The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-23
Old PROPS REPORT.
Well Pleased With His Record as
Prouhet the Past Year

WASHINGTON, Nov 22-Prof. Will
lis l.. Moore, chief of the weather bu-
reau has submitted to the secretary of
agriculture his report of operations
of the bureau during the fiscal year of
his administration.
OF the forecasts and warnings, Prof
Moore says, in part: Timely warnings
of all severe storms likely to cause in
jury to shipping were sent to all mari
time stations and resulted in almost in
calculable benefit. In the harbor of
Buffalo alone, during six of the most
severe storms Of the past winter, total
of over $50 vessels, aggregating in val
ue upwards of $4,000, 600, having on
board 1900 persons, were detained in
port by reason Of these warnings.
The professor points out that as a re-
suit of the danger signals displayed at
all points in advance of the West India
hurricanes on the Atlantic coast, no
lives were lost and but little property
destroyed; that no cold wave or frost
of unusual intensity has occurred with
out forewarning and that while no dis
astrouS floods have occurred during
the year, warnings given by the bureau
in cases Of heavy rains and melting
SHOWS were the means of saving large
amounts Of property. The avera ge
percentage Of verifcation of the blI-
reau's forecasts during the year was
82.4 per cent, an improvement of "a per
cent over that Of last year. Among
the new features introduced is the corn
and wheat region service established
in the principal corn and wheat pro-
ducing states. The information OBJ
tained concerning rainfall and tenn
perature is promptly bulletined and dis
seminated for the benefit Of persons in
terested.
More prominence has been given to
the subject of aerial Investigations
than to other experimental work Con-
certed cloud observations in co-opera-
ton with foreign countries have been
made at a number of stations
Kite experiments are resumed. On
one occasion an altitude Of 1000 feet
was obtained. Prof. Moore says that
the use Of kites is always limited by
the condition of the winds. There ap-
pears to remain but one other means
of exposing meteorological Instruments
at fixed points in free air. namely, by
the use Of devices sustained by the ac-
ton of propellers which either lift the
apparatus directly, or give it a special
ly ascending or descending motion
Many devices Of this character have
been proposed by ingenious inventors
It is a possibility that important me-
teorological stations of the future will
be dual in character. One portion will
remain as at present at the surface Of
poised at a great height in mid-air,
riding at anchor to the base of sta
tions. Simultaneous observations from
a system Of widely distributed stations
of this character would enable the fu-
ture forecast official to map out the
atmospheric condition both horizontal
ly and vertically and arrive at a more
exact knowledge Of temperature, pres
sure, etc.
The report says 1t is not believed
that there has been an increase in
either the frequency or severity of
tornadoes. Unfortunately those of the
present year have swept through pop
ulous sections. Three hundred and six
persons lost their lives in the storm
of May 27: more than the aggregate
loss by violent winds during 1891 to
1895. During the three severe tropical
storms that occurred during the pres
ent fall season and for which hurri-
cane signals were issued by the bureau
about 1000 vessels came into or re-
| mained in port on the eastern gulf and
Atlantic coasts, during the periods for
which the warnings were issued.