The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-11-09
Tt1E SCR ANTON TRIBUNE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1901

uthy press, IL uiliy VI wv
600 kilograms, maps, and bulletins, that
place the information in the hands Of
millions whose personal interests are
| materially affected by the weather.
There are over 1000 daily papers In
| the United states. and each one OF
these prints in n conspicuous place the
| daily weather predictions. Did 1t ever
occur to you that there is no other in
| formation that receives publication
| and attention by readers each day OF
! the year in every daily paper of the
country? There are Al tri-weekly pa
pers in the United States, a3t semi
weekly, and 14734 weekly publications.
| the greater number of which publish
| the weekly weather crop bulletins or
| the Bureau for their respective states.
| Each state forms n section OF the ma
| tional service, and from a central office
issues monthly reports on the minute
climatology Of the state. This clima-
| toiogical data Is gathered from stand
ard thermometers and rain cages that
are placed in each country. The infor-
nation finds extensive publication also
in the weekly and monthly periodicals
VALUE OF THE WEATHER SER
VICE TO RURAL INDUSTRIES.
Few people realize what complete
system the Weather Bureau forms for
the accurate and rapid collection and
dissemination of crop information. 1t
| has 1.200 paid and skilfuly trained
officials. outside of washington. who
are quite evenly distributed over the
continent and it's island possessions
and who are available to report on any
matters concerning weather, crops,
climate, or statistics. 1t has 200 otf-
| cials and employees at the central office
at Washington. 1t has $50 fully-
equipped meteorological stations quite
equi-distantly scattered over the Uni
| ted States and its dependencies, each
manned by from one to ten trained Off
cials. which stations are not only
weather observatories. but are centers
for the gathering of statistical and
| climate crop reports. 1t has central
observatory in each state and territory
to which all subordinate offices in the
state report and to which all volun-
| tary weather and crop observers report.
These central observatories are
equipped with printers. printing plants,
trained meteorologists and crop writ
ers, clerks. and messengers. During
| the past fifteen years the work of the
substations and voluntary crop and
weather observers has been so SYSTEM
atized under the state central offices
that these centers constitute the most
efficient means for the accurate and
rapid gathering. collation., and dissem-
ination of statistical and climate and
crop information. The state central
offices are under the systematic direc-
| tion of the central office in Washing
ton. The central Office at Washington
is equipped with cartogra piers. print
ers. pressmen, photographers, and ella
borate addressing and mailing ap-
pliances for the printing and mailing
of large quantities of national weekly.
monthly. quarterly, or annual reports
and bulletins. The telegraph circuits
of the Weather Bureau are ingeniously
devised for the rapid collection, twice
daily, of meteorological reports; they
are also used to collect the weekly ma
tional crop bulletins. The Weather
Bureau has 315 paid temperature and
rainfall reporters who are now daily
telegraphing their data from the grow
| ing fields to certain cotton. corn. and
wheat centers. The Bureau has $50
storm-warning displaymen distributed
| among the ports along the Atlantic,
lake region. The Bureau has an OBJ
server serving each morning on the
floor of each important board of trade,
| commercial association, or cotton or
maritime exchange in the country, who
| displays weather and crop information
| and each day charts the weather re-
! ports on q large map. The Weather
| Bureau has 5000 voluntary observers
| nearly one for each county in the Uni
ted States-equipped with standard
| thermometers, instrument shelters,
and rain cages. who have for years in
telligently served the government by
taking daily weather observations and
rendering weekly crop reports to state
central offices. There are $4,000 persons
reporting weekly to the climate and
crop centerS on the effect of weather
upon the crops in their respective To-
calitieS. These voluntary crop COR
respondents could quickly be increased
in number to several hundred thousand
if occasion required. In one month of
four weeks there are printed and dis
trbuted 16S different state crop bulle-
tins. four national crop bulletins, and
AZ monthly eight-page state climate
and crop bulletins. The weekly state
crop bulletins are written by the di-
rectors of the different state sections,
| and the weekly national crop bulletin
by Mr. James Berry, chief of the eli
mate and crop division OF the Weather
Bureau, a man who has had many
years experience as a writer on crop
conditions in the United States.
BENEFITS TO FRUIT AND SUGAR
GROWERS.
The utilities of the weather service
are we'll illustrated by the benefits that
the fruit interests of California derive
from the rain warnings, which. on ac-
count of the peculiar topography OF
that region, are made with Il high de-
gree of accuracy but few hours be-
fore the coming of the rain, yet far
enough in advance to enable the own
erS of vineyards most of which are
connected by telephones, to gather and
stack their trays. and thus save the
drying raisins from destruction Along
the Rocky Mountain plateau and the
eastern slope our stations are so nu-
merous and our system OF distribution
so perfect that the sweep of every cold
wave is heralded to every ranch that
has telegraphic communication. In
the cranberry marshes of Wisconsin
the flood gates are regulated by the
frost warnings of the Bureau, and
where formerly profitable crop was
secured only once in several years, it is
now rare exception that damage oc-
ours. AS we go farther south and east
into the Gulf and South Atlantic
states, our frost warnings are made
with IA greater degree of accuracy than
other VVa