Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-12

Continued from Third Page
listen tn the radio announcements.
study the pamphlets. read the news
paper reports and plant or reap ac-
cordinely
Millions Are Saved
Raisin growers In California hurry
their goods out of the way Of the ap-
preaching rain Oranges and lemons
TO the tune of $4,000 900 were saved
by the warning OF a single colo wave,
Three million dollars worth Of tobacco
In Connecticut similarly was saved by
a single notice A hundred thousand
dollars worth Of avocado and Strawber
ries lived to grace the tables Of New
York because Florida was told in time.
Four million little oil burners sit
about in California waiting to be told
10 have their fires lighted when frcst
Is threatened. On certain Christmas
eve. year or two ago. 400 carloads
of oil were rushed III to stoke them
UP and save the cr0p because the own
crs had heard the wAtchdogs bark.
When the weather man warns Of an
impending cold snap fruit shipments
stop and wait So do shipments Of
vegetables and eggs. And when a hot
wave Is predicted meat shipments halt.
Storage eggs follow tine weather vane.
When the West hears a cold wave Is
due In the East, cars fill and hurry
eastward. hoping for rise in prices,
Sugar cane in louisiana beans and
grapes. tobacco and unripe corn are
harvested quickly when the weather
man sends his warning Of impending
frost Stoc&men gather their grazing
herds from the far-out ranges and herd
them to shelter AS the news of q coming
blizzard ticks off the wire. Rice grow
ers flood their fields 10 keep the straw
from being broken gefore a single cloud
has drtftcd over the sky because the
news has come from that little rocco
house In Washington.
Even In industry they listen, ChocO-
late makers. varniSh makers. cement
and oil and huing makers. lime and
brick and paper and Photographic sup
ply companies find their products spoil
ed II the weather is wrong at the crit
teal moment They must know, and
they are told In advance
All over the country aviat1rS farm
erS. brokers and business men look for,
listen for the warming and wonder how
these unseen scientists achieve such
marvcls. There is a mystery about
them The weather man is Santa
Claus.
FOrccasting Not Magic,
Weather forecasting is not magic.
Neither is 1t an exact science, From
all over the country promptly at 8
o'clock In the evening reports come In
over the wire reports from Sun-tau-
ned observers In Arizona deserts from
frost bitten men In northern Canada,
from frcightcrs beating their way
through the West Indies,
They come In strange code
Unrest f0rwith betray,' says Bangor,
and ticking Straightaway after it Dis
trus respond incite' says Ogden And
the weather man knows that the bar
ometcr in Utah is % something and the
temperature has fallen 3 degrees and
that In Bangor the sun has shone
brightly all day long
A cryptic code and one which saves
this frugal Government not a little
Yet in spite of all devices the Weather
Man exncndS about 100000 year for
telegraph tolls
Reports have all come In. II Is o.
o'clock OF the morning after Reports
from last night at and reports from
this morning az q. II Is the time for
computing Forecasters stand at lonc
table and with swift. trained fingers
plot the information on large, outline
maps. The maps now are frll OF blue
lines and red ones, OF temperature no.
tatons and wind signs and storm paths
and rainfall figures, Over In one cor
ner a series Of maps shows the clouds
and currents of the now no longer un-
chsned reaches of the air
Forecasts Made Quickly.
Charted thus swiftly only In Amer
lea however European scientists say
that with all the informative human be-
ings could control II would take three
months to make an accurate forecast OF
the weather for tomorrow. Down on NJ