The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 19, 1899, Page 22

e s ey ok Ll AST week Professor Lowe asked the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to pay the charges in his attempt to break the drought in that vicinity by artificial means. Called before the chamber to explain what he proposed doing to produce the much-needed rain he said he would ignite gases and high ex- plosives in the air and by condensation produce rain. Professor Lowe 4 that $8000 would cover the cost of the explosives required and so furnish a plant that might be used in the future. His offer was under advisement. e proposition he made again brings forward the arguments and demonstrations of the “rain-makers” of the past decade. Professor Lowe is a stanch advocate of the plan. Below will be found the of the experiments and studies he made to arrive at his conclu- and also the ideas of eminent professors on the same subject- naking. LES, March 7.—Can ran be artificially produced in Sonuth- fornia? is the leading 4opic engrosses all manner of jon, in a way to ve the contentions favoring the g its possibility, would be s region. that Professor T. 8. C. Mount Lowe makes, that rain ced by the employment of ific apparatus of his own designing, 1 a discussion in this land of is aching for rain that will taker Th signed to change the upper atmosphere o8 to force together the elements, which un- der natural co itions result in rainfall. ‘l’ ofessor Lowe was lled upon by the amber of Commerce for a statement of DR. EISEN DECLARES THE TICABLE. e N there is np moisture in it? If there is more mois- ; t he §§ right or that his deduc- ture in the air than it will hold at 2 certain ‘em- % w PRAYING tl Wwrong. g 2 & x R is divided as to the practicabil- perature it will fall in tie form ot rain. x i EOR- Al ity of fessor Lowe's novel plans, but the air is warm and full of water it’ will be £ o in that has an advidntage over v recipit A5 OS ANGELES other sclentific savants before him, and precipitated if suddenly cooled. But this CHURCHES. cooling cannot be done by artificial means except, possibly, to a very iim- any of his earlier experiences, t is not alone in his bellef. "hamber of Commerce has taken up »)n of attempting to produce ited extent. The explosion of a few x> )y artificial means, in the hope that thousand pounds of powderin X molsture may be produced to relieve the the x thousands of dry acres in vine, fruit and expanse of the uprer x gra 3 stratum of atmosphere x Pr or Lowe tells the Chamber of Sl Bave nomorsaf x Commerce that it is guite possible to pro- » duce rain by artificial means when the atmospheric conditions are favorable, as fect on general condi- tions than a fire- % x Jftener than there is need of a e cracker exploded y In order to produce moisture Professor inthebaywoud % #7 X Lowe says that he would apply his own 3 x [ t the syatem of aeronautics with additions of aveonthe o )/"‘ o detonating and gaseous explosion, so de- tides." S x o x x L B S S O S e e R R o o S R S A A e e e o x o o » fornia has included petitions for % itself into additional petitions for the b s Q4++ 4444444444444+ - hig views and theorfes for producing rain and in reply sent the following communi- cation, which was fully discussed by the directors on Wednesday last. Professor Lowe wrote: “I take: pleasure In.glving my views on the possibility of artificially produc- ing rain. “Owing to the nature of my life work N1 have enjoyed opportunities for the study of meteorology and various atmospheric phenomena seldom given to a single indi- vidual. AEGE RS SR e o S R e How can you get moisture cut of tha air when Almighty, who, some ministers believe, is X turning his favors from this State for wan- derings from the Sabbath and moral attitude, held, opened by Dr, Castine. churches the penitental office was observed, znd the collect fer rain was added. to the daily morning Lenten service. At St. Paul's Cathedral the regular 8:30 a. m. and X 4:30 p. m. Lenten services were he'd, with noontide prayer. At all of these the collect for rain, in lieu of drought, was read. At St. Vabiana Cathedral a “Novena” is being held, which includes a series of services for nine days to pray fo ticular purpose. The object of the present ‘‘Novena” is to pray for a downpour on the dry and dusty earth, In the Protestant churches the day of feasting and humiliation and m ) the upper ting te the ing the glc With its equipment it w and lifted, besides its ov ight, tons to an altitude of two and a half miles. upper currents sufficient to warrant tion by the Government for ant of a weather eau - lines as the students, ho aptness in philo: ilned a White dirceting t observed from a high altitude of the battles of the tomac frem the first Gettysburg. ized Bull was here that could x IDEA IMPRAC- “‘, ES, March 15.— To-day was specially set apart by local ministers for humiliation and prayer, Rain was not the only burden of the pstitions offered; sup- plications were also to be offered to tha x X Methodist Church a prayer-meeting was At the Episcopal for some par- The Catholic Church of Ca'i- rain at every service since the early winter, resolved D R e R R T T T T T P OO GO much-needed moisture, -+ 4444444444944 440 by rain, generally extending from the bat- tle ground often over many States. The rain falling during the night and the next day after the battle of Bull Run was very extensive. At the close of the battie of Williamsburg a heavy rain set in the same evening. ‘‘While riding from one station to an- other for observation I noticed a yellow- ish substance on the water which stood in large pools many miles from the battle grounds. Dismounting I gathered some of the water and on examination founa the yellow substance to be sulphur, evi- dently from the burned powder. I no- ticed this also in the water of the great deluge that immedlately followed the bat- tle of Maivern Hill “I once witnessed the burning of a train- load of ammunition in which there was very little report, but the enormous vol- ume of smoke and chemicals formed a cloud of its own, whose deep shadow so cooled the moist-laden atmosphere that rain clouds formed in a clear sky and continued to spread until the sky was completely obscured and rain eame in great quantities within an hour and lasted through the night. “I am not alone in noticing the phe- noraena of rain following closely after battles. All close observers soon began to notice this. “Heavy bombardments are not so likely to bring rain as are long lines of mus- ketry. There are times when neither R R R R R R R R AR R R Lt e have ths siightest effect in bringing on might keep off a storm five minutes. as 2 jumoing feawould be on the move- ments of a stezmer. | should not wish to condemn Mr. Locwe's scheme thout n ha % x without krowing what it is. If 5 t is once tred it wili no x x doubt condemn tse.f we ail X The experments @ thay weie a‘a ur x O R et o b o 2 2k o o will cause rain., owing to the dry- ness of the y expe- rience in ihe lique es and re for the ture of efrigeration immediat foi- \ field then unknown much opportunity ladencd war n gave mo tmosphere porting meats. feet by ot by 9 feet be- When the atmesphere was far below the point the e moisture laden imitted produced snow and hail; er tem- perature rain was produced. By re g ing this process and discharging large vol- of liquid running from to 300 degrees below zero at a sufficiently high altitude, the moisture of r would first form into snow and ail and as it descended to the lower at- mosphere would turn to rain, all the time accumu until it reached earth. junction with other vould employ, 1 believe, where atmospheric conditi are right, as are, extensive rainfalls could This in cc lity the conditions have been or rain fully half a dozen times last six weeks when a little of the right kind at the proper times would cause precipitation, which would spread, and once started rain would beget rain. “I have long noticed that when we have a dry winter here the Bast is flicted with heavy rain and snowstorms, the during disturl af- and this winter I think shows another good example sustaining this theory. The n ot should have fallen here and mplished much good has passed over i1 wrought a corresponding amount of damage in the East. “It is not necessary to burn gunpowder to produce rain. Cheaper gases can be made to produce better results. “I have no faith in producing rain by s, especfally in mountains. All sroduce rain should be liberated at depth of atmosphere when the same is laden with moisture and near the point of precipitation.” In reply to numerous adverse criticisms r Lowe says that a notable in- of artificial rain was the battle of 1 Vista, which was fought in the midst of the dry season in Mexico and there had beéen no rain for many months before the battle. The occur- rences upon the second day at Buena Vis- ta, as stated by Brevet Major General H. W. Benham of the United States En- gineer Corps, were: “From 8 to 9 in the morning of that day the artillery was en- zagbd in heavy cannonading, after which Dbetween 11 and 12 o'clock a most violent shower of rain fell And what was positive proof to me that these rains were the direct result of the artillery firing,” writes General Ben- ham, *was that no rain had fallen, ns I was informed, for a number of months before this battle—I was told elght months; and none fell for three months after .the battle, which I knew was the case, as I remained at the same station during that time. The battles of Palo Alto, Molino del Rey, Cherubusco, Monterey and Chapul- tepec were also fought in the dry season, and each was followed by heavy rains.” “In August, 1891, by the ald of a small Government appropriation, experiments in a crude and limited way were made in Texas and copious showers were pro- duced at each trial, although the atmos- pheric conditions were most unfavorable, the weather bureau hygrometer showing a relative humidity of only 16 out of a possible 100. Here along the Pacific coast acc D444+ 4444444 4444444444444 44444444440 PROFESSOR JORDAN'S VIEWS ON RAIN-MAKING. From ths newspaper notes, nothing is suggested that could plosion of all the gunpowder in the world would not do this, thcu zh by disturbing or heating the atmosphere it in a general way, as has bean shown, the effect of explosions on the movement of a storm is aboutas great ments x Therz, vou wili temamber, a reward even was offered if the sch:me tried shouid worx know that ought 10 be a sufiicient answer to such inquir es c'rcumstances and the generally accepted conciusion is” that Generaliy speaking, | shou'd say that the dea s not feasibie; that is, x x astorm. The ex- x x x x x x x x x PROFESSOR FREDERICK SLATE. *'Co 1 think the theory of pro- dusng ran by explosive balloons feasible? Juignz by the recent experi- in Texas, it would s=em not But t fa'ed most signilly, and in itseif were conducted under quite favorable forali pract cal conditions." 4444424444345 444444244444 4444444444444+ 0 the Instrur show from 80 to as high as 99 hout precipitation.” Professor Lowe in making the foregoing en _has put b in opposition ling university men throughout Not a single physicist inclines theory of rain-makir the S others of denounce rofessor ahout he great bz effect upon the f ain I world ¢ phere in atme s not sllowed the t en such has bee > rain would > fallen if there had been no battle. is impossible to produce rain Jjust when we want it. When the air Is dry artificial means will not create mol Anybody that professes to be abl this is a quack.” Said Professor Jordan of Stanford: “From the newspaper notes, nothing is suggested that could have the slightest effect in bringing on a storm. The ex- plosion of all the gunpowder 1n the world would not do this, though by disturbing or heating the atmosphere it might keep off a storm five minutes. In a general way, as has been shown, the effect of explosions on the movement of a storm is about as great as a jumping flea wouid be on the movements of a steamer. “I should not wish to condemn Mr. Lowe's scheme without knowing what it is. If it is once tried it will no doubt condemn itself. Professor Fernando the department of phy of the leading authorities of the‘country on this subject of rain-making, said: “I know nothing of the details of Mr. Lowe's plan for producing rain. 1 do know, however, that all such schemes are fakes.” Professor Sanford then named over a number of the best known flascos in rain- making. Among these is the Baker fake, at Pixley, California,”In 1834, and the Dy- renforth scheme for artificial rain-making tried at San Antonio, Texas, November 25, 1892, “To acomplish the desired result in the latter case,” said Professor Sanford, ‘“the temperature of the air was raised by heat-producing explosives. Eight bal- loons, 150 shells and 4000 pounds of rosel- lite were fired off. No rain appeared. One balloon exploded within a black rain- cloud, but failed to produce any precipi- tation. “On the following Wednesday, with a clear sky. ten balioons, shells and 5000 pounds of rosellite were exploded and the sky remained clear. “On the following night the remaining stock of explosives were fired off, regard- less of consequences, to get rid of tnem.” Frederick Slate, professor of physics in the University of California, offered the following opinion of artificial rain-mak- w Sanford, head of cs, who is one ng: “Do T think the theory of producing rain by explosive balloons feasible? Judging by the recent experiments in Texas, it would seem not. There, you will remem- ber, a reward even was offered if the scheme tried should work. But we all know it failed most signally, and in itseif that ought to be a sufficient answer to, such inquiries. The experiments were conducted under quite favorable circum- stances and the generally accepted.gcon- clusion is that they were a failure. en- erally speaking, I should say that the jdea {s not feasible; that is, for all prac- tical conditions.” “Can you imagine conditions in which explosive balloons might be effective for producing rain?” “Yes; as far as that goes, they can be imagined very easily, but they are hardly ever likely to exist. s £ b ¥id “Of course such conditions could exist as well in California as any where else, but they are not the conditions which would explain the present scarcity of rain. Our rain comes to us from storm clouds which pass over the State in an @ easterly direction, or rather in a south- easterly direction. It not infrequently happens that some disturbing influence produces an oscillation in their path ¥ which deflects them to the north. What the disturbing influence is we have no means of finding out. It may possibly turn them toward the extreme south, in which case also we should be deprived of rain. But it is very easy to see that no explosive balloon can change the os- cillation of the storm currents. “In cases of supersaturation in a per- fectly homogeneous body the introduction of an outside substance may form a cen- ter of precipitation. For instance, take ny jar containing a solution of salt in such proportion as to amount to a super- § saturation. If we are able to keep the golution homogeneous throughout, with- but any jarring or sudden lowering of temperature, the salt will not crystallize. It is even possible, provided the solution be kept perfectly homogeneous, to lower its temperature a great deal without in- ducing any change. If, however, a for- eign substance were suddenly introduced, ance a small crystal, it would precipitation and the salt would go to the bottom. In the same W we might atmospheric conditions: which ) were perfectly homogeneous throughout without any disturbing influence what- § ever from wind or jar of. any kind. Then such circumstances an explosive balloon’ or the firing of guns might @ make centers of precipitation which would start a fall of rain. The conditions, § however, are improbable to the highest Tee. ‘The old stories of rain falling after bat- § tles are nothing but popular supersti- tions." “Is there, then, no relation of cause and effect between the heavy firing dur- ing a battle and the fall of rain after- ward?"”’ “That would be incautious to say. But most probably there is not. It is really nothing but a popular superstition which the Texas experiments ought surely to dispro Gus en, Ph.D., of the Academy of § Sciences, said the whole idea was laugh- able in the extreme and had really been disproved long ago. In speaking of the matter he said: “‘How can you get moisture out of the air when there is no moisture in it? If there is more moisture in the air than it will hold at a certain temperature it will fall in the form of rain. If the air is warm and full of water it will be precip- itated if suddenly cooled. But this cool- ing cannot be done by artificlal means ex- ept, possibly, to a very limited extent. The explosion of a few thousand pounds of powder in the expanse of the upper stratum of atmosphere would have no more effect on general conditions than a firecracker exploded in the bay would have on the tides.” So as the case stands Professor Lowe is in a posltion to make himself famous— that is, provided his scheme works. —_—ee———— According to the London YoungWoman Princess Victoria of Wales is one of the few royal women who prides herself on the fact that she has learned a regular profession. At a recent Industrial ex- hibition in London there was a specially Interesting bookbinders’ exhibit, there be- ing contributions from the best known Dbinderies in Great Britain. Among them there were several artistically executed book covers which gained universal ad- miration and whose maker was a certain Miss Matthews, to whom several prizes were awarded. Some time afterward the identity of Miss Matthews became known and great was the surprise when it was found that she was Princess Victoria of Wales, who 8 sent her work under an assumed name in order that it might get impartial crit- icism without consideration for her rank.