Putnam patriot., 1909-04-30
Experience of an Amateur Weather Pro.
 phet.
Isss-ise1
Ry MISS Er.r.KN D. lARNEp.

firm conviction that some things con- | nected with the administration of our weather departments are beyond human eognizance-things that neither wealth er-wise ancient nor modern forecaster l can foresee. The primitive deifieation of natural forces Is not surprising. There seems conscious personality within the storm and tempest, direct ing and changing it's course, and derid- ing mans futile attempts al suhjeetion or forecasting. In our present state of adv anced knowledge, we attribute our
 failure 10 purely natural causes, to our
 ignorance of the higher and deeper law
 that will explain all mysteries.
 For myself have very high appre-
 citation of the services of our United
 States Weater Bureau. As 1 recall my
 unaided perplexities in my little corner
 and think of the millions over this vast
 territory who can have the days Wea-
 ther served up to them with their morn-
 ing coffee, il seems very wonderful
 achievement of modern science. AS
 We consider the multiform elements in-
 volved in the make up of days wea-
 ter, terrestrial and celestial, lamar and
 solar, electric and magnetic, with Arc-
 tic and tropic currents commingling
 in the Mississippi Valley, and floating
 eastward in divers and diverse channels
 -the wonder is that so few forecasts
 are falsified. In view of the general
 interest in this matter, a half century
 record of personal observation, even by
 a short-sighted and insular observer, Is
 worthy of notice.
 "Monthly Weather Report,n by Dr.
 Caswell of Brown University aroused
 my interest and brought to me the fine
 new thermometer that entered into ser
 vice Jan. 1, 1852, upon the north side of
 my front door porch, Thompson Hill,
 northeast corner, Connecticut. Taking
 Dr, Caswell as my guide and pattern,
 proceeded at once to make ridaily ob-
 servations of the markings of my ther-
 mometer and carefully record them, to- gether with the daily finctuation in wind and weather. l soon found that great many things were going on around me, previously unnoticed, and set myself to see what they had to do with the weather conditions. It was a gray winter, and storms came and went with surprising frequency. In quest of their origin had no help but antiqua- ted saws and weather signs and these seemed to me so absurd and conflicting that in the rashness of youth and new ly awakened enthusiasm, l was temp | ted to throw them all overheard and | launch out alone upon my voyage of i discovery. Clouds and winds, with va | rying temperature indicated by my re- l vered thermometer should form the ba- | sis of research.
 Clouds cumbered the winter sky; clouds brought rain and snow upon the | earth, but sometimes great masses pass | ed away without a raindrop or snow flake, and then a wisp like mans | hand ushered in violent tempest. l What made the difference? With JoblI | asked? "Dostlthou know the balancing l of the cloud?u Comst ock's Philosophy 1 gave helpful definitions: "Clouds are of vapof;1 rain and snow ] are caused by the release of surplus 1 from the atmosphere through 1 bs,t s.f humid air differing considerably in i Humidity and conden- l sation furnished the motor. All the | underlying mechanism involvedIin the | development of dew, rain, snow, tenn pest, hurricane, cyclone, were based l upon the simple principle by which | forms upon glass Of cold l water. My good thermometer indica- ted rise of temperature. That recondite factor, humidity, was not obvious in the clouds surface, but gave household hints of its presence. Rapid evapora- tion of boiling water, the stranding of the pudding boiler, the becIouded cam ] phor bottle, the aching of rheumatic joints, were storm signs that stood test ing. But my chief dependence in that winter was my neighbours | chimney smoke. If a stately column l Of smoke scared aspiringiy upward and in space, one might hang out | the clothes and start upon pleasure excursion with impunity even if clouds i were in evidence. But if dark, shape | less mass hung disconsolately about the | chimney and topped down upon the 1 g round, storm was brewing, and E when combined with change of wind E and rise of temperature, indicating fresh arrival Of heat currents, condl- 1 lions were fulfilled and fhe storm pro E phees verified. My philosophy essay ed more specific data, dividing my clouds into distinct classes with defin- ! ile missions. BGI Il was gray season and the clouds gathered and dispersed without regard lo scientific arrange menf. If 1 sometimes sighted fiimy cirrus. oF identified wooiiy cufnulus. in i~insliag they xould sprawl mic indefinite nussiness- Ren0nneing iie attempt to forsnalaie ny clouds bIsan prescribed methods, proceeded fur pefsanal convenience to felegate thetn into two general eiaszes--lne low, local merely indicating Ihal tlie earth sent