The morning times., 1896-01-20
WINDS WOULDN'T BLOW
Not Enough Dreeza to Raise the
AeropIanes.
SCIENTISTS ARE CONFIDENT
Feels Assured Tppt .at an Early
Date Successful TEST of the Wind
Machine VIII BE Made eHere-What
1t Means to Science.

An attempt was made Saturday after.
noon by several members Of the Weather
bureau to test the new eacroplanes ON
the weather predictions hope to greatly
increase the efficiency pr The work.
The high ground on the Virginia side of
the Potomac back OF Fort, Mycr was Sc
lected as the place for the experiments, and
a party, consisting of Professor Moore, L.
Lawrence Kotcn OF Boston, Professor Abbe,
Professor Bie.ow and Professor Marvin
went over from this city to conduct the
tests.
Owing to the lack OF wind 1t was i'm
possible to try the new system and their
plans had to be abandoned. Had there
been a breeze of even four or five miles
an hour so that the kites could have been
flown, some interesting facts would have
been developed. Professor Mco-e said he
was confident that at no distant date a sue
cessrul trial would be had.
The kites, which were made by Professor
Marvin, the mechanical engineer connected
with the bureau, are queer-loOkiDg con-
trivances, not much like the small boys
kite, made of newspaper two saicks,
and some paste. One resembled large
drygoOds box, while another looked like
two sections OF Virginia rail fence,
Dul tHey Will llyr IL tutic ID any WInu,
and that is the main object.
EQUIPMENTS OF THE KITES.
To each kite is attached a meteorologi-
cal instrument, which records the tenn
perature and wind velocity at the great
est altitude reached by the kite, and upon
being returned quickly to the ground
these readings can be noted by the officers
in charge. From the observations OF the
fIAr i.,tr. hac ha. rt .it.., "A
that the effects of the most severe storms
are felt but little at a distance of three
miles from the earth, and at five miles
are hardly percepuble.
/. is also Known that the storm forces
are most potent at distance of two
uiles from lEe ground, and in this region
the approach of n storm is first apparent.
Inmaking pre- dicli0ns the Wea ther Bureau
as, OF course, sometimes at fault, but it
has been noted that while cold waves can
be forelold with great certainty, the pre-
dictions are often inaccurate about rain
ur storms. In fact, this is the one vulner-
able point in the service, and as IL is, per-
haps, the most important branch of the
work, aud the one from which the greatest
commercial return is derived, the weather
prophets have been casting about for some
means To overcome the defect.
RoTCHs IMPORTANT SERVICES.
f. Lawrence Rotch. who built and main
tains the Blue Hill Observatory at his
own expense, has made many discoveries
which have gone far toward increa sing
The certainty nf weather pre- dictions, and
it was u, give a pra cticaI demonstration
of some Of his iheories that the experiments
were attempted yesterday.
The immense loss OF life and damage to
property uat is averted through the work
OF the Weather Bureau Is not generally
known or appreciated. In November last
one OF the worst storms that has occurred
for years swept ny the Mississippi Valley
and circied around the great lakes. Its
approach wasnoted blythe bureau and storm
signals were set along the course the storm
would naturally take. Warnings were
distributed TO the masters or vessels in
every lake port by the agents Of the bureau,
and consequently what proved 10 be the
worst blow that had visited the lake region
in years did not do one dollars worth of
damage to the shipping or cause the loss OF
a single life. 1
Again. only last month, two storms swept
up the Atlantic coast from Jacksonville to
Eastport. The same course was pursued
by the bureau. and S7,5C0,000 worth OF
shipping was held in port over twenty-four
hours by its agents. These figures do not
include the Residential party. which was on
a fishing trip near Cape Hatteras.
Prof. Moore stated last night that the
experiments woIld be renewed at the first
this week.