12 Eighth Annual Keport of the 



stations receiving the telegraphic forecasts from Washington di- 

 recth' is about 100; but arrangements have been made whereby 

 the messages are forwarded, in many cases by telephone, to neigh- 

 boring points where the warnings are given publicity by flag or 

 whistle signals. 



Two years ago a very eiScient and inexpensive plan of forecast 

 distribution was generally adopted by the State weather services, 

 whereby a number of selected telegraph stations print the fore- 

 casts immediately after their receipt, by means of a rubber- 

 stamping outfit, and forward them by rail or stage routes to the 

 postmasters of neighboring farming communities. At these sub- 

 stations the bulletins are posted conspicuously, or are displayed 

 by flag signals. In New York there are now thirty-five distribut- 

 ing centers which communicate the warnings daily to 570 

 villages. 



Work at the Central Office. — In addition to the usual observa- 

 tions of a voluntary station, continuous records are kept at this 

 ofiSce of temperature, rainfall, the direction of the wind and its 

 velocity in vertical and horizontal directions;, also of the duration 

 of sunshine, the humidity of the air and amount of evaporation. 

 An account of the instruments which automatically record these 

 <'leane«nts will be fouDid in sectioai V. Much of this lapparaitu® 

 is complicated, requiring constant siupervision and frequent ad- 

 jns-tment. ;Modifications of the original designs lof the makers 

 have been found necessary in some cases, and such work has 

 been carried on under personal supervision in the shop of the 

 College of Engineering. It is hoped to publish hourly values 

 from the records of the several instruments during the coming 

 year if time can be spared from the routine work of the service. 



A large number of requests for special data have been received 

 this year from State and municipal boards and for individual use. 



