Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-05-23
Santa Fe Station to
Have Latest In
Struments
QuARTERsFEDERALBU|LD|N
Meteorgraph to be Installed
Recording Four Elements
Automatically.

When the local station OF the U. S.
Weather Bureau is installed in it's
new quarters in the Federal building
it will have as up-to-date and perfect
an equipment as any in the United
States for meteorological observations.
Latest improved instruments will re-
place the apparatus which has become
somewhat antiquated and the office
will also be supplied with new furni-
ture including glass cases for the Of
fee paraphernalia.
Electricity plays an important part
in the modern method of recording
the state of the elements and it is all
done automatically. One of the new
instruments which will be installed in
the local observatory will be quad
ruple meteorgraph, an apparatus by
means of which records of all four
elements can be taken on a single
weather chart made for that purpose.
This is an improvement over The SINH
lar device now in use here on which
the direction and velocity OF the wind
can only be recorded. In addition to
registering the wind movement and
its speed simultaneously this new ma
chine will record the actual sunshine
for each minute of he day and the
volume OF rainfall, by means OF dots
and dashes. All that the operator
has to do is to see to it that the
sheets are changed regularly every
twenty-four hours.
An Electrical Sunshine Recorder
Another new instrument to be add
ed is a thermometric sunshine re-
corder which also operates by means
of electricity. The one now in use is
Photographic apparatus. This ther-
mometric recorder as its name signi-
ties is something on the order OF a
thermometer. 1t Is nothing more than
cylindrical glass tube containing
mercury which is attached at an angle
to device resembling a desk tele-
phone minus the mouthpiece. When
the sun is shining the mercury rises
in the bulb beyond the center which
closes the electric circuit and a pen
connected with the wire gets busy
making mysterious step-like lines un-
til the sun disappears behind a cloud
or sinks below the horizon. The pho
tographic sunshine recorder which is
i'll operation at the present time has a
tiny hole in it, through which the
suns rays penetrate and the percent
age of sunshine is recorded by means
of a blue print process. The new in
strument will be placed on the roof
of the Federal building where there
will be no obstruction to interfere
with it's exposure,
SeIf-Recording Rain Gauge.
Equally as ingenious as the electric
al sunshine instrument is a self-re
cording rain gauge which will also be
installed here, and is likewise con
nected with the meteorgraph by an
electric wire. 1t operates by so
called tipping bucket which holds one
hundredth of an inch of water. Every
time this little receptacle fills it turns
over and spills the water into a large
receptacle below whereupon the elec
tric wire signals the meteorgraph anC
a logged line on the weather chart is
the result. Each one of these jogs
represents one hundredth Of an inch
of precipitation. To verify the auto
matte record all that needs be done /!
to measure with a rod the, depth O
the water in the lower receptacle
which has faucet for empting /
whenever necessary.
Wind instruments on Steel Tower.
A fifty foot steel tower is to be erect
ed on the Federal grounds about two
hundred feet west of the building a
the top of which will be placed thu
weather vane and thermometer. This
latter instrument is utilized for re
cording the velocity of the wind. On,
is now in use here. 1t rests on /;
pivot and has four arms extendins
outward at the ends of which are cul
devices. When the wind blows /,
sends these cups spinning around ant
the velocity is indicated by the mum
Der of revolutions made within Ger
tain time Five hundred revolution
of one of the cups is equivalent to ,
mile, although the distance actuall.
travelled is a third of a mile. Th'
weather vane of course, Is used il
registering the direction of the wint
and like the three other instrument
for recording the elements is operat
ed in connection with the meteor
graph.
Equipment En- Route Here.
I'VE have been notified that the ney
equipment for our station has bee
shipped and are expecting the install
lation to be completed by June 30,
stated Acting Section Director Rot