SCIENCE. 



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1883. 



THE U. S. SIGNAL-SERVICE. 

 I. 



TiiK iiniunil report of the chief signal-oflicer 

 for 1881, rcceiitlj' issueil, is a vokitne which 

 ought to be of great interest to all concerned 

 in the progress of meteorological science in 

 this country ; and it would be, were it not for 

 certain characteristics too apt to be found in 

 government publications. Of these, the most 

 notable at first sight is its ponderous bulk. 

 After one has received the polite notice, ' a 

 package too large for the carrier,' etc., and 

 has achieved its safe deliver}- in one waj- or 

 another, lie is likelj- to wonder what end it may 

 be best made to serve. If he be interested in 

 meteorology, he will find it well worth his while 

 to give at least one volume of the series a 

 careful examination, in order that he may 

 know what not to read in the next. 



In its thirteen hundred bi'oad pages, together 

 with its maps, charts, etc., he will find much 

 that is valuable ; much that, to him, is per- 

 fectly useless ; and, if his tastes be not too 

 circumscribed, much that is amusing. A gov- 

 ernment report is not a likely place in which to 

 seek entertainment ; but, considered as a sci- 

 entific publication, the report will furnish its 

 share. In this respect it is, doubtless, clear 

 ahead of all other scientific documents issued 

 bj' the government. 



As a scientific document it must be con- 

 siderefl ; for, since the organization of the 

 weather bureau of the signal-service, bj- far 

 the larger i)art of the operations of that service 

 have had to do with meteorology ; in fact, the 

 work in the way of practical meteorology con- 

 stitutes the only raison d'Hre of the service as 

 at present organized and equipped. 



A fair examination of this work can onl}- be 

 made by a comparison of this rci)ort with those 

 of the several ))recoding years : indeed, justice 

 could not be done the present administration 



No. 32. — 1883. 



without such a comparison, as it Indicates 

 changes of considerable moment, which seem 

 likely to greatly increase the etlicienc^' and 

 value of the service. 



The first part of the volume consists of the 

 report proper of the chief signal-officer. This 

 seems, in each case, to be made up almost 

 entirely by copying from the report of the 

 previous j'ear. It must have been written, of 

 course, at some time, and b^- somebodj- ; but 

 when and by whom will soon be lost to the 

 history of meteorological science. A few ad- 

 ditions are made, fewer subtractions, and now 

 and then a linguistic blunder has been eradi- 

 cated, after it has done faithful service for 

 several years. The impression is everj-where 

 convened, that the preparation of this, which 

 one might expect to find the freshest and most 

 readable portion of the volume, is annuall}^ 

 committed to the skill of a copying-clerk. It 

 is not to be denied, that certain statements in 

 regard to the service will bear, and deserve, 

 re[)etition ; and, indeed, the chief signal-officer 

 himself inserted a sort of an apology for this 

 repetition a few years ago, which has been 

 faithfully reprinted along with the rest ever 

 since. But whole pages are repeated 3'ear 

 after year, when it would appear that they had 

 served their purpose in a single publication ; 

 and this seems all the more uncalled-for in the 

 case of much which might better have never 

 been published at all. 



AVe are annuall}- informed, that •' meagre re- 

 ports onl}- have been received of the instruction 

 for the field duties of the signal-service else- 

 where than at Fort !Mycr ; " and we wonder 

 whj- whoever is responsible for this neglect 

 is not urged to remedy it, through some other 

 avenue than the annual report. The need of 

 a fire-engine at the post was a standing item 

 for several j'ears ; but, as it does not appear 

 in the last report, it may be assumed that the 

 want has been supplied, possiljly through the 

 generosity- of some distressed reader. 



