth did not after all really try his "a.
periment-puts the cos: of one exneriman,
with government aid at $4,000. Gatbam
says ne can sprinkle the earth at a cost OF
from $50 to $50 square mile Espy nro-
posed TO fire the low forest growths at reg
ui ;, intervals at cost of less than Ave
mills per citizen per Year. The method
OF OF eTneussion costs the comfort and peace
OF all within hearing-a cost which a unnch
more certain result would not iusfifv