Robert DeCourcy Ward

“ If any one can read Captain Lewis's weather record for the northern Pacific coast without gaining from it a vivid idea of the cloudiness, the heavy rainfall, the high winds, the small amount of sunshine and withal the mildness of the winter of the particular district which the expedition encamped, he must be a hopelessly unappreciative and unintelligent person. ”

“ Solar Climate.—Climate, in so far as it is controlled solely by the amount of solar radiation which any place receives by reason of its latitude, is called solar climate. Solar climate alone would prevail if the earth had a homogeneous land surface, and if there were no atmosphere. For under these conditions, without air or ocean currents, the distribution of temperature at any place would depend solely on the amount of energy received from the sun and upon the loss of heat by radiation. ”

“ To send out to other states thousands of aliens who are not really desired there, simply because we think we can thus relieve ourselves of an unpleasant burden, is much like throwing our weeds over our neighbor's fence, into our neighbor's garden.
There doubtless is need of labor in the south to-day; the Italian is unquestionably well fitted to do much of the work which needs doing ”

“ The greater part of the Temperate Zone, in which we live, is peculiar in having frequent and rapid changes of temperature, not only from season to season, but from day to day, and during a single day. In winter, we are apt to have a warm wind immediately after a spell of crisp cold weather. In summer, cloudy, cool days come as a sudden relief when we have been suffering from intense heat, with brilliant sunshine. ”

“ A region of deficient rainfall, once thickly settled and prosperous, may readily become an apparently hopeless desert, even without the intervention of war and pestilence, if man allows the climate to master him. In many cases the reports of increasing dryness really concern only the decrease in the water supply from rivers and springs, and it is well known that a change in the cultivation of the soil, or in the extent of the forests, may bring about marked changes in the flow of springs and rivers without any essential change in the actual amount of rainfall. ”

“ It is obvious that if immigrants who have just landed can be persuaded, or forced, to go at once into the country districts at their own expense, or at the expense of some railroad or capitalist desiring 'cheap' labor, philanthropic persons would be saved the immediate cost of the transportation. It must be remembered, however, that wholesale distribution by railroads or capitalists is not likely to be controlled by a desire to do what is best for the immigrants, nor for the people among whom they are scattered, but rather by purely selfish interests. ”

“ Does there seem to you to be any definite system, of any kind, in our changes of temperature? In what ways are people in general affected by hot weather? By cold weather? What difference does a very hot or a very cold day make in your own case?
Wind Direction and Velocity.—Wind is an important meteorological element because it has many close relations to human life. It affects very markedly our bodily sensations of heat or cold. A cold, calm day is pleasanter than a cold, windy day. On the other hand, a hot, calm day is usually much more uncomfortable than a hot, windy day. ”

“ To transform ignorant laborers, with but a few dollars in their possession, into landowners, is not a matter of a day or a year. It involves an expenditure of time and money. It is a matter of the assimilation of the immigrant and of the elevation of his standards of living. Thus, neither the interests of those states which desire immigrants who shall at once buy their land, nor the best interests of the Italian immigrants themselves, as set forth by Mr. Tosti, are met in a wholesale distribution of ignorant farm laborers. ”

“ Thus a health resort with a moderate degree of heat is very valuable for delicate or elderly people, and those who are temporarily weakened by illness. Cold, however, when combined with wind and damp must be specially avoided by the aged, the delicate, and those prone to gouty and rheumatic affections. The moisture of the atmosphere controls the distribution of warmth on the earth, and is closely bound up with the prevailing winds, temperature, light and pressure. In dry air the evaporation from both skin and lungs is increased, especially if the sunshine be plentiful and the altitude high. ”

“ Is there any relation between the velocity of the wind and the hour of the day, i.e., does the wind seem stronger or weaker at noon than in the morning or at night? Is it a common occurrence to have a wind from the same direction for several successive days, or are we apt to have different winds almost every day? ”

“ The southerly winds are so often referred to that we have little hesitation in concluding that this is the prevailing direction in summer on the Great Plains, and we see at once, in our mind's eye, that great sweep of southerly and southeasterly winds, across the region west of the Mississippi River—the continental inflow of summer, in response to the pressure-gradient between the Gulf of Mexico and the interior of the continent. ”

“ Life is a constant struggle for existence. Man seeks his food by the chase on land, but chiefly in the sea. He lives along, or near, the sea-coast. The interior lands, away from the sea, are deserted. Gales and snow and cold cause many deaths on land, and, especially during fishing expeditions, at sea. Under such hard conditions of securing food, famine is a likely occurrence.
In the arctic climate vegetation must make rapid growth in the short, cool summer. In the highest latitudes the summer temperatures are not high enough to melt snow on a level. ”

“ The great areas of high and low pressure control our weather. On land, where daily weather maps are so easily accessible, a glance at the map serves in most cases to give a fairly accurate idea of the position and extent of cyclones and anticyclones, and hence also of the distribution of weather. At sea, on the other hand, the navigator has no daily weather maps to refer to, and his knowledge of the weather conditions which he may expect must be gained from his own observations alone. ”

“ The sober thought regarding the dangers of immigration is that of apprehension that an ever-increasing mass of our alien population which keeps its identity is a great evil in our democracy. These alien colonies have for years been found in our city slums; the present movement is evidently going to plant them all over the country, in the farming districts. The thought of danger in alien colonies is, after all, not as new as many writers would have us believe. ”

“ No general law governs the variations of relative humidity with altitude, but on the mountains of Europe the winter is the driest season, and the summer the dampest. At well-exposed stations there is a rapid increase in the vapour content soon after noon, especially in summer. The same is true of cloudiness, which is often greater on mountains than at lower levels, and is usually at a maximum in summer, while the opposite is true of the lowlands in the temperate latitudes. One of the great advantages of the higher Alpine valleys in winter is their small amount of cloud. ”

“ Have you discovered any rule as to the time of day when rainstorms or snowstorms begin? When thunderstorms begin and end? Is it common or uncommon for us to have a storm lasting three or four days? How long does a thunderstorm usually last? Do we have most hail in winter or in summer? In what ways does a rainy day affect people? How are you yourself affected? How does a heavy snowstorm affect travel and transportation? In what ways does a snowstorm differ from a rainstorm as to the character of the precipitation and its effects? ”

“ The winter time which was spent by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on the Pacific coast, at the mouth of the Columbia River, gave Captain Lewis abundant opportunity to observe the meteorological and climatic peculiarities of that region, and to contrast them with those with which he had become familiar in the east. "The loss of my thermometer I most sincerely regret," he wrote on January 3, 1806. "I am confident that the climate here is much warmer than in the same parallel of latitude on the Atlantic Ocean, though how many degrees it is now out of my power to determine." ”

“ Fogs are less common in winter, when they occur as radiation fogs, of no great thickness. The small winter cloudiness, which is reported also from the antarctic zone, corresponds with the low absolute humidity and small precipitation. The coasts and islands bathed by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream drift usually have a higher cloudiness in winter than in summer. The place of fog is in winter taken by the fine snow crystals, which often darken the air like fog when strong winds raise the dry snow from the surfaces on which it is lying. ”

“ These changes give a variety to our climate which is, on the whole, very beneficial to man. The North Temperate Zone, with strong seasonal changes in temperature and weather, is the zone of the highest civilization and of the greatest energy of man. In the Torrid Zone the changes of temperature are, as a whole, small. There is no harsh winter. The climate is monotonous and deadening, rather than enlivening. Man finds it easy to live without much work, and the inhabitants of the Torrid Zone have not, as a rule, advanced far in the scale of civilization. ”

“ Agricultural Distribution of Immigrants will not solve the Immigration Problem.—But few of those who are now urging the necessity of relieving the city slum burden by distributing the slum population realize that such distribution will not, and can not, of itself, lead to any relief, as long as the tide of new immigration flows on unchecked. ”

“ The inversions of temperature characteristic of the colder months, and of the night, give mountains the advantage of a higher temperature then—a fact of importance in connexion with the use of mountains as winter resorts. At such times the cold air flows down the mountain sides and collects in the valleys below, being replaced by warmer air aloft. Hence diurnal and annual ranges of temperature on the mountain tops of middle and higher latitudes are lessened, and the climate in this respect resembles a marine condition. ”

“ The marked contrasts in temperature between the Northwest and the Pacific and Gulf Coasts at once suggest a reason why Florida and Southern California are favorite winter resorts. To these favored districts great numbers of people who wish to escape the severe cold of winter in the Northern States travel every year, and here they enjoy mild temperature and prevailingly sunny weather. To the cold Northwest, on the other hand, far from the warm waters of the Pacific, where the days are short and the sun stands low in the sky, no seekers after health travel. ”

“ To relieve the pressure in the cities without restricting the number admitted only opens the way for a still larger immigration; for, strangely enough, emigration has not relieved the pressure of population in Europe. In no period of their history, with the exception of Ireland, have the populations of Europe increased at a greater rate than during the last half century of migration to America. As a relief for current immigration, agricultural distribution is not promising. ”

“ An everlasting uniform snow covering; rigidity; lifelessness; silence—except for the howl of the gale or the cracking of the ice. Small wonder that the polar night has sometimes unbalanced men’s minds. The first effects are often a strong desire for sleep, and indifference. Later effects have been sleeplessness and nervousness, tending in extreme cases to insanity; anaemia, digestive troubles. Extraordinarily low winter temperatures are easily borne if the air be dry and still. Zero weather seems pleasantly refreshing if clear and calm. ”

“ One whole year of the grammar school course may well be given to the observations suggested in Chapter I, provided that there is no need of hastening on to the more advanced work. The advantage of extending the course over a whole school year is great, because such extension gives opportunity for becoming familiar with late summer, autumn, winter, spring, and early summer weather types, and this is far better than attempting to crowd all the work into one short season. The interest of a class can easily be kept up throughout a school year by means of a progressive system of observations. ”

“ The relief which a distribution of the inhabitants of our city slums seems sure to bring to the charity workers and the philanthropists of our large northern cities, and the fact that such distribution is also being systematically, though not openly, advocated by powerful transportation and capitalistic interests, have caused this new idea to be welcomed with great enthusiasm, the selfish and unselfish interests working along the same lines, as is seldom the case in immigration matters. ”

“ Climate and crops, climate and industry, climate and health, are subjects of vital interest to man.
The Climatic Elements and their Treatment.—Climatology has to deal with the same groups of atmospheric conditions as those with which meteorology is concerned, viz. temperature (including radiation) ; moisture (including humidity, precipitation and cloudiness) ; wind (including storms) ; pressure; evaporation, and also, but of less importance, the composition and chemical, optical and electrical phenomena of the atmosphere. ”