APRIL, 1897. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 166
A., works an installation of 137 electric lighta, for which he formerly used a steam engine; as a result he finds that he effeecte a saving of more than60 r cent. A w x n toLord Kelvin, wind still sup lies a large. part of the energy use3 by man. Out of 40,OOO of the gritish shipping, 30,000 are sailing ship, and as coal geta scarcer “ wind will do man s work on land, at least in proportion comparable to its present doing of work at sea, and windmills or wind motors will again be in the ascendant.”
-IN KITEI a U B AND J-8 SW-.
In the American Journal of Science for 1837, Vol. XXXII, pp. 304-307, there is an article by James Swaim (b. 1816, d,
1877), describing some observations by himself, made Octo. ber and November, 1836, for the purpose of determiningdaily the height of that layer of electrified air ‘L whose positive electxicitywas concentrated enough to expand the leaves of
the electrometer.” Such measurements would of course de. termine the height of a layer having a constant difference of
potential with regard to the earth’s surface at the lower end of the wire. Mr. Swaim used a kite and apparatus which hc describes as follows :
The preceding experiments were made with common three-stich kites, two feet SIX inches lon and two feet four inches wide, taperin from the middle to. the top. %ire No. 30 was used, which w y wound on a red four feet in cmcumference, havmg a @ass axle running on B
frame about three feet h’ h which was made in the same manner as
the one used by the Frazlii Kite Club of Philadelphia. An electrometer was connected with an iron rin through which the wirepaesed, and which was suspended by means 01 silk in front of the reel or the purpose of preventmg the wire from running off in wind. in up rapidly.
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the height of the kite, which I constructed m the following manne%wo stahonary arms of diffep ent lengths were laced at right angles. The longer of these wae eraduated into am& eauidiatant divisions. A movable arm. which
%BO an inepment was Fed for fin
3 a s p u a t e d in the same manner, was attached to the short &m, intt whi was let a level. This instrument was attached to the front 01
the reel stand by means of a screw, on which it could move.
The height of t.he kite was found by means of a simple pro.
portion. Mr. Swaim also publishes the meteorological ob. servations made by him at the surface of the earth, concern.
ing which he says :
The dew- int was found from the following formula, discovered by Mr. Eap : E k e two thermometers (Fahrenheit) that agree, or allow for the cherence; cover one of the bulbs with a wet rag and suspend them in the shade where there is a draft of air, or fan them briskly until they become stationary. Then the difference of the thermqme. ters being multiplied by one hundred and three, the product divided by the number of degrees indicated by the wet bulb, and the quotient subtracted from the number of those indicated by the dry one, will give the dew-point.
From the above we infer that wire was used both by the
Franklin Kite Club before 1836, and by Mr. Swaim in that year. The “three-stick kites” described by him are some- times called “ house kites,” and have the form of an irregular but symmetrical hexagon. The reference to Espy’s use of the “whirled psychrometer ”
is important as confirming the conclusion long since pub-
lished by the Editor, that Espy was the first who practiced
this use of the instrument.
KlTElS IN AMEFUUA AND EUROPE.
The active meteorologists of to-day with their abundance
of scientific periodicals do not easily realize the difficulties under which our ancestors labored a century ago. Before the
establishment of Silliman’s American Journal of Science,
1818, and the Franklin Journal, or the Journal of the Franklin Institute by Dr. Jones in 1826, Americans necessarily looked
to England and France for the records of the progress of soience. The journals that were most widely circulated among us were Tilloch’s Philosophical Magazine, Nicholson’s Journal of Natural Philosophy, Phillip’s Annals of Philosophy, Brewster’s Edinburgh Journal of Science, and Young’s Quar-
terly Journal of Science, and in these we must search, not only for American contributions, but also for the articles that stimulated American workers and the ideas that were prevalent among them. The modern application of the kite to meteorological work illustrates very prettily this inter-
change of ideas between Great Britain and America. Franklin and his electric kite of 1748 were but tales of the past when, in 1825, the memoir of Prof. Alexander Wilson (which had lain neglected for thirty-six years among the papers of his son, Prof. Patrick Wilson) was published in the Transactions
of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and almost at the same time was largely reprinted in Thornson’s Annals of Philosophy for November, 1826 (apparently the last volume before the Annals.mere united with the Philosophical Magazine). An abstract of this paper was published, as promptly as possible in the Franklin Journal for March, 1827, Vol. 111, p. 182,
and must have at once falleu into the hands of Espy, who was at that time studying meteorological matters. About this time, also, he must have read Fisher’s article in the Quarterly Journal for 1826, and soon began his own experi-
ments with kites. He must, also, have seen Harvey’s article in the Encyclopedia Metropolitana in 1834, as that encyclo-
pedia was widely circulated in the United S t a t k Espy’s theories as to atmospheric currents and storms, the tempera- ture of the air, and the formation and heights of clouds, supported as they were by his own observations with kites and those of the Franklin Kite Club, excited much attention in Europe between 1836 and 1846. The discussions on his theories preceded, if they did not directly lead to, the attempt of Birt and Ronalds in 1847 at the Kew Observatory todeter- mine the real condition of the atmosphere above us as to temperature and moisture. Their experiments were given up as unsatisfactory and the kite seems to have been aban- doned-if I may except some obeervations of my own in 1867
at Washington and 1876 at Atlantic City and those of Van Rysselbergh in Belgium in $38O-until Archibald began his valuable work in England in November, 1883. The scanty use made of the kite during this interval resulted very largely from the fact that the balloon had absorbed attention and, indeed, seemed at first to offer all the facilities needed for
the exploration of the upper air. Afterwards balloon work was supplemented by the establishment of mountain stations, beginning with Mount Washington, 1870, and Pikes Peak,
1873. But the progress of dynamic meteorology had shown the need of regular observations from stations that are more perfectly isolated from terrestrial influences than is possible
on a mountain top. The Eifel tower seemed to perfectly respond to our needs, but such towers are expensive and rare.
A few isolated investigations by no means respond to the needs of dynamic meteorology. The work done with balloons, kites, and mountain stations was reviewed in my lectures of
1882-85, showing that we must have maps of the upper isobars, isotherms, and winds and, to this end, must increase the number of our mountain stations and stimulate the use of balloons. In June, 1886, Mr. McAdie used kites to study atmospheric electricity at Blue Hill in extension of his
studies under Professor Trowbridge at Cambridge. In my official estimates of July, 1886, and September, 1886, respec- tively, I included “kites, wire, reels, and sextant for the study
3f wind pressure” and, again, “kites, etc., for the study of temperature and wind at moderate elevations,” as supple- mentary to balloons and mountain stations. But the im- portant stimulus was given to this kite work by Eddy at Bayonne, N. J., in 1890, and just at this opportune moment Hargarve, in 1893, at Sydney, Australia, contributed to the progress of science his unique and valuable cellular kite, a
Full account of which was read at the Columbian Exposition, Zhicago, 1893. Since then Eddy’s work has been carried Corward at Blue Hill by Mr. Rotch and his assistants, while
166 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. APRIL, 1897
Hargrave’s work has been taken up at Washington under Professor Moore’s instructiona. and perfected by Potter and Marvin. At the same time hhe Germans have been busy developing a combination balloon and kite,. powerful enough
to carry up an officer for the purpose of military reconnais- sances. Each successive decade of this century has wit-
nessed a series of personal experimente in Europe and America, until now, just as the European meteorological bureaus have taken up the sounding balloon as a means of exploration to great vertical altitudes, the United States Weather Bureau has prepared kites to cover a great horizon- tal extent of territory with automatic meteorological instru- ments. The American system of kite work contemplates regular daily reoords with kites at about 6,000 feet altitude, while the European aystem is designed for special occasional work at 60,OOO feet altitude. Undoubtedly each will supple-
ment the other.
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FURTHHR COMMENT IS UNNEUESSARY.
The Weather Bureau notes articles in two Boston papers, The Happy Thought, March 20, and The Transcript, April
28, which purport to he reports of papers read by the Director and staff of the Blue Hill Observatory before the Boston
Scientific Society. The animus of these papers is to eulogize unduly the original work of that observatory a t the expense of the United States Weather Bureau. The Blue Hill Observa- tory is entitled to much credit for its contributions to science, and its Director deserves all praise for his zeal in the advance- ment of meteorology, but we regret to say that several state- ments in the above articles are very misleading and incorrect,
as shown by well known facts in the history of the National Service. If the Director of the Blue Hill Observatory thinks it necessary to thus magnify his own work, we reepectfully suggest that it be done in such a way as to be above the criticism of his friends.
METEOROLOGIOAL TABLES.
By A. J. Exmy. Waf of Mvkalon of Beoord6 md MeWomlmoal Data.
Table I gives, for about 130 Weather Bureau stations making two obaervations daily and for about 20 others
making only the 8 p. m. observation, the data ordinarily needed for climatological studies, viz, the monthly mean pressure, the monthly means and extremes of temperature, the average conditions as to moisture, cloudiness, movement of the wind, and the departures from normals in the case of pressure, temperature, and precipitation ; the altitudes of the instmmenta, the total depth of snowfall, and the mean wet- bulb temperatures are now given. Table I1 gives, for about 2,400 stations occu$ied by volun- tary observers, the extreme maximum and minimum temper- atures, the mean temperature deduced from the average of all the daily maxima and minima, or other readings, as indi- cated by the numeral following the name of the station ; the total monthly precipitation, and the total depth in inches of any snow that may have fallen. When the spaces in the snow column are left blank it indicates that no snow has fallen, but when it is possible that there may have been snow of which no record has been made, that fact is indi-
oated by leaders, thus ( . . . . ).
Table I11 gives, for about 30 Canadian stations, the mean pressure, mean temperature, total precipitation, prevailing wind, total depth of snowfall, and the respective depart-urea from normal values. Reports from Newfoundland and Ber-
muda are included in this table for convenience of tabulation. Table IV gives detailed observations at Honolulu, Repub- lic of Hawaii, by Curtis J. Lyons, meteorologist to the Gov- ernment Survey. Table V gives, for 26 stations, the mean hourly tempera-
tures deduced from thermographs of the pattern described and figured in the Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau,
Table VI gives, for 26 stations, the mean hourly pressures as
automatically registered by Richard barographs, except for Washington, D. C., where Foreman’s barograph is in use. Both instruments are described in the Report of the Chief of
the Weather Bureau, 1891-’92, pp. 26 and 30.
Table VI1 gives, for about 180 stations, the arithmetical means of the hourly movements of the wind ending with the
respective hours, as registered automatically by the Robinson anemometer, in conjunction with an electrical recording mechanism, described and illustrated in the Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau, 1891-’92, p. 19.
Table VI11 gives, for all stations that make observations at 8 a. m. and 8 p. m., the four component directions and the
1891-’92, p. 29.
resultant directions based on theae two observations only and without considering the velocity of the wind. The total movement for the whole month, as read from the dial of the Robinson anemometer, is given for each station in Table I. By adding the four components for the stations compriaed in any geographiical division one may obtain the average resultant
direction for that division. Table IX gives the total number of stations in each State from which meteorological reporta of any kind have been re- ceived, and the number of such stations reporting thunder- storms (T) and auroras (A) on each day of the current
month. Table X gives, for 66 stations, the percentages of hourly sunshine as derived from the automatic records made by two essentially different types of instruments, designated, respect- ively, the thermometric recorder and the photographic
recorder. The kind of instrument used a t each station ie indicated in the table by the letter T or P in the column fol- lowing the name of the station. Table XI gives a record of rains whqse intensity at some period of the storm’s continuance equaled or exceeded the following rates :
Duration minuter.. 5 10 16 !43 !B 80 86 40 4!! XI 0 80 100 UO REh6 pr.’hr. (h6.).. 8.00 1.80 1.40 1-!43 1-08 1-00 0.a 0.80 0.86 0.84 0.m 0.m 0.64 0.80
In the northern part of the United States, especially in the colder months of the year, rains of the intensitias shown in the above table seldom occur. In all cases where no storm of sufficient intensity to entitle it to a place in the full table has occurred, the greatest rainfall of any single storm has been given, also the greatest hourly fall during that etorm.
Table XI1 gives the record of excessive precipitation at all stations from which reports are received.
NO!I’ES EXPLANAmRY OF UHMbTS.
Chart I.-Tracks of centers of high pressure. The roman letters show number and order of centers of high areas. The figures within the circles show the days of the month; the letters a and p indicate, respectively, the 8 a. m. and 8 p. m., seventy-fifth meridian time, observations. The queries (1 )
on the tracks show that the centers could not be satisfactorily
located. Within each circle is given the highest barometric reading reported near the center. A blank indicates that no reporta were available. A wavy line indicates the axis of a
ridge of high pressure. Chart 11.-Tracks of centers of low pressure. The roman letters show number and order of centers of low areas. The