Evening star., 1912-09-01

railroad that contemplating the Shipment OF Vege-
tables fruits eggs and other products that may be
liable to damage from of temperature In like
manner high temperatures hurtul to such COM
modities fish and oysters and the weather forecast
decides when the shipments shall be made
1t is a common remark that the Weather Bureau IS
all right for the farmers but that it does good to
the man in the city unless 1t be TO give nm up as 70
whether he should take his umbrella down town in the
morning AS matter of fact, the uses made OF tenn
perature forecasts in the city numerous and varied
The notice of approaching cold wave closes up green
houses speeds the preparations for greater r1ng up IN
heating and lighting plants, and spurs the CITY aunor
ties to protect fire plugs and exposed water mains The
sreetcar companies provide for heat their cars.
and natural gas companies divert larger quantity OF
gas into their lines to meet the demand tor increased
consumption that they know will come
The great business of the stores responds at once
to predictions of rain storm, cold and merchants
c,rta their advertisements direct attention largely
to cold weather merchandise. Dealers IN coal map out
program bv which they will be able to supply fuel to all
customers Oyster dealers take IN larger stock, and
ice factories reduce their output In the rivers the
dredging of sand and gravel ceases and On the wharves
precauton taken protect material ready tor load
ing into boats Even charity organizations IN many
cities watch the weather maps and forecasts because
if cold wave is expected or hot is due, they
know that they must be ready to alay the suffering
that will be found among the poorer classes
THIS in brief outline is the function to be performed
by the Weather Bureau: The saving of ships from
storms the protection of river property from floods, the
of crops and harvested products from sudden
changes in temperature, and the guidance OF farmers
and panters in sowing and reaping their corps.
The of Congress providing for the reorganization
of the Weather Bureau under the Department OF Agr
culture summarizes the work of the Bureau follows
"The Chief of the Weather Bureau, under the direc
ton of the Secretary of Agriculture shall have charge
of forecasng the weather. the issue OF storm warnings
the display of weather and flood signals tor the beneht
of agriculture commerce. and navigation; the gaglng
and reporting of rivers the maintenance and operation
of seacoast telegraph lines and the collection and trans
mission of marine intelligence for the benefit of commerce
and navigation: the reporting OF temperature and ram
fall conditions for the cotton interest the display of
frost cold wave and other signals the distribution OF
meteorological information in the interests of agrlcul-
ture and and the taking of such meteoro-
logical observations may be necessary to establish
and record the climatic conditions of the United States
or are essential for the proper execution OF the foregoing
duties.
The general public knows the Weather Bureau princ
pally through the forecasts printed in the daily news
papers and through the weather maps posted IN public
buildings and other conspicuous places. he prepara
ton Of these forecasts is interesting requiring as 1t
does the gathering of information from all parts OF this
country and the northern hemisphere in general. At
eight o'clock every morning and eight O'Clock every
evening two hundred regular observing stations scat
tered throughout this country and the West Indies take
careful observations of the clouds and all weather
dtons and telegraph cable the results to the central
office in Washington and to various other forecastng
On these reports and the data obtained from
Canada and all parts of Europe. the forecasts for all
sections of the country based Trained scientists in
the central office in Washington told by these
ports exactly how the temperature and the barometer
stand, how the winds blowing and in what dlrec-
ton the clouds travelling any part OF the country
With this information Chafted before them these
after hour study, comparison and analysis tell the
United States what weather conditions may be expected
prevail for the thlrtysX tyeight hours.
Each of the stations of the Weather Bureau oper-
ated by one trained observers. Every station
is equipped with mercuria barometers, thermometers
wind vanes, rain and cages, and anemometers.
Many of them, are furnished with sunshine
recorders, Paragraphs thenographs, and other appa-
ratus that make it possible to keep continuous and
automatic record of weather conditions and changes.
ATOW what is done to give the entire country the ben
ets of the information collected? Within few
after the morning observations have been chared