OCTOBER, 1898. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 463
stern of a vessel. The former is the case generally observed
a t Helena aud other famous foehn stations in Montana; the
latter case is that of Green Mountain and of Table Bay when
south and southwest winds blow over Table Mountain and
the Lion's Rump.
Undoubtedly, the same phenomenon must be observed in
every similar combination of conditions the world over, and
precieely these were present 011 the date quoted by La PCrouse
in whose case, as the center of low preecure passed over him,
the easterly winds veered quickly to the south and then to the
west and north, and descended upon him from the moun-
tains a few miles to the northwest.
BAROMETRIC TIDES.
Passing by the inany observations on storms and fogs con-
tained in the second volume of the English edition, we come
to the last article in the appendix describiag observations
made to discover the flus and reflux of the atmosphere. This
article by Rlr. de Lamailon is dated from St. Catherines,
Nnvemlser 5, 1715, and emhodies ohservations made hourly
from September 28 to 0ctol)er 1, when the vessel was sailing
in a southwesterly course, between latitude lo 5' N. and lo 34'
S., and therefore near the equator. Observations of this
character had been recommeiided by the Academy as beiiig
most likely t o reveal the slight tidal influence that the moon
might exert uii the earth's atmosphere. De Lamanon found
that the tide a t the equator amounted to a variation in the
barometric pressure of about 0.12 English inch, which is
equivalent to a rise and fall of about 100 feet. This result
was sufficient to show the extreme delicacy of the prohlein,
which has, since theu, been so abundantly investigated, but
still rpmaius one of the mysteries of meteorology.
The following are the exact words of De Lamanon's report:
THE FLUS AND REFLUX OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
By Q. DE LAMANON (from LaPGrouse, Vol.11, p,521).
Having been present at the reading of this article [the Instruc- tions-ED.] in an extraordinary sitting of the Academy, I caused an
excellent barometer to be constructed by the Sieur Fortin, so as to show avariation of ;,,of a line. This ingeniousartiSt was recommended to me by N. Lavoisier. It was supposed I should make use of this in-
strument, constructed for the above purpose, and it was for this reason the Academy, i n its instructions, recommends that the observations should be made on shore; but having procured a t Brest a marine ba- rometer, made by Nairne, and described in the voyage of the celebrated Cook, I found that it was perfectly calculated for making exact observa-
tions even a t sea. However great may have been the rolling of the vessel, the mercury has hitherto remained immovable, owing to the excellent siispension of the barometer and to the capillary tube, which is fitted to the common tube, and by the help of the nonius, which is aiJ(led to it, variations so small as ,l,, of a line may be readily perceived. By observing this barometer daily, a t sunrise, at noon, and at sunset,
I remarked that, from the latitude of 11" 5' north to that of 1' 1i/ north, its movement was extremely regular. It was always a t its maximum of elevation about noon, when i t descended till the evening, and rose during the night. We reached the latitude of 1" 17/ north on the 3ith of September, and
on the 28tI1, before daybreak, I began a series of observations, for which I had made preparations the evening before, and I continued them every hour till the 1st of Octuber, at ti u'clock in the morning; that is,
for a period of upwards of three days ant1 three nights. During the six hours that I devoted to sleep, M. Monge was so good as to supply
my place. I thought it necessaiy at the same time to observe the ther- mometer in the open air as well as that attached to the barometer, and the hair hygrometer. I markeil down, also, in separate columns, the direction of t h e wind, the courbe of the ship, and the rate of our sailing, estimated hy the log, and enibraced the same opportunity of observing t h e temperature of the sea and the dip of the needle.
The results of these observations appear to me to be extremely curious. The barometer gradually ascencled for six hours, and then descended during the n e s t six, and continuetl thus alternately rising and fallinp, as may be seen by the following table, extracted from my journal. [The table is omitted.-ED.]
The flux and reflux of the air a t the equator is accordingly so great as to cause a variation in the barometer of about one line and ?,, of the English divihion, which supposes a rise and fall in the atmosphere of
about a liuiiclretl feet; while the combined action of the sun and moon,
REV-4
according to M. Bernoulli, causes an elevation in the sea at the equator
of only seven feet.
It is true, there are corrections to be made, first, for the difference in t h e temperature of t h e mercury in the barometer; secondly, for the difference that may exist in the temperature of the air; and lastly, for the seven feet rise and fall of the sea, on which I was placed when making observations. I must leave it, however, to more able philosophers than myself to
determine whether or not this be agreeable to theory and calculation. But, be it as it may, it is evident from the observations, that meteor- ologists allow far too much to the action of the moon, a4 I hinted in my observations on the fog of 178.3, printeil in the Journal de Physique, and which M. de la Place, author of La Cosmographie Elenientaire,
has mathematically ilemonstrateil. I t WiJi11C1, nevertheless, be eyually erroneous to count as nothing the action of the moon: since by causing a variation of one line and i',, in the barometer, it may influence the atmosphere and occasion sensible alterations.
As I think it my duty to lay iny observations before the ilcademy in the state i n which they were made, I here subjoin them. It should be remembered. however, that the change of level in the reservoir of
the barometer requires a line to be atltleil to the different heights of the mercury marked in the table. [Table omitted.-E~.]
NOTES FROM THE VOYAGE OF LANGSDORFF.
Mr. 0. J. Klotz also furnishes the following note :
A singular phenomenon is note11 by Lanqsdnrff in his Voyage and Travels, 1803-1807. Part 11, p. 219, latitude W' 49/? longitude 133": " The current of the wind at different heiglits in the air was very dispropor-
tionate; the sea was perfectly calm and almost a s smooth as glass, and the lower sails hung totally loose while the upper were so filled with
wind that by means of them alone n e ran a t the rate of 6 miles an hour."
NOTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER REPORTS OF THE
CLIMATE AND CROP SECTIONS.'
ARIZONA.
The weather was remarkably cloudless during the month.
Mr. Leopold Walloth reports that a deep thruidering noise was
heard between noou and 1 1). 111, September 12, proceeding
from the Granite Range, between hie station (Tarnell) arid
Prescott, both of nhich are in Tavapai County. He adds
that from all accounts a large meteor struck the earth a t this
time . It is often difficult to distinguish h e h een the noise and
~oiic~ssion due to an earthquake and that due to a meteor
rushing through the atmosphere, and as both of these occur
frequently, either one is a plausible hypothesis iu coniiection
with the Arizona phenomenon. But i t ierntirelyiinprobable-
as for that matter, inipossilile-that the noise heard a t Yar-
ne11 could have been due to the striking of a meteor against
the ground in the neighhorhoud of the Granite Range.
Whenever, as has happened in a few cases, any one has
actually been near enough to observe a meteoric stone fall to
the ground, a noise has, indeed, heen heard proceeding from
the air as the meteor rushes through it, but nothing remark-
able has been recorded relative to the noise made whed the
nieteor actually strikes the growid. I n fact, a caiinon ball
roaring through the air over 011~'s head, makes very little
noise when i t finally buries itself i n the earth. The noise
heard a t Yarnell could easily have heen produced by a ineteor
rushing through the air, but not hy oiie when i t struck the
ground. It occurs to lis, howevrr, to remark that these deep
thundering noises i n hilly and mountainous countries, are
sometimes produced hy landsliiles on the eurface and some-
times by the cracking apart of great niasses of rock long
before the visible landslide occurs. In the interest of science
it is desirahle that such noises should ))e traced hack to their
true origin and cause; oiie should not he satisfied with the
popular idea that, p c r h u p , a large meteor struck the earth,
for this latter is among the rarest of obsrrved phenomena.
We are pleased to note that the Agricultural Association of
''These were prepared for t,he September REVIEW but were necessarily postponed.
464 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. OCTOBER, 1898
Arizona, which will meet October 21, is to be addressed on the
subject of climatology by W. G. Burns, Section Director for
that State. It is very important that the section directors
and other officials of the Weather Bureau should not fail, on
all occasions, to lay the importance of this subject before the
people in popular addresses and plain farmers' talks. We
are not yet prepared to state definitely the exact influence
of climate on crops, as distinguished from that of soil, seed,
cultivation, etc., but the subject is worthy of the most pro-
found investigation, for we can not have a crop without having
the climate necessary to produce that crop.
COLORADO.
The report from Colorado shows the presence of extensive
forest fires, beginning a t least as early as the 5th, in the cen-
tral and northwest counties of the State. As these continued
late into the month of October, and were spread by the high
winds and favored drought ancl excessive heat, they coiisti-
tute an important feature in the climatology of these months.
GEORGIA.
Rlr. Marbury, section director, answers a correspondent ex-
plaining why the wind sometimes shifts by veering around
from north to east, etc., and why a t other times i t shifts hy
backing from east to north, etc. As many others may desire
the same explanation, we repeat his words, which are quite
in accord with experience throughout the whole Northern
Hemisphere.
Tlie changes in the direction of the wind depend upon the position and movement of the areas of high and low pressure. I n crossing the
United States these areas generally move from a westerly position toward the east or northeast. The question whether the wind will back or veer depends upon whether the center of low pressure or >he center of high pressure shall pass to the north or south of the btation.
INDIANA.
A well defined aurora was observed a t Topeka, Lagrnnge
County, 011 the night of the 2d. This is the first report re-
ceived relative to the auroras that occurred during the pres-
ence of the great sun-spot which will probably he descrihed
elsewhere in the " Notes by the Editor."
IOWA.
Mr. John R. Sage, director, points out the crude character
of the reports of actual crop returns.
I n Iowa t h e normal or average yield of corn for the past fifteen 01
twenty years has been 32 or 33 bushels to the acre. Why should no1 the rating, 100 per cent, be made to represent this normal yield of the crop? But t h e larger number of crop reporters assume that 100 pel cent represents 40 to 45 bushels per acre. Mr. James Patterson, ol
Cedar County, adopts 65 bushels as tlie normal crop er acre, wherear it is really the maximum crop under the most favoratle circumstances
The crop reporters of Iowa were, on September 1, asked to state theii individual estimates of the average yield. The result showed that thc reporters use a high standard, such that 34 bulrhels per acre is S6 pel cent of the standard; therefore the latter would be about 40 buahelt
per acre. Iowa has a complete system of State reporters indepenilenl of those that report to the statistical division of t h e Delmrtnient ol
Agriculture. These t n o classes of reporters do not differ widely in their estiniatet of prospective yield per acre, expressed in bushels, but when expressed in percentages of t h e standard or normal crop, they differ widely, as
no two have tlie same standard. As to the final output of corn thiE season, we must await the verdict of the huskers, as they will esprest it in measured bushels per acre.
The observer a t Alta, Mr. David E. Hadden, reports thni
on the 2d a low, flat, but bright aurora was observed.
He says:
KENTUCKY.
The section director, Mr. George E. Hunt, states that " 01
the "th, about 5 p. ni., a very severe local storm passed OVCI
the eastern portion of the city of Louisville, moving from
southwest to northeast, blowing down trees and lifting roofs.'
An examination was made along the track of the storm
which demonstrated that i t was a severe wind storm blowing
atraight ahead in gusts, and not a tornado; it lacked all the
listinctive features of the latter. There are undoubtedly
many so-called tornadoes that are truly straight-line gusts,
and yet if we take a comprehensive view we can always find
B low area and a high area to which these gusts may be asso-
ciated. In the present case there was a low in Kansas and
Nebraska, another on the coast of Texas, and another in
Manitoba. These mere special points in an extensive area of
low pressure toward which hot11 the lower clouds and surface
winds were flowing. Under such conditions niasses of the
upper or cloncly air occasionally descend to the earth's sur-
face, rnshing aloiig with a small fraction of the speed due to
falling masses, and although they constitute a t first a straight-
line gust, yet after a few niiles of this rapid progress they
may soon subside altogether. Now. a ninss of air can not
descend without the equal ascent of a corresponding mass,
and this latter, as i t cools by ascension, I~ecomes a cumulue
cloud ; therefore, the straight-line gust a t the ground usually
has a cloud above i t or in close connection with it. Under
favorable circumstances this cloud may develope into a thnn-
derstorni or a tornado, hut the original straight-line gust was
uot a tornado. The latter, like the waterspout, originates in
a cloud and grows downward, although the individual par-
ticles of air are rapidly ascending.
LOUISIANA.
This is the second number that has been published under
the editorship of Mr. Alexander RlcAdie, local forecast offi-
cial and section director, who has recently succeeded to the
charge of the station a t New Orleans. Rlr. hIcAdie sumnia-
rizes the results of experience of tlie Hurticultural Club of
Riverside, Cal., relative to the protection of citrus fruits
during frost. He says :
The results of a large number of experiments carefully made and
checked were:
1. That the temper:tture of orcharcls can be materially raised by dry heat.
2. That the railistion of the earth's heat can be materially lesbened by nioist smudges btarted enrly and prullerly managed.
3. That raising the dew-point 1~p ineanb of steam-producing devices was not successful. (Note.-It is prolier tu state that while this may be true fur one locality, it may not be true for other localities u here cliniatic conditions are very tlitfeient.)
4. Cloth and mat coverings were founil to be effective, but are thought
to be too expensive. 5. The temperature was invariably higher in old seedling groves, or n here tall windbreaks affortl to smaller fruit trees a like protection.
than in exposed oichards. A tall well-locate11 windbreak is a n advan- tage, but one not properly locateil may prove to be a disadvantage. ti. The temperature, 2U feet above the ground. was 1' to 3" higher than at the burface; at the height of 50 feet the temperature was from 5' tu 10' higher than at the surface when the air was still. When the air was in motion, the dilference was slight. 7. C'ual baskets, sufficiently iiunierous, prover1 tlie most efficient pro-
tectors. Oil pots make a hotter fire, but the deposit of lampblack upon the tree and fruit is objectionable. Tlie m hole report uf the committee is of the greatest interest, ancl sliuulil ])e read by all fruit growerb. For orange ani1 lemon growers, it
is most valuable, as it shows the cost per acre uf effective protection.
MINNESOTA.
Mr. Outrani, section director, quoting from au exchange,
says:
The principal need of all fruits is plenty of water with good drainage to carry off the surplus water in the soil, when it shall happen that a
surplus exists. N r . Hale, of Connecticut, has done mnch to advance irrigation of fruits in the East, and meantiine the importance of ar- ranging to furnish fruit plantations with B full bupply of water is being
discussed in the West and South. Fruits are largely water, and can only reach perfection i n size when they have a n t e r enough to enable them to perfect their growth. There are no crops that take so little from the boil as fruit crops. They are macle up of water which is plentiful if pains are taken to get it, and
sunshine and air, which comes to us without cost.
OCTOBER, 1898. MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 466
On several occasions during the paat year the Editor has
called attention to the fact that in the Atlantic States the
evil effects of droughts can be counteracted by irrigation just
as successfully as in the arid regions of theWest. The above-
quoted article states some of the results of irrigation in Ne-
braska and Iowa, thus: the yield of currants to the acre
increases from 100 to 27.5 hushels, or 8,800 quarts ; the rasp-
berry yields 2,000 or 2,600 quarts; the blackberry, 3,000 or
4.000 quarts ; strawherries, cherries, and grapes bear enormous
crops of the finest fruits. At Vineland, N. J., a gasoline en-
gine of 2;f-horse power pumps enough water to irrigate 20
acres. Irrigation in the East and in the West alike will re-
pay both the horticulturist and thp planter. We have alreacly
stated that droughts of 3 inoiiths’ duration are liable to occur
once in a century anywhere in the hlidclle or Eastern States.
and i t behooves the farmer to be prepared for such a disaster.
A. B. Coe reports from Kipp, in Teton County, a t an eleva-
Wonderful aurora on the evening of the 11th. Position SOo south-
These dates were fair weather days midway between the raine
MONTANA.
tion of 4,472 feet:
west of the zenith.
of the first and last weeks o f the month.
Repeated on t h e 12th in the same position.
NEBRASKA.
Nr. Loveland gives a summary of investigations that hare
been made on the loss of water from reservoirs by seepage
and evaporation a t the agricultural esperinient station. \Ve
shall return to this subject a t sonie future time, hut tlie fol-
lowing figures will be of general interest.
Losses from seepage depend upon the condition of tlie soil
a t the reservoir, and niay he less than froin evaporation alone.
A loss of about 2 feet in depth per year over the area of tlie
lake a t Fort Collins, Nebr., has been niensurecl. If the loss
from seepage is not more than 2 feet per annuni, the reservoir
may he considered practically water-tight. This same ainouiit
is often lost in twenty-four hours in the case of irrigation
canals.
For well-hnilt reservoirs and canals tlie lose from evapora-
tion is ofteii greater than froni seepage. It increases with the
temperature of the water and strength of the wind and climin-
ishes as the atmospheric humidity increases. The annual
evaporation from the standard tank a t Fort Collins has arer-
aged 41 inches per aniiuin during the past eleven years.
When the mater is frozen evaporation is slower and averages
1 or l;t inches per month. The evaporation a t night is the
same as during the day. The loss by evaporation from sev-
eral lakes averaged about 60 inches per annum, being greater
than that from the standard tank, due to the higher tempera-
ture of the water aiid freer exposure to the winds. Thediminu-
tion of barometric pressure tends to increase the evaporation.
At 8,000 feet the evaporation is 14 per cent inore thau a t 5,000,
and at 10,000 feet it is 18 per cent more. For every increase
of 1 mile in the wind movement in twenty-four hours the
evaporation increases by from 1 to 3 per cent over that when
there is no wind. Evaporation is lessened by any influence
that diminishes the wind or lowers the temperature of the
water. The deeper the lake the cooler the water as a whole ;
consequently the surface is cooler and the evaporation is less.
The annual loss of depth of water by evaporation may be
assumed a t 4 feet and that by seepage 2 feet; consequently
the combined loss is G feet. The net loss is this depth dimin-
ished by the rainfall.
NEW ENGLAND.
Mr. J. W. Smith notes that great sinokiness prevailecl over
most of New England on the 19th and 20th, the oclor of the
smoke being plainly noticeable. The smoke soon disappeared
with a brisk northwest wind. It would be an instructive and
curious coniputation to fignre out how much wood was burned
in the great forest fires in Colorado and how much this must
have affected the meteorology of the globe.
NEW JERSEY.
Again, this State has been visited by a most destructive
storm of rain and wind. According to Mr. McGmn, eection
director, the storm was first felt in the vicinity of Pottsville.
Schuylkill County, Pa., whence it swept down toward Trenton.
Pottsville is about SO miles west-northwest from Trenton,
with several ranges of mountains between, and as this is
rather a long path for a single thunderstorm among the
inouutains of Pennsyvania, we hope that a careful study of
this storni will be niade by sonie one who has the data con-
veniently a t hand. Not only was the storm felt a t Trenton,
hut also, especially, a t Elizabeth, N. J., and eastward on
Staten Island Sound. One can hardly doubt that we have
here a case of a descending mass of air rushing southeastward
over the ground, spreading a little to the right and left, on
its way from the highlands of Pennsylvania to the Atlantic
eeaboard. The rising air pushed u p in front of that which
flowed gently but steadily from the northwest was the
seat of the forniation of cloud, rain, hail, lightning, and
thunder. The Weather Maps for September 7 and S show
that the whole Appalachian region was overflowed by a
mass of colcl air moving from the northwest producing
similar rains and storms throughout the Atlantic States.
Everywhere rain was reported on the 7th and 8th from New
England to Georgia, but nowhere do the cloud conditions
appear to have heen so favorahle for the formation of violent
rain and wind as in this central portiou of New Jersey.
This is mother illustration of the fact mentioned in com-
menting on the storm of tlie 29th, a t Louisville, Icy., namely,
that descending winds rolling along the earth’s surface may
sulwitle altogether nnless the conditions in the clouds just
ahove them favor the development of more violent disturh-
aiices. This present storm was not a tornado nor a cyclone,
still less a hurricane, as i t is called in this report. It was
simply a high wind and a violent thunderstorm.
NORTH CAROLINA.
The rains of tha 7th and 8th mentioned in the preceding
paragraph were quite prominent throughout North Carohla,
hut *ere overshadowed by the remarkal~le rainstorm of Sep-
tember 32. Concerniug this storm, Rlr. C. F. von Herrmann,
section director, says :
The storm of September 22, i n western North Carolina affords a very
remarkable illustration of t h e effectiveness of a mountain range in in- creasing the rainfall under suitable conditions. On that morning an extensive areaof high barometer existed on t h e middle Atlantic coast, causing fresh easterly winds over the entire State. The mountains of western North Carolina afford the highest land east o f the Rockies, and the crest of the Blue Ridge extends from northeast to southwest in a
curved line over the State in such a way as to form a trap or bay into which the easterly winds were blown with considerable force and de- flected upuarcl over t h e crest of the mountains. The downpour of water in t h e course of twenty-four hours was exceptionally heavy over
the country immediately east of the Blue Ridge; but as we pas8 farther east or west of t h e crest of t h e ridge there was a rapid diminution in the rainfall; unquestionably the air over t h e eastern art of North
Carolina must have been nearly saturated with moisture Fut the ascen- sional tendency and the dynamic cooling were absent except near the crest of the ridge. The rainfall on the southern slope were not 80 heavy
as that on the eastern slope. Disastrous freshets were produced in the Catawba anal Yadkin rivers. The contrast i n rainfall and its relation to the wind is shown by the
following figures. At some distance to the east of the mountain the following figures
were reported: Charlotte, 1.82; Mocksville, 1.53; Saxon, 3.88; less figures were re-
ported still farther east. On the west side of the mountains the reports were: Waynesville, 1.70; Asheville, 2.72; Knoxville, 1.08 for the entire
storm.
466 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. OCTOBER, 1898
Saxon, Stokes Co .............
Lenoir, Caldwell Co .... ..!.
..... ...... Paterson, Caldwell C o ... ....
On the immediate eastern slope of the ridge the rainfall and prevail-
ing winds were as follows:
In 8 Ins. 3.88 ne. Linville Mitchell Co.*. ...... 7.57 88.
8.00 e. Skyuka. Polk Co. ......... 5.61 se.
6.02 .... Marion 'McDowell C o .. ...... 8 .3 e.
7.01 se. Moreaikown. Burke Co ..... 4 77 ......
6.00 @e. Flatrock, Henderson C o . t... 5.75 .....
1-1-1 1-1
That avery enthusiast,ic and profitable meeting was held. The Chief of the Weather Bureau was present and presided at t h e convention and
t h e banquet.
LIGHTNING ON WIRE FENCES.
A correspondent of the Iowa Weather and Crop Service
nquires of Mr. Sage how to construct wire fences so as to
Drotect stock from the deadly effects of lightning that is
frequently conducted many yards along the fences. Mr. Sage
repllies in the Iowa Monthly Review for October, 1898, that
io-called ground wires should be built into the wire fences.
A ground wire to be effective should have contact with every wire in the fence, and should enter the ground far enough to reach moist
?arth, or at least two feet below the bottom of the fence post; the leeper the better. In the construction of a fence the wires may be nost easily sunken to the retloired depth in the bottoms of the post
boles, before the posts are set, by the aid of a slentler bar or pointed *od of steel. The contact with the fence wires inay be made on the Dosts, ancl it mould be well tu have the ground wires long enough to tllow t h e points to be elevated a few inches above the posts, serving as
lightning rods. A good ground wire attached in this manner to every lourth post, where the posts are set a rod apart, ought to afford a large measure of protection. The cost of wire is trifling, and if the ground
wires were placed two rods apart t h e expense of the labor and material
would not be burdensome.
THE UTILIZATION OF FOG.
Mr. Herbert Earlsclifl'e of Santa Barbara, Cal., has com-
municated to the Weather Bureau, through the Chamber of
Commerce of LOB Angeles, a suggeston relative to fog that
3hould call forth all the inventive geuius of America. hlr.
Earl scl i fie says :
I n California there are vast areas of valuable land where the water aupply is insufficient. Nature has endeavored to correct this by send-
ing in heavy fogs laden with moisture, and it only remains for the in- Zenuity of man to utilize thih. These fogb generally come in from the ocean at night during the thy smnnier munths, when most needed, but are dissipated early in the morning by the sun. Here is ample
moisture brought to our very doors if we could but discover borne simple snd practical method of condensing or precipitating it un a large scale.
It certainly is tantalizing to think of this ininiense quail-
tity of moisture present arid visible ]Jut unavailable. Neither
science nor art, a t present, can siiggest any feasible method
of causing this fog to descend in refreshing drops of rain.
On the other hand, the green vegetation a t the summits of
many mountains has often been observed to I)e clue essen-
tially to cloud or fog and not to rain ; i t may, therefure, be
hoped that along the coast of C'alifornia some device will
soon be introduced that shall catch the fog particles as they
float along and force them to trickle down i n gentle streams
of water so as to moisten the earth. lye do not propose to
condense or precipitate the atmospheric moisture in the
ordinary sense of those words, hut simply to cntch i t as the
leaves of the trees do. We recall the so-called drip from
every rock and twig on the summit of Tahle Rlountain a t
Cape Town, and eepecially 011 the summit of Green hlountaia
in the Island of Ascension sad the clanip~~ess of the rocks 011
Pikes Peak, and we can not doubt but that in many spots
throughout the glohe, vegetation is kept alive by the sri1all
aluount of moisture that is caught c)ii the leaves, ancl dripping
thence to the ground is soaked up t)y the roots of the plant.
In fact, there are several plants whose lraves ancl branches
are so arranged as to facilitate drip and the collection of
moisture by this process. \Vhat is iieedod hy the agricul-
turist on the California coast is sonie simple mechanical
arrangement by which the quantity of fog partjcles shall be
intercepted as they flow past any given plaut, and shall be
forced to drip or glide do\$ n m r d into the ground a t the root
of the plant. Any fan-shaped arrangement of sticks or slats
that increases the a r w expmed to the fog should apparently
increase the quantity of moisture carried down to the roots.
Mechanical devices, the explosion of dynamite, refrigerating
apparatus and other analogous devices are likely to be too
expensive in comparison with the return they make.