242 Master Minds of Modern Science 



did not ask in vain. And in addition to all this special 

 work — and much more not mentioned here — the Meteoro- 

 logical Office supplies to the public special forecasts and 

 reports at the rate of over 4000 a year. 



Now all this work depends upon two things — accurate 

 records concerning weather in all parts of the country 

 and dating back for many years, and accurate daily 

 observation. 



We have shown how these daily records are gathered 

 from all points of the compass. The recording and in- 

 dexing of these masses of figures is in itself a science 

 demanding the services of experts. Every fact from 

 every observer and foreign station must be duly noted in 

 the appropriate records, for a century hence some big 

 issue may hang on the work which is being done at 

 Adastral House to-day, just as we in our day owe much 

 of our knowledge and the value of our records to the 

 careful work of bygone generations. 



From this brief record of the work of the Meteorological 

 Office it will be seen that the recording of the weather is 

 becoming more and more important, not only to holiday- 

 makers, but to all who travel by land, sea, or air. The 

 Air Ministry has now instituted an annual training-class 

 for weather observers at Kew Observatory, London. 

 Here those who assist in collecting daily statistics about 

 the British climate are taught to handle the delicate in- 

 struments used to register exact information concerning 

 sunshine, rain, fog, temperatures, and other factors. 



The ordinary thermometers with which every observer 

 is equipped are like those we are all familiar with, but 

 bigger. Special thermometers are used to record the 

 highest and lowest temperatures of the day. In the ther- 

 mometer which records the highest temperature of the 

 day a small length of mercury detaches itself from the 

 main column when the temperature falls from its highest 

 value, and stops in that position, thus providing a record 



