850 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. DECEMBER, 1919
“Elevation nil! varieties were among the most im- A high bcation proved to he a dedecl protection for both peaches and a ples. * * * * * * 4 t l i e r fruits are of relntive~y minor im-
ortmce in lndiann and there we only wolilted cases
Born which to tlraw information. Pelm have been injured somewhat more thnu apple;;. Sweet cherries were nest in tendernew to the )each. Sour cherries suff ererl no perninnent injury, n though in one locution sapwood killing in spots was evident, Tlie p iiniz were not quite so hardy a ~; the itpples, escept the American varieties, which came through mw$icallg uninjurerl.” lie most severe injury in bot11 the peach and apple originated in the trunk ant1 main hraiichcs. This WAS
undoubtedly due to the de ree of maturity, as these por-
ortttlit factors in influencing winter injury.
1 yo;
tions of the tree would be t 7 ie last to ripen. * * *
“Aside from elevation and variety, the hardiness of the tree was influenced by the growth conditions prevailin during tlie summer of 1917; that season was short an wet. I t is probal.de that many trees failed to mature their wood properly. Htitl n normal growing season Ire-
in tlie apple. T l i ~. even shoulrl a like winter come again,
unless it were preceded by a similar growing season, the rewlts woulrl not necessarily be tluplicntctl. The chance, therefore, of aples lignin winter-killing to a similar de- gree are small. The hnlnnce of the circular is devoted to descriptions of injurim, the hest method3 of caring for the injured
tree;, ant1 the i11sect.j. nssociatecl with winter injury.-
J. Ti’[i~rrc~n Smith.
5
cetlecl the severe wniter, there might haqe heen no la1 4 ing
THE WORK OF THE U. S. WEATHER BUREAU IN THE WEST INDIES.’
By OLIVER L. FASSIG. Meteorologist.
[Dated: Weather Bureau, San Juan, P. R., Dee. 1919.1
During the Spanish-American War the presence of a of the growing imnortnnce of the coniniercial and agri- large fleet of our naval vessels in the tropical waters to cultural interests of t,he area, inaugurated a climatological t,he south urgently called for special protective measures service, including all of the islands of the West Tndies in the Gulf of Mexico and the Carihbean Sea. In June, nnd the adjacent coasts of Cent’ral and South America-an 1S98, Congress authorized the Weather Bureau to estab- axreit extending from apivosimately longitude 60 to 90 li& and operate weather-reporting stations at, selected lo- degrees west,, and finni 1at)itude 10 to 25 degrees north, cations in the islands of the West Indies and along the ndja- or roughly from Barbados, a t the estreme east to Panama, cent coasts of t,he Caribbean Sen and the (h l f of hlesico. xntl froin Curacao, off the nnrth comt of South America, While t.he primary ohject of t,he new service was tlie to Nassau in the Bahitma Tslancls. protection of the naral forces nf the Unit.ed St,at.es, Clinmtologic~d services of large o r sninll estent are additional arguments were the great,er proter t.ion agliinst maintained in nearly all of the islnads of the West Indies loss by storni along our own Gulf coast. and t.lie coast of under t,he su*wvision of their res-ecbive local govern- the south Athntic. St,at.es, as 1 ~1 1 as the necessity fur ments, hut, i t is est,rcniely difficult., if not im?>ossible, to additional safesguards to the ra!-*idly growing conimerv~nl get acccss to the ohservatioiis niade under s steins not
Canal. of regular and systenia tic publication of results. Skilled observers of the Wenthcr Bureau were located Soon after acquiring possession of the bland of Porto at 10 well-dist.ribut,ed 1wint.s within bhe hurricane arm, Rico as n result of the Spanish-American War in 1898, with instructions to report weat.lier conditions twice n climatological service of the Weather Bureau was
daily by cable to Washingt,on from June 1 to Novemb~r innugurated on the Island along lines similar to the
30, the period during which the severe at.niosl-*hsric cliniat.ologicn1 sections so familiar to all in the States. disturbances known as hurricmes may 1m espec t d to This service hss been niaintnined without interruption occur. All reports were cabled t,o Washington head- to the present time, a period of more than 20 years. cuarters of the Bureau, wliere the observations were Records of the wedier are macle nnd recorded daily c h nrted, forecasts were pre!mred, and. uw-nings issued at 60 st.nt.ions and published monthly. in case of disturbed conditions arising in any portion of Tlie first efforts to estend the climatological service the area. to the other islands of the West Indies were initiated Soon after our e1it.r-y into the World War steiw were during the present yew. and arrangements have already taken by the Chief of the Weat,her Bureau, Prof. Marvin, been complet,ed to establish IS st.ations in our recently to increase the number of storm-warning stations within acquired Virgin Islnnds-5 on the Island of St. Thomtw, the hurricane area, and to-day the Weather Bureau has 3 on the Island of St. John, ancl 10 on the largest and
30 stations on the islands of the West Tndies and a h i g by far the most produckive of the islands, St. Croix. the adjacent shores of the Caribbean Sea from which Arrangement.s 1i:ive also been completed to establish 30
reports are cabled t,o Washington a t E a. ni. a.nt1 S p. in., stations in Haiti, with blie cordial cooperation of the Washington time, during t.he hurricane scmon, and a t Haitian Government rind offici& of the U. S. NaTy. which daily records are ninint,nined t,hroughout the yenr. From 30 to 40 stations are planned for Santo Doming?. Within the past year the ea.st.ern portion of t.he area, In the islands referred to above the or anizations wdl including the Lesser Antilles and Porto Rico-the g a b be under direct cont.ro1 of the U. S. 6 b? eather Bureau. way to the hurricane belt-has heen nisde R separi1t.e As efficient climatologicd organizations already esist in forecast district, wit-li Sail Juan, P. R., a.s clist,rict center. Cuba, Jamaica, and the English and French islands of The system outlined above was inaugurated and main- the Lesser Antilles. tlie plans of the Chief of the Weather tained prima.rily as a storm-warniy orga.nixntioJ1, a ~~l Bureiiu provide for irit.iniate cooperation with the
only incidentally as n cliniatolo icnl service. i n the directors of these foreign services with a view to secur-
sent fairly the climatological conditions of their respective islands.
interests in tsliese waters with t.he opening of t.he Pannnia in accord in methods and measures, or in t i e absence
spmg of the present year (1919) 5 rof. Marvin, in view ing a sufficient. number of cooperating stations to repre-
1 Read at the joint meeting of the Arnericxli Meteorologicnl Society and the Ass+ ciation of American Geographors, St. Louis, Dec. 31,1919.
DECEMBER, 1919. MONTHLY WEATHER R.EVIEW. 85 1
The observations recorded daily will be collected a t the end of each month at San Juan, Y. R., the head- quarters of the new climatological service, and published in a form similar to the climatological section re orts
States of the Union. The working out of the details of the organization here outlined will require time, but there is every indication that the cordial coo eration of the foreign Governments concerned will enahre the Chief of Bureau to establish, within a year or two, a climatological or anization in the tropical area to the south of us whi 3 is destined to be of as great value to the agricultural interests of the world as the storm-warning system has proved to be to the shipping and commercial interests in the past
being published by the Weat.her Bureau in each o F the
20 years. Additional dans of the Chief of the Weather Bureau for the tropicd organization at San Juan include esperi- ments in up er air conditions in the Tropics to advance our knowle R ge of the general circulation of the at,mos- phere and the development of storms within the hurri- cane belt and to aid in charting aerial routes for the aviator of the future.
AEROLOQICAL WORK IN THE U. S. NAVY.’
By Lieut. C. N. KEYSER, U. S. N.
[Author’s abstract..]
The Navy has contributed from an early time to the development of meteorology in the lhited States. The work of Lieut. Maury as early as 1S44 is conspicuous as an example of this effort. The development of naval aviation made necessary the training of an Acrological Section, whose value during t,he war was such as to make its continuation necessary. 1t.s import,ance as a peace-time activit has been demonstrated in connection 84th the trans-At,!kic flights and the recruiting trip of the NC-4 along the coast and up the Mississippi. All
of these undertakings were in conjunct.ion with the Weather Bureau, with which the Navy niaintains close cooperation. Escellent communication, such ns provided by the telegraphic service of the Weather Bureau in con- ‘unction with the radio service of the Navy, has been iound of prime importance. The Meteorological Society should rove an escellent medium for cooperation be- tween t R e Weather Bureau niid all other agencies inter- ested in the development of the science of metcorology.
REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE WEATHER BUREAU,
The Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, recently ~iuhlished, contains, in addition to the r e p r t on t.he usual anclawell- known phases of the Bureau’s work, certain ot,lier.mt,er- esting material. Occu!q+ig a consr.icunus place 111 the report IS a discussion of t,he p r t the Weat,her Bureau played in war-time meteofology in such activities as t,he establishment of aerial wmtl forecast.s, pnd cooperation wit.h the Army among estal>lislied established aerological stations; esamples of the relation between the work of the Bureau and aeronautics nre given in the successful trans-Atlantic fli hts of the NC-4 and the British dirigible RS.4. The “Hie 5l ways Weather Service,” which is a new project, is one of great interest z~nd \due, in w1iiC.h the principal Weather Bureau stations keep in t.ouch w t h the
I9 18-1 9.
1 Presented before American Meteorological Soclety, Yt. Louis, Mo., Ilw. 30, 1Y19.
condition of roads and important highways; the service has pmved so popular to motorists and others who have frequent use for road informfttion trliat it has already proved its value. Investi ations in volcanology were begun a t IGluea Volcano inkawaii, with the expectation that they niay be estended to volcanoes in Alaska and other portions of t,he possessions of the United States. Hampered as they were by the war, marine observations are once more being established and estended upon a program which will lead to much more estensive obser- vations over the great ocean areas.--. L. N.
REPORT OF THE BRITISH METEOROLOGICAL COMMITTEE.
[Reprinted from Nnturr, London, Jan. 1, lSa0, PP. 44H47.1
A report of the Met.eorologica1 Committee for the ear ended March 31, 1919, has recently heen issued. h i s is t.he first reiwrt since the Armistice, and much interest- ing information is given in it. Immense str!des have been made in niet.eorology, and the Meteorological Office has espanded accordingly, dependent on the necessities
of the war. Whereas the sum available, including many cost,s for the Services, in the year 1913-14 was 29,3801., in 191s-19 i t was 60,3711. X much greater demand was made on t;lie office for meteomlogical instruments, and for forecast.s of all descrintions, including tshe upper air. The marine dix-ision, on the ot,her hand, which is depend- ent, for its informat.im on the Royal Navy and mercantile marine, exj:erienced a great falling of€ in the number of document,s received from ol~ervers at sea, the documenh numbering 2,73S in t,he year 1913-14 and only 43 in 191s-19. Throughout t,he war t,here was great activity in the sulqdy of data to t.he Army, Navy, and Air Service, and the \fyorli commonly iiiidertaken in times of peace
was greatly augment.ed, although most of the inforniation was considered private and wa.s withheld from the general pulJic. The rest.rictions upon the circulation of meteoro- logical information were removed aftfter the signing of the Armistice. Re1:ort.s for the several branches of t.he office show t.he variet.y and est.ended work now undertaken.
Any future report will presumahly Ire made through the Air Ministry, to which t.he Met,eorological Office is now
responsihle.
NEW FORM OF BRITISH DAILY WEATHER REPORT.
Since April 1, 2019, the Daily Weather Report of the Meteorological Ofice has been issued in three sections. The following is quoted from the official announcement of the change:
I. British Section (B. report). (p . 4.)
TI. International Section (I. reporty. (pp. 4.)
111. Upper Air Supplement. (p. 2.) I. The British Sectinn (B. report) is issued daily a t noon, in time
((1) Statistics for British stations observing four times a day at
(h ) Statistics for Eritish stations otservin twice a day a t 7h. and 18h. (r) Particulars of sunshine, etc., reportef from health resorts. (dj Weather map for northwest Europe for 7 h. G . hl. T. on the scale 1:10.000.000, with inset maps showing the dktribution over the British Isles of upper and lower cloud and visibilitv. (e ) A summary of the weather over the British Isles by districts a t 7 h.
f j ) Forecasts for the districts of the British Isles for the 24 hours commencing at 3 p. m., with a “further outlook” i f conditions are
sufficiently definite. 11. The International Section (I. report) will he issued for the present on the morning of the day followin that to which the report refers. in time for circulation with the fay’s British Section. It contains:
for circulation by middav post.
lh.. 7h.. 13h.. and 18h.
I t contains: