NOVEMBER, 1932 MONTNLY WEATHER REVIEW 217
ice formed, since most of these flights were made before daylight and the ice usually was melted by the time the Reif- und Eisbildung in der freien Atmosphare. Beitr. plane reached the ground. Also, there is a certain amount z. Phys. d. freien Atmosphare. 1922-23, Bd. X. S. 38. of confusion in the minds of many as to what constitutes rime and what clear ice. It is hoped that the descriptions Supersaturation and Icing of Airplanes. Monthly
Weather Review, June, 1930. given in the paper will make possible a more accurate
classification in this respect in future observations. It is Frostubersattigungen und Cirren. Met. Zeit. Band 37, believed, however, that so far as averages are concerned, Heft 1/2, 1920.
the values found would not change appreciably with Meteorological Observations in the Antarctic. Bul- letin American Meteorological Society, October, 1931. additional observational data.
LITERATURE CITED Peppier, w*
(2) Humphregs, w. J.
(3) Wegener, Alfred.
(4) Haines, W. C.
THE SECTION DIRECTOR AND THE COOPERATIVE OBSERVER1
By M. E. BLYSTONE
[Weather Bureau office, Huron, 6. Dak.]
I have chosen as the title of the paper, “The Section
Director and the Cooperative Observer.” This title would seem to involve practically all the activities of the
Climatological Service, and probably nearly all of them
will be touched upon in some part of the paper in the
hope that some of my experiences and possibly some of
the methods of handling the work at Huron may prove
helpful to other section directors. There is also the hope
that in the discussion to follow some things will be brought out that will be helpful to me. However, it will
deal mainly with matters pertaining particularly to the personnel.
It seems to me that the most important functions per-
formed by the Weather Bureau, next to that of making and disseminating forecasts and warnings, is that of securing a climatological history of the country. The aim
of each section director, to voice a thought which, doubt- less, every one of them has before him at all times, should
be to make this history as exact and reliable as possible.
In the aggregate, large interests are involved in this con- nection. Court decisions and the friendly settlement of
damage claims are often determined by the weather records. Whether climatic conditions are favorable or
unfavorable for the type of farming in which prospective
settlers contemplate engaging is shown largely by the climatological hstory obtained through the efforts of cooperative observers. This is true of all the country, but
it is particularly true of the more sparsely settled States
like South Dakota.
It is as much the duty of the Weather Bureau to show
that climatic conditions are unfavorable when such is the case as it is to show that they are favorable. Also, in
some instances, the practicability of carrying on other
industries than farming is determined by the climatic conditions that prevail. That justice may prevail in
court decisions and in the friendly settlement of differ-
ences ; that the development of agriculture, part.icularly
in new territory, may be along proper lines; arid that the peculiar climatic conditions needed by certain lines of
manufacture or other industry may be determined so
that they need not be artificially produced, thus avoiding economic loss, reliable data are necessary. Thus a great
resp0nsibilit.y rests upon the section director and, through him, on the cooperative observers. Careful and con-
scientious direction of the work of cooperative observers by the section director can bring valuable results, while
lack of it may bring loss to those placing reliance on the accuracy of the data. The thing of f i s t importance in t’he
service, therefore, is to secure a corps of intelliient and re-
liable observers, men or women, who take a personal interest in making weather records and can be depended
Iowa, Dec. 28, 1929.
1 Invited paper presented before America4 Meteorological Society, Des Momes,
upon to make them trustworthy and to whom anything
other than truth in their records would be odious.
In what class of persons can the most desirable ob- servers be found? This is a question that is difficult to answer. Probably section directors have varying opinions
regarding the matter, based, of course, upon their varying experiences. First of all I want to eliminate school-
teachers. My experience is that, they are undesirable. Their first purpose in acting as observers is to have the
use of the equipment in teaching a small amount of mete-
orology to their science classes. This, in itself, of course,
is good, but the purpose o€ maintaining the climatoi
logical service is to record climatological history, not to teach meteorology to high-school students. The teacher is apt to delegate the taking of observations to students, one at one tinie and another at another time, with undesir-
able results, for few of them comprehend the reasons for the work or care for it beyond getting by. Furthermore during vacation periods it is probable that no observa- tions at all will be made.
I t has been my experience that, intelligent farmers of some education who possess a liking for noting and record-
ing weather facts make excellent observers. Their
personal interests are involved in securing a reliable climatological history of their localities. Also they are located out in the open where they can observe and make
note of facts regarding the weather that are not so appar-
ent to a man in town. If the equipment is properly
placed on a farm, the data are less likely to be affected by
local conditions than if the equipment is in town. When inspections are being made, some inconvenience is encountered and some additional expense is incurred if
the station is in the country, particularly if the section director is traveling by train and not by automobile, and
these facts deserve consideration. However, if a farmer who is acting as observer lives near town these considera-
tions are minimized. On the whole I prefer farmer ob-
servers to any other class. When in need of a new observer my practice is to try to secure an intelligent farmer who lives near town and who is interested in that
sort of thing. This is not to say that excellent observers
are not found in other lines o€ employment. We have many excellent observers in South Dakota who are not
farmers . Probably every section director has, at some timem
other, wished that cooperative observers were paid for their services so that pressure could be brought to bear on them to induce them to render prompt and complete
reports. Doubtless, however, the attitude of the central office in this matter is wisest, for if no observer who is desirable because of his intelligence, reliability, and inter-
est in the work can be secured without pay, the small
compensation that could be given probably would not
218 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW NOVEMBER, 1932
tempt him. The man who would act as observer for the few cents a day he would receive for his services and for that reason only, and who would have no other interest in
the work, could not be depended upon to give the obser- vations the careful attention they should have. Inac-
curacies which he might believe would not be detected would mean nothing to him, while to the observer who
does the work for love of it carelessness and inaccuracy would be repugnant. Probably every community has
one or more persons who take pleasure in noting weather
conditions and who would gladly act as observers, making excellent ones.
It seems to me that when a change of observers has become necessaiy or desirable the section director should visit the station, canvass the town and surrounding coun-
try carefully, and thus find the person best fitted to take
over the work. This, of course, would be expensive, but it is my belief that the expense would be justified by the
increased value of the climatological history secured.
The data for cooperative stations, though less complete, should be as trustworthy as the data for the regular Weather Bureau stations. It can be made so only by the
careful selection of observers. The expense would, par-
tially if not wholly, be canceled by savings in other ways due to the operation of this plan. The total expense ol the Weather Bureau for such visits and for inspection of
stations might be reduced by visiting, en route, stations needing inspection. Also with observers thus carefully
selected there would be less frequent need of inspection. Furthermore, it is probable that changes of observers
would be less frequent than if they were secured through
correspondence. The reliability of records, and conse- quently their value, that would be secured in this way
would be greatly increased. In connection with the expense of maintaining the cli-
matological service the proportion of temperature and rainfall stations to rainfall stations should be given care- ful consideration. Temperature distribution is much
more uniform than precipitation distribution. This is
particularly true of level stretches of country such as make up the greater part of South Dakota. In moun-
tainous regions, perhaps, this is not true. In those level stretches the number of rainfall stations should it seems
to me, greatly exceed the number of temperature stations. Doubtless many temperFture stations now in operation
could be discontinued without loss, while an increase in the number of rainfall stations would enhance the value of the local record. The adoption of a policy along these
lines would, doubtless, result in decreased expense of
maintaining the entire service, since the cost of the equip- ment of a rainfall station is much less than that of a tem-
perature station, while the replacement expense would be
decidedly less.
I would be interested to learn how successful other
section directors have been in getting observers to mail the booklets of Forms No. 1011 to the section center and
how important they think it is that this should be done.
Notwithstanding frequent requests to observers that they mail these booklets with Forms Nos. 1005 or 1009, I have
seldom been able to have more than two-thirds of them
mnt in. In the interest of accuracy it seems to me that the data recorded in Form No. 1011 should be compared
with the entries in Forms Nos. 1005 and 1009, and it is
the practice of the Huron station to make this comparison. While the number of errors in copying that are detected
is not great, it is great enough to make the comparison essential. The entire time required for this work a t
Huron does not exceed three hours a month for cach of
three persons.
Just as important as the accuracy of observations and of making a record of same is the accurate summarizing of the monthly reports, for the summarized values are
those that come to the attention of the public. The practice in handling this work a t the Huron station is as
follows: First the data in Form No. 1011 are compared
with the data entered in Forms Nos. 1005 and 1009.
After this has been done the reports are checked for
agreement between “Set Max. ” readings and maximum and minimum temperatures of the same day and of the
following day, for precipitation entries or omissions that
are obviously erroneous, and for agreement between pre- cipitation entries and entries of snowfall and of notes that
may appear on the form. This checking is done inde- pendently by two assistants or by one assistant and the
official in charge. The maximum and minimum tem-
perature, precipitation, and snowfall columns are then
added on the adding machine from one copy of the report, and afterward the addition slips are compared with the
other copy. When this has been done the means are computed by each of two persons. The reports are then
summarized by one assistant and afterward carefully checked by the first assistant or the official in charge.
Delay in mailing reports in some instances by observers
who, in other respects, are highly satisfactory is a source of annoyance. There are a few persistent offenders in this respect in South Dakota’s corps of observers. When
this is carried to the extent of practically nullifying the value of the station, there is, of course, nothing to be done
but to change observers or to close the station. In South Dakota there are at least two o€ these offenders
that are doing such excellent observational work that one
hesitates to make a change, but continues to urge more prompt mailing of reports in the hope that they will
finally acquire the habit of early mailing. I would be
glad to learn in the discussion to follow what other section directors do in similar cases. Another heart-
breaking experience is to have the services of an expe-
rienced, reliable, and faithful old observer terminated by
death or for some other reason, after he has produced a
recorded history covering many years and then to be unable to find a good observer to take his place. Such a
station should not be permitted to die. Considerable
expense to secure its continuance with the right kind of observer would be justified. The right man for the job
might be found if the section director were to visit the
station and make a careful survey of the possibilities. How can correspondence best be handled so as to main-
tain cordial relations betmeen section directors and
cooperative observers. For the most part it is easy to write letters of instruction or letters calling attention to
errors or to incorrect practices of observers in handling
the work. I t is only necessary €or the section director to keep in mind the fact that observers are giving their
services as such to the general public without financial compensation in order that he may he imbued with that
feeling of appreciation that will, naturally, be given
expression in the general tone of his letter. Indeed, an orcasional letter of commendation is desirable and will
bc appreciated by observers. This should be a personal letter and not a circular letter, though there may be
times when the latter would be effective. At all times correspondence should be characterized by the utmost
courtesy and consideration. Not that observers resent criticism when criticism is justified and courteously
offered. On the contrary, most of them will welcome criticism, rightly offered, that will lead to better results.
Indeed, my experience has been that, in the rare instmccs
11 here the services a t a station have become decidedly
NOVEMBER, 1932 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW 219
unsatisfactory, the observer m i l l accept censcre, when
properly given without resentment and will try to im- prove his work. Thc temperaments and dispositions of
observers should be carefully studied by the section direc- tor so that correspondence may be tempered to the in-
dividual and thus tie hini more closely to the service in a friendly bond and build up the esprit de corps. Flnttery
is not needed, only frank friendliness and appreciation.
It seems to me that the thing of greatest value in the inspection of cooperative stations is not to determine
whether instruments are properly exposed and taken care of, for that can largely be done by correspondence, but
rather the few hours of personal and int,imate contact
during which the section director and the observer can
come to know each other and thus lay the foundation €or continued friendly relations more firmly. Thus each
may come to a better understanding of the problems of
the other. Such understanding will lead to better results
in the work and to greater satisfaction for both the section
director and the observer in carrying it, on.
In this paper I do not attempt to eulogize cooperative
observers. I fear that I am unable to do justice to those
unselfish individuals who, day after day and year after year, prompted by a desire to serve their fellow man, faithfully and conscientiously give their time and effort
without financial compensatiorf, and often, doubtless, a t great inconvenience to themselves, to secure a reliable
climatological history of their respective 1ocaIities. I hope they feel that they have adequate reward in the consciousness of being good and faithful workers. The
service performed by these men or women is not confined to takin and recording observations. They have many
other ca P 1s upon their time in this connection. Many of
them prepare weekly and monthly summaries of their
data for the press. Occasionally one of them is called
upon to take the records of his station into court. At all times, and particularly when unusual conditions pre- vail, he is subject to call from the people of his community
for information as to temperature and precipitation. Also most of them prepare a weekly weather and crop
report for the section center. This brings to me the thought that there is another group cooperating with the
Weather Bureau that deserves commendation, namely,
the weather and crop correspondents. A conscientious correspondent gives considerable time and thought to the preparation of his reports, and we have a few in
South Dakota who make it their business to make long
drives into the surrounding country to note crop condi-
tions. South Dakota has, perhaps, no observers who have
served for such long periods as have a few observers in other sections, but she has many who have served long
enough to be placed on a special honor roll. She has 18
observers who have served 20 or more years, 10 who have
served more than 25 years, 9 who have served more than
30 years, 1 who has served 39 years, and one, Mr. D. G.
Gallett, of Aberdeen, who has served 40 years. In m3king the above statement I have considered a family
as one observer. Four of the above number fall into this class. Two sons, carrying on after the deaths of
their fathers, and one widow after the death of her hus- band, have brought the total period of family service in each case to 33 years, and one son after the death of his
father has brought the total period of family service to
39 years. These are records of which the makers of
them can well be proud.
CONVENIENT METEOROLOGICAL RECORDS
By GEORGE B. WURTZ
[Weather Bureau oilice, Louington, Ky.1
All business and professional activitics require records, and in the light of experience these records should be in
such form as readily to group themselves into classifica- tions convenient for both comparison and summation.
Both in business and in our own professional work the
time groups have logically arranged themselves into weekly and monthly periods. These two periods are not a t present entirely commensurate; but, happily, it appears
the time is not far distant when our international calendar conferences will make them so by adoption of the 4-week
month, with 13 months to a calendar year. I n most of our work our records are arranged as nearly
as practicable on the monthly basis and we customarily
compute these d s u c h time periods. The last revision of our principal meteorological forms
occurred about 28 years ago. At that time the committee handling the matter was somewhat divided on the size.
The central office apparently adhered to the old size; the station representatives advocated one more conveniently
slipped into the pocket, and especially convenient €or use
in court. With the present policy of taking the original records to court only when the certified compilations will
not serve equally well, this necessity of convenience need not longer enter into the discussion. At that time, though compactness was urged, no change in size resulted, but
the principal form, the present Form 1001, had added to
it for station use Form 1014, to group daily data from a
number of separate forms into a composite record on a single sheet for one day. For the st,udy of several kinds
of hourly data for a single period or not to exceed a single
day, this is excellent; but for consideration of more exten-
sive periods than a day, these records on Form 1014 are
too extended and require more compact recompilation. In all studies and compilations the monthly series on
a single page is the more useful. The necessity for grouping arose not from the difficulty of consulting
two or more data on separate pages but from the defec- tive system of ruling the time lines on forms or having
to obtain data from blurred press copies on flimsy tissues, often illegible and widely scattered in the files. In making all forms of scale the mechanic’s rule,
the draughtsman’s scale, the engineer’s transit circles,
diverse ruling is employed to avoid error. There is no reason why, in making our records, we should not em-
ploy the same efficient devices. In truth, in some forms we do; in others we do not.
It is a physiological fact that the eye comprehends readily no more than three things. It focuses on a
single thing, as for instance, a line and takes in with less distinction the ones on either side, while the next
in order farther away from the central point of focus begins to fade out into the borders of obscurity. When guide lines are marked in groups of five by inclosure
with boundary lines of distinguisfiing size or color, the eye can place itself with fair accuracy amongst the
seven, selecting any single one. Increase the number between the distinguishing guide lines to more than
five and selection of any single line becomes chance. In all rulings of date lines and time lines for hourly
periods suitable subdivision rulings should be used in every instance. It has become universal in all account-
ing systems. It should be so, too, in ruling our record