NIPHER — 4^*^ ANN. REP. MAGNETIC SURVEY OF MISSOURI. 459 



Palestine road. Polaris observation and morning elongation of the nee- 

 dle observed. 



Station 88 — California^ Moniteau Co. Lat. 38° 39'; Ion. 92° 38'. On 

 sec. 15, tp. 45, r. 15; on the farm of W. F. Meyer. A triangulation station 

 of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey bears S. 109° 09'.5 E., being dis- 

 tant 114 ft. Polaris observation. 



Station 89 — Centreton, Cole Co. Lat. 38° 38' ; Ion. 92° 31 ' . On farm 

 of Wm. S. Freshour, who lives just at the edge of the village. The station 

 was on the line between sees. 25 & 26, tp. 45, r. 14, and about 50 ft. S. of 

 the Jefferson City road. This was a camp station, no mark reading hav- 

 ing been taken, and the morning elongation being determined. Polaris 

 observation. 



Station 2/^ d— Jefferson City, Cole Co. Lat. 38° 35'; Ion. 92° 09'. Obser- 

 vations were made on the common in front of the barn of Phil. E. Chap- 

 pell. The station was 90 ft. N. of the N.E. corner of the barn, and in line 

 of the E. end of the barn. A polaris observation was made and the morn- 

 ing elongation was taken. This observation was made in order to deter- 

 mine whether the long-continued and wide-spread drouth had affected the 

 position of the needle. This drouth had extended not only over the entire 

 State, but over a large part of the United States. In Missouri everywhere 

 except on the river bottoms the crops had suffered very greatly. Forest 

 trees were dying everywhere; the grass of the meadows crumbled under- 

 foot and burned like tinder. The only plants which seemed to thrive 

 were the well known pests, the cocklebur (^Xanthium strtimarunn) and the 

 Jamestown-weed {stramoninni), which imparted its disagreeable flavor to 

 the milk of the cows, showing to what straits they were reduced for food. 

 Streams and springs were dried up, and for a week at a time we were some- 

 times unable to obtain a drink of wholesome water. During the latter part 

 of the summer we were obliged to buy water for the horses. 



It had been suggested in a previous report that the abnormal easterly 

 deviation at Jefferson City might be the result of unequal conducting pow- 

 er, the earth currents flowing in greater quantity up the moist valley of the 

 Missouri, the general direction of which is here N.W. to S.E. It seemed 

 probable, if this explanation were a correct one, that this effect might be 

 still greater during the present year by reason of the drouth which had 

 affected the soil of the upland more than that of the valleys. The result 

 gave no countenance whatever to the explanation, the declination being 

 (Aug. 24, 1881) 8° 25'.,, while the value observed in 1S79 (Aug. 12) at a 

 point only a few rods distant was 8° 27'. 3. Nevertheless it was observed 

 that this value was from half a degree to a degree greater than the declina- 

 tion farther up the valley, on either side, but more remote from the river, 

 and it seemed quite probable that the 8° 30' line must curve down the river 

 from near Glasgow along the left slope, crossing near Jefferson City and 

 returning along the right slope of the valley. In order to settle this point 

 observations were made at the two stations next named. The results there 

 gave an unmistakable negative to the question which was asked. It seems 



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