RAIN-MAKING. 487 



Mr. Baker returned to this city this morning in jubilant spirits. He is now 

 satisfied beyond a doubt that he can produce rain by means of his appliance. He 

 proposes to visit Pixley every two weeks, and is sanguine that he will be success- 

 ful in his experiments. 



During the months of April and May he proposes to put forth his best efforts 

 in order to thoroughly drench the soil. The residents of Pixley are well pleased 

 with Baker's experiments, and they propose to assist him in conducting his future 

 operations. 



THEY VOUCH FOE HIS EFFICIENCY. 



He brought back with him the following letter : t 



"This is to certify that it rained 0-35 to 0'45 of an inch at Pixley on the 30th 

 and 31st of January. We gentlemen here vouch for the truth of the same ; that 

 it is a local rain of fifteen to twenty miles in extent, and that it was brought 

 about by the Baker process. 



" J. J. KELLY, L. E. SMITH, 



" CHARLES S. PECK, J. T. ATJSTIST, 



" W. M. JACKIN, JOHN W. HAEPEB." 



Now, it is not my purpose to impugn the veracity of the gen- 

 tlemen whose names are signed to this certificate. I know none 

 of the gentlemen. I do not question the only point in the state- 

 ment to which the gentlemen could possibly subscribe of their 

 own knowledge. You will observe that the certificate includes 

 three separate statements: (1) That it rained in Pixley on the 

 30th and 31st of January ; (2) that it was a local rain of fifteen to 

 twenty miles in extent; (3) that it was brought about by the 

 Baker process. Manifestly, the only one of these statements to 

 which the gentlemen could have subscribed of their own knowl- 

 edge is the first. 



Fortunately for the settlement of questions of this character, 

 we have the use of data collected by the Weather Bureau. When 

 I read the above article I at once wrote to Mr. Pague for the 

 maps issued by the Weather Bureau for January 28th to 31st inclu- 

 sive. He kindly forwarded them to me, and the following data 

 were compiled by me from them : 



On the map of Sunday, January 28th, 5 P. M., an area of low 

 barometer is shown with its center west of Vancouver. The 

 weather was reported cloudy and rainy north of the Oregon line. 

 The weather forecast was " Rain in northern California." Twelve 

 hours later, Monday, January 29th, at 5 A. M., the storm was cen- 

 tral over northwestern Washington. I quote verbatim from the 

 predictions printed upon the map : " The conditions this morning 

 are favorable for rain over California from the Tehachapi Moun- 

 tains northward by Tuesday morning, and possibly will extend 

 southward Tuesday afternoon or night." 



At 5 P. M. of the same day the map shows a storm area extend- 

 ing from British Columbia to southeastern California, with its 



