METEOROLOGY (ante). The advancement in meteorological science in recent years ha.s been mainly in the direction of the application of the laws of storms to practical use, in foretelling perturbations in the interest of commerce and navigation. In this direction great progress has been made, EIS tO Width, SOO SIGNAL SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES.
From the accumulation of statistics and history in this department, the following information concerning the government and private machinery for meteorological observation in different countries, is compiled: The first international meteorological congress occurred at Vienna, in September, 1873, when eighteen governments were represented by delegates officially appointed. This con,„oress had been preceded by the Brussels maritime conference in 1&53, the conference at Leipsie in 1872, and the meet ing at Bordeaux in the latter year. The object of these meetings was to establish an. international and reciprocal meteorological system for the benefit of the countries participating, and indeed of the civilized world. This object was so far effected that a strong interest was awakened in the subject on the part of the different governments, and a permanent committee was appointed which holds annual meetings. Among those—and chief among them—who have labored unselfishly to awaken interest in the study of the laws of storms should be ever remembered the names of Redfield, Espy, Fitzroy, Reid, and Maury; besides Humboldt, Dove, Ritter, Sabine, Kamtz, and Herschel, who preceded them in the same field. Through the efforts of some of these meteorologists the informa tion gained by the experience of navigators has been collated and analyzed, and a very complete knowledge of ocean meteorology has been obtained; while the storms of the Indian ocean and the law of cyclones have been studied by Me'drum, with the assistance of the 3Iauritius meteorological society, to the great advantage of the world's information on the science. The first effort in the direction of making regular meteorological obser vations in the United States was made in 1818 at military posts, under the direction of surgeon-general Lovell, and as these are still continued, they form the oldest unbroken national series of the kind in existence. Certain of the states afterwards entertained the idea, and New York from 1825-1863, Pennsylvania 1836-1f342, Ohio in 1842, and Illi nois in 1856, formed organizations for the same purpose, but which have all been dis continued. Besides the information obtained from these sources, there has been much service performed in a desultory way by the Franklin institute, Smithsonian institution, state boards of health, agricultural and geological societies, and other organizations, as well as by special expeditions. Half a century ago, James P. Espy, an enthusiast, as well as a clear-headed observer, devoted himself to the study of meteorology, and by lec tures and writings sought to popularize the subject. In 1836 he wrote a memoir which gained for him the Martellanic premium awarded by the American philosophical society; and in 1841 appeared'' his Philosophy of Storms, which publication completely revo lutionized the sum of scientific opinion on the subject. The following year'be was appointed meteorologist in the surgeon-general's office of the war department, and having already begun the practice of weather-mapping, he continued it daily. His first pub lished report in 1843 is acknowledged to have been " by far the most important contribu tion to our knowledge of storms that bad then been made by any government in the world." This wa-s in 1E43; and on Mr. Espy being transferred to the navy department, he published two other reports, dated 1849 and 1851 respectively. His fourth report was made to the S. senate in 1854. Mr. Espy died in 1857, at the age of 72, having devoted forty years of his life to meteorological study and investigation. Thus much is here given concerning this remarkable man, became of the influence which he exerted, and which doubtless gave the timely impetus that resulted in placing the United States in the front mnk among those nations that have given its due importance to the study of meteorology. This study, with its accompanying record of observation, is prosecuted in the United States at the following points, 1. The independent observatories at Cam bridge, Washington, Albany, and New York Central Park. 2. The state weather ser vices of Iowa, receiving reports from 80 observers; Missouri, with 100 observers; and Nebraska ; which all publish monthly reviews and annual reports. $. The state boards of health for Michigan; New. Jersey, etc. 4. The state boar& of agriculture for Illincis, Ohio, etc. 5. The state schools of agriculture at Lansing, Mich., and Boston and Amherst, Mass. 6. The Central Pacific railroad company land office, which receives reports from 120 stations. 7. The army engineer bureau lake survey, which has main tained 8 or 10 important stations on the lakes. 8. The geological and geographical sur veys of western territories (Wheeler's, Hayden's, Powell's, etc.), and the U. S. coast sur vey. 9. The hydrographie office of the navy department, which maintains an hourly -series of observations on every vessel in commission, and at all naval stations, and pub lishes important charts relating to ocean meteorology. 10. The army surgeon-general's office, the Smithsonian Institution, and the agricultural department. Of these three the -first continues its observations and the second its publications, although most of the data are transferred to the army signal office. 11. The army signal office, division of reports and telegrams for the benefit of commerce and agriculture. This last-named organiza tion, whose meteorological work beg,an by order of congress in February, 1870, far -exceeds all other similar organizations in the world. It maintains 166 regular, 28 sunset, -30 river, and about 10 temporary West India stations. It also receives reports from 95 army-post surgeons, 300 voluntary civilian or Smithsonian observers, 120 railroad em ployes (mostlyin California),about 150 observers through the state organizations in Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, about 40 vessels and stations of the navy, about 20 merchant vessels through their respective owners, aud about 390 foreign stations through the central ,offices of their respective countries. Rainfall reports are thus obtained from about 870 stations within the United States. It publishes a tri-weekly bulletin and map, with pre dictions based on tri-daily telegraphic reports from 35 additional stations; displays cau tionary storm-signals at about 80 coast stations; bulletins the state of the rivers and ,corning floods; distributes farmers' bulletins or predictions to over 6,000 post-offices; furnishes special predictions to several hundred railroad telegraph offices; and publishes a weekly weather chronicle, a monthly weather review with charts of American storms, temperature, rain, and ocean storms, and an annual report. It also prints for exchapge a daily bulletin of international shnultaneous observations, with daily chart of the winds, temperature, and pressure throughout the northern hemisphere. This is based on about -700 reports from land and sea contributed by all nations, and made simultaneously with those that are made at 7 h. 35 in. A.M. at Washington, or 12 h. 43 m. r.m. at Green wich. In the prosecution of its meteorological work and in order to carry out the sys tem of frontier defenses, and in cooperation with the life-saving service on the United States coast, the signal service also builds and maintains lines of telegraph, of which it now controls about 3,000 m. on the Atlantic coast and in the S.W. and n.w. territories. The service employs the whole time of about 15 officers and 47'5 men, and a portion of the time of about 150 others. The meteorological service of foreign countries is now sustained as follows (1878): West Indies.—Numerous stations are supported in these islands by the respective home governments. The U. S. signal service maintains about 10 stations dur iw, the hurricane season. The principal independent stations are at Havana, Cuba; Kingston, Jamaica; and in Barbadoes and Porto Rico. Great Britain.—The meteorologi ,cal committee of the royal society have charge of the meteorological work, with office in London. There are 7 stations properly equipped, receiving. telegraphic reports from 29 British stations, and publishing daily weather-maps, bulletins, storm-warnings and sir, nals, quarterly and annual reports, etc. It receives observations from several hundre'd vessels at" sea, and from about 80 voluntary observers on land, besides minor stations. The medical department of the army also maintains observers at the forts throughout the British colonies, some of which report to the Landon office. The royal engineers and -ordnance survey offices also maintain several stations. The different meteorological societies of the empire publish memoirs which contain reports from different sta tions. "Wind and current charts and pilot charts are published by the hydrog,rapher to the admiralty, based on observations made on shipboard. France.—Observations are maintained since 1878 by the bureau centrale de meteorologic, the departments of France preserving their separate organizations. The meteorological association of France has its 'own stations. The bureau centrale publishes daily bulletins, weather-charts and storm
warnings, and in conjunction with the association scientifique de France, issues the annual volumes of the Atlas meteorologique de France. The meteorological association corresponds with about 50 observers In different parts of the world. Germany.—The headquarters of the meteorological system is in Hamburg, and maintains about 40 sta tions (27 telegraphic), publishes daily weather-maps and predictions, storm-warnings, and monthly weather reviews, and receives a large number of logs from German vessels. The German forest commission maintains several stations for meteorological observa tions. There are subordinate organizations with stations in Bavaria, Baden, Prussia, Saxony, and Wtirtemberg; with headquarters respectively at 3Innich, Carlsruhe, Berlin, Leipsic, and Stuttgart. The whole number of well-equipped stations in Germany is about 200, and slowly increasing. Russia.—Observations are made at most of the universities, and published in full independently at Dorpat, Helsingfors, Tiflis, and Moscow. The cen tral meteorological office is at St. Petersburg, and receives reports from 130 well-equipped (50 telegraphic), 220 rainfall, and 310 thunder-storm stations, distributed throughout the Russian possessions, abstracts of which are published annually. The central office pub lishes a daily telegraphic bulletin, displays storm-signals, and publishes volumes of memoirs and investigation4.. The academy of sciences and the geographical society aid In the advancement of the study. Italy.—Numerous independent meteorological organi zations exist, the Italian alpine club pdblishing observations made at about 70 stations; and the observatories at Moncalieri, Turin, Pesaro, Venice, Naples, and Rome, issuing their own observations. A general Italian meteorological association was organized in 1877. Spain.—The central meteorological office is at Madrid, and receives reports from -30 home stations including Portugal (26 telegraphic), all of which are published annually. A daily telegraph bulletin is published, and storm-warnings are issued when sent from Paris or London. In the Spanish colonies, the most important stations are at Manila and Porto Rico. Portugal.—The meteorological observatory at Lisbon receives reports from 5 home and as many colonial stations, and from the vessels of the Portuguese navy. The observations made at Coimbra and Lisbon are published in full. It publishes a daily telegraphic bulletin (10 telegraphic stations), and repeats the storm-warnings sent from London and Paris. Belgium.—The royal observatory at Brussels receives reports by telegraph from 4 stations, and publishes daily weather-maps and predictions, annual volumes of its own detailed observations, and of 4 Belgic and 4 Dutch international and of 35 Belgic climatologic stations; also an annuctire. Austria and Hungary.—The cen tral meteorological institution at Vienna has charge of all observations made in the empire, and receives reports from about 275 stations (26 by telegraph, daily); it publishes a daily bulletin, storm-warning signals, and annual volume of observations. In Bohemia there are about 50 rainfall stations, and a similar system is arranged for Styria. The hydrographic office has charge of marine meteorology, with a school at Trieste and observatory at Pola. There are also independent observatories at Cracow, Prague, and Vienna, which publish their own observations. The central magnetic and meteorological institution for Hungary is at Buda-Pesth, and was founded in 1870. It publishes annually reports from about 100 stations, mostly well-equipped. A summary for 32 stations in Carinthia is published monthly at Klagenfurth. Norway.—The royal meteorological institute at Christiania receives reports from 10 full stations (7 telegraphic), 10 lighthouses, and a large number of minor stations, and logs of vessels. A telegraphic daily bulletin has been published since 1861. The meteor ological observatory at Christiania was founded in 1836. Sweden.—About 30 stations ,(9 telegraphic) and several naval vessels report to the central meteorological institut,e at Stockholm, which publishes a daily telegraphic bulletin and annual volumes. The Lund „ and Upsala observatories publish their own observations separately. Switzerland.—The central institute for Swiss meteorology has its seat at Zurich, and publishes iu full the observations at about 15 stations. The total number of reporting stations is about 80. The observatories at Bern and Geneva publish their own work in detail. The central office is maintained by the Swiss association and not by the state. There are stations in Africa—in the Transvaal, at Zanzibar, Natal, and other places, besides those in the large colonies; in Algeria observations are made under the direction of the military authorities, a daily weather bulletin and chart are -Published, and about 20 observing stations are maintained; at Cape Colony there is a meteorological commis sion instituted in 1861 and reorganized in 1874. It receives reports from 30 or 40 sta tions; the royal observatory at Cape Town maintains an independent series of observations. Australia.—The several provincial governments maintain systems at Queensland, 5 tele graphic stations; New South Wales, 190 stations (35 telegraphic); South Australia, 110 stations (5 telegraphic); Victoria, about 40 stations (27 telegraphic). The central offices of these are at Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbouriae; there are also individual stations at Melbourne, Windsor, and Hobart Town, which publish their own obser vations. Ceylon.—About 30 stations report to the surveyor-general at Colombo, and the reports are partially published. China.—Instruments for equipping about 20 stations were obtained in 1874, but WC have no reports. Egypt.—The principal service is that of the lighthouse keepers, though observations are made at the observatories near Cairo and at Alexandria, and on the Suez canal. Japan.—Observations are made at the imperial observatory and at the imperial colleges of mining and eng-,ineering, and a system of records is preserved by the lighthouse keepers. Reports will be soon forthcoming also from about 20 equipped stations. New Zealand.—About 20 meteorological stations are niaintained. Philippine islands.—The observatory of the Jesuit college at Manila, in Luzon, is the only station permanently occupied, and publishes annually its obser vations. Netherlands.—The central meteorological institute maintains 14 full and 23 minor stations (4 telegraphic), issues storm-warnings, and publishes annual voltunes. There are a large number of rainfall stations. Its most important colonial station is at Batavia. Denmark.—The royal Danish meteorological institute receives reports from 12 principal (8 by telegraph) and 70 minor stations in Denmark, also 5 from Iceland and 5 from Greenland. It publishes daily bulletins, annual volumes, and a daily chart of the Atlantic ocean. Finland.—The scientific association at Helsingfors .maintams 22 stations and publishes its own results. The observatory at Helsingfors is independently -maintained. India.—The provinces of Bengal, the Punjab, the Northwest, Madras, etc., maintain independent systems of meteorological reports. In 1875 a general meteorological office was established in the department of revenue, agriculture, and com merce. About 300 stations report by mail to the head of this office daily, and about 50 by telegraph. It publishes daily, weekly, and raonthly bulletins, aud special storm warnings. Chili.—An extensive system of observations is maintained at Santiago, receiving regular reports from 13 or more stations. Costa Rica.—There is a centrai office for statistics and meteorological observations, and a station at the capital. Argen tine Republic.—The meteorological office is attached to the astronomical observatory, about 30 voluntary observers reporting. There are also scattered stations in South America, at Quito, Lima, Rio Janeiro, Georgetown, Surinam, and Trinidad. 'Mexico.— A central office in the capital publishes a daily teleg,raphic bulletin from about 30 stations, and monthly summaries. Canada and Newfoundland.—The Canadian meteo rological office is under the minister of the marine, who receives reports from about 20 first-class (14 by telegraph) and about 140 minor stations, distributed throughout the British possessions. It issues daily weather predictions and storm-warnings, and displays storm-signals. Turkey.—The central observatory at Constantinople receives reports from about 30 stations, publishes a daily telegraphic bulletin of 17 stations, and its 011711 observations in full, and issues storm-warnings. Syria.—Observations are maintained at the Syrian college (Protestant mission) in Beyrout, and a roore extended system is understood to have been recently organized under the British and American " Palestine Explora tion" societies. Mauritius.—The meteorological association of Mauritius was estab lished in the year 1851. It has published irregularly monthly notices, maintains a large number of rainfall stations, and gives warning of such storms as are evidently- about to make themselves felt in the vicinity of the island. Beyond this there is no mention of any meteorological work progressing here.