344 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 32. 



The space occupied bj- the fire-engine is now 

 filled, however, by the extraordinary and inter- 

 esting announcement, that " the post-garden 

 is in good condition, and has, for some time, 

 been a source of supply to the company mess." 

 The importance of this statement entirely over- 

 shadows that of many others which might be 

 quoted, — such as that the enlisted men have 

 succeeded in managing the coal-oil lamps 

 which have been supplied them, that the build- 

 ings of the post will require painting the com- 

 ing season, etc. 



In some instances the annual reprint has 

 not received that attention which might be 

 expected even from clerical supervision. One 

 of the statements which has regularly made 

 its appearance for several years is this : "It 

 is needless, with such facts in view, and 

 after years of continuous service, to re- 

 iterate the advantages secured to the signal 

 service by its military' organization." In spite 

 of this declaration, the i-eiteration has been 

 religiouslj' kept up ; and it was evidently in- 

 tended that the above blank should be properly 

 filled as the j'ears rolled hj. In the report 

 for 1879, it is filled with the word ' nineteen,' 

 and this is exactly copied in that for 1880. In 

 the report for 1881, the word ' twenty' is sub- 

 stituted ; so that, unless an efibrt is made to 

 ' catch up ' in the next report, the corps will 

 be deprived of one ' year of continuous ser- 

 vice,' and the argument will be proportion- 

 ately weakened. 



Illustrations of useless and careless reprint- 

 ing" might be continued to almost anj' extent ; 

 but it will be of greater interest to pass to Ap- 

 pendix I., which contains the courses of in- 

 struction furnished at Fort Myer for the 

 training of officers and men belonging to the 

 service. 



If this is to be considered as a school for 

 the education of meteorological observers, its 

 curriculum is certainly marvellous. Although 

 . certain portions of the course of study are 

 given in the report in great detail, — even to 

 the paragraph and page at which each lesson 

 begins and ends, other portions are not so 

 well defined ; and some assumptions must be 



made as to the time occupied in certain parts 

 of the work. It is thought that no injustice 

 is done in the following estimate of the distri- 

 bution of study and practice : — 



Officers who are assigned to the school for 

 instruction in the duties of the service remain 

 there about one jear. The instruction is 

 theoretical and practical. In the theoretical 

 course, about 37 per cent of the whole time is 

 spent in the stud}' of meteorolog}- and meteor- 

 ological observations. In the practical course, 

 8 per cent is a high estimate for the time de- 

 voted to that subject. Indeed, out of the 

 year's work, it is prescribed that eight days 

 shall be spent in the meteorological observa- 

 torj' ; in which time the officer is expected to 

 learn " the use of all instruments used at ob- 

 servation offices of the signal-service, care of 

 and repair of same, and making out of me- 

 teorological forms." The remainder of the 

 year is devoted to the studj- and practice of 

 military signalling, wand - practice, militarj'' 

 surveying, electric telegraph, international sig- 

 nals, etc. It is fair to add, however, that for 

 officers who are assigned to the headquarters 

 of the chief signal-officer, and are candidates 

 for service in the ' indication-room,' a very 

 liberal course of advanced stud}' and reading 

 in meteorology is prescribed to be carried on 

 at the office of the weather-bureau accom- 

 panied bj' practice in the preparation of charts 

 and in ' forecasting.' 



The enlisted men, however, upon whom falls 

 the burden of collecting the great mass of me- 

 teorological material, which is daih- digested 

 in the central office, do not fare so well. The 

 period of their staj' at Fort Mj-er is limited 

 to about six months, during the first two of 

 which they cannot be placed under class in- 

 struction, but are required to recite in cavalry 

 tactics, to attend wand and telegraph practice, 

 to stand guard, and attend to other military 

 duties. When, at last, the.y are permitted to 

 begin the studj' of meteorology, the percent- 

 age of their time given to it is not noticeably 

 greater than that of the officers. During their 

 six months at the fort, ten daj's are spent in the 

 meteorological observatory' ; and in that time 



