New York Weather Bureau. J 5 



railway companies in the settlement of their disputes for injury 

 to perishable material in transit over their lines; questions of 

 inundation of lands by excessive rainfalls, or affecting the rights 

 of cities to distract water from the lakes and streams of the 

 State; various cases of disputes betw^een riparian owners; dam- 

 ages to individuals during high winds; matter pertaining to the 

 insurance of buildings, and injuries to stock or other property on 

 account of fire, as affected by the direction and intensity of the 

 wind; claims upon town and city treasuries for injuries caused by 

 slippery sidewalks, etc. 



Lastly, the climatology of New York is found to be a valuable 

 aid in teaching the subjects of meteorology and physical geogra- 

 phy in the colleges and high schools of the State, in accordance 

 with the growing tendency to seek illustrations of scientific facts 

 in fields familiar to the observation of the student. 



The urgent demand for more definite information regarding our 

 climate than has been obtainable hitherto, is due, in a measure, 

 to the remarkable diversity of meteorological conditions existing 

 within this State. In the first place, we find the distinctive brac- 

 ing influences of mountainous regions among the Adirondack and 

 Catskill ranges, and on the spurs of the Alleganies in southern 

 New York; while the shelter thus afforded to broad lowland dis- 

 tricts renders it possible to cultivate successfully varieties of 

 fruits and other crops which are generally raised only in more 

 southern latitudes. The fact that our central and southern coun- 

 ties are subject to the tempering effects both of the ocean and 

 the great lakes, is perhaps of even greater importance; for not only 

 is the climate of these regions thus rendered more equable 

 throughout the year, but also in case of severe cold waves in 

 winter it is shown on page 370, section VI, that in western New 



