METEOROLOGY 



3754 



METEOROLOGY 



at a wound is the result of a struggle between 

 the white blood corpuscles and the disease 

 germs came to be commonly accepted before 

 his death, but at the time he announced this 

 law it was looked upon as revolutionary. This 

 was one of MetchnikofPs great contributions to 

 bacteriology; another was his insistence upon 

 the knowledge of human physiology and pa- 

 thology which might be gained from a study of 

 animals. His life was bound up in his studies ; 

 the $20,000 which he received in 1908 as his 

 share of the Nobel Prize he devoted to his 

 researches; and his death came as the result 

 of self-inoculation during an experiment. 



Metchnikoff was born in the province of 

 Kharkov, in Russia a "son of the steppes," 

 as he was proud of calling himself. He com- 

 pleted his four-years' university course in two 

 years, studied at various German schools, and 

 from 1870 to 1882 taught zoology in Odessa 

 University. In 1892, after he had announced 

 his discovery about the work of the white cor- 

 puscles, he received his appointment at Pas- 

 teur Institute, of which in 1895 he became 

 subdirector. 



Many of MetchnikofFs later researches were 

 directed toward the combating of old age, and 

 he regarded it as significant that he who came 

 of a decidedly short-lived family lived to be 

 over seventy. His theory, which has not as yet 

 been fully tested, was that old age is brought 

 on by accumulations of putrefactive bacteria in 

 the intestines, and that to check these, prepara- 

 tions of sour milk should be included in the 

 diet. One of his works, The Prolongation of 

 Life, deals with this phase of his study. Other 

 writings are The Nature of Man, Lectures on 

 the Comparative Pathology of Inflammation 

 and Immunity in Infective Diseases. 



METEOROLOGY, me te or ol' o ji, a science 

 of somewhat recent development, through 

 which predictions are made as to weather con- 

 ditions and approaching storms. The term is 

 derived from two Greek words meaning things 

 in the air and discourse. Meteorology is the 

 study of atmospheric conditions, particularly in 

 their relation to climate and weather, and it 

 is a branch of natural science that directly con- 

 cerns a large proportion of mankind. Prac- 

 tically every civilized nation maintains an 

 official bureau for the study ' and forecasting 

 of weather conditions, the most important of 

 which are conducted by the governments of 

 Great Britain, the United States, Canada, 

 France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, 

 Italy and Argentina. 



Several times a day these bureaus receive 

 reports by telegraph and cable from observa- 

 tion stations all over the world, and from these 

 records they compile weather maps and make 

 their forecasts. Bulletins and signals are dis- 

 played at specified places regularly, warning 

 the public of changes in the weather, high 

 winds, coming storms, floods and other condi- 

 tions. One may read each day in the local 

 newspaper the probable weather conditions for 

 the day following, and these predictions are cor- 

 rect in a surprisingly large number of cases. 

 The practical value of the science of meteor- 

 ology to farmers, fruit growers, owners of mer- 

 chant vessels and others whose business is 

 directly influenced by weather conditions is 

 beyond estimate, and warnings of approaching 

 severe storms have in numerous cases been the 

 means of saving human life. 



In making observations for compiling weather 

 maps and bulletins the conditions given the 

 greatest weight are temperature, atmospheric 

 pressure and humidity (amount of water vapor 

 in the air) . Cloudiness, evaporation, amount of 

 rainfall, direction and velocity of wind and at- 

 mospheric electricity are other important ele- 

 ments. The principal instruments used are 

 thermometers, for determining degrees of heat 

 and cold; barometers, for measuring the pres- 

 sure of the atmosphere ; hygrometers, for ascer- 

 taining the amount of moisture in the air; ane- 

 mometers, for recording the force and velocity 

 of the wind; and rain gauges, for determining 

 the amount of rainfall. Each of the instruments 

 is described in these volumes. Upon tempera- 

 ture and barometric pressure depend the winds 

 which bring fair or foul weather. Areas of 

 high and low pressure are indicated on the 

 weather maps, together with the direction of 

 winds and the places where snow or rain is 

 falling. Places of equal temperature are con- 

 nected by isothermal lines, and those of equal 

 pressure by lines called isobars. Symbols used 

 for conveying information are explained by 

 notes on the maps, which are so clear and sim- 

 ple that no one should have trouble in under- 

 standing them. 



The weather bureau service of the United 

 States, established in connection with the 

 War Department in 1870, has been a part of 

 the Department of Agriculture since 1891. 

 That of the Dominion of Canada is conducted 

 as a division of the Department of Marine and 

 Fisheries. 



Consult Moore's Descriptive Meteorology; Mll- 

 ham'e Meteorology. 



