The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1894-04-07
The Raiu1,,aIxers.

The Sioux Falls Argus Leaders, in com
mon with the GRAPHIC and others, has
expressed doubts about the results of the
Dyrenforth rainmaEing experiments in
Texas during the summer Of 1891. The
Redfipld Journal l-Observer-just. now act
lively engaged in perfechng arrange
ments for some rainmaking experiments
in Sphinx eountY-remarks. "There are
something's for the knowing ones to learn
yet" This is strictly true in the abstract
and will prove to be particularly pertinent
before the Journal Observer and its CON
stituency are through with their rain
making business.
While the methods employed by Gen.
DyrenfOrth in the Texas expedition were
entirely different from those proposed to
be used in Sphinx and Brown counties.
yet tile Journal Observer has had so much
to say Of the success of the Texas exper-
iments in substantiation of the theory
that rain can be produced by artificial
means that the opinion Of more scientific
authorities on the matter is worthy OF
note.
Of the result OF, the Texas fiasco the
Scientific American said:
10 us the most practical result likely
to follow from these experiments is the
extraction OF money from the public
treasury. We have seen how easy it was
to obtain the first ten thousand dollars
to aid the chimera. Il asked them to
put in the rain appropriation just as an
accommodation to me-" says the Senator,
and they did it. Nobody in the House
cared to see what No. II, a little .appro-
priation anyhow, was, and it passed."
The idea that rain can be precipitated
by cannon firing is almost as old as gun
powder; but while there are many curious
condolences, there is no satisfactory
evidence that rain was so produced. 1t
is on a par with the Chinese mode of
c0nquering the enemy by making a loud
noise.
1t is true downpour often follows a
clap of thunder; but this does not prove
the rain was produced by the concussion.
On the contrary, we know that rain
probably results from the cooling of
mOisture-laden air, and simultaneously
electricity may appear. Hence in thun-
der storms the aerial conclusions are
most probably the results, not the cause,
of rain formation.
Ndt1re aoorks on a rast scale IN produc.
ing rain; and 1t is idle to surpon that lie
burning Of little erplosiue matter can
mae; t..s M ,'f-"t the houndless ataospieyt of
tic skies.
In a certain sense it may be claimed
that rain always follows an explosion;
1.nc, y.n., 81. .m atmosDheric changes are sue
cessive. II today is fair, fire Gun, and
1T will rain either tomorrow, or some To-,
lowing day. If today is rainy, fire gun,
and it will be fair either tomorrow or
atterward. There appears to be Just as
much sense in approptiating public mon
ey for explosives to produce dryness in
Alaska as to make rain, by similar means,
in Texas.
In another portion Of the same article
the Scientific American SAYS:
After the rainmakers had telrgraphcd
from Texas to all parts of the country
announcing the wonderful success of
their GoOms, it was discovered that the
meteorological records for that locality
had indicated probabilities for rain for
day or two in advance OF the firing, and
eheae uit hOtilu lflNS lhlItH al lllc Suult
without any burning of powder or send
Ing up Of balloons"
A correspondent in Nature takes the
same view Of the experiments as the
Scientific. American. In conclusion he
says:
while we cannot but recognize the
high interest Of Gen. Dyrenforth's results,
with the imperfect information at atpresent
before us we cannot regard them as con-
elusive 1t is the characteristic weak
ness Of all experiments of the kind that
many Of the essential circumstances are
scarcely recorded, or perhaps even
capable of being brought within the
limits of observation; and thus the logic
al conditions OF a proved conclusion can
not be fulfilled. For instance, ii is rery
unlikely that anything is kno,cn of the state
Of the atmosphere in respect OF its
humidity and its vertical temperament
decrement at the elevation at which the
balloons were exploded, and yet, as we
have seen, these data lie at the uery roo: Of
the matter"
The italics in the foregoing are our
own.
The eminent scientist, Prof. Edwin j.
HoustoIa. contributed an article to the
Scientific American shortly after the
Dyep forth experiments which he con-