176 EXPERIMENT STATION— BULLETINS. 



during the year 1887, as the number of sets of signals would admit; there 

 was $200 appropriated for this purpose, all of which was used in placing the 

 26 sets of signals on the trains, and the service could have been extended if 

 more sets of signals had been available. I would recommend that six more 

 sets be made for the purpose of extending this service to roads that are not 

 as yet supplied, and will carry the signals on their trains regularly. Instead 

 of having a special appropriation for this purpose, I would suggest that the 

 amount for " incidental expenses " be increased slightly and the necessary 

 amount taken from that fund. 



In this connection the director takes pleasure in expressing the thanks of 

 the service to the following managers for their hearty cooperation in having 

 these signals regularly displayed on their trains : A. B. Atwater, General 

 Superintendent Grand Trunk System; E. 0. Brown, General Superintendent 

 Michigan Central System ; J. M. Metheany, General Superintendent Grand 

 Kapids & Indiana By. ; J. K. V. Agnew, General Superintendent Chicago & 

 West Michigan By. ; I. K. Wadsworth, General Superintendent Port Huron 

 & Northwestern By. ; James Houston, General Manager Pontiac, Oxford & 

 Port Austin By. 



Many farmers have expressed to the directors their satisfaction of the 

 manner in which thse signals have been displayed during the year. 



Weather Signals. — At the date of my last report, there were 142 stations 

 displaying the weather signals, the number at the close of the year was 106, 

 a decrease of 36 stations. The cause for this decrease in the number of 

 stations is for two reasons: First, the displaymen neglect in many cases to 

 render the monthly report required by the regulations of the service, and 

 therefore, the "indications" were discontinued for non-compliance with 

 the regulations. The number is being reduced so that there will be only 

 those stations that do render this monthly report regularly; the second 

 reason is, that when the first set of flags are worn out, it falls on one or two 

 persons to purchase a new set where the whole town was interested in pur- 

 chasing the first set, and consequently the one or two on whom this burden 

 falls do not desire to do all that is required for the benefit of the citizens of 

 the town where the signals are displayed. 



To obviate this difficulty, I believe it would be of advantage to all, for the 

 service to purchase the flags and thus control the display in a more satisfac- 

 tory manner. This method has been adopted by the Pennsylvania service 

 with success. 



The flags could be obtained much cheaper by the quantity than by pur- 

 chasing them by the single sets, and $700 would be sufficient to purchase 100 

 sets of signals, which number would be all that would be required during 

 the next two years. 



Voluntary Observers. — The director takes great pleasure in stating 

 that corps of observers have accomplished more in building up this service 

 than any other class; to them the service owes the vast amount of data 

 that has been published during the past two years, and for the very 

 substantial basis that the service has now attained. These observers 

 have, as a rule, been very faithful in taking the observations and for- 

 warding them to the central office promptly at the close of the month 

 of which they were a record, and have greatly aided the director in prov- 

 ing and computing the reports for publication. When it is understood the 

 amount of work these observers give to _the service each month in taking 



