752 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
the year. Weare continually having these exceptions—in the days—in the weeks 
—in the months and in the years. These exceptions are a part of the regular things 
to be expected, but there is no regularity aboutthem, however. Ifthere were,,the 
exceptional features would lose their character. | 
This area of /ow is a very coy thing on the part of nature. Now likea wise, 
benevolent and broad-minded philanthropist it dispenses its bounties evenly, visit- 
ing on its course one section and another, giving all alike, at least all sufficient; 
then a change and as it were, Peter is robbed to pay Paul, or even worse, Peter 
robbed and denied the essentials of life to drown Paul with ; an overflowing abun- 
dance that is detrimental rather than beneficial to him. Let people simply study 
the weather map and this will all be revealed to them, and more, they will soon 
see the absurdity of any person attempting to make such prophecies in regard to 
the weather, and of the attempt to write or speak on the subject without this 
knowledge. 
A sea-captain would be more reasonable in this day, to attempt to navigate 
the seas and oceans of the globe without compass, quadrant and charts. We can 
not know much about navigation by merely knowing a few general laws of physics. 
We must, in order to know navigation, have knowledge of the tides, the compass, 
know how to take the sun and how to work our way by the charts, light-houses, 
buoys, etc. So when it comes to a knowledge of the weather, we must know a 
little more than the general laws of physics; we must make ourselves familiar with 
the movements of the sun in the ecliptic, with the parallelism of the earth, with 
the topography of the land, the distribution of land and water, of plains and 
mountains, and foliage, and eveh with the advancement of civilization. For, 
where civilization goes railroads are sure to follow, and it seems now to be well 
known and admitted, that railroads under certain relations to territory have more 
or less effect. 
On the Western plains, where little or no rain occurred before the advent of 
the railroad, rain is now said to be quite frequent. The cause of this would 
seem to be that the iron rails attract the rays of the sun, and develop and retain 
heat, thereby making an area of low barometer practical in such localities, where 
before the dryness of the country repelled it or so neutralized it as to make it 
non-effective. This re-actsand produces trees, and so soon as foliage is develop- 
ed, all the essential features for developing and retaining a /ow or .making it a 
practical reality issecured. For /ow will not remain over night and thereby be 
sufficiently permanent to secure moisture to the land unless there is something to 
retain the heat developed by the sun. 
Where there is moisture there is more material to form clouds, and where 
this moisture is the more clouds will hover over the spot and the factor heat be 
retained, by which other clouds are brought there to precipitate. This reveals to 
us the mystery of the superiority of territory where land and water are well distri- 
buted, and the necessity of restoring the balance where it is practicable. Landand 
water are both essential to our well being; organized as we .are, we could not 
