14 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



the office fui-nitui-e at outlying stations of the Bureau lias also been 

 in operation for several years iiast. Up to within recent years rem- 

 nants of the original furniture j)rocured thirty years ago were in use 

 at man}' of tlie smaller stations. All of these have now been replaced 

 by articles not only of modern manufacture, but also of uniform 

 design and excellence throughout the service. By a judicious distri- 

 l)ution of the supplies as they became available it has been possible, 

 within about three years, to thoroughlj^ equiji and refurnish the 

 majority of the stations outside of Washington, D. C. 



MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 



The Monthly Weather Review has been published regularly each 

 month under the able editorship of Prof. Cleveland Abbe. The Review 

 contains text, charts, and statistical tables illustrating the dominant 

 weather conditions of each month; it also contains what maj' be called 

 a popular summary of the forecasts, storms, floods, relation of climate 

 to crops, and special contributions furnished by those devoted to the 

 progress of meteorology, both within and without the service. The 

 Review is especially helpful to employees of the Weather Bureau, 

 since it offers a convenient medium for the prompt publication of 

 abstracts or complete memoirs on many subjects directly connected 

 with the practical work of the Bureau. During the past year the 

 various methods of protection against frost were widely discussed and 

 disseminated in the Review. The general results of the work done 

 with kites and balloons in the study of the atmosphere, especially the 

 data afforded by the work done at the meteorological observatory^ at 

 Trappes, near Paris, under the directorship of M. Teisserenc de Bort, 

 were published and discussed. 



EXAMINATIONS FOR PROMOTION. 



In selecting employees of the Weather Bureau for preference two 

 conditions must be satisfied: First, the candidates must have a 

 thorough knowledge of the practical work of the Bureau and be 

 skilled in its performance; and, second, thej' must possess certain 

 scholastic requii-ements, including a knowledge of the fundamental 

 principles underlying the science of meteorology. In order to obtain 

 a list of employees eligible for promotion to the higher grades, exami- 

 nations were held at a number of places during the first half of 1900. 

 The general scope and character of the examinations are shown in 

 the following extracts from orders : 



Hereafter observers will be examined in the studies indicated below. Officials 

 of or above the j^rade of local forecast official or section director will not be exam- 

 ined: but those who have not completed, at college or elsewhere, the course out- 

 lined herein are requested to do so by general reading and study, as their duties 

 may permit. 



The course of study is not made obligator}-, as it is not desired to work hard- 

 ship upon those whose duties are already numerous and exacting, but it is intended 

 that after January 1, i:iOO. only those observers who have been examined and 

 found proficient in English grammar, arithmetic, and elementary meteorology 

 will be recommended for advancement to the salary of §1.0()(); that for promotion 

 to the grade of i^U'iOO or .Sl,:.0.» observers will also be examined in algebra and 

 physics: and, further, that an examination in the remaining studies will be 

 required for advancement to the position of local forecast official or section 

 director. 



As soon as an observer reports that he considers himself proficient in one or 

 more of the required subjects, effort will be made to have him examined therein 



