110 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



sent to centers for distribution. It is expected that more effective 

 service will be accomplished thereby and that considerable economy 

 will result. 



Broadcasting by radiophone from the Arlington naval radio sta- 

 tion (NAA) of weather forecasts and warnings for each of the States 

 comprised in the Washington forecast district was inaugurated 

 February 15, 1923. Broadcasts are made three times daily — at 10.05 

 a. m., 3.45 p. m., and 10.05 p. m., respectively, on a wave length of 

 435 meters. A general forecast covering the entire district and such 

 storm and flood warnings as are issued for any portion thereof are 

 included. On Saturdays there is included in the 3.45 p. m. broad- 

 cast the weather outlook for the ensuing week, Monday to Saturday, 

 inclusive, for the North and Middle Atlantic States, the South Atlan- 

 tic and East Gulf States, the Ohio Valley and Tennessee, and the 

 region of Great Lakes. On Wednesdays, March 15 to November 30, 

 inclusive, a summary giving the effect of the weather on crops during 

 the preceding seven days ending at 8 a. m. Tuesday is given in the 

 10.05 a. m. and 7.45 p. m. broadcasts. A feature of the service from 

 Arlington, which provides for dissemination of the weather forecasts 

 immediately after they are issued, is that the announcements are 

 made directly from the Weather Bureau office in Washington, which 

 is connected by telephone with the radiophone transmitting apparatus 

 at Arlington, Va. 



STORM-WARNING SERVICE FOR THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN. 



The need for a storm-warning service for the North Atlantic 

 Ocean was quite conclusively demonstrated during the past winter. 

 Not for many years were the cyclones in that region so intense and 

 so frequent. They caused delayed voyages, much damage to ships 

 and cargoes, and distress to passengers. The experiences of vessels 

 caught in these storms occupied much space in the public press. The 

 following is quoted from an editorial in the Philadelphia Public 

 Ledger of January 8, 1923, in reference to storms in the North 

 Atlantic : 



One naturally may ask : What are we going to do about the cyclones in order 

 to lessen the danger to navigation and to increase the comfort of the passengers? 

 It will, for obvious reasons, be impossible to divert the storms to other courses 

 or to diminish tlaeir severity. The only possible thing to do is to give warning 

 of their presence, their intensity, and their direction of travel that vessels may 

 steer clear of regions of violent winds. This can be done, as has been demon- 

 strated by meteorological work on board the French steamship Jacques Cartier^ 

 which during its last several trips on the Atlantic has acted as a floating mete- 

 orological forecast and distributing center. 



The Weather Bureau has followed with much interest the pioneer 

 work of the French steamship Jacques Cartier^ referred to in the 

 editorial. This ship is engaged in general freight carrying and is 

 commonly in service between European and American ports. Its 

 distinctive feature is that it is also used as a school for the training 

 of officers for the merchant ships of its owning company, about 50 

 cadets being continually under instruction. The training course 

 includes all phases of navigation, commercial and international ma- 

 rine law, astronomy, and a thorough course in theoretical and applied 

 meteorology. A weather-forecast and storm-warning service is con- 

 ducted as an incidental part of the instruction in meteorology. The 



