Evening star., 1902-01-07
Orne8dOl

weekly crop reports to state central offices.
There are 1900 persons reporting week
ly to the climate and crop centers as TO the
effect of weathe upon the crops in their
respective localities. These voluntary crop
correspondents could quickly be increased
in number to several hundred thousand if
occasion required. In four weeks there are
printed and distributed 16S different state
crop bulletins, four national crop bulletins
and forty-two monthly eight-page state
climate and crop bulletins. The weekly
state crop bulletins are written by the
directors of the different state sections, and
the weekly national crop bulletin by Mr..
James Berry, chief of the climate and crop
division of the weather bureau, man who
has had many years experience writer
on crop conditions in the United States
HaiIstorms Versus Cannon.
Considerable interest has been aroused
among agriculturists in the United States
relative to the prevention of hailstorms by
the use of explosives fired from specially
designed cannon. The experiments con-
Quoted along this line by grape growers of
France and Italy have aroused popular in
terest in this country. The theory is not
a new one, though perhaps not so ancient
as the idea that precipitation occurs soon
after and a result of the explosives used
In battles. AS early as 1863 the Marquis
de Cheviers, retired naval officer OF
France, thought that he could combat the
scourge of hailstorms by the firing of cam
non, but his experiments, like those con-
Quoted by many others at various times
during the past century, were not produc-
tive of definite results.
"One of the most serious drawbacks to
grape culture in Europe is the destruction
caused by hail, and the growers are nat
urally interested in anything that promises
to give immunity from such damage. Dur
ing the past two or three years renewed
interest has been taken in the matter by
the vineyardists of certain parts of France
and Italy. Several manufacturers have
placed upon the market a special form of
cannon which they claim will effectively
break up hail-bearing clouds. The belief
in the efficacy of this method of protection
has become quite general In Europe, al
though scientists versed In the physics of
the air have not expressed confidence in
the system.
"There is a marked difference Of opinion
as to the effectiveness of cannon firing,
with the manufacturers and many grape
growers on the one side and the scientists
of America and Europe on the other. The
former maintain that hailstorms can be
prevented in the manner described, while
the latter claim that the force eXerted by
the explosives is infnitesimal as compared
to the forces of nature that are eXerted
in hail formation, and that experiments
conducted by the adherents of the cannon
aiding process themselves have not produced
convincing results
Popular DeiusiOn.
1.-The number of thunderstorms from
WH-Cu udli IL piSSiPildISu iS pol Silltll
percentage Of the actual number. In most
localities Of the United States a whole season
sometimes passes without a fall of hail,
while in seasons of abnormal thunderstorm
frequency the number Of hailstorms is
small. While in the grape growing regions
of France and Italy there may be greater
hailstorm frequency, ii is still true that the
number Of hailstorms are few compared
to the number of thunderstorms without
hail. The eXperimenters score a success
whenever they shoot at a thunderstorm
cloud that does not produce hail, although
the chances are greatly in favor of there
being no hail in the cloud. Again. they ex-
| cuse the occurrences of hail in spite of
bombardment by saying that the cannon
was not large enough or the powder charge
sufficiently heavy, and declare that the
hailstorm was far less severe than 1t would
otherwise have been. How is one either TO
prove or disprove such statements?
after examining all that has been pub
lished during the past two years on the
subject of hail prevention have to repeat
the opinion heretofore expressed that we
have here to deal with a popular delusion,
and that efforts should be made to pre-
vent its spread in this country. The great
processes going on In the atmosphere are
conducted on too large a scale for any
man or any nation to attempt to control
them. According to Prof Able, the en-
ergy expended by nature in the production
OF hailstorm, tornado or a rainstorm
probably exceeds the combined energy of
all the steam engines and explosives in the
world. 1t Is useless for man to attempt to
combat nature on this SCALE"