METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS AND PHENOMENA. 427 



This summer (1882) " High" has prevailed over a very extensive portion of 

 the United states. The result is pleasant summer weather, and although hot, not 

 oppressively so where " High" has reigned. In the northeast where they have 

 been more under the influence of a /^^/z "Low" it has been hot and dry. In 

 the neighborhood of Washington it has been a most delightful summer and the 

 foliage has remained bright and green, with few or no vermin to destroy the 

 foliage. So the factor " High " it would seem was not favorable to vermin. The 

 question is do they exist the same as during the protracted presence of a high 

 "Low" — are they latent the while, or is it necessary to have the presence of 

 " Low " to generate them ? This branch of the subject I respectfully refer to the 

 entomologists. 



I have spoken of a high " Low" etc., I would specially call the readers at- 

 tention to these expressions. They may seem paradoxical or ludicrous, but if 

 they will pay a little attention to the subject they will readily see the force 

 of the expressions. A high " Lo'v " will be "Low" or low-barometer on a 

 high line of latitude, and as the wind blows toward "Low" it follows that 

 under these conditions we will have the wind from the south and therefore 

 it will be very warm. A low "Lovv" will be in effect the reverse of this. A 

 high "High" will be "High" on a high line of latitude, which will prevent 

 the south winds from reaching far to the north, therefore the while it will be 

 relatively cool. "High" over us keeps our locality cool; the south winds do 

 not reach us. A loiv " High" will act as a barrier to the south winds— a high 

 "High" as a barrier to t'he north winds. These factors "High" and "Low" 

 in their variety of changes produce the phenomena daily presented to us. Study 

 them well — keep their motion, speed, spread and direction in mind as they follow 

 each other across the country and we will always be well posted, and as well post- 

 ed as possible for the human mind to be in regard to the conditions of the atmos- 

 phere about us. The weather-map, the all important agent whereby we may un- 

 derstand and keep track of the meteorological phenomena of our country, is, in 

 its present shape, quite impractical to those who are beyond its daily reach. If 

 in lieu of, or auxiliary to this, we could have skeleton maps in every office and 

 even in public places throughout the country, and if people would take the neces- 

 sary, yet little trouble to read them, our Weather Bureau might soon become a far 

 more important and popular institution than it is at present. By making it still 

 more of a necessity to the people it would become more and more popular; and 

 worked upon such a basis would soon wield a powerful influence for good. 



Let these skeleton maps be of various sizes, small enough even to appear in 

 the columns of a newspaper, and large enough to hang in public places and be 

 seen and read a number of yards away. Have the map of the United States 

 divided into sections of any convenient size. These sections to be designated 

 by letters or numbers or both. In place of the daily " indications" as at present 

 let the office telegraph all over the country the location of " High" and " Low" 

 in such and such squares and on such and such lines, etc. By daylight in the 

 morning every city, town and village from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from 



