Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-09-25
EXPERT ON WEATHER,
How Mrs. WiIkin Of Syracuse
Makes Her Predictions.
STUDIES CLOUDS AND WINDS.
Any One Can Do Il, She says-Has
Twenty seven Signs by Which TO
Forecast Weather Conditions With
out Use Of Instruments.

out Use Of instruments.
A little woman from Syracuse. \. u,
Is making the weather seers, from
Major Hersey of Washington down TO
the Ilttlest clerk In the smallest wealth
er tower in the United States, sit up
and take notice.
The little woman is Mrs. Eva Fran
ces Smith Wnkin, wife of Henry
Dwight Wilkin, a prominent citizen OF
Syracuse. And, although she pro
fesses to be able to prophesy when to
wear your rainy day skirt ana when
10 sport your fall hat better than do
the weather bureau men with their
big towers and their little instruments.
she doesn't make any pretense to be-
ing an astronomer, an astrologer or
even a scientist.
"All the signs are in the heavens, to
he read by any one who cares to do
So" 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
the winds in a desultory way years
ago. At school my favorite studies
were physical geography and astrono-
my, but | never really made any Sc
rious experiments until within a year
or two ago. Since then l have made
several discoveries that are considered
rather important.
For example, l have discovered that
there are seven signs which, appear
Ing together sometimes, indicate fair
weather for week ahead. BY another
sign | can foretell the direction Of the
wind for twenty-four hours. 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 see, the men in the weather
bureau sit gazing at little gauges and
thermometers, barometers, pluviome-
tiers and other mendacious inventions.
but they never look out of the window
at the clouds l work without any in
strumentS except my eyes. Every
morning | spend an hour standing ON
the highest point of ground can find.
SO that | can scan the entire horizon
l watch carefully the changing pic
lures and groupings made by the
clouds and consider all the accompany
ing conditions before | make my
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 balloon with him this
autumn to study the atmospheric con-
ditons. He wishes to convince me
how much better it is to foretell 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
have discovered" she says modestly
There are books on physical geogra
ply to be had, and any one Is free tc
study and experiment There is no Sc
cTel PROCESS uDOul IL. oDSeENdtol auC
deduction are the basis of my predic
tlons. There are twenty-seven signs
to judge by, and of course it is moi
easy to reconcile opposing signs anC
conditions. One needs good deal Of
practice to enable one to strike the av
erage."
Mrs. Wilkin is q tiny, slender, vi
vacious woman, with auburn hair ant
the electric energy of the red hairet
temperament She Is radiantly enthu
siastic over her heavenly studies" al
though she has no idea Of making an!
practical or commercial use of he
knowledge.
She has been invited to foretell TIN
weather every day for the week O
Sept. 14-19, in which the state fair will
be held at Syracuse.
Mrs. Wilkin Is Colonial Dame ant
Daughter of the American Revolu
ton as well as weather seer.