$2 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIEISrCES. 



Here, too, we may consider those physical conditioiTS of t lie? 

 atmosphere whose chaiiofcs liave vso iniicii of vital couccni for 

 the orgaiiisnys which exist ujx)n the eurtli's s-urface. 



'Ihe s«h|ect of nieleoroloi^y has received a coiisider;i1)le 

 amount of attention in the State. It wiH I>e, of course, im- 

 possible to nu'ution all the parties who have contributed to 

 this subject, either as individual observers or as reporters for 

 some of the ori>-anized weather services. Records by Prof. 

 Parvin were l)eofun at Mnscatine in l<S.j*), and his record for 

 ] 850-1) is published in the First Geological Keport. The 

 United States Signal Service has had a number of stations in 

 the State since its first ori>anization, sonuM)f which have l)een 

 volunteer and others supi)orted by the service. The records 

 have, for the most part, only appeared in the reports of the 

 service, but for the station at Ames and conducted by Profs. 

 Macomber and Hainer summaries of the more imi)ortant ob- 

 servations have been pul)lished in the Colleoe Biennial re- 

 ports. 



The State Weather Service already mentioned, oriranized 

 and directed by Dr. Gustavus Hinrichs, receives reports from 

 some fifty volunteer observers scattered over the State, and 

 the published records contain extensive tabulations of their 

 reports. 



Inasnmch as this service receives direct suppcjrt from the 

 State and the expense of publication is borne by the State, 

 people naturally look for some return in the way of assistance 

 in meeting the idiosyncracies of the "weather". 



It is perhaps too much to expect that people in general 

 will appreciate a nun-e record of the weather which is past. 

 no matter what its scientific value or interest may be, nor will 

 many appreciate the claim that long series of observations are 

 still necessary as a basis for useful forecasts. The farmer 

 gathering his crops, the merchant with perishable articles on 

 hand, the man in any calling Avhose work or whose pursuit 



