OBSERVATORIES AND INSTRUMENTS. 



677 



From 1856 to 1861, an appropriation was 

 made to the Institution for the collecting arid 

 reducing of statistics relative to the climate 

 of the United States ; but thereafter this was 

 discontinued. The working also of a new 

 postage law, adopted it would appear in the 

 session of 1862-'63, interfered to a considerable 

 extent with the sending in of the agricultural 

 and meteorological reports, by requiring pre- 

 payment on them; though, at least during the 

 years 1863 and 1864, this difficulty was in part 

 overcome through use of the frank of the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture. Under the new or- 

 ganization, in 1862, of the Department last 

 named, a renewed interest has been manifested 

 by the Commissioner in the continuation and 

 extension of the system of meteorological ob- 

 servations and records, which had been estab- 

 lished at so much labor and expense. 



In the published " Reports " of the Institu- 

 tion for 1863 and 1864, from which this notice 

 is drawn, the Secretary, Prof. Joseph Henry, 

 calls attention to the extremely favorable con- 

 ditions under which, in this country, the work 

 of meteorological observations is prosecuted. 

 Among these favorable conditions are, the great 

 extent of the continent itself, and the fact 

 that over so large a part of it the observers 

 nearly all speak the same language ; that of 

 the latter a large proportion are furnished with 

 full sets of compared standard instruments; 

 and the facts that, while the storms of our 

 country generally move from west to east, the 

 position of the central Institution itself, near 

 the eastern limits of the continent, enables it 

 to receive information very constantly of great 

 approaching storms, while these may yet be 

 hundreds of mile's to westward ; whereas, in 

 Europe, the chief centres of meteorological 

 observation thus far are near the western coast, 

 and telegraphic notice of storms is not to be 

 received from the ocean. 



A " List of Meteorological Stations and Ob- 

 servers of the Smithsonian Institution " is given 

 in the Report for 1863, and also in that for 

 1864. Of the stations enumerated in the latter 

 year, 282 are within the United States and Ter- 

 ritories, and 16 others at certain points in Brit- 

 ish America, Mexico, the West Indies, and Cen- 

 tral and South America. Contributions of 

 meteorological reports and papers of various 

 character are also received from many private 

 observers in this country, and from some pri- 

 vate observers and institutions in Europe. Up 

 to at least the close of 1863, the most import- 

 ant among such auxiliary sources of informa- 

 tion would appear to have been the records 

 furnished to the Institution for periods varying 

 from 2^- to 4 years, from ten lake stations, suc- 

 cessively under the charge of Capt. (now Gen.) 

 Geo. G. Meade, of Lieut.-Col. J. D. Graliarn, 

 and of Col. Reynolds, Superintendents of the 

 Survey of the Northern and Northwestern 

 Lakes. From these stations, extending from 

 Sackett's Harbor, at the foot of Lake Ontario, 

 to Superior City, at the western extremity of 



Lake Superior, records have been furnished 

 which, being made three times daily, at tho 

 hours of the Smithsonian system 7 A. M., and 

 2 and 9 p. M. and with full sets of instru- 

 ments, are of great value. 



An important object kept in view has been 

 the collection of data for determining the de- 

 velopment and progress of atmospheric disturb- 

 ances of great extent, including the commo- 

 tions which occur during autumn, winter, and 

 spring, over the middle or temperate latitudes 

 of North America. Thus, the extensive and 

 simultaneous system of observations carried out 

 under the lead of the Institution, has already 

 furnished the means of establishing fully the 

 law in regard to storms, etc., which had before 

 been intimated by the investigations of Espy 

 and others, viz. : that, within the temperate 

 zone (at least of our continent), all such mete- 

 orological phenomena as variations in the pres- 

 sure of the atmosphere, sudden changes of 

 temperature, either of unusually warm or cold 

 weather, thunder-storms, tornadoes, ordinary 

 storms of wind, rain, etc., travel from west to 

 east. As early as 1849, a system of telegraphic 

 despatches was organized by which intelligence 

 was received at Washington of the condition 

 of the weather at distant places, Southwest 

 and Northwest; and, guided by the law 

 already mentioned, the larger disturbances of 

 the atmosphere have since often been predicted, 

 and in someinstances a day or two in advance. 

 At a period subsequent to the date above given, 

 the telegraphic despatches were daily exhibited 

 at the Institution, on a map of the United 

 States, by means of a series of movable cards ; 

 thus snowing in what parts of the country it 

 might be clear or cloudy, raining or snowing, 

 and also by arrows the directions of the wind. 

 This enterprise was interrupted at the breaking 

 out of the war, by the cessation of returns from 

 the Southwest, and the constant use of the 

 telegraph required by the Government. An- 

 other question in regard to extensive storms is, 

 whether the movement of the air over the re- 

 gion covered by them is gyratory (cyclonic), or 

 whether it is a movement from all sides toward 

 a central point or an irregular elongated middle 

 space ; and the -hope is expressed that upon 

 these inquiries some light may be shed by the 

 data already obtained and published in system- 

 atic form by the Institution. 



In addition to the daily weather map above 

 noticed, isothermal charts were constructed 

 from all the observations up to the year 1860 ; 

 as well as a series of rain charts, and a large 

 map exhibiting the regions of original forest, 

 of arable prairie, and of desert, within the lim- 

 its of the United States. The Commissioner of 

 Agriculture later commenced in 1863, it would 

 appear the publication of a monthly bulletin, 

 giving the state of the crops, the condition of 

 the weather, and various other items daily re- 

 ceived from observers. For this bulletin the 

 Institution supplies the meteorological materi- 

 als, consisting of the maximum, minimum, and 



