28 



The National Geographic Magazine 



above normal at the ten other stations, 

 the excess at most of them being greater 

 than the deficiency at any of these three. 



In 1890 the water was higher than in 

 the years immediately preceding or fol- 

 lowing. The rainfall was not far from 

 normal on the upper lakes, but above 

 normal at all Lake Erie stations. 



In 1895 the water was the lowest for 

 half a century, and the rainfall on the 

 Great Lakes probably the least, cer- 

 tainly the least recorded at the Weather 

 Bureau stations since their establish- 

 ment. 



These include all the years that differ 

 in any marked degree from those that 

 precede and follow. 



If we consider parts of years we find 

 also a close agreement between rainfall 

 and lake level. Examination of the 

 monthly record of lake level at Cleve- 

 land led me to think the rainfall at the 

 different stations must have been below 

 normal for the first half of 1888 and the 

 last three months of 1887. On consult- 

 ing the record I found it so. To exactly 

 account for the stage of the water dur- 

 ing brief periods, of course several 

 things must be considered — surplus or 

 deficiency in the different lakes at the 

 beginning of the period, time required 

 for water to flow from the upper lakes, 

 evaporation, melting of snow on the 

 watershed, whether ground is frozen, 

 whether rain falls gradually or so fast 

 that a larger portion passes quickly into 

 the streams. 



Most of the time since 1887 Lake Erie 

 has been lower than for many years 

 before. The rainfall has also been less, 



as the table shows. If any one could 

 tell us when this dry cycle will give 

 place to a wet one, the information 

 would be highly appreciated. Perhaps 

 the wet one has already begun. At any 

 rate, those concerned need not fear any 

 appreciable lowering of Lake Erie be- 

 low its level in the past decade from any 

 other cause than drouth. I believe that 

 people now at Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, 

 Milwaukee, and Chicago will live to see 

 the water higher than their fathers ever 

 saw it. The same cannot be said of 

 places on Lake Huron or the northern 

 part of Lakes Superior and Michigan, 

 for the slow tilting of the earth's crust 

 is such as gradually to lower the water 

 in those regions. 



MEAN 



ANNUAL RAINFALL ON THE 

 GREAT LAKES 



Station . 



Year 

 estab- 

 lished. 



Mean in 

 inches 

 to De- 

 cember 

 31,1887 



Mean 

 since 

 18S7. 



Mean 

 deficit 

 since 

 1S87. 



Duluth 



Marquette .... 



Chicago 



Milwaukee. . . . 

 Grand Haven . 



Port Huron . . . 



Detroit 



Toledo 



Sandusky. . . . 



Cleveland 



Erie 



1870 

 1871 

 1S70 

 1870 

 1871 

 1S72 

 1874 

 1870 

 1870 

 1877 

 T870 



1373 

 1870 



32.8 

 3 2 -3 

 36.7 

 33-2 

 389 

 37-9 

 33 5 

 33-6 

 3 2 -7 

 37-5 

 37 4 

 43-2 

 38.1 



27.0 

 3 2 -4 

 3°-5 

 28.5 

 3°-4 

 29.7 



29-3 

 3°-7 

 28.0 



31-5 

 33-1 

 35-2 

 36.8 



5-8 

 — 0.1 

 6.2 

 4-7 

 8-5 

 8.2 

 4.2 

 2.9 



4-7 

 6.0 



4-3 

 8.0 



Buffalo 



i-3 



E. L. MOSELEY. 



GEOGRAPHIC NOTES 



THE RAILROADS AND FORESTRY 



THE Bureau of Forestry has con- 

 tinued this year on a far larger 

 scale the experiments in timber season- 

 ing and preservation for the railroads 



which it began last year under Dr Her- 

 mann von Schrenk. This work will be 

 done for the New York Central, the 

 Erie, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the 

 Pennsylvania railroads in the East, and 

 for the Illinois Central, the Santa Fe, the 



