164 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



life and no wrecks occurred, nor was much damage done, except on the 

 north coast east of San Juan. The following editorial from the New 

 Orleans Daily Picayune of September 15, 1910, has reference to this 

 storm : 



Nolwithstunding the Ihreutening weather which prevailed over southern Louisiana 

 Tuesday, no damap;e was experienced, as the storm passed southward tome distance 

 out in the Gulf. However, sugar and rice planters were greatly alarmed. A severe 

 wind storm at this sea.son of the year would lodge the cane and would result in great 

 injury to the rice crop, because few of the rice planters are prepared to flood their rice 

 field.s to such an extent as would prevent great damage from high winds. The excel- 

 lent advices issued from day to day by the United States Weather Bureau in connec- 

 tion with this storm from the date of the inception has been in keeping with its paet 

 record. Tuesday morning, long before the storm was being felt at any coast station, 

 shipping, commercial, and agricultural interests along the Gulf coast were advised 

 that the storm was some distance out in the Gulf southeast of the Texas coast, and was 

 moving in a northwesterly direction toward the mouth of the Rio Grande River. 

 Yesterday morning the storm was moving inland, with its center near the mouth of 

 the Rio Grande, and high winds and high tides had occurred along the Texas coast, a8 

 though conditions had been made to fit the Weather Bureau's warnings. The value 

 of a service which can foretell where such storms will strike the coast, as was done in 

 this case, can not be estimated. 



West Indian hurricane of October, 1910. — Attempts made in 

 former years to get reports by wdreless from vessels plying in the Gulf 

 of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea met with small success, owing to 

 the small range of the transmitting vessels. This past year, however, 

 a concerted effort was again made to secure these reports, this time 

 with gratifying results. A number of valuable reports were received 

 from vessels in the region of tropical storms, that from the United 

 Fruit Co.'s steamship Abangarez, latitude 14° 20' N., and longitude 

 Sl° 51' W., received on the evening of October 12, being particularly 

 helpful in locating the most notable hurricane of the season, w^hich 

 struck Key West, Fla., on the afternoon of the 17th. Although the 

 pressure had been below normal for several days previously, this wire- 

 less report was the first definite information the Weather Bureau had 

 of the severe storm in the Caribbean. In conjunction w'ith the reports 

 from tl>e land stations, it enabled the forecaster to locate the center 

 of the disturbance with a degree of accuracy which could not have 

 been done through the use of observations made at land stations alone. 

 By the morning of the 13th the hurricane center was about 200 miles 

 south-southwest of Havana, Cuba, apparently moving northwest- 

 ward. The storm passed to the w^estward of Havana on the afternoon 

 of the 14th and over Key West on the afternoon of the 17th. It then 

 moved in a northerly direction to southern Georgia, where it took a 

 course more to the east, and passed off the Atlantic coast near Cape 

 Hatteras on the 20th. Durmg the progress of this storm timely 

 advices regarding its location, intensity, and probable direction of 

 movement were disseminated by every available means, including 

 wireless, to interests Uable to be affected by winds and tides. The 

 following are among the testimonials received as to the value of the 

 service rendered by the bureau in its advance notices of this storm. 



From C. W. Jungen, manager of the Atlantic Steamship Lines of the 

 Southern Pacific Co. : 



I beg to express to you the appreciation of the management of this company for the 

 valuable service rendered by the Weather Bureau during the tropical storm in the 

 Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean on or about the 13th to 19th instant, which 

 overtook several of the company's ships in that vicinity. These bulletins were of 

 great assistance to the masters of our ships in preserving the company's property and 

 preventing the loss of life at sea. 



