Transactions of The Royal Society of Canada 



SECTION III 

 Series III JUNE 1914 Vol. VIII 



PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 

 By R. F. Stupart. 

 Delivered May 26, 1914. 



As it is now thirty-two years since a Meteorologist has had the 

 honour of holding the office of President of Section III, it is perhaps 

 not surprising that I should seize this opportunity of speaking a 

 word for the Science which deals with the weather and weather changes. 

 I know indeed that there are scientific men who, while prepared to rec- 

 ognise Meteorology as a Science, in as far as it is based on exact 

 observation, consider that the Meteorologist has sinned greatly in 

 wandering into empiricisn. They regard weather forecasts as un- 

 scientific as they are deductions based on insufficiency of data. There 

 is certainly some ground for such an argument, but on the other hand 

 those most closely interested in results are not dissatisfied with the 

 success achieved in the warnings of coming storms, which have with- 

 out doubt saved many lives and an enormous amount of property. 



The Governments of all the civilized countries have for nearly 

 forty years maintained Meteorological Services, and without ex- 

 ception, all have found it necessary to publish weather forecasts. Many 

 trained mathematicians have been engaged in the work in both Europe 

 and America, and yet to _ day it is generally acknowledged that the 

 successful forecaster is not necessarily a mathematician, but a man 

 who began the study of weather maps when young and possesses a 

 special aptitude for the work. 



The earth's atmosphere being a whole, no part of which is ever 

 quite at rest, and the greater part in rapid motion, the entire cir- 

 culation is of extraordinary complexity, and as yet, many of the fac- 

 tors which control the mechanism are unknown. These unknown 

 factors will, however, diminish in number with the progress of solar 

 physical research, and the exploration of the atmosphere, and it is 

 probable that long range forecasts, as to the character of the coming 

 season, will some day be made on a purely scientific basis. 



It is my belief, however, that the daily forecasts will always be 

 more or less empirical. 



As the atmosphere knows no national boundaries, international 



co-operation in research is indispensible, and as far back as 1872, 



an International Congress of Meteorologists was held in Leipzig 



and others at periods of about five years have since been held at various 



Sec. III. 1914—1 



