742 COSMICAL PHYSICS 



extension of the field of observation over the ocean, by wireless tele- 

 graphy, may here be mentioned as offering advantages to certain 

 countries; for example, the reports now being received in England 

 from steamers in .mid- Atlantic give information about the approach- 

 ing weather conditions, -- subject, of course, to any subsequent 

 changes, - - long before they reach the western shores of the British 

 Isles. 1 Nevertheless, the data obtained still relate mainly to the lowest 

 strata of the atmosphere, and we are ignorant of the conditions that 

 prevail at the height of a mile or two, both during storms and in fine 

 weather. Until these are known, and their sequence in the upper and 

 lower atmosphere has been established by careful investigation, our 

 weather forecasts, based on synoptic observations, will continue to 

 be largely empirical. However, it should be remembered that, since 

 weather predictions constitute the aspect of meteorology which most 

 appeals to mankind, the incentive to improve them is the most likely 

 to stimulate the investigations needed. Therefore it is the problems 

 of dynamic meteorology that now press for solution, and to achieve 

 this purpose we must not only look upward, but also elevate our- 

 selves, or our instruments, into the higher regions. 



This mode of study belongs entirely to the last half-century, for 

 only within that period has a systematic attempt been made to ascer- 

 tain the conditions prevailing in the upper air. To the credit of the 

 United States it should be remembered that the first post of observa- 

 tion upon a mountain peak was one established in 1871 upon Mount 

 Washington in New Hampshire, and this was soon followed by the 

 highest observatory in the world, maintained during fifteen years 

 upon the summit of Pike's Peak in Colorado. 2 The observatory upon 

 the Puy de Dome in France, opened in 1876, was the first mountain 

 station in Europe to be equipped with self-recording instruments. 3 

 A large amount of data has been collected at these stations which 

 illustrate chiefly the climatology of the mountainous regions, for what 

 we obtain in this way still pertains to the earth, and, as is now admit- 

 ted, does not represent the conditions prevailing at an equal height in 

 the free air. During the present century, the organized efforts which 

 have been made to explore the ocean of air above us have already 

 resulted in a great increase of knowledge respecting the atmosphere as 

 a whole. This task of ascertaining the conditions of the free air was 

 resumed in 1888 with balloon ascents in Germany, in which special 

 precautions were taken to obtain accurate temperatures, 4 previous 

 observations in balloons leaving much to be desired in this respect. 

 Four years later the French demonstrated that by means of balloons 

 carrying only self-recording instruments, meteorological information 



1 Nature, vol. LXX, pp. 396-397. 



2 American Meteorological Journal, vol. vin, pp. 396-405. 



3 Ibid. vol. n, pp. 538-543. 



4 Ibid. vol. ix, pp. 245-251. 



