The Modern Alchemist 



7^5 



the farmers have not failed to secure a 

 balance of at least $193,000,000, the low 

 amount of 1895. I'he great aggregate of 

 the 18 balances in the trade in farm 

 products is $6,500,000,000, while the 

 trade in other commodities during the 

 eighteen years resulted in a grand ad- 

 verse balance of $456,000,000. 



So a great stream of wealth has con- 

 stantly been sent from farms to foreign 

 countries to offset the adverse balance of 

 trade in commodities other than agri- 

 cultural ; to pay the ocean freight costs 

 on imports conveyed in foreign-owned 

 ships, and to pay the interest, dividends, 

 and principal on investments in the 

 United States by foreigners. It is the 

 farmer who has sent credit to expatriated 

 Americans ; it is he who has provided 

 the immigrant with millions to send 

 every year to the loved ones in the old 

 countries ; and, if there is still any credit 

 to dispose of, the farmer has provided the 

 American traveler in foreign countries 

 with his pocket money. 



world's record for high flights of 



KITES 



The creation of a research observatory 

 at Mount Weather, Virginia, and the 

 gathering together of a highly trained 

 staff of men for the study of meteoro- 

 logical problems marks an important 

 epoch in the development of meteorologi- 

 cal science in this country. One of the 

 first results achieved by that staff was 

 the sending of meteorological instru- 

 ments, by means of aeroplanes, to a 

 greater altitude than has hitherto been 

 accomplished. On October 3, 1907, the 

 world's record for high flights was ex- 

 ceeded. On that day eight kites, in tan- 

 dem, carried the meteorograph to an al- 

 titude of 23,111 feet above sea-level. 

 Daily observations of upper-air condi- 

 tions have been continued for over three 

 months in succession, practically without 

 interruption, and it is probable that this 

 record will be maintained indefinitely in 

 the future. The observations obtained in 

 this manner are placed before the fore- 

 cast official in Washington each night. 



The latter is thus informed of the verti- 

 cal gradients of temperature and the di- 

 rection of the wind for altitudes varying 

 on the average from one-half mile to 

 two miles. These facts are of great im- 

 portance in the making of forecasts for 

 the Middle Atlantic and New England 

 States and for the elucidation of many 

 problems of the upper air that hitherto 

 it has been impossible to study. 



In the past forecasts of the weather, as 

 is well known, have been based entirely 

 upon the existing horizontal gradients of 

 pressure and temperature at the surface 

 of the earth. The formation of charts 

 showing the distribution of temperature 

 with increase of elevation above the 

 earth's surface, which is now for the first 

 time possible in our weather service, so 

 graphically tells the story of the rise and 

 fall of the thermal levels that the lav- 

 man is able to comprehend their signifi- 

 cance. It is apparent that when a com- 

 paratively deep stratum of abnormally 

 warm or abnormally cold air persistently 

 overlies a region the action of a mov- 

 ing cyclone or anticyclone on the weather 

 experienced at the bottom of the atmos- 

 phere will be materially different from 

 that which would be experienced were 

 the upper air at a normal temperature. 



The significance of these data from the 

 view-point of the forecaster is not yet 

 fully understood, but certainly they pre- 

 sent a fund of information that will be 

 studied with profit by those whose duty 

 it is to add to our limited knowledge of 

 the science that must precede the art of 

 weather forecasting. 



The upper-air work at Mount Weather 

 is thus described in detail because it is 

 the one line of inquiry that at present 

 holds out the greatest promise of im- 

 mediate utility. The results already se- 

 cured are deemed to be of such value that 

 it is hoped means will be provided for 

 the diligent prosecution of other lines of 

 research work. 



BREEDING FOR NEW ANIMALS 



The work in the breeding of American 

 carriage horses, in cooperation with the 



