The Florida star. (Titusville, Fla.) 1880-1917, 1908-09-18
ON WEATHER,
How Mrs. WIIkin Of Syracuse
Makes Her Predictions.
STUDIES CLOUDS AND WINDS.

Any one Can Do u, She says-Has
TNwsnty-ssvsn Signs by Which 10
Forseast Weather Conditions With
out uss 81 Instruments.
A little woman from Syracuse, N. T.,
D. making the weather seers, from
Major Jersey OF washingtoa down to
the nttlest clerk I'm the smallest wealth
en- tower In the United States, sit MP
and take notice.
The little woman IN Mrs. Eva Fran
co Smith Wlkin, wife OF Henry
Dwight Wilkin, n prominent citizen Of
Syracuse. And, although she pro-
fesses to be able to prophesy when to
wear your rainy day skirt and when
- sport your TALL hat better than do
the weather bureau men with their
big towers and their little instruments.
che doesn't make any pretense to be-
me an astronomer, an astrologer or
even q scientist.
All the signs are In the heavens, to
% read BY any one who cares to do
90" she said to a reporter of the New
York Globe while visiting the metrop-
OILS, and Gods signs are better than
the signs Of men.
Il began studying the clouds and
me winds In q desultory way years
ago. At school my favorfSe studies
were physical geography and astrouo-
my. but I never really made any Sc
rious experiments until within a year
OF TWO ago. Since then have made
several discoveries that are considered
rather important.
For example, / have discovered that
there are seven signs which, appear
ing together sometimes, indicate fair
weather for q week ahead. BY another
slgn can foretell the direction of the
WIND Tor twenty-four hours. I pre-
dicted the weather for ten days with
out one mistake. During the same
period the weather bureau predictions
were inaccurate three or four times
You zee, the men In the weather
bureau sit gazing at little gauges and
thermometers, barometers, pluyiome-
ters and other mendaclous inventions.
but they never look out Of the window
az the clouds. I work without any in
strumentS except my eyes. Every
morning / spend an hour standing on
the highest point OF ground can find,
% that can scan the entire horizon.
/ watch carefully the changing pic
lures and groupings made by the
clouds and consider all the ACCOMPANY
Ing conditions before I make nv
prophecy.
"Of course the weather bureau men
laugh at my methods, but they have to
admit the accuracy Of my prophecies. |
Major Hersey Of the national weather |
bureau In Washington has invited me
TO go up In a balloon with him this |
autumn to study the atmospheric con-
ditions. He wishes to convince me
how much better II is to foretelI the |
weather by scientific methods" And |
Mrs. Wilkin smiled as If she felt sure
OF and satisfied with her own nature
study methods.
ANY one can find out the things that
1 have discovered" she says modestly. |
There are books on physical geogra-
ply to be had, and any one is free to
study and experiment There is no Sc
cret process about IT. Observation and
deduction are the basis Of my predic-
tons There are twenty-seven signs
TO judge by, and of course 1t is not
easy to reconcile opposing signs and
conditions. One needs a good deal Of
practice to enable one to strike the av-
erage."
Mrs. Wilkin is tiny, slender, VI
vaciouS woman, with auburn hair and
the electric energy OF the red haired
temperament. She is radiantly enthu-
siastic over her heavenly studies" al
though she has no idea Of making any
practical or commercial use Of her
knowledge.
She has been invited To foretell the
weather every day for the week Of
Sept. 1919. In which the state fair will
he held at Syracuse.
Mrs. Willlin Is a Colonial Dame and
a Daughter of the American Revolu-
ton as well as a weather seer.