Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1916-06-05
WEATHER SCIENCE
Il 10 Good as Far as Il Goes, but
II Doesn't Go Far Enough.
SECRETS HIDDEN IN THE SUN.


Changes IN internally and Quality Of
Solar Rays csuss EMsess That seshsr
MstssrsIspIsts--Why Fersessts ss
Espsrts Often 90 Assrsx
The most imperfect science 10 mete-
oroIoay. tho margin OF error In its
calculations 10 sometimes enormous
sufficient 10 completely reverse Q pre-
diction.
The weather bureau IL a useful In.
stitution, based upon an incomplete
system Of correlated facts Of observa.
tion, which ara scientific NJ far a. they
80. But there arc elements concerned
In tho production Of weather about
which the methods Of meteorology
give no information.
Thcre are birds, insects and four
footed animals which have an ihcoIn.
parably greater forcknowledgs Of
weather changes than the entire scien.
tinc corps Of the agricultural depart
nent possesses.
when the Projectors Of the weather
'bufea0 give warning Or an approach.
nc storm they act on very much the
sams principle a. that on which = rail-.
road time table 10 based. A train hav.
ing been announced BY telegraph ~
started On . given line will arrive IN
regular succession It certain points
iio6k thxt hue. and = station agent Al
any given point can. II no accident In.
tefyt6es. forvielI the moment Of the
trains arrival At his station.
Storm centerx. or cyclones. moving
across the country are In some ways
comparable TO trains following 4 time
schedule. But unfortunately they do
not run on rails. they are not driven BY
an inyariable force. they are subject TO
Interruptions and obstacles OF many
kinds. and instead Of always keeping
the track snd following the course
they frequently wander vaguely about
or take m unexpected turn or else
fade away like exhausted whIrls In wa,
ter
In fact, the weather bureau predic.
tors are In the same quandary IN which
train dlspatchers would find themselves
II railroad tracks were shifting lines.
continually drifting this way and that.
getting crossed and entangied or sink
Ing Into suddenly formed quagmlrcs
aud thus disappearing for good
Mefcorolpgy M u science Of weather
prediction fails Just because II pos
sesses ton few facts With the aid OF
the telegraph the weather bureau can
II lucky follow tue trail of a storm
center across The United States. bnt Il
carfuot tell Just huw new storm is
born nor Just when or where II win
begin it, course,
The one only great fact IN which Il
bases lis whole system OF prediction II
the general tendency of cyclonic dis,
turbanct Ia this country to travel east.
ward with n northerly trend. while
storms originating around the gulf OF
Mexico and The Caribbean sea usually
come up tbc coast.
But the official weather progDostlca.
tors ARE nv much IN the dirk az the or
binary citizen concerning what Il going
to happen IN the atmosphere next week.
and they really know nothlng about
any storm until after Il has begun It's
career. aud then all that they know IL
the course that II win take--in case Il
doesn't happen to change IT, mind.
A slight variation IN the Intensity, or
quality, OF the radiation received from
the sun might account for sudden
changes or abnormal weather. aud re.
cent inyestiga tlons show that such VA.
riations occur but what Ii needed IL
more accurate knowledge about them
and their effects, Heat and light are
only two Of an infinite number OF
forms OF vibration sent TO us from the
sun. Everybody knows that when the
weather records show that two days
are precisely alike In temperature. In
humidity. etc, human nerves prove
that they are vastly unlike In some un.
named pecullarlty which Affects the
springs Of life.
The spider bnslly and confidently
spinning her webs In preparation for
u spell Of fine weather which some un.
crrlng mechanism OF forcknowledge
within her enables her to detect Is a
s,irer guide than barometer She re-
spends to vibrations as yet only guess
ed at by science, and so perhaps do the
supersensitiye nerves of many human
creatures. Garrett r. servlss In New
York journal.