Rainfall and the Level of Lake Erie 



3 2 7 



fixed in the seed and the skin at the 

 ends removed, thus saving the sweetest 

 part of the fruit. The illustration on 

 page 326 shows a special mango fork 

 secured in Mexico by Dr J. N. Rose. 

 The long slender tine in the center easily 

 penetrates the seed, and the shorter 

 outer tines need only to touch the seed 

 to prevent it from turning. 



The best varieties of mango have 

 hardly any fiber and the pulp is sliced 

 with a knife, or sometimes is so soft 

 that it is eaten with a spoon. 



Porto Rico seems very well adapted 

 to the production of mangoes and, as the 

 plant is strictly tropical and very sus- 

 ceptible to cold, would seem to have a 

 decided advantage over Florida, where 

 good varieties are already successfully 



grown, but where, except in the extreme 

 southern part, the danger of injury from 

 cold is very great. A really high-grade 

 mango is unknown in Porto Rico, and 

 the first steps toward making their ex- 

 portation profitable is the introduction 

 from the other islands, or from Florida, 

 Mexico, or the East Indies, of grafted 

 stock of the best varieties. 



The season of ripe mangoes in Porto 

 Rico is from May to August. By se- 

 lecting proper varieties this might be 

 prolonged, since in some parts of India 

 it extends over a period of six months. 

 This would be a great advantage in ship- 

 ping the fruit to temperate regions, as 

 at present the season coincides with the 

 season of temperate fruits, which places 

 the mango at a decided disadvantage. 



RAINFALL AND THE LEVEL OF LAKE ERIE 



MANY people think that the 

 rainfall, although differently 

 distributed through the year, 

 averages about the same one year as 

 another, or if there is a deficiency one 

 year, it will be made up the next. With 

 this erroneous notion in mind, those 

 concerned with navigation on the Great 

 Lakes have naturally looked for some 

 other explanation of changing water 

 levels, for from 1888-1901 they witnessed 

 a period of low water so long it seemed 

 unreasonable to expect it ever to attain 

 its former level. However, a compari- 

 son of the level of Lake Erie, as shown 

 by the gage at Cleveland, with the rec- 

 ord of rainfall along the Great Lakes 

 shows a complete correspondence. 



The high water in Lake Erie in 1902 

 and the heavy rainfall of that year are 

 fresh in the minds of those who live 

 near it. 



The Weather Bureau established a 

 number of stations on the Great Lakes 

 in 1870. The first marked deviation 

 from normal level in Lake Erie after this 



was in 1872, when the water was lower 

 than for many years before or after. 

 The rainfall that year was below the 

 normal at every station on the Great 

 Lakes. (I have taken no account of 

 stations on Lake Ontario.) In 1876 

 the water was higher than for many 

 years before and higher than any year 

 since. The rainfall was above normal 

 at all stations except Marquette, where 

 it was nearly an inch below. At Mil- 

 waukee the excess was 18.28 inches; 

 at Grand Haven, 11.52; at Detroit, 

 8.07. 



In 1878 the lake was considerably 

 higher than the preceding or following 

 year. The rainfall was a little below 

 normal at Duluth and Grand Haven, 

 but above at all other stations, being 

 60.24 inches at Buffalo, where the nor- 

 mal is only 38.04, and 53.51 at Cleve- 

 land, where the normal is 36.29. 



In 1882 the lake was higher on an 

 average than in any other year since 

 1876. The rainfall was below normal 

 at Buffalo, Detroit, and Milwaukee, but 



