FITZ-ROY WEATHER FORECASTS. 
261 
south. The good folks of Newcastle laughed at the signal. Why 
shouldn’t they ? The sky was clear and c all serene.’ They 
could see nothing to warrant the probability of a coming 
tempest. The fishermen put out to sea as usual. On the fol- 
lowing morning, however, the coast was covered with wrecks, 
and many a family had to bewail the imprudence of the 
unfortunate men who had disregarded the signal. After that, 
people began to think that there was something in the system, 
and numerous subsequent fulfilments more and more confirmed 
the popular belief in the utility of the predictions.” * 
The first cautionary or storm-warning signal was issued early 
in 1861, being the one alluded to in the previous extract. In 
August of the same year the 'publication of forecasts was com- 
menced, and after six months had elapsed for gaining experience 
by varied tentative arrangements, the system was launched in 
its final form which, so far as Admiral Fitz-Eoy was concerned, 
remained in operation till his lamented death in 1865. The 
ultimate procedure was the reception by telegraph of about 18 
weather reports every morning (except Sundays) from British 
coast-stations, besides a few from the continent. These reports 
gave (in cypher for the sake of brevity) the leading meteoro- 
logical elements of the place of observation ; such as height of 
the barometer, temperature, wind, rainfall in previous twenty- 
four hours, state of the atmosphere, sea, &c. The information 
thus conveyed to the London office was immediately reduced in 
the usual way by the application of the necessary corrections 
and written out in prepared forms. The first copy, with the 
original telegrams, was passed to the chief of the department or 
to the deputy appointed to act in his name, to be studied and 
discussed for that day’s forecasts. 
At about 11 a.m. expanded copies of the telegrams, together 
with the forecasts arrived at by the officer in charge, were sent 
to certain newspapers to be published in their next impressions. 
Copies of so much of the forecasts as related to the English 
Channel were also telegraphed to Paris (by special request) for 
the Ministry of Marine. The whole of this work was got 
through by about 12 o’clock. In the afternoon, from a few of 
the stations further telegrams were received and when , and so 
far as necessary, these were used to revise the forecasts of the 
morning, for the morning papers of the following day. In 
addition to this daily service occasional storm-warnings were 
sent to our own coasts, and to Paris and sometimes to Ham- 
burg, Hanover and Oldenburg, by the request and at the expense 
of the public authorities in those states. 
We shall presently discuss the basis on which these forecasts 
Steinmetz. 
