The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-15
Excess. Deficiency.


Taking these five years alone, the Of
nclal reports show that the total difference
IN the averages of temperature was but
hVe degrees, which is practically nothing.
rms is rather remarkable exemplifica-
ton of the system on which the records
are kept and the principle which is be-
heVed TO underlie the course of nature in
aHalrs OF the weather. If a period of
twenty years were taken, and the readings
and their averages properly kept il is
quite probable that almost as close a re-
suit would be seen. There would be
breaks, when the excess or the deficiency
OF heat, would seem to be far beyond the
levelling process, but in due time nature
would doubtless be found to have righted
the matter and brought about an equiiIb-
rum.
A vast mass of such data as this is
gathered from all over the country by the
mead Office of the weather bureau at Wash-
ington and scientists are from It endaav
orlng to reason out a method by which long
range forecasts can be made 1t Is the
behef that there are great underlying laws
governing weather conditions which tend
TO this averaging up of heat and of rain
fall, etc, within certain cycles of years.
Slowly advances are being made, and the
day IL Is believed, will come when 1T viii
be possible to take the readings and OBJ
servations Of district for several wears
and tell pretty closely what the weather
conditions are going to be for the next
winter or summer. Then the ice man will
know whether to advance prices early IN
the season and the coal man whether to
lay In large or a small supply of his
stock in trade. But that is stlll in the
future.
Although the public is yet a little in
cdned to scott OF the weather bureau and
its representations there is no doubt that
its efficiency and their correctness have
steadily improved. 1t Is now claimed, ac-
Cording to Observer Boyer who keeps
posted on everything in this line of human
research, that about 76 per cent. of the
bureaus representations prove correct. 1t
is felt that this Is about as large an aver
age of accuracy as can be reached as long
as surface readings are depended Upon
and the tendency now is to reach higher
and higher into the heavens for knowl-
edge as to what the weather is, what it
promises to be, and for material to work
the science into one of greater exactness
and usefulness generally.
BY means of kites and balloons aerial
observations are now being taken and
data of a most valuable character gath
cred. From these readings the DEPART
ment is able to more quickly and accu-
rately predict weather changes. The sys-
tenn of readings in the free atmosphere
away from all local conditions which may
affect them, is being pushed and it Will
come eventually that scores of these OBJ
serVations taken simultaneously far above
the earth will he wired to Washington
and the bulletins sent out to the pubic
be largely based on them OF course, sur
face observations will not lose their value,
but experimenting, or being supplement-
ed, by the higher readings, will give a
data that will almost secure perfect ac-
curacy in predictions
While to the average person much of
The statistical matter gathered by the
weather bureau observers scattered all
over the country may seem of no especial
value to the trained students at Wash
ington who are compiling it and from il
trying to dig the secrets of nature the
value is immeasureable