THE METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE 
What may now be termed the ordinary work of the Service has 
been carried on without break throughout the year. The stations of 
all classes reporting to the Central Office have numbered 466. Of 
these 39 have sent bi-daily reports by telegraph to Toronto to be used 
for purposes of the weather map. The stations organized in 1908 in 
the valley of the Mackenzie River are proving of much value, and it 
is evident that the various agents are very capable observers. It is 
satisfactory that with these stations and those on the shores of 
Hudson Bay, it is now possible on most days to draw the isobars with 
fair accuracy to the most northerly confines of Canada. The percent- 
age of the verification of the daily 36-hour weather forecasts has been 
86.1, and of storm warnings 91.1. There are now 32 storm signals 
stations on the Great Lakes and 63 in the Maritime Provinces. Warn- 
ings and forecasts have throughout the year been furnished to New- 
foundland with the same regularity as to the Canadian Provinces. 
The almost universal recognition of the value of weather forecasts to 
mariner, farmer, merchant and shipper of perishable goods, is very 
clearly indicated by a rapidly growing demand for their dissemination 
through country districts and along the coast line, and it is now obvious 
that a scheme must be devised whereby the Central Office of all rural 
telephone lines shall receive a weather bulletin each day for transmission 
to subscribers. ï 
Meteorologists have long recognized the importance of a survey 
of the upper atmosphere and the desultory attempts of many years 
ago with kite and manned balloon have in recent years developed into 
what is almost a world-wide International system of exploration of 
the upper air by means of kites and unmanned. balloons carrying in- 
struments to high altitudes. When the new Meteorological Office was 
erected in Toronto, due provision was made for a physical laboratory, 
and during the past year this has been equipped and arrangements 
made for research work in several branches of Atmospheric Physics, 
including atmospheric electricity, ionization and solar radiation as well 
as upper air exploration. The balloons carrying the Dines meteoro- 
graph will be sent up on the first Thursday in each month, in accordance 
with International agreement. The first of these was let go on Feb- 
ruary 4th last and was recovered a month later, its record showing that 
it had reached an altitude of 11.2 kilometres. The lowest temperature 
recorded was —67.5C. at 10.2 kil. after which in the ascent through 
the next kil. it rose to -63.5, showing that the isothermal layer had 
Es Proc. 1911. 5. 
