The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-14
WEATHER BUREAU
 VERY BENEFICIAL
Is Conducted Along Purely
 Scientific Lines
WEEKLY CROP REPORTS
Dry Weather Has Done Some Damage, Although he Past Week Has Been Fairly Favorable
 for Crops.
BY HERvY W. LAIRD.

BY HERvY W. LAIRD.
 Montgomery, September 1S.-(speciaD- Probably no branch Of the government service is of more direct and practical benefit to the country than the weather bureau. It's crop reporting service is vrey thorough, complete and reliable. AL most all lines of business are more or less influenced by the weather. and the bu- reau's daily reports are looked for as anxiously and studied as closely as the market quotations. In fact, the com mcrical reports are very largely influenc- ed by the reports of the weather and the l forecasts of the same
 There Is hardly any branch of the gov 1 ernments work that requires a higher standard of it's employees than the weather bureau. One must enter at the bottom after a rigid civil service examination and each advancement is gained only after the worth and ability of the officials have been proven. This method, gradual ly, but surely, brings the best men to the higher positions ana sifts out the unworthy.
 The science of meteorology is a compar- atively new one. tie weather service in this country being organized about thirty five years ago. It has grown steadily in usefulness, until It's forecasts are now considered indispensable to the public in- terests The public. is at times, prone to confuse the forecast work of the bureau, which is conducted along purely scientific lines and which is not in any way in the nature of prophecy, with the crude weather guessing or so-called Tong range" weather forecasts issued by alma macs and published in other forms, which are, at times, positively harmful to pub lie interests.
 Honest Decision.
 Section director Frank F. Chaffee, of the weather bureau who has charge of the climate and crop work of the bu- reau in Alabama, with office at Mont gor1ery, recently said to the writer:
 Some of the so-callee long range weather forecasters may be honest in believing that they have discovered meth ods of foretelling the weather months and seasons in advance, but test of their work proves the utter fallacy of their guesses. One of the most encourag- ing signs of the times is the public is beginning to appreciate the worthless ness of such forecasts, which now sell dom command space in the reputable pa- pers of the contry.
 "The long rangers have all kind of sys- tems. Some are based on the averages of past years claiming a regular recurrence of periodcty in weather changes 9th CTS claim to have discovered a system of cycles; others cycles within cycles, and many are not satisfied with passing their forecasts on terrestrial data, but bring into their calculations the influences of celestial bodies, which astrometers and other scientists have never found to ap- preciably affect our weather conditions.
 Investigators Welcomed.
 "The weather bureau, which is main- tained at considerable expense to the peo- pie, would certainly make use of any l reputable system of long range weather 1 forecasting had one been discovered. The | discoverer of such system based on 1 scientific reasoning or physical laws, would be hailed with the plaudits of the entire meteorological world. Meteorolo- l gists are liberal in their views and well come honest investigations to their com 1 paratively new field of science But the | scientists who are honestly striving to l discover laws governing physical changes | have no patience with the illogical 1 guesses which are often exploited as
 long range weather forecasts.
 Scientific System.
 "The only recognized method of wealth. 1 CT forecasting is that now in use by the l different weather bureaus of the world. | This system is based on the movements | of different weather changes across the
 country, as shown by charting observa- a11 1 ly at a large number of stations well distributed over an extensive area, and
 by studying, from day to day, the incep-
 tion, development, movement, modihca- tion, accentuatioon of the areas of fair
 rainy, warmer or colder weather as they 1 sweep across the country.
 'The weather influences nearly all lines
 of industry. Forecasts of reasonable &C.,
 curacy "A to AS hours in advance is of
 real value. mere guess, month, a
 year, or ten years in advance Is not only
 lively injurious to some of the great in-
 terests of the country
 Crops for the Week.
 While the week past has been fairly favorable for crops, dry weather has done some damage. rust has hurt cotton, boil l worms are pretty busy and "back root | is still reported. In the Crop Bulletin of | the weather bureau, gotten out by the Alabama section, for the seven days end | ing yesterday, Director Chaffee says: | The week as a whole was generally fas vorable for maturing and gathering crops, except that drought continues in many northern and western counties. where late 1 corn and minor crops have failed through lack Of moisture; scattered, mostly bene- l ficial showers fell in some middle and l southern counties; temperatures averaged nearly normal. with moderately hot days l and rather cool nights. Rust and shedding | is still very general in cotton, but not 1 quite so prevalent as at the close of last | week, though boil worms are seriously | damaging in many middle counties, and | there are some reports of "black root" early cotton Is opening rapidly; picking | Is now quite general, except in northern counties, where this work has commenced. There is very little top crop forming; early cotton has stopped blooming in some fields, and late cotton is not fruit ing well in many counties. The present | outlook is that the cotton yield in this state will be below the average, but a | little above that of last year. The gath ering of early corn continues, with an ex- | celent yield, and late corn Is doing well, l except where rain Is needed; a large yield 1 of fodder has been saved considerable hay was saved during the week, with more to be cut; all minor crops are ma turing satisfactorily, and fall gardens are promising. except where rain Is needed; | sorghum is being ground in some districts with a good yield sweet potatoes are | yielding well.'