Evening star., 1935-05-30
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook Of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory aud Study.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY

BENJAMIN Franklin was America 5
first weather man.
J. B. kincer. principal meteorologist
Of the Weather Bureau. who has been
ni9ging into the historical records OF
forecasting, has found that as early
as 1888. while Franklin was Post l.
master General. his active mind was
exploring the possibility of predicting
coming storms
In September of that year there was
Ar eclipse of the moon. In Phla-
delphia observations were prevented
by storm clouds sweeping across the
skv Some DAYS larer the Post mast FL
General received letter from the
postmaster at Boston telling of his
good fortune in observing the eclipse
an hour before the start of heavy
storm
So. Franklin reasoned, it required
an hour for a storm 10 travel from
Philadelphia TO Boston. This is the
first recorded instance. MI Kincel
saws, of recognition OF the important
principle of storm progression. With
the primitive methods of communi-
dNdlldpN db tilC tIoWCNCi
there was little 10 be gained by follow
ing up the clue. A third of a century
elapsed before Josiah MeigS. commits
sioner of the General Land Office
issued a circular requesting meteoro-
! logical records from the registrars of
land Offices throughout the country
Two years later, in 1919, the surgeon
general of the Army established q
system of meteorological records al
the military posts. 1t was not until
20 wears later the Government OFF,
! ciallv recognized the weather" by
appointing James Espy as OffIcial me-
| teorologiSt and assigning him TO the
Office of the surgeon general.
/ Thus, Mr.. kincer finds, the feeble
infant of wea thPr fGrecasting was
switched from one Government office
/ to another without finding any per-
manent home. IN 1847 Joseph Henry
secretary of the Smithsonian lnsti-
tuition. submitted TO Congress pro-
posaI of orga MIA ZION and work which
! included a system of meteOrOlOgics
observations for solving the prob
lem of American storms" Sever
wears later he reported that the tele-
graph companies were submitting
dsilv observations. From these pro-
cedure of weather forecaSting wa.
built up. 1t was not until 1865. how
ever. that Isaac Newton, first com.
missioner of agriculture" proposed
to Congress a more extensive service
for the benefit of American farmers
and five years elapsed before any
action was taken on the suggestion
Then a joint resolution was passed
requiring the taking of daily otserva'
tions at all military posts IN the
United States.
1t was another 20 years. however
before Congress, in 1890, established
the present Weather Bureau.
Seeds buried for % years under
Fairfax. Va, house may provide
science with an important clue tt
the workings of evolution in nature
The house was built in 1909 snG
purchased in 1912 by II. B. Derr
county agent of Fairfax County. Ir
/ 1924 Mr.. Derr had a cellar dug under
part of the house to hold furnace
/ The excavated earth was piled or
the outside and the next Spring wa.
covered with lusty crop of jimSor
weeds. 1t was probable that thess
weeds had sprung from seeds de-
posted in the soil before the house
was built and prevented from germi'
mating by the absence of light.
Ten years later the cellar was en-
7 f
weeds sprang on the heap OF excavatet
/ earth. This time there could be ne
question but that they came from the
old seeds. The soil from which they
sprang had been surrounded by brick