60 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



are not known to the purchaser, and the selection of residences 

 for health and pleasure. 



It is not generally known that the meteorological records daily 

 appear in numerous of the courts of the land, and that many 

 important cases at law are settled or greatly influenced by them. 



Under the direction of Secretary Wilson we have recently 

 arranged with Europe and the Azore Islands for the receipt of 

 meteorological reports that, in connection with our present exten- 

 sive system, enable us to forecast wind direction and wind force 

 for transatlantic steamers for a period of three days out from 

 each continent. This is an extension of the meteorological 

 service that has long been sought by mariners. The new Ger- 

 man cable from Lisbon to New York enables us to get direct 

 communication with several islands, the reports from which are 

 necessary in the taking up of this new and important work. 



Recently the Post Office Department, through the rural mail 

 delivery, has placed at the disposal of the Weather Service one 

 of the most efficient means of bringing its daily forecasts, frost 

 and cold-wave warnings to the very doors of those who can 

 make the most profitable use of them in the agricultural sections 

 of the country. The latest forecast of the weather is printed 

 on small slips of paper and each carrier is given a number equal 

 to the number of houses on his rural route. Thus does the 

 meteorological service insinuate itself into every avenue that 

 promises efficient dissemination of its reports. To be fore- 

 warned is to be forearmed. The last appropriation for the sup- 

 port of the Weather Bureau was $1,058,320. It is the opinion 

 of many insurance and other experts that the meteorological 

 service of the United States Government is worth over $20,000,- 

 000 annually to the agriculture, the commerce, and the industry 

 of the country ; and this notwithstanding the large element of 

 error that must for a long time to come enter into its predictions. 



It may be asked what the prospects are for an improvement 

 in the accuracy of the weather forecasts during the coming cen- 

 tury. To this it may be answered that when our extensive 

 system of daily observations has been continued for another 

 generation or two a Kepler or a Newton may discover such 

 fundamental principles underlying weather changes as will make 

 it possible to forecast the character of the coming seasons. If 

 this discovery be ever accomplished it will doubtless be made 



