Saturday, March 17, 2012
wow! what a day!
some online searching let me discover my great great grandma Bryant & her second husband's gravestone...that she died of heart failure...that my great great grandpa Maxwell was in a Sharpshooter unit, and I researched the battle he was captured in....I discovered that W.T. Foster was a renowned meteorologist and found a pencil sketch of him! and a death date! I love the internet!
"A word now about our common friend, W. T. Foster, of Washington, D. C.
"A word now about our common friend, W. T. Foster, of Washington, D. C. Hehas the most comprehensive system of long range forecasting of any man in the world
Weather Prophets
"Schiaparel,
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the noted Italian astronomer, says that within a few years pastwonderful changes have taken place in the physical geography of Mars. The seas havechanged their beds, the continents have broken up, some of them disappeared, andgreat rivers, or arms of the seas, occupy new channels. Such would be the naturalconsequence of acquiring a moon, and this may suggest an explanation of the greatcatastrophes that are spoken of in the Bible and the legends that have come downfrom prehistoric times through all the races of men."Either the acquisition of a new planet like Mercury, or of a moon, or thestriking of the earth by a comet would cause events similar to the flood, the rising andsinking of the seas, or the great changes that mark the geological ages of the earth andthe changes of animal life that are so distinctly marked by the geological epochs of theearth."The newly acquired moons of Mars marks an epoch in the evolutions ofastronomy and is probably a catastrophe on that planet such as must have occurred onthe earth causing the great epochs of its growth which probably are identical with thesix periods of creation spoken of in our Bible Genesis."Astronomers have but little to say about these newly acquired moons of Mars,for they cannot account for them by the old theories. They see their long and beautifulastronomical dissertations falling into disrepute because they were builded on thesands of the nebular theory, and they prefer to see their rounded sentences fadesilently away to nothingness."
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+ + +"PLANETARY INFLUENCES"I have one more quotation to make from that forcible writer Dr. HenryRaymond Rogers, of Dunkirk, N. Y. In a recent paper he says: 'It is a fundamentalprinciple in electrical science that every movement of one body near another disturbsand puts in motion the electric currents in both bodies. Extending the law from thelesser or terrestrial to the grander or celestial field the inference becomes legitimatethat the starry worlds whirling with inconceivable velocity in space evolve betweenthe electrical currents in great cosmical circuits; that the sun and earth revolving ontheir axes and in their orbits thus become actually vast magnets — electric machines,or batteries, through the action of which currents incessantly pass to and fro betweenthose bodies. In this manner is explained the source and mode of development of the
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Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, who was author, among other texts, of Astronomy in the OldTestament http://books.google.com/books?id=nxgqAAAAYAAJ. 36The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Nov. 14, 1891, p. 8.
universal force."'The problem of the action of force at a distance, without intervention of somemedium of transmission, which has puzzled philosophers for centuries, has its fulland complete solution in the action of electricity in vacuous space. Upon thishypothesis is rationally explained how each planet in our solar system may haveidentically the same relations with the sun and her sunheat, sunlight, chemical actionand gravity are developed and act precisely the same at Neptune, nearly three billionsof miles from the sun as at the earth, the former being thiry-three times farther fromthe sun than the latter."'A mighty cosmical essence, or spirit or soul pervades, all worlds, all life, allforce. This subtle, invisible entity animates and controls the whole universe of matterregardless of time, space or distance. Mind as well as matter is its realm and herein wehave a glimpse of that grand unity which science has ever sought but neverdiscovered."'Science assets that gravity acts instantaneously throughout the universe. If itsforce was obstructed in interstellar space its operation would be impracticable. Itannihilates space and distance. So does electricity and in view of this fact may not thegravitative force be purely electrical?"'Faraday, the greatest philosopher in this field who every lived, continued forthirty years to assert his conviction that such was the case. Newton held to the sametheory. The latter taught that the ultimate particulars of matter are endowed withinherent forces or powers of attraction and repulsion. He thus recognized in gravitythe operation of a dual principle which exists in no other force than electricity."'That the great gravitative force is electrical is fully demonstrable. It is afundamental law of electrical action that all bodies susceptible to electrical excitationbecome centers of attraction through the operation of the electrical circuit. A body ofsoft iron is thus made magnetic and retains its power of attraction during itscontinuance in the circuit. So the sun and earth being constituents in our greatterrasolar circuit, they and all things they contain become vitalized with the powerwhich we call gravitation."'The sun and earth become vast magnets having magnetic axes and poles andare held in their relative positions through the action of their polarities. Gravity istherefore a purely electrical phenomenon explainable only upon the hypotheses of theuninterrupted action of electricity in vacuous space.'"
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The Grank Forks [ND] Herald, Dec. 13, 1891, p. 1. A few years earlier, in 1886, Rogers had publisheda paper entitled "A New Philosophy of the Sun," in which he expounds upon the same ideas
universal force."'The problem of the action of force at a distance, without intervention of somemedium of transmission, which has puzzled philosophers for centuries, has its fulland complete solution in the action of electricity in vacuous space. Upon thishypothesis is rationally explained how each planet in our solar system may haveidentically the same relations with the sun and her sunheat, sunlight, chemical actionand gravity are developed and act precisely the same at Neptune, nearly three billionsof miles from the sun as at the earth, the former being thiry-three times farther fromthe sun than the latter."'A mighty cosmical essence, or spirit or soul pervades, all worlds, all life, allforce. This subtle, invisible entity animates and controls the whole universe of matterregardless of time, space or distance. Mind as well as matter is its realm and herein wehave a glimpse of that grand unity which science has ever sought but neverdiscovered."'Science assets that gravity acts instantaneously throughout the universe. If itsforce was obstructed in interstellar space its operation would be impracticable. Itannihilates space and distance. So does electricity and in view of this fact may not thegravitative force be purely electrical?"'Faraday, the greatest philosopher in this field who every lived, continued forthirty years to assert his conviction that such was the case. Newton held to the sametheory. The latter taught that the ultimate particulars of matter are endowed withinherent forces or powers of attraction and repulsion. He thus recognized in gravitythe operation of a dual principle which exists in no other force than electricity."'That the great gravitative force is electrical is fully demonstrable. It is afundamental law of electrical action that all bodies susceptible to electrical excitationbecome centers of attraction through the operation of the electrical circuit. A body ofsoft iron is thus made magnetic and retains its power of attraction during its continuance in the circuit. So the sun and earth being constituents in our great terrasolar circuit, they and all things they contain become vitalized with the powerwhich we call gravitation."'The sun and earth become vast magnets having magnetic axes and poles and are held in their relative positions through the action of their polarities. Gravity is therefore a purely electrical phenomenon explainable only upon the hypotheses of the uninterrupted action of electricity in vacuous space.'"
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The Grank Forks [ND] Herald, Dec. 13, 1891, p. 1. A few years earlier, in 1886, Rogers had publisheda paper entitled "A New Philosophy of the Sun," in which he expounds upon the same ideas
Lillingston
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, Smith
41
, Cather
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and others are not weather prophets but meteorologists,entitled to the prefix 'Professor,' because they are teaching a branch of learning, thisbeing one of the definitions given by Webster."The two appellations, 'Prophet' and 'Professor' do not belong together. No oneever heard of a prophet being called 'Professor.' But the term 'weather prophet'appears to have come to stay and therefore we may accept it under protest. I want totalk about weather prophets."Professor Tice of St. Louis, was the original discoverer of that upon whichelectrical meteorology is founded. He combated the heat theory of force and declaredthat electricity is the motive power of the universe. He discovered the periods of fourprinciple storm waves and attributed their cause to an inner mercurial planet calledVulcan. He was right as to the principle storm wave periods but his theory aboutVulcan is a very doubtful one."Professor Tice in his new system of meteorology gave to each planet fourpoints in its revolution around the sun at which it caused general electricaldisturbances throughout the solar system. In this he was mistaken as to all the planetsexcept Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter and the Earth. He was certainly in error as to Mars,Venus, Mercury and perhaps Vulcan. He also believed that the four points around thesun called heliocentric longitude 80, 170, 260 and 350 were fixed disturbing points forall the planets and this was a very serious error because this is not in accord withastronomical events."The effects of the moon on our weather was entirely unknown to ProfessorTice. He seems never to have applied his theory of planetary influences to the moon,perhaps because that orb rotates so slowly on its axis always keeping the same side tothe earth. He made no effort in his general forecasts to locate the storm centers butgave the dates on which he supposed the planetary equinoxes would affect theweather of the whole earth."Professor Tice discovered the relations of the transitory high barometer to eachother and to the weather, and the United States weather bureau appropriated his
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Charles H. Lillingston, the son-in-law and partner of Tice, according to a list of "Weather Almanacsand Predictions" found in Notes and Queries and Historic Magazine, February 1900, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, p. 60http://books.google.com/books?id=neIRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA60. He is the author of the article "John H.Tice and the Science of Weather Forecasting," found herein in Appendix II. In Appendix III, Lillingstondiscusses his own work in another article from his pen.
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Walter H. Smith, "who has the reputation of being the best and most trustworthy weather prophet inCanada" Manawatu Herald of Foxton, New Zealand, March 5, 1892, Page 2.http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=MH18920305.2.15 .42George K. Cather (the original, above, has been corrected from "Carther").
discovery without giving him credit for it."Of all the meteorologists now dead Professor Tice deserves to be recognized asthe greatest, for he pointed out the establishment of the only true system ofmeteorology."Professor Mansill of Rock Island Ill., was the first, perhaps, to lay down asystem of meteorology based on planetary influences, and while there is much truth inhis system he only deals with the minor and less important influences of gravity ormagnetism affected by conjunctions, perihelions and perigees as being the cause ofour greatest electrical disturbances but does not recognize the influences of equinoxes.This clearly shows the difference between the Mansill and Tice systems. They wereeach based upon the two distinct electrical theories, the principal idea of one being theequinoxes and the other conjunctions."Prof. Blake, of Topeka, Kansas, is uncommunicative as to his theories, but along and careful study of his writings has revealed the basis of his calculations. Hedoes not wait for conjunctions or equinoxes, but calculates the influence of the sun,moon and planets on the electric currents, the waters and the atmosphere of the earthat all times. He believes that every particle of matter and every heavenly body isimpelled toward every other with an equal force at all times varied only by distanceand mass. He takes no account of conjunctions except the doubled influence of two ormore bodies when situated near each other, and thus increasing their attraction ofgravitation or the repulsive power of the surrounding elements as he would call it. Hedoes not believe in attraction, but declares that gravitation is repulsion."Prof. Cather of Ashville, Alabama, based his calculations on the effects of themoon. He claimed that the weather is similar every twenty-eight days basing the ideaon the distance of the moon north or south of the earth's equator. He claimed that asthe moon reaches the same latitude, going north or south, it will have the same effecton the weather that it had twenty-eight days before, when it was at the same latitudeand going in the same direction. He made allowance for the seasons, but gave noinfluence to the planets."These are the four systems of meteorology. Smith of Canada, follows Mansilland also includes the conduct of animals and recurring periods of weather changes astaught by Vennor.
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Prof. Hicks of St. Louis, follows Prof. Tice and has not improved
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Henry G. Vennor of Montreal, Canada. Of his method he said: "In brief, the basis of my work is theresult of observation and the comparison of cause with cause, effect with effect, season with season. It is amere matter of relationships. ... I discovered one fact, and proving it to be a fact beyond question or dispute, Ihave builded upon it — and built safely, I think. What was that discovery? Just this: that seasons and yearsrecur in couplets and triads. Rules applicable to the first season or year of a couplet are equally applicable tothe second season or year of that couplet, and precisely so in the triads. Such is the main superstructure of
on
his old methods. Hicks also uses the Herschell theory of the effect of moon changeson the weather.
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Prof. Lillingston follows Tice."I have carefully studied all these theories, have tested them by the records ofthe Washington weather bureau, and find some truth in each of the four systems. Ihave taken those parts of Professors Tice, Mansill, Blake and Cather's systems thatstand the tests of the records and with what I have been able to discover, have formedthe electric system of meteorology. I include nothing in this system that is not inharmony with the laws of electricity and magnetism, nothing that will not bearinvestigation in the light of the weather records of this and all other countries."
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+ + +"ELECTRO-METEOROLOGY."I am not able yet to avoid errors in my weather forecasts. But I very seldom erras to the dates on which the storm centers and cool waves cross the continent. Mymistakes are confined principally to the force and latitude of these disturbances. Evenin these particulars a very large percent of the forecasts are verified."I have no disposition to evade the responsibility of my mistakes, but ratherprefer to frankly state wherein the principal difficulties lie. The responsibilities ofthese mistakes must rest upon myself and not on the system, for if the system ofelectro-meteorology was thoroughly understood, there would be no errors in weatherforecasts. The fault lies with man and not with the laws of nature."As I have repeatedly stated, there are four storm waves passing around theearth from west to east between 30 and 60 degrees of north latitude, making 45degrees of north latitude an average center of their paths around the earth."The average distance of these storm waves apart — from west to east — isabout 3500 miles. The high barometer — that which gives us the cool wave andclearing weather — follows about 1750 miles behind the low barometer, and these
my work. But I soon found that the system was not bound down to a mere generality, embracing only aseason or year in its entirety. Experiment evidenced that the same calculations could be made for a month,and that, too, with an exactness that at first appeared to be surprising. And I pursued my work still furtheruntil now I do not hesitate to bring my calculations to within a week. Yes, I have been able to designateparticular days. That is usually my rule in the text of my predictions. But the public should understand that,except in special cases, I never risk everything upon any single 24 hours. I have not yet reached that point inmy system, although there is no telling what will be accomplished in the near future." The New York Times,Aug. 25, 1881. A copy of Vennor's Almanac and Weather Record for 1878-9 is online athttp://books.google.com/books?id=lycXAAAAYAAJ .44Appendix IV herein presents the "Herschel" table via Bible commentator Adam Clarke.45Grand Forks [ND] Herald, Dec. 31, 1891, p. 8.
high and low barometers are strung around the earth like a string of beads, and allmoving eastward."We have made a success in finding the dates on which these high or lowbarometers, or storm waves, will pass any given meridian of longitude. That part ofthe system is a decided success."It makes a very great difference in the weather as to whether a storm centerpasses south or north of a locality, and in locating the latitude of a storm centermistakes are sometimes made. The storm wave may be exactly on time as predicted,but if it goes by on the south, cold weather will follow, while if it goes by on the north,warm weather will follow. A few errors are unavoidable at this time in locating thelatitude of the storm waves."The most difficult matter to calculate is the force of the storm. This is veryimportant, for the force of the storm has much to do with the character of the weather."The electrical influences of the sun, moon and planets affect every part of theearth at the same moment, but these influences will manifest themselves in one or allof the four storm waves that are moving around the earth at about 3500 miles apart.The difficulty lies in determining which of these four storm waves will be mostaffected, and herein is where most of my errors occur."It is not difficult to understand that the planetary influences are conveyed tothe storm centers through the earth's electric currents, and if we fully understand thelaws that govern the magnetic forces of the solar system, we would make no mistakesin forecasting the location and force of the storm centers and their influences on theweather."In the latter part of January, I had calculated the electrical influences wouldlargely increase the force of the storms due to cross the continent from the 25th to the29th of January. The result, however, was that the storm wave preceding it receivedalmost the full force of the electrical influences, causing a great storm in WesternEurope at the time we expected a great storm here."An intelligent investigation will satisfy any reasonable mind that we are verynear to one of the greatest discoveries of modern times. We know the dates on whichthe storm waves will cross the continent, we know, approximately, how to calculatethe latitude of these storm waves, we know the dates on which these storm waves willhave greatest and least force, and the greatest difficulty yet to surmount is to knowwhich of the four storm waves will be most affected by the planetary influences.
"Two thirds of the time I can succeed in rightly determining this difficultproblem, but the other third is what stands in the way of complete success. I knowwhere to look to find the key to this difficult part of the weather problem, and haveclearly indicated this to my readers. I expect to discover the key and then to avoiderrors."If I make one mistake out of ten forecasts a certain class of critics will ridiculemy work. Let them ridicule. I know that the system of electro-meteorology has theonly true basis, and that time, I hope a comparatively short time, will vindicate it."But readers of my work must not now expect infallible forecasts, for the systemis not yet perfect. They should also remember that my own time and money, aided byfifty daily newspapers, are working out this great problem without assistance from thegeneral government."
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+ + +"I have often stated, and will repeat, that very severe storms will occur on thiscontinent during March. Western Europe has experienced the greatest storms of thecentury during the past six monthc [sic], and it is almost impossible for this countrynot to go through the same experience during the next six months."Even orthodox scientists have given warning of the great disturbances near athand, because of the great sun spots and other remarkable disturbances now apparenton the sun. Spots on the sun, they declare, cause an increase in the force of our earthstorms through the agency of the electrical forces."They also declare that the perihelion of Jupiter causes a maximum of sun spotsand an increase in the auroral displays. All this indicates that the men who have posedas the leaders in scientific research are being forced to acknowledge the influence ofthe planets on our earth, and that electricity is the medium."But in claiming that sunspots can cause auroras and other earth disturbances,and that the perihelia of the planets cause sunspots, these great scientists whollydisregard cause and effect — disregard all the laws of electricity and magnetism."Jupiter is now about forty millions of miles nearer the sun than it was six yearsago, and if we follow the laws of electricity, that would increase the electrical forces ofthe sun and earth, which in turn would increase the evaporation and cloudliness onthe sun, thereby preventing sunspots; therefore the perihelia of the planets cannot
46The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Feb. 18, 1892 (weekly edition), P. 1.
cause sunspots and the sunspots cannot cause earth disturbances."Sun spots must necessarily be of exactly the same nature as our highbarometers, and our cold waves, causing large areas of clear weather, correspondingto the large dark spots on the sun."The faculæ, or bright spots, on the sun are the same as our low barometerswhere we have densely cloudy weather. Whatever causes our storm centers, our highand low barometers, our cold waves, also cause the sun spots, and I assert withoutfear of contradiction, that it is the equinox of Jupiter and not his perihelion that causesthe increase of auroras and sun spots."On the night of February 13, when the great aurora lighted up the northernheavens — also the region of the south pole, no doubt, although we have no newsfrom that part of the earth — Jupiter was within two degrees of his equinox while hewas fourteen degrees from his perihelion, therefore the electric tension of the sun wasvery great and only needed an outlet in order to shock or electrify the whole solarsystem."The electrifying event occurred on the 13th, when Venus passed the earth'sequator and the earth passed the equator of Mars. Anyone who has studied the nature of electrical currents in connection with revolving globes will readily see the logic in these statements."But the difficulty in the way of orthodox scientists is that they still consider thesun as a burning body, instead of, as it really is, a body very much like the earth, with its seas, continents, mountains, valleys, clouds and storms, all affected by the verysame laws and in the same manner as are the various parts of our earth."Knowing of the approach of the equinoxes of Saturn and Jupiter, I gave warning nearly a year ago that 1892 would be a year of great storms all around the earth, and that these great disturbances would reach their maximum force in the fourmonths from March 1 to June 30."Since the great auroral display February 13, orthodox scientists are predictingthe same increase of disturbances that I did a year ago."Spots on the sun and storms all around the earth have been increasing for sixmonths past at least, and they will continue to increase for at least months to come.But both sun spots and earth storms are effects of the same cause. The planets and sun electrify each other just as revolving magnets in the electro-dynamo machine affect each other.
"The time appears to be rapidly approaching when the electrical theory of forcein the universe will take the places of the nebular and heat theories and electro-meteorology dethrone the chaotic world of chance ideas that have long ruled in theweather bureau of the United States."
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+ + +"NATURE AND MOVEMENTS OF STORMS."Readers are so forgetful, that it is necessary to dwell on some of the mostimportant features of weather changes. Entirely too many readers, who are muchinterested in the weather, misunderstand what is meant when I specify the date onwhich a storm wave is due. Nothing but the tariff and silver discussions can be moregenerally misunderstood than the term 'storm wave,' and still there is no way for meto avoid using it. No other term will supply its place, and therefore, in order tounderstand my forecasts, the reader must understand what is meant by 'storm wave.'"It does not necessarily imply a storm, or rain, or snow, or hail, or wind, but itmay include all of these. It does, however, almost universally imply wind from theeast, warmer weather, wind changing to west and cooler, in rotation as stated. Thestorm wave may pass centrally over any point and still the weather remain clearthroughout, but the warm wave, change of wind and cool wave are sure toaccompany almost every such storm wave."If the storm wave passed by to the north, the wind will change from east byway of the south to the west, and the cool wave following it will not bring a very greatfall in the temperature. If the storm wave moves by to the south, the wind will changefrom east to west by way of the north, and a cold wave with low temperatures willfollow."When the conditions are favorable to rain, the low barometer of the storm wavefills up with clouds, except in its center, which is usually very warm and partly cloudyor clear."When I expect rain, snow, wind or a storm, I say so in plain terms, but whenonly the term storm wave is used, it does not portend any unusual event."The discovery of the period of these storm waves and the laws that governtheir movements, is the most important ever made in reference to meteorology, and
47The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, March 3, 1892, p. 16.
gives promise of reliable, long-range forecasts, especially if the system should bedeveloped by government aid."The cause of these storm waves is somewhat of a mystery. My theory is thatthey are caused by a circuit of electricity rising in the low barometer and coming downin the high. The low being a column of rising air draws to it the clouds and moisturethat makes up the storm center."The storm center is the low barometer, which, with the high barometer, iscalled the storm wave. The high barometer pours cool air into the rear of the low andit is often the case that rain does not occur till the high barometer comes in and thesnow storms always occur after the main portion of the low has passed and as thehigh, with its cool wave, comes in."My forecasts are for the front part of the storm wave, which often causes norain, but it may be known by the rising temperature. Herein is where the weatherbureau ought to be useful. I can give the dates of the storm waves, but cannot alwaystell, so far ahead, whether the precipitation will occur in front, rear, north side orsouth side of the low or storm center. Knowing where the storm center is, and theconditions surrounding it, the weather bureau ought to make few mistakes, but itmakes many, and its forecasts are of no use to farmers, coal dealers, small dealers inproducts, etc."These storm waves are strung around the earth in these northern latitudes likea string of beads, and their movements cause them to jostle up against each other like[railroad] cars when the engine suddenly puts on brakes or makes a sudden start.These jostlings of the storm waves against each other cause them to lose or gain asmuch as a days' time, and therefore I do not pretend to forecast their time nearer thantwenty-four hours."When these storm waves are driven north by the influences of the moon or theplanets, we have excessively hot weather and drouth, and when, for a period ofseveral weeks, they are driven south by the same influences, we have cool seasons aswe had in May, June and July, 1891."Cold winters occur when the paths of the storms are south, as will be the casenext January. Warm winters surely follow when the storm paths are far to the north."These storm waves do not move in perfect circles around the geographicalnorth pole, but around the magnetic north pole, which is about 70 degrees north and97 west, or 20 degrees south of the geographical north pole, and northwest ofHudson's bay. There is another magnetic pole in Northern Asia, around which the
storms of that continent probably make a semi-circle."Many of our storm waves cross Europe and Asia, but some of them appear topass between the two north magnetic poles. The tropical hurricanes appear to movealmost directly toward the geographical north pole of the earth."In order that they may better understand by forecasts, I hope that readers willtry to retain the above explanations, and not confound the widely differing terms,storm and storm wave."
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+ + +"Professor Frank H. Bigelow, of the National Weather Bureau, has published animportant paper in a leading astronomical journal
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. He has been, for several years,one of the weather bureau's scientific experts, and his conclusions are very importantto meteorology. He says: 'The observed facts pertaining to solar physics, to terrestrialmagnetism and to meteorology have been such to render it very probable that thesethree distinct branches of science are in reality parts of one general cosmical science.'"That is precisely the theory for which planetary meteorologists have beencontending. Professor Bigelow was selected by the Weather Bureau to investigate thisvery question, and from the senseless opposition of the Weather Bureau officialstoward independent planetary meteorologists, I infer that Professor Bigelow wasexpected to annihilate the theory that moon and planets have anything to do with ourweather changes, but Professor Bigelow says that the magnetic forces of the sun andearth are closely related to our weather changes and auroral displays."Professor Bigelow writes to convince scientists, showing no care for otherintelligent classes of people, therefore his language is hard and needs interpretation.Men whose salaries are paid by the government should be compelled to write in theAmerican language, of which our American newspapers are the classics. OurAmerican newspapers use the pure American language, furnish the channel throughwhich American intelligence is reached, and therefore one who fills a public capacityat the expense of the people, should give his discoveries to the public in ournewspaper language."I quote again from the same paper: 'The periodic occurrences of manifestationsof energy in sun spots, the solar corona, the faculae and prominences, on one hand;the aurora, variations of the terrestrial magnetic field, and the fluctuations of the
48The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, March 17, 1892.
49
"The Two Magnetic Fields Surrounding the Sun," Astronomy and Astrophysics, October 1893, Vol.XII, No. 3, p. 706 ff. http://books.google.com/books?id=_iKKbuNsc34C&pg=PA706.
meteorological elements on the other, have all indicated a fundamental system ofphysical forces embracing the sun and earth in its operation.'"All this means to say that sun spots, earth storms, electrical forces and auroras,have magnetism as their common cause. He never mentions heat as a common cause,and therein he radically differs with Professor Finley,
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who sustains the WeatherBureau theory that heat is the cause of weather changes."Bigelow again says: 'If the sun has a nucleus in which can reside a species ofpermanent magnetism having poles of direction and intensity, such as are found uponthe earth, it must also be surrounded by wide, sweeping lines of magnetic force,distributed in space.'"He then goes on to show that these magnetic lines enter the earth diagonallythrough the northern hemisphere, and leave the earth in diagonal lines through thesouthern hemisphere. This theory was promulgated by Professor Siemens, the greatelectrician,
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and now by the most critical tests made with the best electricalinstruments, Professor Bigelow has found the theory to be a true one."He has found more. The instruments show that periodically the magneticcurrents change, now entering the earth through the northern hemisphere, andleaving it through the southern, and then in regular periodic changes, agreeing closelywith our weather changes, the currents enter through the southern hemisphere, andleave the earth through the northern hemisphere. Professor Bigelow makes the periodof the principal one of these changes 26.68 days. Professor Veeder
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gives the period as27.28 days, and my principal storm disturbance period is 27.28 days."Professor Veeder's auroral period is so nearly the same as my storm period,that they may safely be considered the same, and from the same cause, but ProfessorBigelow's period appears to be a little short."Professor Bigelow holds that these periods are caused by the sun's rotation.Professor Veeder claims that the aurora depends on the same cause. Both are eminentscientists, but their periods do not agree. At the end of twelve months they would beeight to ten days apart, and that variation must destroy one or the other, if both relyon the same cause."Dr. Veeder is correct in his 27.28 days period, but probably he is in error as to
50Sgt. John Park Finley of the United States Army Signal Service, which managed the United StatesWeather Bureau.51Ernst Werner von Siemens, founder of the Siemens electronics company in Germany.
52Major Albert Veeder, M.D.
meteorological elements on the other, have all indicated a fundamental system ofphysical forces embracing the sun and earth in its operation.'"All this means to say that sun spots, earth storms, electrical forces and auroras,have magnetism as their common cause. He never mentions heat as a common cause,and therein he radically differs with Professor Finley,
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who sustains the WeatherBureau theory that heat is the cause of weather changes."Bigelow again says: 'If the sun has a nucleus in which can reside a species ofpermanent magnetism having poles of direction and intensity, such as are found uponthe earth, it must also be surrounded by wide, sweeping lines of magnetic force,distributed in space.'"He then goes on to show that these magnetic lines enter the earth diagonallythrough the northern hemisphere, and leave the earth in diagonal lines through thesouthern hemisphere. This theory was promulgated by Professor Siemens, the greatelectrician,
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and now by the most critical tests made with the best electricalinstruments, Professor Bigelow has found the theory to be a true one."He has found more. The instruments show that periodically the magneticcurrents change, now entering the earth through the northern hemisphere, andleaving it through the southern, and then in regular periodic changes, agreeing closelywith our weather changes, the currents enter through the southern hemisphere, andleave the earth through the northern hemisphere. Professor Bigelow makes the periodof the principal one of these changes 26.68 days. Professor Veeder
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gives the period as27.28 days, and my principal storm disturbance period is 27.28 days."Professor Veeder's auroral period is so nearly the same as my storm period,that they may safely be considered the same, and from the same cause, but ProfessorBigelow's period appears to be a little short."Professor Bigelow holds that these periods are caused by the sun's rotation.Professor Veeder claims that the aurora depends on the same cause. Both are eminent scientists, but their periods do not agree. At the end of twelve months they would beeight to ten days apart, and that variation must destroy one or the other, if both relyon the same cause."Dr. Veeder is correct in his 27.28 days period, but probably he is in error as to
50Sgt. John Park Finley of the United States Army Signal Service, which managed the United StatesWeather Bureau.51Ernst Werner von Siemens, founder of the Siemens electronics company in Germany.
52Major Albert Veeder, M.D.
ok, you get the point. W.T. Foster had a lot to say. here is the link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/40004049/Planetary-Meteorology-WT-Foster
there is a lot more to go! whew!
35
the noted Italian astronomer, says that within a few years pastwonderful changes have taken place in the physical geography of Mars. The seas havechanged their beds, the continents have broken up, some of them disappeared, andgreat rivers, or arms of the seas, occupy new channels. Such would be the naturalconsequence of acquiring a moon, and this may suggest an explanation of the greatcatastrophes that are spoken of in the Bible and the legends that have come downfrom prehistoric times through all the races of men."Either the acquisition of a new planet like Mercury, or of a moon, or thestriking of the earth by a comet would cause events similar to the flood, the rising andsinking of the seas, or the great changes that mark the geological ages of the earth andthe changes of animal life that are so distinctly marked by the geological epochs of theearth."The newly acquired moons of Mars marks an epoch in the evolutions ofastronomy and is probably a catastrophe on that planet such as must have occurred onthe earth causing the great epochs of its growth which probably are identical with thesix periods of creation spoken of in our Bible Genesis."Astronomers have but little to say about these newly acquired moons of Mars,for they cannot account for them by the old theories. They see their long and beautifulastronomical dissertations falling into disrepute because they were builded on thesands of the nebular theory, and they prefer to see their rounded sentences fadesilently away to nothingness."
36
+ + +"PLANETARY INFLUENCES"I have one more quotation to make from that forcible writer Dr. HenryRaymond Rogers, of Dunkirk, N. Y. In a recent paper he says: 'It is a fundamentalprinciple in electrical science that every movement of one body near another disturbsand puts in motion the electric currents in both bodies. Extending the law from thelesser or terrestrial to the grander or celestial field the inference becomes legitimatethat the starry worlds whirling with inconceivable velocity in space evolve betweenthe electrical currents in great cosmical circuits; that the sun and earth revolving ontheir axes and in their orbits thus become actually vast magnets — electric machines,or batteries, through the action of which currents incessantly pass to and fro betweenthose bodies. In this manner is explained the source and mode of development of the
35
Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli, who was author, among other texts, of Astronomy in the OldTestament http://books.google.com/books?id=nxgqAAAAYAAJ. 36The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Nov. 14, 1891, p. 8.
universal force."'The problem of the action of force at a distance, without intervention of somemedium of transmission, which has puzzled philosophers for centuries, has its fulland complete solution in the action of electricity in vacuous space. Upon thishypothesis is rationally explained how each planet in our solar system may haveidentically the same relations with the sun and her sunheat, sunlight, chemical actionand gravity are developed and act precisely the same at Neptune, nearly three billionsof miles from the sun as at the earth, the former being thiry-three times farther fromthe sun than the latter."'A mighty cosmical essence, or spirit or soul pervades, all worlds, all life, allforce. This subtle, invisible entity animates and controls the whole universe of matterregardless of time, space or distance. Mind as well as matter is its realm and herein wehave a glimpse of that grand unity which science has ever sought but neverdiscovered."'Science assets that gravity acts instantaneously throughout the universe. If itsforce was obstructed in interstellar space its operation would be impracticable. Itannihilates space and distance. So does electricity and in view of this fact may not thegravitative force be purely electrical?"'Faraday, the greatest philosopher in this field who every lived, continued forthirty years to assert his conviction that such was the case. Newton held to the sametheory. The latter taught that the ultimate particulars of matter are endowed withinherent forces or powers of attraction and repulsion. He thus recognized in gravitythe operation of a dual principle which exists in no other force than electricity."'That the great gravitative force is electrical is fully demonstrable. It is afundamental law of electrical action that all bodies susceptible to electrical excitationbecome centers of attraction through the operation of the electrical circuit. A body ofsoft iron is thus made magnetic and retains its power of attraction during itscontinuance in the circuit. So the sun and earth being constituents in our greatterrasolar circuit, they and all things they contain become vitalized with the powerwhich we call gravitation."'The sun and earth become vast magnets having magnetic axes and poles andare held in their relative positions through the action of their polarities. Gravity istherefore a purely electrical phenomenon explainable only upon the hypotheses of theuninterrupted action of electricity in vacuous space.'"
37
37
The Grank Forks [ND] Herald, Dec. 13, 1891, p. 1. A few years earlier, in 1886, Rogers had publisheda paper entitled "A New Philosophy of the Sun," in which he expounds upon the same ideas
universal force."'The problem of the action of force at a distance, without intervention of somemedium of transmission, which has puzzled philosophers for centuries, has its fulland complete solution in the action of electricity in vacuous space. Upon thishypothesis is rationally explained how each planet in our solar system may haveidentically the same relations with the sun and her sunheat, sunlight, chemical actionand gravity are developed and act precisely the same at Neptune, nearly three billionsof miles from the sun as at the earth, the former being thiry-three times farther fromthe sun than the latter."'A mighty cosmical essence, or spirit or soul pervades, all worlds, all life, allforce. This subtle, invisible entity animates and controls the whole universe of matterregardless of time, space or distance. Mind as well as matter is its realm and herein wehave a glimpse of that grand unity which science has ever sought but neverdiscovered."'Science assets that gravity acts instantaneously throughout the universe. If itsforce was obstructed in interstellar space its operation would be impracticable. Itannihilates space and distance. So does electricity and in view of this fact may not thegravitative force be purely electrical?"'Faraday, the greatest philosopher in this field who every lived, continued forthirty years to assert his conviction that such was the case. Newton held to the sametheory. The latter taught that the ultimate particulars of matter are endowed withinherent forces or powers of attraction and repulsion. He thus recognized in gravitythe operation of a dual principle which exists in no other force than electricity."'That the great gravitative force is electrical is fully demonstrable. It is afundamental law of electrical action that all bodies susceptible to electrical excitationbecome centers of attraction through the operation of the electrical circuit. A body ofsoft iron is thus made magnetic and retains its power of attraction during its continuance in the circuit. So the sun and earth being constituents in our great terrasolar circuit, they and all things they contain become vitalized with the powerwhich we call gravitation."'The sun and earth become vast magnets having magnetic axes and poles and are held in their relative positions through the action of their polarities. Gravity is therefore a purely electrical phenomenon explainable only upon the hypotheses of the uninterrupted action of electricity in vacuous space.'"
37
37
The Grank Forks [ND] Herald, Dec. 13, 1891, p. 1. A few years earlier, in 1886, Rogers had publisheda paper entitled "A New Philosophy of the Sun," in which he expounds upon the same ideas
Lillingston
40
, Smith
41
, Cather
42
and others are not weather prophets but meteorologists,entitled to the prefix 'Professor,' because they are teaching a branch of learning, thisbeing one of the definitions given by Webster."The two appellations, 'Prophet' and 'Professor' do not belong together. No oneever heard of a prophet being called 'Professor.' But the term 'weather prophet'appears to have come to stay and therefore we may accept it under protest. I want totalk about weather prophets."Professor Tice of St. Louis, was the original discoverer of that upon whichelectrical meteorology is founded. He combated the heat theory of force and declaredthat electricity is the motive power of the universe. He discovered the periods of fourprinciple storm waves and attributed their cause to an inner mercurial planet calledVulcan. He was right as to the principle storm wave periods but his theory aboutVulcan is a very doubtful one."Professor Tice in his new system of meteorology gave to each planet fourpoints in its revolution around the sun at which it caused general electricaldisturbances throughout the solar system. In this he was mistaken as to all the planetsexcept Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter and the Earth. He was certainly in error as to Mars,Venus, Mercury and perhaps Vulcan. He also believed that the four points around thesun called heliocentric longitude 80, 170, 260 and 350 were fixed disturbing points forall the planets and this was a very serious error because this is not in accord withastronomical events."The effects of the moon on our weather was entirely unknown to ProfessorTice. He seems never to have applied his theory of planetary influences to the moon,perhaps because that orb rotates so slowly on its axis always keeping the same side tothe earth. He made no effort in his general forecasts to locate the storm centers butgave the dates on which he supposed the planetary equinoxes would affect theweather of the whole earth."Professor Tice discovered the relations of the transitory high barometer to eachother and to the weather, and the United States weather bureau appropriated his
40
Charles H. Lillingston, the son-in-law and partner of Tice, according to a list of "Weather Almanacsand Predictions" found in Notes and Queries and Historic Magazine, February 1900, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, p. 60http://books.google.com/books?id=neIRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA60. He is the author of the article "John H.Tice and the Science of Weather Forecasting," found herein in Appendix II. In Appendix III, Lillingstondiscusses his own work in another article from his pen.
41
Walter H. Smith, "who has the reputation of being the best and most trustworthy weather prophet inCanada" Manawatu Herald of Foxton, New Zealand, March 5, 1892, Page 2.http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=MH18920305.2.15 .42George K. Cather (the original, above, has been corrected from "Carther").
discovery without giving him credit for it."Of all the meteorologists now dead Professor Tice deserves to be recognized asthe greatest, for he pointed out the establishment of the only true system ofmeteorology."Professor Mansill of Rock Island Ill., was the first, perhaps, to lay down asystem of meteorology based on planetary influences, and while there is much truth inhis system he only deals with the minor and less important influences of gravity ormagnetism affected by conjunctions, perihelions and perigees as being the cause ofour greatest electrical disturbances but does not recognize the influences of equinoxes.This clearly shows the difference between the Mansill and Tice systems. They wereeach based upon the two distinct electrical theories, the principal idea of one being theequinoxes and the other conjunctions."Prof. Blake, of Topeka, Kansas, is uncommunicative as to his theories, but along and careful study of his writings has revealed the basis of his calculations. Hedoes not wait for conjunctions or equinoxes, but calculates the influence of the sun,moon and planets on the electric currents, the waters and the atmosphere of the earthat all times. He believes that every particle of matter and every heavenly body isimpelled toward every other with an equal force at all times varied only by distanceand mass. He takes no account of conjunctions except the doubled influence of two ormore bodies when situated near each other, and thus increasing their attraction ofgravitation or the repulsive power of the surrounding elements as he would call it. Hedoes not believe in attraction, but declares that gravitation is repulsion."Prof. Cather of Ashville, Alabama, based his calculations on the effects of themoon. He claimed that the weather is similar every twenty-eight days basing the ideaon the distance of the moon north or south of the earth's equator. He claimed that asthe moon reaches the same latitude, going north or south, it will have the same effecton the weather that it had twenty-eight days before, when it was at the same latitudeand going in the same direction. He made allowance for the seasons, but gave noinfluence to the planets."These are the four systems of meteorology. Smith of Canada, follows Mansilland also includes the conduct of animals and recurring periods of weather changes astaught by Vennor.
43
Prof. Hicks of St. Louis, follows Prof. Tice and has not improved
43
Henry G. Vennor of Montreal, Canada. Of his method he said: "In brief, the basis of my work is theresult of observation and the comparison of cause with cause, effect with effect, season with season. It is amere matter of relationships. ... I discovered one fact, and proving it to be a fact beyond question or dispute, Ihave builded upon it — and built safely, I think. What was that discovery? Just this: that seasons and yearsrecur in couplets and triads. Rules applicable to the first season or year of a couplet are equally applicable tothe second season or year of that couplet, and precisely so in the triads. Such is the main superstructure of
on
his old methods. Hicks also uses the Herschell theory of the effect of moon changeson the weather.
44
Prof. Lillingston follows Tice."I have carefully studied all these theories, have tested them by the records ofthe Washington weather bureau, and find some truth in each of the four systems. Ihave taken those parts of Professors Tice, Mansill, Blake and Cather's systems thatstand the tests of the records and with what I have been able to discover, have formedthe electric system of meteorology. I include nothing in this system that is not inharmony with the laws of electricity and magnetism, nothing that will not bearinvestigation in the light of the weather records of this and all other countries."
45
+ + +"ELECTRO-METEOROLOGY."I am not able yet to avoid errors in my weather forecasts. But I very seldom erras to the dates on which the storm centers and cool waves cross the continent. Mymistakes are confined principally to the force and latitude of these disturbances. Evenin these particulars a very large percent of the forecasts are verified."I have no disposition to evade the responsibility of my mistakes, but ratherprefer to frankly state wherein the principal difficulties lie. The responsibilities ofthese mistakes must rest upon myself and not on the system, for if the system ofelectro-meteorology was thoroughly understood, there would be no errors in weatherforecasts. The fault lies with man and not with the laws of nature."As I have repeatedly stated, there are four storm waves passing around theearth from west to east between 30 and 60 degrees of north latitude, making 45degrees of north latitude an average center of their paths around the earth."The average distance of these storm waves apart — from west to east — isabout 3500 miles. The high barometer — that which gives us the cool wave andclearing weather — follows about 1750 miles behind the low barometer, and these
my work. But I soon found that the system was not bound down to a mere generality, embracing only aseason or year in its entirety. Experiment evidenced that the same calculations could be made for a month,and that, too, with an exactness that at first appeared to be surprising. And I pursued my work still furtheruntil now I do not hesitate to bring my calculations to within a week. Yes, I have been able to designateparticular days. That is usually my rule in the text of my predictions. But the public should understand that,except in special cases, I never risk everything upon any single 24 hours. I have not yet reached that point inmy system, although there is no telling what will be accomplished in the near future." The New York Times,Aug. 25, 1881. A copy of Vennor's Almanac and Weather Record for 1878-9 is online athttp://books.google.com/books?id=lycXAAAAYAAJ .44Appendix IV herein presents the "Herschel" table via Bible commentator Adam Clarke.45Grand Forks [ND] Herald, Dec. 31, 1891, p. 8.
high and low barometers are strung around the earth like a string of beads, and allmoving eastward."We have made a success in finding the dates on which these high or lowbarometers, or storm waves, will pass any given meridian of longitude. That part ofthe system is a decided success."It makes a very great difference in the weather as to whether a storm centerpasses south or north of a locality, and in locating the latitude of a storm centermistakes are sometimes made. The storm wave may be exactly on time as predicted,but if it goes by on the south, cold weather will follow, while if it goes by on the north,warm weather will follow. A few errors are unavoidable at this time in locating thelatitude of the storm waves."The most difficult matter to calculate is the force of the storm. This is veryimportant, for the force of the storm has much to do with the character of the weather."The electrical influences of the sun, moon and planets affect every part of theearth at the same moment, but these influences will manifest themselves in one or allof the four storm waves that are moving around the earth at about 3500 miles apart.The difficulty lies in determining which of these four storm waves will be mostaffected, and herein is where most of my errors occur."It is not difficult to understand that the planetary influences are conveyed tothe storm centers through the earth's electric currents, and if we fully understand thelaws that govern the magnetic forces of the solar system, we would make no mistakesin forecasting the location and force of the storm centers and their influences on theweather."In the latter part of January, I had calculated the electrical influences wouldlargely increase the force of the storms due to cross the continent from the 25th to the29th of January. The result, however, was that the storm wave preceding it receivedalmost the full force of the electrical influences, causing a great storm in WesternEurope at the time we expected a great storm here."An intelligent investigation will satisfy any reasonable mind that we are verynear to one of the greatest discoveries of modern times. We know the dates on whichthe storm waves will cross the continent, we know, approximately, how to calculatethe latitude of these storm waves, we know the dates on which these storm waves willhave greatest and least force, and the greatest difficulty yet to surmount is to knowwhich of the four storm waves will be most affected by the planetary influences.
"Two thirds of the time I can succeed in rightly determining this difficultproblem, but the other third is what stands in the way of complete success. I knowwhere to look to find the key to this difficult part of the weather problem, and haveclearly indicated this to my readers. I expect to discover the key and then to avoiderrors."If I make one mistake out of ten forecasts a certain class of critics will ridiculemy work. Let them ridicule. I know that the system of electro-meteorology has theonly true basis, and that time, I hope a comparatively short time, will vindicate it."But readers of my work must not now expect infallible forecasts, for the systemis not yet perfect. They should also remember that my own time and money, aided byfifty daily newspapers, are working out this great problem without assistance from thegeneral government."
46
+ + +"I have often stated, and will repeat, that very severe storms will occur on thiscontinent during March. Western Europe has experienced the greatest storms of thecentury during the past six monthc [sic], and it is almost impossible for this countrynot to go through the same experience during the next six months."Even orthodox scientists have given warning of the great disturbances near athand, because of the great sun spots and other remarkable disturbances now apparenton the sun. Spots on the sun, they declare, cause an increase in the force of our earthstorms through the agency of the electrical forces."They also declare that the perihelion of Jupiter causes a maximum of sun spotsand an increase in the auroral displays. All this indicates that the men who have posedas the leaders in scientific research are being forced to acknowledge the influence ofthe planets on our earth, and that electricity is the medium."But in claiming that sunspots can cause auroras and other earth disturbances,and that the perihelia of the planets cause sunspots, these great scientists whollydisregard cause and effect — disregard all the laws of electricity and magnetism."Jupiter is now about forty millions of miles nearer the sun than it was six yearsago, and if we follow the laws of electricity, that would increase the electrical forces ofthe sun and earth, which in turn would increase the evaporation and cloudliness onthe sun, thereby preventing sunspots; therefore the perihelia of the planets cannot
46The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Feb. 18, 1892 (weekly edition), P. 1.
cause sunspots and the sunspots cannot cause earth disturbances."Sun spots must necessarily be of exactly the same nature as our highbarometers, and our cold waves, causing large areas of clear weather, correspondingto the large dark spots on the sun."The faculæ, or bright spots, on the sun are the same as our low barometerswhere we have densely cloudy weather. Whatever causes our storm centers, our highand low barometers, our cold waves, also cause the sun spots, and I assert withoutfear of contradiction, that it is the equinox of Jupiter and not his perihelion that causesthe increase of auroras and sun spots."On the night of February 13, when the great aurora lighted up the northernheavens — also the region of the south pole, no doubt, although we have no newsfrom that part of the earth — Jupiter was within two degrees of his equinox while hewas fourteen degrees from his perihelion, therefore the electric tension of the sun wasvery great and only needed an outlet in order to shock or electrify the whole solarsystem."The electrifying event occurred on the 13th, when Venus passed the earth'sequator and the earth passed the equator of Mars. Anyone who has studied the nature of electrical currents in connection with revolving globes will readily see the logic in these statements."But the difficulty in the way of orthodox scientists is that they still consider thesun as a burning body, instead of, as it really is, a body very much like the earth, with its seas, continents, mountains, valleys, clouds and storms, all affected by the verysame laws and in the same manner as are the various parts of our earth."Knowing of the approach of the equinoxes of Saturn and Jupiter, I gave warning nearly a year ago that 1892 would be a year of great storms all around the earth, and that these great disturbances would reach their maximum force in the fourmonths from March 1 to June 30."Since the great auroral display February 13, orthodox scientists are predictingthe same increase of disturbances that I did a year ago."Spots on the sun and storms all around the earth have been increasing for sixmonths past at least, and they will continue to increase for at least months to come.But both sun spots and earth storms are effects of the same cause. The planets and sun electrify each other just as revolving magnets in the electro-dynamo machine affect each other.
"The time appears to be rapidly approaching when the electrical theory of forcein the universe will take the places of the nebular and heat theories and electro-meteorology dethrone the chaotic world of chance ideas that have long ruled in theweather bureau of the United States."
47
+ + +"NATURE AND MOVEMENTS OF STORMS."Readers are so forgetful, that it is necessary to dwell on some of the mostimportant features of weather changes. Entirely too many readers, who are muchinterested in the weather, misunderstand what is meant when I specify the date onwhich a storm wave is due. Nothing but the tariff and silver discussions can be moregenerally misunderstood than the term 'storm wave,' and still there is no way for meto avoid using it. No other term will supply its place, and therefore, in order tounderstand my forecasts, the reader must understand what is meant by 'storm wave.'"It does not necessarily imply a storm, or rain, or snow, or hail, or wind, but itmay include all of these. It does, however, almost universally imply wind from theeast, warmer weather, wind changing to west and cooler, in rotation as stated. Thestorm wave may pass centrally over any point and still the weather remain clearthroughout, but the warm wave, change of wind and cool wave are sure toaccompany almost every such storm wave."If the storm wave passed by to the north, the wind will change from east byway of the south to the west, and the cool wave following it will not bring a very greatfall in the temperature. If the storm wave moves by to the south, the wind will changefrom east to west by way of the north, and a cold wave with low temperatures willfollow."When the conditions are favorable to rain, the low barometer of the storm wavefills up with clouds, except in its center, which is usually very warm and partly cloudyor clear."When I expect rain, snow, wind or a storm, I say so in plain terms, but whenonly the term storm wave is used, it does not portend any unusual event."The discovery of the period of these storm waves and the laws that governtheir movements, is the most important ever made in reference to meteorology, and
47The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, March 3, 1892, p. 16.
gives promise of reliable, long-range forecasts, especially if the system should bedeveloped by government aid."The cause of these storm waves is somewhat of a mystery. My theory is thatthey are caused by a circuit of electricity rising in the low barometer and coming downin the high. The low being a column of rising air draws to it the clouds and moisturethat makes up the storm center."The storm center is the low barometer, which, with the high barometer, iscalled the storm wave. The high barometer pours cool air into the rear of the low andit is often the case that rain does not occur till the high barometer comes in and thesnow storms always occur after the main portion of the low has passed and as thehigh, with its cool wave, comes in."My forecasts are for the front part of the storm wave, which often causes norain, but it may be known by the rising temperature. Herein is where the weatherbureau ought to be useful. I can give the dates of the storm waves, but cannot alwaystell, so far ahead, whether the precipitation will occur in front, rear, north side orsouth side of the low or storm center. Knowing where the storm center is, and theconditions surrounding it, the weather bureau ought to make few mistakes, but itmakes many, and its forecasts are of no use to farmers, coal dealers, small dealers inproducts, etc."These storm waves are strung around the earth in these northern latitudes likea string of beads, and their movements cause them to jostle up against each other like[railroad] cars when the engine suddenly puts on brakes or makes a sudden start.These jostlings of the storm waves against each other cause them to lose or gain asmuch as a days' time, and therefore I do not pretend to forecast their time nearer thantwenty-four hours."When these storm waves are driven north by the influences of the moon or theplanets, we have excessively hot weather and drouth, and when, for a period ofseveral weeks, they are driven south by the same influences, we have cool seasons aswe had in May, June and July, 1891."Cold winters occur when the paths of the storms are south, as will be the casenext January. Warm winters surely follow when the storm paths are far to the north."These storm waves do not move in perfect circles around the geographicalnorth pole, but around the magnetic north pole, which is about 70 degrees north and97 west, or 20 degrees south of the geographical north pole, and northwest ofHudson's bay. There is another magnetic pole in Northern Asia, around which the
storms of that continent probably make a semi-circle."Many of our storm waves cross Europe and Asia, but some of them appear topass between the two north magnetic poles. The tropical hurricanes appear to movealmost directly toward the geographical north pole of the earth."In order that they may better understand by forecasts, I hope that readers willtry to retain the above explanations, and not confound the widely differing terms,storm and storm wave."
48
+ + +"Professor Frank H. Bigelow, of the National Weather Bureau, has published animportant paper in a leading astronomical journal
49
. He has been, for several years,one of the weather bureau's scientific experts, and his conclusions are very importantto meteorology. He says: 'The observed facts pertaining to solar physics, to terrestrialmagnetism and to meteorology have been such to render it very probable that thesethree distinct branches of science are in reality parts of one general cosmical science.'"That is precisely the theory for which planetary meteorologists have beencontending. Professor Bigelow was selected by the Weather Bureau to investigate thisvery question, and from the senseless opposition of the Weather Bureau officialstoward independent planetary meteorologists, I infer that Professor Bigelow wasexpected to annihilate the theory that moon and planets have anything to do with ourweather changes, but Professor Bigelow says that the magnetic forces of the sun andearth are closely related to our weather changes and auroral displays."Professor Bigelow writes to convince scientists, showing no care for otherintelligent classes of people, therefore his language is hard and needs interpretation.Men whose salaries are paid by the government should be compelled to write in theAmerican language, of which our American newspapers are the classics. OurAmerican newspapers use the pure American language, furnish the channel throughwhich American intelligence is reached, and therefore one who fills a public capacityat the expense of the people, should give his discoveries to the public in ournewspaper language."I quote again from the same paper: 'The periodic occurrences of manifestationsof energy in sun spots, the solar corona, the faculae and prominences, on one hand;the aurora, variations of the terrestrial magnetic field, and the fluctuations of the
48The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, March 17, 1892.
49
"The Two Magnetic Fields Surrounding the Sun," Astronomy and Astrophysics, October 1893, Vol.XII, No. 3, p. 706 ff. http://books.google.com/books?id=_iKKbuNsc34C&pg=PA706.
meteorological elements on the other, have all indicated a fundamental system ofphysical forces embracing the sun and earth in its operation.'"All this means to say that sun spots, earth storms, electrical forces and auroras,have magnetism as their common cause. He never mentions heat as a common cause,and therein he radically differs with Professor Finley,
50
who sustains the WeatherBureau theory that heat is the cause of weather changes."Bigelow again says: 'If the sun has a nucleus in which can reside a species ofpermanent magnetism having poles of direction and intensity, such as are found uponthe earth, it must also be surrounded by wide, sweeping lines of magnetic force,distributed in space.'"He then goes on to show that these magnetic lines enter the earth diagonallythrough the northern hemisphere, and leave the earth in diagonal lines through thesouthern hemisphere. This theory was promulgated by Professor Siemens, the greatelectrician,
51
and now by the most critical tests made with the best electricalinstruments, Professor Bigelow has found the theory to be a true one."He has found more. The instruments show that periodically the magneticcurrents change, now entering the earth through the northern hemisphere, andleaving it through the southern, and then in regular periodic changes, agreeing closelywith our weather changes, the currents enter through the southern hemisphere, andleave the earth through the northern hemisphere. Professor Bigelow makes the periodof the principal one of these changes 26.68 days. Professor Veeder
52
gives the period as27.28 days, and my principal storm disturbance period is 27.28 days."Professor Veeder's auroral period is so nearly the same as my storm period,that they may safely be considered the same, and from the same cause, but ProfessorBigelow's period appears to be a little short."Professor Bigelow holds that these periods are caused by the sun's rotation.Professor Veeder claims that the aurora depends on the same cause. Both are eminentscientists, but their periods do not agree. At the end of twelve months they would beeight to ten days apart, and that variation must destroy one or the other, if both relyon the same cause."Dr. Veeder is correct in his 27.28 days period, but probably he is in error as to
50Sgt. John Park Finley of the United States Army Signal Service, which managed the United StatesWeather Bureau.51Ernst Werner von Siemens, founder of the Siemens electronics company in Germany.
52Major Albert Veeder, M.D.
meteorological elements on the other, have all indicated a fundamental system ofphysical forces embracing the sun and earth in its operation.'"All this means to say that sun spots, earth storms, electrical forces and auroras,have magnetism as their common cause. He never mentions heat as a common cause,and therein he radically differs with Professor Finley,
50
who sustains the WeatherBureau theory that heat is the cause of weather changes."Bigelow again says: 'If the sun has a nucleus in which can reside a species ofpermanent magnetism having poles of direction and intensity, such as are found uponthe earth, it must also be surrounded by wide, sweeping lines of magnetic force,distributed in space.'"He then goes on to show that these magnetic lines enter the earth diagonallythrough the northern hemisphere, and leave the earth in diagonal lines through thesouthern hemisphere. This theory was promulgated by Professor Siemens, the greatelectrician,
51
and now by the most critical tests made with the best electricalinstruments, Professor Bigelow has found the theory to be a true one."He has found more. The instruments show that periodically the magneticcurrents change, now entering the earth through the northern hemisphere, andleaving it through the southern, and then in regular periodic changes, agreeing closelywith our weather changes, the currents enter through the southern hemisphere, andleave the earth through the northern hemisphere. Professor Bigelow makes the periodof the principal one of these changes 26.68 days. Professor Veeder
52
gives the period as27.28 days, and my principal storm disturbance period is 27.28 days."Professor Veeder's auroral period is so nearly the same as my storm period,that they may safely be considered the same, and from the same cause, but ProfessorBigelow's period appears to be a little short."Professor Bigelow holds that these periods are caused by the sun's rotation.Professor Veeder claims that the aurora depends on the same cause. Both are eminent scientists, but their periods do not agree. At the end of twelve months they would beeight to ten days apart, and that variation must destroy one or the other, if both relyon the same cause."Dr. Veeder is correct in his 27.28 days period, but probably he is in error as to
50Sgt. John Park Finley of the United States Army Signal Service, which managed the United StatesWeather Bureau.51Ernst Werner von Siemens, founder of the Siemens electronics company in Germany.
52Major Albert Veeder, M.D.
ok, you get the point. W.T. Foster had a lot to say. here is the link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/40004049/Planetary-Meteorology-WT-Foster
there is a lot more to go! whew!
THE WORK OF W. T. FOSTER
THE WORK OF W. T. FOSTER,LONG-RANGE WEATHER FORECASTERAs reported in articles by and about him
+ + +[From an article quoting Foster:] "W. T. Foster, the weather prophet ofBurlington, Iowa, predicts severe storms from now until the 28th of this month. He bases his calculations on the fact that the earth and Mercury will pass the sun'sequator and Venus its equinoctial between the 18th and 28th."
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+ + +"By the records of the signal service I can prove to any well-informed fair-minded person that the course, location and force of the storm waves, and the prominence or force of the earthquakes, auroras, and sun spots are governed by the positions of the earth, moon, sun and planets, and I expect to have an opportunity of laying these facts before the weather bureau of the United States. Not, however, while that bureau is under the control of the war department, but soon after it has passed to the agricultural bureau where it properly belongs. Meantime I hope that readers of my letters will investigate. For $1 the navy department will send you the nautical almanac, which gives all the necessary information of the planets, and by application to the weather bureau at Washington you can obtain the daily weather maps free.
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They furnish the most reliable and easily understood record of what the weather hasbeen."The easiest method of investigating my theories is to take the dates on which the moon crosses the earth's equator which occurs about every fourteen days. You will find that the greatest storms occur very close to these dates."
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+ + +"The causes that will greatly increase the force of the storms of this storm periodare: Venus crosses the sun's equator on the 16th, the moon crosses the earth's equatoron the 19th, and Mercury crosses the sun's equator at its greatest disturbing point on
11
The Evening Bulletin of Maysville, KY, June 23, 1888, p. 3 via
http://kdl.kyvl.org/.
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For sources of historical and contemporary weather data, seehttp://mysite.verizon.net/bonniehill/pages/climate.htmlandhttp://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/gannstudygroup/links/Astrology_001038951306/Weather_001074370792/Data_001208558909/(free Yahoo membership is required at Gannstudygroup).
13The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Aug. 7, 1890, p. 8.
the 20th. These three disturbances occurring within four days will act as does theattenuating current of the electro-dynamo machines, and will cause great activity inthe earth's electric currents. This will be the tornado period of August. ..."During these disturbances the moon will pass south of the earth's equator. Thishas the effect of pulling the flow tide of the earth's atmosphere from the Northern tothe Southern hemisphere, with cooler weather in the Northern. When the earth'satmosphere is pulled south it leaves a less dense atmosphere north and permits thecold of outer space to more readily penetrate the earth."
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+ + +"I have never known Venus to pass its equinoctial, at 30 deg. heliocentriclongitude, that it did not cause great disturbances, and at its next equinoctial it will bevery close to the earth."Our next storm, about October 9, will be influenced by Mercury passing thesun's equator, and at the same time crossing the earth's equator."
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+ + +"Heretofore I promised to give in this letter the dates for one of the greatest storms of the year. I have already stated that the tropical hurricanes would increase in force from the 1st of the month to the 9th, when one of them will be not far from the Gulf of Mexico, but these tropical hurricanes are entirely distinct from the continental storms, and more in an entirely different circuit. The continental storms will be due toleave the Pacific coast about the 5th, cross the Mississippi valley from the 6th to 8th,and reach the Atlantic coast about the 9th. It will be at its greatest force on the Northeast Atlantic coast about the 9th, and will be a very dangerous storm. I would advise all to keep off of the seas about that time. About that time the storms will be very severe all around the earth, and while our set of storms are crossing the Mississippi valley the other three storm waves that belong to this latitude will be about the middle of the North Atlantic, in Eastern Europe and on the North Pacific.The three systems of hurricanes, one on the North Atlantic, one on the North Pacific and one on the Indian ocean, will all show increased activity; each of these systems revolves around the center of the oceans to which they belong."Following the storm of 5th to 9th will be a cold wave the force of which will depend on the location of the tropical hurricane. In the extreme Northwest I expect a blizzard but I cannot say how far south it will go. The cause of these unusual
14The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Aug. 21, 1890, p. 1.15The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Oct. 9, 1890, p. 3.
disturbances are: Venus at its equinoctial on the 8th and the moon crossing the earth'sequator on the 9th. The influence of Venus' equinoctial covers all the first half of the month while the moon's influence covers only three or four days. On the 8th theequator of Venus will be toward the sun, increasing the Sun's electrical forces, whichin turn causes an electrical agitation throughout the solar system. This does not change the time or direction of the storms, only increasing their force. This Venus ion disturbance would develop sun spots were Jupiter at his disturbing point, but as he isnot there will be but few sun spots. The earth was passing the equator of Venus fromthe 20th to 25th, causing the great storms of that period."As before stated November will be noted for its great storms. Mercury will passits greatest disturbing point on the 15th, and will effect the storm immediately before and after that date. But the influence of Mercury and and Venus on the weather differ very much, the former having a tendency to murky, rainy weather, while the latter is more violent and frequently brings the tornado, the hurricane and the blizzard. Wemay not expect settled weather again till after the 25th. It must be remembered,however, that the storms do not cover the whole continent, but when they cross the southern part cool, fair weather is the rule for the north, and when they cross the north part warm, fair weather occurs in the south. Look out for bad weather in the valley between the Alleghany and Rocky mountains from November 6th to 9th, a dangerous storm on the Atlantic coast, a great hurricane on the Gulf of Mexico and a blizzard in the Northwest."
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+ + +"Venus' equinoctial on the 8th will continue to increase the force of the storms till about the 18th, and mercury crossing the sun's equator on the 15th will add to the force of the storms from about the 13th to the 22d. The center of this storm wave will probably pass through the border Southern states and then move toward the Northeast for the reason that the moon will have gone south of the earth's equator,although Venus being very close to the earth tends to drive the storms into northern latitudes. Venus and Mercury being south of the earth's equator have a tendency to pull the storms south."
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16The Fort Worth [TX] Daily Gazette, Nov. 4, 1890, p. 7.17The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Nov. 13, 1890, p. 2.
"ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS."We are now approaching the winding up periods of the great November storms. All round the earth great and destructive storms, hurricanes and blizzards have occurred and in them Venus has again proved the power of her equinoctial electric currents in bringing fierce storms; the moon has again demonstrated its electric power when crossing the earth's equator, and now it is Mercury's time to againtell what it can do in disturbing the planetary family by crossing the sun's equator,which occurred on the 15th. The effect was felt to some extent, in the last storm, but its principal effect is felt in the evening up process after it has disturbed the electricequilibrium by crossing the sun's equator. Its effects are seen principally in theincrease of rains, snows, sleets and foggy, murky weather."THE NEXT STORM WAVE"will be due to leave the Pacific coast about the 16th, cross the great valley from 17th to 19th and reach the Atlantic coast about the 20th. It will become a furious storm about the 22nd when it will be on the middle of the north Atlantic and at the same time another approaching storm will be very severe on the Pacific coast; a third one will bein central Asia and a fourth in central Europe. Our storm will pass through theSouthern States causing cold weather north of the storm and warm weather south of it. A very considerable amount of snow and rain may be expected from this storm wave."I hope that readers of my letters will study the laws of storms which they will find in my letters for without this much of the benefits to be derived from my forecasts will be lost. Remember that all storm waves are whirlwinds, turning from right byway of the front to the left; the center of the storm rises and the wind blows toward it."A YEAR OF DISASTROUS STORMS."I believe that 1892 will be a year of the most disastrous storms experienced inrecent times. I do not know of a time in the past when the disturbing forces were so great as they promise to be in 1892. From 1880 to 1884 the disturbing elements were quite active on account of Uranus being at its equinoctial, where the earth is in March,but in 1892 two of the greatest planets in the solar system will pass their equinoctials about the same time. In January 1892 Jupiter will be at his equinoctial and also at perihelion, or about 42,000,000 miles nearer the earth than when he passed his equinoctial in 1886. The equator of Jupiter will be toward the sun and his greatest electrical force will be felt throughout the earth's orbit for six months before and after that date. In August 1892 Saturn will pass its equinoctial, where the earth is in March,
and its full electrical force will be felt by the sun and earth for twelve months beforeand after that date. At that time the edge of Saturn's rings will be toward the earth —the rings coincide with Saturn's equator — and cannot then be seen except through powerful telescopes. These two great planets — Jupiter is 1300 times larger than theearth, while Saturn is nearly as large — will be on opposite sides of the sun, with their equators toward the sun and toward each other. The electricity that is thrown off over the equator of an electro-dynamo machine will knock over small objects a hundred feel away, and from that one may imagine what a powerful influence our earth will encounter when it comes between the equator of two such electro-dynamos as Jupiter and Saturn, which revolve on their axes so rapidly as to cause their equators to move thousands of times more rapidly than do the equators of our most powerful electro-dynamos."WEATHER AND SCIENCE NOTES."In a letter from a friend in New York City it is suggested that: 'Electricity is intensified vibration. Given an adequate conductor there is no loss or expenditure intransit, for it is not matter, not a fluid, but motion. This inconceivably intense vibratory motion produces effects so unique as to be confounded with cause. In one condition it is called heat, but heat is only an effect of the propulsion of this intense vibration against the air, producing friction of its atoms, hence the arc light and theforked lightning. Magnetism is only another effect, produced by the proximity of thetwo opposite vibratory motions. Vibrations can have only two general motions, hence the intenser motion of the two is called the positive and draws the negative to itself.Heat, light, life, magnetism, chemical affinities, force, gravitation, etc., are all effects ofthis vibratory motion called electricity, which is the infinite, universal cause.'"This theory of electricity is similar but not the same as that to which I hold. Thes cientific world fail to find a beginning for creation and refuse to recognize more than three forms of matter. I believe that there are at least five forms of matter beginning atether of outer space, condensations of which constitute electricity which condenses to form the gases, liquids and solids. In proof of this, all matter is convertible into electricity. To generate electricity we decompose zinc which goes out through the copper wire. As the zinc goes back into electricity it must continue to be matter and itis not unreasonable to believe that the zinc was originally composed of electricity.Creation is now in progress as much as it ever was. Condensations of electricity form the atom and build it into a molecule, meteor, comet, moon, planet and sun, their only difference being in their size, solidity and their electric forces. All these bodies may grow to be sure."
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18The Deseret Weekly, Nov. 22, 1890, p. 619.
+ + +[In an article mentioning Foster:] "Besides his [weather] predictions, Mr. Fostersends us some interesting notes on sanitary and scientific subjects. Here, for example,is a nut for the bacteriologists to crack: —"[']We are now in the midst of the hog cholera period and the prevalence of contagious diseases among men and the lower animals. Contagious diseases among children are reported as epidemic in many places. I have a theory as to the cause, and I believe that statistics of contagions and epidemic diseases will prove the correctness of the theory."[']The cause is to be found in the aphelion and perihelion of the planets,especially of Jupiter. This planet is 44,000,000 of miles nearer the sun and earth at perihelion than at aphelion. When it is nearest the sun and earth their atmospheres expand and when farthest from the earth they contract. In the one instance the waters and heavy gases of the earth are evaporated and lifted into the atmosphere and in the other they are condensed and precipitated. These great changes in our earth and atmosphere affect the health of man and beast."
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+ + +"WEATHER AND SCIENCE NOTES"In studying meteorology or any of the physical sciences one of the most important items is the nature of attraction. It is usually spoken of as a pull, but this isan impossibility. It must be a push. To illustrate: The earth and all the planets have greater diameters through their equators than through their poles. Why? Astronomers say that while the earth was a heated and melted mass its rapid revolution on its axis caused it to elongate in the direction of its equator. But I deny that it was ever a melted mass any more than we now see in the volcanoes. Bodies of electricity are to solid matter like bodies of water expelling the lighter while the heavier sinks into it. The earth throws off a body of electricity over its equator and solid bodies in space are pushed into that electrical body, and seeking its center are conveyed to near the earth'sequator. This is one cause of the earth's greater growth at its equator while vegetable growth furnishes another. All the planets were originally comets and were pushed from space toward the sun's electric center, its equator. But their momentum caused them to pass beyond the sun's equator, and then the resistance of matter pushed them back toward the sun's electric belt again, and so they continue to vibrate each time passing a little less distance beyond the center of the sun's electric belt. The
19The Evening Telegram of New York, Dec. 16, 1890, p. 4.
earth now only goes seven degrees north and south of the sun's equator and the moononly five degrees with and south of the earth's equator. Placing an electric body onone side of matter takes or drives away the resistance or pressure of the universalmatter of space, and the resistance on the other side pushes the matter into the centerof the electrical body. Organized bodies like meteors, comets, moons and planets haveno weight toward any other body as their matter presses equally toward their owncenters. Another fact has much to do with these questions. Whenever matter — Iregard electricity as matter — moves in one direction other matter moves in theopposite direction. All physical scientists agree that electricity passes from sun andplanets over their equators and returns to them at their poles, and electricity passingfrom the earth at its equator would require that other matter come to it at the equatorand pass from it at the poles, so my theory does not disagree with generally acceptedscientific principles. But when two organized bodies come near each other theirelectric fields repel each other and therefore the planets, moons, suns and cometscannot fall into each other. This explains the tides. Scientists say that the moon'sattraction pulls the waters of the ocean up, causing a tidal wave. I do not believeanything of the kind. The moon's electric field with its accompanying etheric matterpasses over the ocean, depressing it as a great weight making a trough in the ocean,and after it passes on the ocean wave comes in to fill the trough and level the sea. Thefact that the flood-tide is 2000 miles behind the moon is good evidence for this theory.The tides then are caused by a push instead of a pull. The planets sink into the sun'setheric atmosphere as a log or stone sinks into water; the heavier the planet the nearerto the sun it sinks. The age of the planets has nothing to do with their position, near orfar from the sun. The circulation of electricity through them causes them to revolve ontheir axes, while the sun's etheric atmosphere revolving with it causes them to revolvearound the sun."
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+ + +"A concise statement of my weather theories is this: North of latitude 30 the storm waves move entirely around the earth from west to east and never die or become disorganized. I know the periods of four of these storm waves and can givethe dates approximately on which they will pass any meridian all around the earth.These storm waves sometimes become great storms and at other times they becomealmost extinct, but they continue to move eastward, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but averaging about twenty-five miles an hour. These four storm waves increase and decrease in force at the same time, although they are, on an average,about 3400 miles apart, and the variation in their force is caused by the electrical influence of the sun, moon and planets. Those bodies are electro-dynamos and throwan electric influence over their equators as do all electro-dynamo machines, and when
20The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Dec. 25, 1890, p. 1.
one of these bodies pass the plane of the equator of another and consequently throughits electric belt every body of the solar system is electrically disturbed thereby becausethey are all electrically connected. The disturbance increases the force of the storms onthe earth, sun and other planets at the same time, as the moving force in these stormwaves is electricity, which comes from the electric currents of the body to which theybelong. Perihelion of the planets and perigee of the moon expands the earth'satmosphere; aphelion of the planets and apogee of the moon have opposite influence.From these influences occur all weather changes, auroras, sun spots, tornadoes,earthquakes and other unusual effects in the earth, atmosphere and sun. Earthquakesare caused by subterranean thunder just as it occurs among the clouds. The earth, sunand planets are solid bodies and have slowly grown from atoms, and electricity is thebuilder."
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+ + +"This period of great disturbances will begin during the first part of May, while Mars will be passing its equinoctial, Mercury passing the sun's equator and the moon passing the earth's equator; but while these storms will be very severe, they will not compare with those that will occur later in the year and during the first part of 1892.This will also be a period of great earthquakes in countries where they are common,and volcanoes will become more common and increase in activity."The principal causes of these disturbances will be the equinoxes of Saturn and Jupiter. These great planets throw an electric influence into space over their equators,and this electric influence of Saturn will strike Mars in May, while it is passing itsequinoctial, thereby extending its electric influence to the sun. The electric equator of Saturn will affect Venus, the earth and Mercury in succession, and will directly affect the sun in October, while on the opposite side of the sun the great planet Jupiter will be approaching its equinoctial in a similar manner, reaching that point early in January."
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+ + +"The storms of April will all be severe both from minor causes and the effects ofthe powerful electric currents from the equators of Jupiter and Saturn, which willbegin to have a light influence on the earth's electric currents. Mercury will pass thesun's equator on April 2, and with the continued influence of Venus, which will have passed the sun's equator March 28, will materially increase the force of this first April storm, so that it will affect most parts of the United States. These storm waves cause all the changes of the weather, including the winds and their changes, the cool weather
21The Fort Worth [TX] Daily Gazette, Dec. 27, 1890, p. 8.22The Wheeling [WV] Register, Feb. 8, 1891.
and cold waves, the warm days, frosts, rain, hail, snow, sleet, and when their trackscontinue far to the north great drouths result. I cannot explain all these effects of thestorm waves in every letter, and to secure the full benefits of these forecasts the readermust study my science notes and discussion on the beginnings of creation and thephysical forces. A scrap book of these articles would be convenient for reference."
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+ + +"THE MOON'S INFLUENCES"This satellite has more influence on the weather than any other body except thesun, but the masses have been led into an error by supposing that the changes of themoon cause changes in the weather. When the moon and sun are on the same side ofthe earth the electrical influences are increased in that direction, but this does notincrease the force of the storms but merely affects their location. There is also a beliefamong the hunters, frontiersmen and sailors that when the moon hangs on its pointmuch rain or snow will occur during that moon. The North American Indians alsofollow this sign and believe it to be a propitious sign for hunting. Damp weather andsnow are favorable to the hunter for in dry weather the leaves make too much noisefor success and snow is favorable for tracking game. When the moon hangs on itspoint the hunter says he cannot hang his powder horn on its point and then is the timeto hunt and when the moon at new lies on its back it indicates that the hunter canhang his shot pouch on its point and he would better not waste his time at hunting. Ihave no use for anything that has superstition for its base, but these signs that have somuch influence with certain classes of people throughout the world should not be castaside without investigation. Many of those common beliefs have some real foundation and thousands of years of experience on the part of those who are compelled to bemuch out of doors has taught them that with certain positions of the planets come certain changes of the weather. Why this is so they know not; all they know is the coincidence. I have investigated these crude signs and have found real causes at the bottom of some of them. The moon lies on its back when it runs north and hangs on its point when it runs south. As the moon causes tides in the ocean it must also cause tides in the atmosphere, and as it moves from about 24 degrees north of the earth'satmosphere, to the same distance south and the reverse, passing over about 3300 milesof the earth's surface in about fourteen days, or about nine miles north or south and1000 miles east in twenty-four hours the change necessarily affects the atmosphereand the weather by pulling the storms north or south."The changes of the moon occur a little more than six days apart and the regular storm waves pass over this latitude in little less than six days apart, so that if a storm
23The Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colorado, March 22, 1891.
wave is due about the change of the moon the next storm wave will be due very near the next change of the moon, and these coincidences will occur for several weeks. This has led to the belief that it is the changes of the moon that causes the storm waves. But the coincidences will not continue long and I see no reason why changes of the moon should cause a change in the weather. If the moon crosses the earth's equator a little before a storm wave is due it will cross the earth's equator in two weeks near when a storm wave is due, and if the changes of the moon should occur at the same time it would lead to the belief that it is the changes of the moon that causes these storms of greatest force. The electrical theory of weather changes requires that we follow thelaws of electricity and whatever is not in accord with these laws must be rejected, andif these electrical laws will not explain all meteorological phenomena, then the theorymust be rejected as a failure."The moon is 225,719 miles from the earth at perigee and 251,947 miles atapogee, making a change of 26,228 miles about every fourteen days. This change makes a great difference in the tides and must necessarily make a difference in its effect on the atmosphere. Professor Proctor
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admitted that it had been fairly proven that more earthquakes occur when the moon is close to the earth because of its greater influence on the tides and if this be true it must also have greater influence on theatmosphere at the same time. "
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+ + +"Forty years ago the great Faraday said: 'When we remember that the earth itself is a magnet, pervaded in every part by this mighty power, universal and strong asgranite itself, we cannot doubt that it is exerting an appointed and essential influenceon every particle of matter and in every place wherein it is present. What its great purpose is seems to be looming up in the distance before us; the clouds which obscure our mental sight are daily thinning and I can not doubt that a glorious discovery innatural knowledge is awaiting our age.'"
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necessary for each person to have copies of my published letters. To understand planetary meteorology the astronomy of the solar system must be understood. The astronomy taught in our schools takes the ecliptic, or the earth's orbit, as the basisfrom which to calculate and this is like beginning the study of arithmetic in decimal fractions. I take the sun's equator as the base from which to calculate, and by this means the solar system and the relations of the planets to each other are much more easily understood. Astronomy as taught in our schools is adapted to surveying andnavigation, but not to planetary meteorology. To individuals, clubs and societies thatdesire to study or discuss planetary meteorology I will furnish diagrams once a weekand give special instructions which, with the letters published in this paper, will enable anyone to calculate the future of the weather from the standpoint of planetary meteorology. Parties interested in this matter will please correspond with me. This will give to literary and scientific societies a new feature for their fall and wintermeetings, and the expense will be so small that individuals may well afford to engagein the study alone."WEATHER AND SCIENCE NOTES."Our cold winters are caused by the eastward oscillations of the North Atlantic permanent high barometer, therefore when we have cold winters in the Mississippivalley the winters are warm in Europe. This North Atlantic high barometer controlsthe routes of our storm centers, and the tropical hurricanes and these control the cold waves. When that high barometer swings eastward our storm centers take southern routes, causing our cold winters, and at the same time that high barometer covers Southern Europe, causing their storm centers to take northern routes, and warm winters ensue. To a less extent this effects the Northeastern states and Canada in asimilar manner, and this will cause their coming winter to be less severe than will be experience in the Mississippi valley. A more complete knowledge of the oscillations of the North Atlantic permanent high barometer is indispensable to correct forecasts ofthe weather on this continent and Europe, and the weather bureaus of the United States and Europe should give this matter careful attention. If we had a correct record of the weather of the Bermudas, the Azores, the West Indies and the Windward islands and a ship signal station between the Bermudas and the Azores we would be in possession of the means by which we could calculate the periods of hurricanes andgive warning of their approach. In order to forecast cold waves the weather bureau is looking toward the Northwest, where the cause of these cold waves is to be found inthe opposite direction. Cold waves and hurricanes are matters of great importance tothe United States and should have more practical investigation by the weather bureau.Such investigations are too expensive for independent meteorologists to undertake. In this matter of the oscillations of the North Atlantic high barometer, Europe is as muchinterested as is North America, and the expense should be shared by both. A correct foreknowledge of cold and warm winters, early springs, later and early frosts on both
+ + +"CLASSES IN METEOROLOGY."I will give special instructions in meteorology to all persons who are subscribers to this paper in which my weekly letters are regularly published. It will be
24Richard Anthony Proctor.25Fort Worth [TX} Gazette, May 21, 1891, p. 1.
26
Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, June 15, 1891, p. 3. Quoted in
New Theories of the Great Physical Forces
by Henry Raymond Rogers, p. 92http://books.google.com/books?id=-T8GvOmnSm4C&pg=PA92. Rogers iscited herein in an article later this year by Foster.
continents and our tropical hurricanes depends on a better knowledge of this NorthAtlancic [sic] permanent high barometer. In other respects the weather record is good,but in this it is seriously deficient."
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+ + +"PLANETARY METEOROLOGY."It is a species of supreme arrogance for 'orthodox' scientists to pretend that theyhave investigated planetary meteorology, for not one of them understands it. A number of them have declared that there is nothing in the claim that planets affect the weather, because after long and careful observations they find the changes of themoon have no influence on the weather. Of course not. Planetary meteorology makes no such claims, and therefore the tests they have made have no bearing. Others againdeclare that they have carefully examined the equinoctial theory, and find it does nothold good. The difficulty with them is that they do not understand the equinoctial theory. It is not claimed that the equinoctial theory demands a storm everywhere onthe 21st of March and September. It is not even claimed that these equinoxes originatestorms, but that they influence them. We do not look for a storm on the 21st of March,but whenever the regular storm wave is due near that date we expect the equinox toincrease its force. In their investigations these 'orthodox' scientists have taken the 21stof March and September as the storm days, and as they find that the equinoctial storms do not uniformly occur on those days they conclude there is nothing in the equinox theory. The trouble is not with the equinoxes, but with the ignorance of those'orthodox' scientists, who never make a discovery and know nothing outside of the theories announced hundreds of years ago when our predecessors were just emerging from the dark ages. So far as I know there is none but myself who understands thesystem of planetary meteorology I use as the basis of my calculations, and therefore noone is competent to investigate it. I am the discoverer, not of all the facts, but ofimportant facts which make planetary meteorology a harmonious whole. It is very complicated, however, and if I make mistakes it is not the fault of the system, but because of errors in my calculation. I have no secrets regarding my theory, but no onecan expect to understand it in a day. The subject is equal in extent to that of law orpolitics or theology. Within a year the planets cause about 160 electrical disturbances,and to group these so as to know what storm waves will be affected and to whatextend is no small matter, and those scientists who have never given a day's study to the subject are presumptuous when they claim to have investigated that of which they are supremely ignorant."It is my design to give as full information as I can on this subject through my
27The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, July 30, 1891, p. 1.
published letters, which go regularly to forty daily papers and a number of weeklies,besides being copied into a large number of weeklies, but some of the dailies andmany weeklies are not prepared to publish diagrams and illustrations which arenecessary to a complete understanding of the subject. As before stated, subscribers tothe paper can obtain these diagrams and illustrations by corresponding with me. I amprepared to give through these public letters during the fall and winter months morecomplete information as to planetary meteorology and will discuss electricity as thecause of motion. One kind of electricity, the positive being the large and the negativethe small quantity, electricity the cause of magnetism, magnetism and attractionidentical, every atom of matter endowed with its own power of motion — that poweris electricity as manifest in the natural magnet. Each planet revolves on its axis becauseof its own inherent forces and around the sun because of the movements in thatdirection of the elements that surround the sun. Sun and planets are not, never were,molten matter, but radiate electricity, not heat. Heat and light do not penetrate space,but originate and are confined to the atmosphere of the sun and planets. The electricenvelope of each planet determines its orbit and distance from its primary. Theattraction of gravitation is a push. The planets float. The centripetal and centrifugaltheories are errors. The calculated revolution on their axis of most of the planets areerrors because of their clouded envelopes. Sun spots are similar to our earth stormsand are from the same causes. Our storm waves move entirely around the earth andtheir forces are controlled by planetary positions. Tropical hurricanes cause our coldwaves."
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+ + +"I have now completed all arrangements for giving lessons in meteorology by mail. These lessons will be given to individuals or clubs at $2.50 for thirteen lessons. In a club of five this will cost the members only 50 cents each. No person must be admitted into these clubs who is not a subscriber to this paper, and each must keep a file of my published weekly letters. Each lesson will consist of a weather map, two astronomical illustrations and a letter of special instructions. I have a good number of subscribers to begin with and members can begin the studies at any time in the future."My long-range weather forecast has stood the test for a number of years and many persons, especially those interested in agriculture, fruit-raising, coal mines, ice-houses, etc., are in favor of adding this feature to the national weather bureau. I would not desire to make the officers of the national weather bureau responsible for my theories of weather changes, because they know nothing about the principles upon which my forecasts are based, and for the same reason I would not accept any position in the weather bureau that would prevent me from freely presenting my views. I am
28The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Aug. 13, 1891, p. 1.
not begging the people of the United States for government support, and I will enter into no logrolling scheme for that purpose. My work is giving me a good support, and I am not dissatisfied with my efforts and opportunities. But there would be some advantages to the public and toward perfecting a system of long-range weather forecasts in establishing a bureau of agricultural meteorology."I estimate that such a bureau can be put into operation at an expense of $15,000annually. One man cannot cover all the ground and give to the subject that careful study necessary to perfect the system and make it of practical utility to all interests.There are three natural divisions of labor in these long-range forecasts, and each of these divisions should have a man at its head peculiarly fitted for the work. One of these departments includes the periodical storm waves that cross the continents, thechanges of weather accompanying them, and the cool waves, hot waves and frosts.Another department would include rainfall and drouths and a third department would give special attention to plant life, making estimates of the effects that coming weather will have on the growing crops of the world. If we could know the future ofthe weather farmers would better know what kind of crops to plant."In order to make this bureau of agricultural meteorology accountable directly to the people and prevent it from becoming a tool in the hands of cereal speculators Ipropose that its chief be elected biennially by the lower house of congress and that the chief appoint his clerk and two assistants. Should such a bureau be established I would probably be a candidate for the first place and Prof. Blake
29
of Topeka, Kan.,would be my choice for the department of rainfall and drouth. He is a remarkably well-informed man on these subjects, besides being a man of very considerable ability in other matters. My choice for the department of plant life would be Prof. Mansill
30
of Rock Island, Ill. He is well-informed in astronomy, meteorology, geology and chemistry, and would be a valuable man in that work."This bureau would use the information gathered by the present weatherbureau, and as it would not make daily weather predictions, there would be no conflict between it and the weather bureau officials. Let the latter pursue their work.At most there could only be a rivalry between the two systems and the public would
29C. C. Blake of Topeka, Kansas, was described in 1889 as "the most eminent weather prophet of the'planetary' school" ("False Weather Prophets," Dec. 26, 1889 Daily Inter-Ocean of Chicago IL, p. 6). In publicity material that year, Blake wrote: "For more than thirty years I have been at work calculating theweather by means of Astronomical Mathematics. My system is purely astronomical, and I have nothing to dowith astrology; I deal only with the rigid laws of cause and effect. For the last fifteen years I have published the result of my calculations in the form of weather predictions and the verification has been over 90 per cent.till this year. As the year is only half out, I do not know what it will be this season — probably not less than 80 per cent." The Bridgeton [NJ] Evening News, Sept. 9, 1889. A decade earlier a reviewer of Blake's almanac noted: "For the past two years his predictions have been remarkably correct, and have become a necessity in every family." The Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, Feb. 13, 1879, p. 2. 30Richard Mansill of Rock Island, Illinois. See Appendix I herein for his theory
soon determine which can furnish the most valuable weather forecasts.
31
+ + +"ELECTRICITY."All Physical Phenomena DirectlyTraceable to this Energy."Twenty-three hundred years ago Aristotle declared there is but one singleuniversal force, and that declaration entitles him to be called the father of science. Butthe dark ages came and crushed that truth to earth to rise again in the last years of the19th century. When the clouds of the dark ages began to clear away a great minddeclared a half truth in the nebular theory of creation, which for more than a centuryhas been taken as a basis of astronomy, geology and meteorology. This nebular theory like the Ptolemaic theory of astronomy, is requiring of our astronomers, geologists and meteorologists constant inventions to make the nebular hypothesis and the consequent heat theory of force to hold together, and these invented theories so numerous that the nebular theory is tottering to its fall. For the salvation of science it is just as necessary to return to the unity of force, as announced by Aristotle, as it was to Christianity that Paul should establish the unity of spiritual forcein the truth of one God. The nebular theory stands to scientific truth in about the same relation that the theory of a million gods did to true religion in the days of Christ. Ifwe go back to the truth of one universal force, we do not only lift science from themire, but we do for the scientific world that which the doctrine of one God did for thereligious world."Prof. Wm. H. Preece, London's leading electrician, declares that 'all physical phenomena, without a single exception, may be traced to the mere transformation of electrical energy.' That is a reassertion of the great Aristotelian truth, and is in harmony with my views as to the physical forces. There is but one physical force, and that force is electricity, or matter in motion. Its origin is found in the condensation of the diffused matter of space."As this ether of space condenses into the solid bodies as the meteors, comets,moons, planets, suns and the clusters of stars, it is, by these condensations, caused to converge toward these common centers in straight lines, and after moving through them and depositing its grosser materials, radiates to other bodies gathering more matter in space. This movement of that which has been called the ether of space constitutes all there is of electricity and of force, and is the basis of my meteorological
31The Dallas [TX] Morning News, Sept. 13, 1891, p. 2.
theories. Electricity is the universal force, is the cause of light, heat, magnetism,attraction, repulsion, gravitation, earthquakes, the high and low barometers, heat inthe earth, volcanoes and is the life principle of the vegetable and animal kingdoms. Itmoves the atmosphere lifts the moisture and is the force of the tornado. Everyheavenly body, from the meteors to the suns, have grown from atoms bycondensations. Suns and planets are caused to revolve on their axes by the electricalforce we see in the natural magnet and planets and satellites revolve around theirprimaries because of the elements that surround and revolve with the latter. The sun isnot and the earth never was a hot body; neither light nor heat comes from the sun, butare effects of electrical radiations; the planets, satellites and asteroids entered our solarsystem as comets and each will continue to grow by accumulations from the ether ofspace electricity till it becomes a sun and the center of a solar system. The earth'sdiameter at its equators is greater than at its poles because of vegetable and coralgrowths. Coal is not of vegetable origin. The moon is not a dead world."All storms are whirlwinds and north of latitude 30 they move entirely aroundthe earth, never die, and they increase and decrease in force by reason of the positionof the sun, moon and planets. The high and low barometers constitute electric pairsand the currents of electricity that rise in the low come down in the high formingelectric circuits. Cold waves, early fall and late spring frosts are caused by tropicalhurricanes. Early springs, late falls, cold and warm winters, drouth, rain bolts,excessive heat, extreme cold, great storm periods and the location of storms aregoverned by the position of the planets."
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+ + +"STUDY ELECTRICITY."Of all the subjects now attracting general attention none are of more importance than electricity, and there is certainly a very great demand for information on that subject. More attention should be given this subject in our institutions of learning, especially in the high school, seminaries, colleges and universities."Electricity is destined to supersede the use of steam as a motive power, gas for light and wood and coal for fuel, and only one or two more such men as Edison are necessary in order to usher in these important events much earlier than the masses will be prepared for them."The time is probably not far away when our railroads will be operated by electricity instead of steam, and this change alone will require a vast amount of
32The Evening Bulletin of Maysville, KY, Oct. 1, 1891, p. 2 via http://kdl.kyvl.org/.
education. In all affairs of the world young men must be prepared to take the places ofthe older ones, and railroad men, especially train crews, of the near future, must understand electricity. They must possess a vast amount more information than do theaverage graduates of our higher schools on this subject."To a great extent our common schools are failures compared with what theymight be, because they take up too much time in efforts to give each pupil a general instead of a special education. On an average it requires ten school years for a pupil to graduate in our public schools, and one-fifth of that time is used up in the study of geography. Studying the details of the geography of Asiatic Russia and many other countries is useful to very few, and in a similar manner much useless time is spent onother studies that might with more profit, be given to the study of electricity and othernecessary studies, especially by those who are liable to be called on to work with electricity."Electricity is certainly the life principle of the animal and vegetable kingdoms,the motive power that sends the life-blood through the arteries and veins, the sap tothe vegetable cells, and when these ideas fully dawn upon the slowly-progressivemind of the world of man, a greater demand for knowledge on the subject of electricity than has ever been dreamed of will spring up."Add to all this the fact that electricity is the force that causes all weather changes and that this force constitutes the only true basis for the science of meteorology and the argument is complete that no time should be lost in establishing electricity as one of the principal studies in our schools."At this time it may be considered premature to surmise as to the ultimate source of generated electricity when we have passed the rapids of discovery through which we are now going, but I will venture a few suggestions. I believe that all space is filled with matter, either electric or condensed. We find least electricity where wefind most condensed matter, and most electricity where we find least condensed matter. The higher we go into the atmosphere the lighter is the matter composing it,and the greater are the quantity and tension of electricity, and when we go to sea level we find this order is reversed."This leads up to the idea I desire to express as to the future source of electricity for use as a motive power, light, fuel, etc."Its fountain head being above or outside our atmosphere, or the lower and denser portions of it, we must tap that great fountain and bring our electricity from above.
"This idea is not inconsistent with the known laws of electricity. All scientists hold that space is positive and the earth negative, or in more easily understood terms,the large quantity is above and the smaller quantity in the earth. Benjamin Franklin brought down the electricity from above on the string of a kite, showing that it moves from the atmosphere above to the earth below. All electricians say that the higher strata of clouds are positive as to the next below them and these in turn are positive asto still lower strata, while the lower clouds are positive as to the earth. All this means that the electricity comes from above, which is not only in accord with the suggestion that we must tap space above us for electricity but is also evidence in support of my other theory that the earth grows by condensations of electricity, those condensations being the origin of electrical force, which is only the attenuated matter of space set inmotion."Edison's theory, so far as it has been made known, is that we must either get electricity from the earth or transmit it from some great water power. I believe that he,or someone soon to take up his work, will find this to be an error, and instead they will look aloft. So far as I know it has not been tested, but when it is I believe a much greater volume and tension of electricity can be generated on top of the highest mountains than at sea-level."If some scheme could be devised by which to draw from the immense quantity of electricity existing in the upper atmosphere, then I have another suggestion tomake. I believe the atmosphere and water, as well as other condensed matter, to be condensations of electricity, and we must discover how to resolve these into their original electricity. I have long believed this to be the principle of the Keely motor,which has not yet been perfected, and if Mr. Keely
33
fails to solve this mystery with his'atomizer,' as he very significantly calls it, the times will soon furnish another who will take up the work where he left it and discover the secret of resolving water or atmosphere, perhaps both, into electricity."Necessity is often the propagator of discoveries as well as the mother of invention, and of necessity a great discovery in the field of electricity must soon bemade. Great improvements have been made in the appliances for controlling and
33
John Worrell Keely. For more on the Keely motor, see "The Keely Motor Secret" by C. J. BloomfieldMoore in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, August 1887, p. 300 ff. http://books.google.com/books?id=07MRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA300and the same author's book,
Keely and His Discoveries: Aerial Navigation
by Clara Jessup Bloomfield (1893)http://www.archive.org/details/keelyhisdiscover00moorrich. Researcher Dale Pond notes at the site just linked that the book is a compilation of past magazine articles with key details edited out. Pond wrote in 2003, "That Keely, [Walter] Russell and [Nikola] Tesla knew basic natural laws and principles that we do not is a given. After nineteen years of investigating their works it is obvious that the one single element they understood one way and we another is the nature, structure and dynamics of vibration and oscillation (or 'wave' as Russell termed it)."http://www.svpvril.com/pdffiles/What_Vibration_Is.pdf .
using electricity, while but little progress has been made for many years in the base ofoperations in generating electricity. As I believe, a wrong theory has preventedprogress. Electricity has been looked upon by all 'orthodox' scientists as onlyincidental, accidental, an effect with no permanent and prominent place in the greateconomy of nature."We must reverse all this and give to this force its true position which is thecause of causes, the one great, original force, while everything else in nature, mindand matter, in all their relations and conditions are only effects. If our electricians oncelearn that electricity is only matter in motion, coming from all points in space, addingits atoms to the gross matter of our earth, they will then understand that everything ismade from condensations of this electric ether and they will set about resolving matterback into electricity for use as fuel, light and power. On this line I firmly believe that agreat discovery will be made within a few years which will revolutionize manyindustries and make a vast demand for those who have knowledge of the practicalworkings of electricity."For years I have believed that the time would come when, by chemical action,water, air and many solids would be exploded as we now explode gunpowder, andthat instead of transforming the matter into gases, as in the case of gunpowder, itwould be resolved into its original atom, electricity, as it existed before beingcondensed. Study electricity."
34
+ + +"THE PLANET MARS"Astronomers are generally agreed that the two moons of Mars came to that planet within a few years past, and this is a very strong argument in favor of the electrical theory. The nebular theory holds that the earth was a molten mass, andwhen its crust had formed its cooling interior shrank away from this outer crust,which finally broke it, and coming together formed our moon. This idea contains thegist of the whole nebular theory of creation."The electrical theory holds that bodies of mater are growing in all parts of chaotic outer space by accumulations and condensations of electric ether now, as has been the case in all the past, and that these bodies come to our solar system as comets,occasionally one of them being caught by the magnetic influences of our solar system,becoming a planet, a moon or an asteroid. There are about three hundred of these small planets moving around the sun in orbits between Mars and Jupiter, and our
34The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Nov. 5, 1891, p. 1.
astronomers believe that the two moons of Mars are identical with these small planets called asteroids, and that they came from the asteroidal belt within ten years past."The moons of Mars are very small, said to be not more than fifty miles in diameter, and are not easily seen except when Mars is at perihelion — nearest point tothe sun — and the earth at the same time between Mars and the sun, and this occurs only once in about nine years. These moons were discovered at the last of these conjunctions, and therefore came to Mars between the last two such conjunctions."Unquestionably Mars received her moons from outer space and not by the breaking up of an outer crust formed by cooling and this is not only evidence, it is positive proof, that the earth received its moon in the same manner. The indisputable facts connected with the moons of Mars destroys the nebular theory, for if these moons came to that planet from outer space then it can not be successfully denied that the earth came to the sun in the same manner: and in these two little moons of our near neighbor we have incontrovertible evidence in favor of the theory that the sun,earth, planets and moons slowly grow in outer space and are caught by our solar system as it moves constantly into new space never before occupied by it."Another evidence is that Jupiter in recent years caught a comet and held it,revolving around it like one of its moons for six months, and finally, when it did breakaway, changing its orbit so that it revolves around the sun in about seven years,instead of twenty-seven as before. This has occurred twice with the same comet and itwill, probably, become the fifth moon of Jupiter."One of the moons of Mars moves around that planet in less time than itrevolves for Mars to revolve on its axis. If this was the case with our moon it wouldrise in the west and set in the east. This appears to refute the theory that the elements surrounding the sun, earth and planets, revolving with them, cause the planets and moons to revolve around their primaries, for these elements move slower than the revolution of the bodies, while this moon of Mars moves faster than the planet revolves, causing that moon to rise in the west and set in the east, relative to thatplanet."But when this moon came to Mars it necessarily moved with the velocity of acomet and its momentum would, for a time, carry it around its primary with great speed. Astronomers say that our moon is losing time, decreasing in velocity, and they fairly prove this by the dates of ancient eclipses, and no doubt this rapidly moving moon of Mars will lose velocity till it is in accord with the elements that revolve around that planet.
+ + +[From an article quoting Foster:] "W. T. Foster, the weather prophet ofBurlington, Iowa, predicts severe storms from now until the 28th of this month. He bases his calculations on the fact that the earth and Mercury will pass the sun'sequator and Venus its equinoctial between the 18th and 28th."
11
+ + +"By the records of the signal service I can prove to any well-informed fair-minded person that the course, location and force of the storm waves, and the prominence or force of the earthquakes, auroras, and sun spots are governed by the positions of the earth, moon, sun and planets, and I expect to have an opportunity of laying these facts before the weather bureau of the United States. Not, however, while that bureau is under the control of the war department, but soon after it has passed to the agricultural bureau where it properly belongs. Meantime I hope that readers of my letters will investigate. For $1 the navy department will send you the nautical almanac, which gives all the necessary information of the planets, and by application to the weather bureau at Washington you can obtain the daily weather maps free.
12
They furnish the most reliable and easily understood record of what the weather hasbeen."The easiest method of investigating my theories is to take the dates on which the moon crosses the earth's equator which occurs about every fourteen days. You will find that the greatest storms occur very close to these dates."
13
+ + +"The causes that will greatly increase the force of the storms of this storm periodare: Venus crosses the sun's equator on the 16th, the moon crosses the earth's equatoron the 19th, and Mercury crosses the sun's equator at its greatest disturbing point on
11
The Evening Bulletin of Maysville, KY, June 23, 1888, p. 3 via
http://kdl.kyvl.org/.
12
For sources of historical and contemporary weather data, seehttp://mysite.verizon.net/bonniehill/pages/climate.htmlandhttp://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/gannstudygroup/links/Astrology_001038951306/Weather_001074370792/Data_001208558909/(free Yahoo membership is required at Gannstudygroup).
13The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Aug. 7, 1890, p. 8.
the 20th. These three disturbances occurring within four days will act as does theattenuating current of the electro-dynamo machines, and will cause great activity inthe earth's electric currents. This will be the tornado period of August. ..."During these disturbances the moon will pass south of the earth's equator. Thishas the effect of pulling the flow tide of the earth's atmosphere from the Northern tothe Southern hemisphere, with cooler weather in the Northern. When the earth'satmosphere is pulled south it leaves a less dense atmosphere north and permits thecold of outer space to more readily penetrate the earth."
14
+ + +"I have never known Venus to pass its equinoctial, at 30 deg. heliocentriclongitude, that it did not cause great disturbances, and at its next equinoctial it will bevery close to the earth."Our next storm, about October 9, will be influenced by Mercury passing thesun's equator, and at the same time crossing the earth's equator."
15
+ + +"Heretofore I promised to give in this letter the dates for one of the greatest storms of the year. I have already stated that the tropical hurricanes would increase in force from the 1st of the month to the 9th, when one of them will be not far from the Gulf of Mexico, but these tropical hurricanes are entirely distinct from the continental storms, and more in an entirely different circuit. The continental storms will be due toleave the Pacific coast about the 5th, cross the Mississippi valley from the 6th to 8th,and reach the Atlantic coast about the 9th. It will be at its greatest force on the Northeast Atlantic coast about the 9th, and will be a very dangerous storm. I would advise all to keep off of the seas about that time. About that time the storms will be very severe all around the earth, and while our set of storms are crossing the Mississippi valley the other three storm waves that belong to this latitude will be about the middle of the North Atlantic, in Eastern Europe and on the North Pacific.The three systems of hurricanes, one on the North Atlantic, one on the North Pacific and one on the Indian ocean, will all show increased activity; each of these systems revolves around the center of the oceans to which they belong."Following the storm of 5th to 9th will be a cold wave the force of which will depend on the location of the tropical hurricane. In the extreme Northwest I expect a blizzard but I cannot say how far south it will go. The cause of these unusual
14The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Aug. 21, 1890, p. 1.15The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Oct. 9, 1890, p. 3.
disturbances are: Venus at its equinoctial on the 8th and the moon crossing the earth'sequator on the 9th. The influence of Venus' equinoctial covers all the first half of the month while the moon's influence covers only three or four days. On the 8th theequator of Venus will be toward the sun, increasing the Sun's electrical forces, whichin turn causes an electrical agitation throughout the solar system. This does not change the time or direction of the storms, only increasing their force. This Venus ion disturbance would develop sun spots were Jupiter at his disturbing point, but as he isnot there will be but few sun spots. The earth was passing the equator of Venus fromthe 20th to 25th, causing the great storms of that period."As before stated November will be noted for its great storms. Mercury will passits greatest disturbing point on the 15th, and will effect the storm immediately before and after that date. But the influence of Mercury and and Venus on the weather differ very much, the former having a tendency to murky, rainy weather, while the latter is more violent and frequently brings the tornado, the hurricane and the blizzard. Wemay not expect settled weather again till after the 25th. It must be remembered,however, that the storms do not cover the whole continent, but when they cross the southern part cool, fair weather is the rule for the north, and when they cross the north part warm, fair weather occurs in the south. Look out for bad weather in the valley between the Alleghany and Rocky mountains from November 6th to 9th, a dangerous storm on the Atlantic coast, a great hurricane on the Gulf of Mexico and a blizzard in the Northwest."
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+ + +"Venus' equinoctial on the 8th will continue to increase the force of the storms till about the 18th, and mercury crossing the sun's equator on the 15th will add to the force of the storms from about the 13th to the 22d. The center of this storm wave will probably pass through the border Southern states and then move toward the Northeast for the reason that the moon will have gone south of the earth's equator,although Venus being very close to the earth tends to drive the storms into northern latitudes. Venus and Mercury being south of the earth's equator have a tendency to pull the storms south."
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+ + +
16The Fort Worth [TX] Daily Gazette, Nov. 4, 1890, p. 7.17The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Nov. 13, 1890, p. 2.
"ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS."We are now approaching the winding up periods of the great November storms. All round the earth great and destructive storms, hurricanes and blizzards have occurred and in them Venus has again proved the power of her equinoctial electric currents in bringing fierce storms; the moon has again demonstrated its electric power when crossing the earth's equator, and now it is Mercury's time to againtell what it can do in disturbing the planetary family by crossing the sun's equator,which occurred on the 15th. The effect was felt to some extent, in the last storm, but its principal effect is felt in the evening up process after it has disturbed the electricequilibrium by crossing the sun's equator. Its effects are seen principally in theincrease of rains, snows, sleets and foggy, murky weather."THE NEXT STORM WAVE"will be due to leave the Pacific coast about the 16th, cross the great valley from 17th to 19th and reach the Atlantic coast about the 20th. It will become a furious storm about the 22nd when it will be on the middle of the north Atlantic and at the same time another approaching storm will be very severe on the Pacific coast; a third one will bein central Asia and a fourth in central Europe. Our storm will pass through theSouthern States causing cold weather north of the storm and warm weather south of it. A very considerable amount of snow and rain may be expected from this storm wave."I hope that readers of my letters will study the laws of storms which they will find in my letters for without this much of the benefits to be derived from my forecasts will be lost. Remember that all storm waves are whirlwinds, turning from right byway of the front to the left; the center of the storm rises and the wind blows toward it."A YEAR OF DISASTROUS STORMS."I believe that 1892 will be a year of the most disastrous storms experienced inrecent times. I do not know of a time in the past when the disturbing forces were so great as they promise to be in 1892. From 1880 to 1884 the disturbing elements were quite active on account of Uranus being at its equinoctial, where the earth is in March,but in 1892 two of the greatest planets in the solar system will pass their equinoctials about the same time. In January 1892 Jupiter will be at his equinoctial and also at perihelion, or about 42,000,000 miles nearer the earth than when he passed his equinoctial in 1886. The equator of Jupiter will be toward the sun and his greatest electrical force will be felt throughout the earth's orbit for six months before and after that date. In August 1892 Saturn will pass its equinoctial, where the earth is in March,
and its full electrical force will be felt by the sun and earth for twelve months beforeand after that date. At that time the edge of Saturn's rings will be toward the earth —the rings coincide with Saturn's equator — and cannot then be seen except through powerful telescopes. These two great planets — Jupiter is 1300 times larger than theearth, while Saturn is nearly as large — will be on opposite sides of the sun, with their equators toward the sun and toward each other. The electricity that is thrown off over the equator of an electro-dynamo machine will knock over small objects a hundred feel away, and from that one may imagine what a powerful influence our earth will encounter when it comes between the equator of two such electro-dynamos as Jupiter and Saturn, which revolve on their axes so rapidly as to cause their equators to move thousands of times more rapidly than do the equators of our most powerful electro-dynamos."WEATHER AND SCIENCE NOTES."In a letter from a friend in New York City it is suggested that: 'Electricity is intensified vibration. Given an adequate conductor there is no loss or expenditure intransit, for it is not matter, not a fluid, but motion. This inconceivably intense vibratory motion produces effects so unique as to be confounded with cause. In one condition it is called heat, but heat is only an effect of the propulsion of this intense vibration against the air, producing friction of its atoms, hence the arc light and theforked lightning. Magnetism is only another effect, produced by the proximity of thetwo opposite vibratory motions. Vibrations can have only two general motions, hence the intenser motion of the two is called the positive and draws the negative to itself.Heat, light, life, magnetism, chemical affinities, force, gravitation, etc., are all effects ofthis vibratory motion called electricity, which is the infinite, universal cause.'"This theory of electricity is similar but not the same as that to which I hold. Thes cientific world fail to find a beginning for creation and refuse to recognize more than three forms of matter. I believe that there are at least five forms of matter beginning atether of outer space, condensations of which constitute electricity which condenses to form the gases, liquids and solids. In proof of this, all matter is convertible into electricity. To generate electricity we decompose zinc which goes out through the copper wire. As the zinc goes back into electricity it must continue to be matter and itis not unreasonable to believe that the zinc was originally composed of electricity.Creation is now in progress as much as it ever was. Condensations of electricity form the atom and build it into a molecule, meteor, comet, moon, planet and sun, their only difference being in their size, solidity and their electric forces. All these bodies may grow to be sure."
18
18The Deseret Weekly, Nov. 22, 1890, p. 619.
+ + +[In an article mentioning Foster:] "Besides his [weather] predictions, Mr. Fostersends us some interesting notes on sanitary and scientific subjects. Here, for example,is a nut for the bacteriologists to crack: —"[']We are now in the midst of the hog cholera period and the prevalence of contagious diseases among men and the lower animals. Contagious diseases among children are reported as epidemic in many places. I have a theory as to the cause, and I believe that statistics of contagions and epidemic diseases will prove the correctness of the theory."[']The cause is to be found in the aphelion and perihelion of the planets,especially of Jupiter. This planet is 44,000,000 of miles nearer the sun and earth at perihelion than at aphelion. When it is nearest the sun and earth their atmospheres expand and when farthest from the earth they contract. In the one instance the waters and heavy gases of the earth are evaporated and lifted into the atmosphere and in the other they are condensed and precipitated. These great changes in our earth and atmosphere affect the health of man and beast."
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+ + +"WEATHER AND SCIENCE NOTES"In studying meteorology or any of the physical sciences one of the most important items is the nature of attraction. It is usually spoken of as a pull, but this isan impossibility. It must be a push. To illustrate: The earth and all the planets have greater diameters through their equators than through their poles. Why? Astronomers say that while the earth was a heated and melted mass its rapid revolution on its axis caused it to elongate in the direction of its equator. But I deny that it was ever a melted mass any more than we now see in the volcanoes. Bodies of electricity are to solid matter like bodies of water expelling the lighter while the heavier sinks into it. The earth throws off a body of electricity over its equator and solid bodies in space are pushed into that electrical body, and seeking its center are conveyed to near the earth'sequator. This is one cause of the earth's greater growth at its equator while vegetable growth furnishes another. All the planets were originally comets and were pushed from space toward the sun's electric center, its equator. But their momentum caused them to pass beyond the sun's equator, and then the resistance of matter pushed them back toward the sun's electric belt again, and so they continue to vibrate each time passing a little less distance beyond the center of the sun's electric belt. The
19The Evening Telegram of New York, Dec. 16, 1890, p. 4.
earth now only goes seven degrees north and south of the sun's equator and the moononly five degrees with and south of the earth's equator. Placing an electric body onone side of matter takes or drives away the resistance or pressure of the universalmatter of space, and the resistance on the other side pushes the matter into the centerof the electrical body. Organized bodies like meteors, comets, moons and planets haveno weight toward any other body as their matter presses equally toward their owncenters. Another fact has much to do with these questions. Whenever matter — Iregard electricity as matter — moves in one direction other matter moves in theopposite direction. All physical scientists agree that electricity passes from sun andplanets over their equators and returns to them at their poles, and electricity passingfrom the earth at its equator would require that other matter come to it at the equatorand pass from it at the poles, so my theory does not disagree with generally acceptedscientific principles. But when two organized bodies come near each other theirelectric fields repel each other and therefore the planets, moons, suns and cometscannot fall into each other. This explains the tides. Scientists say that the moon'sattraction pulls the waters of the ocean up, causing a tidal wave. I do not believeanything of the kind. The moon's electric field with its accompanying etheric matterpasses over the ocean, depressing it as a great weight making a trough in the ocean,and after it passes on the ocean wave comes in to fill the trough and level the sea. Thefact that the flood-tide is 2000 miles behind the moon is good evidence for this theory.The tides then are caused by a push instead of a pull. The planets sink into the sun'setheric atmosphere as a log or stone sinks into water; the heavier the planet the nearerto the sun it sinks. The age of the planets has nothing to do with their position, near orfar from the sun. The circulation of electricity through them causes them to revolve ontheir axes, while the sun's etheric atmosphere revolving with it causes them to revolvearound the sun."
20
+ + +"A concise statement of my weather theories is this: North of latitude 30 the storm waves move entirely around the earth from west to east and never die or become disorganized. I know the periods of four of these storm waves and can givethe dates approximately on which they will pass any meridian all around the earth.These storm waves sometimes become great storms and at other times they becomealmost extinct, but they continue to move eastward, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but averaging about twenty-five miles an hour. These four storm waves increase and decrease in force at the same time, although they are, on an average,about 3400 miles apart, and the variation in their force is caused by the electrical influence of the sun, moon and planets. Those bodies are electro-dynamos and throwan electric influence over their equators as do all electro-dynamo machines, and when
20The Fort Worth [TX] Weekly Gazette, Dec. 25, 1890, p. 1.
one of these bodies pass the plane of the equator of another and consequently throughits electric belt every body of the solar system is electrically disturbed thereby becausethey are all electrically connected. The disturbance increases the force of the storms onthe earth, sun and other planets at the same time, as the moving force in these stormwaves is electricity, which comes from the electric currents of the body to which theybelong. Perihelion of the planets and perigee of the moon expands the earth'satmosphere; aphelion of the planets and apogee of the moon have opposite influence.From these influences occur all weather changes, auroras, sun spots, tornadoes,earthquakes and other unusual effects in the earth, atmosphere and sun. Earthquakesare caused by subterranean thunder just as it occurs among the clouds. The earth, sunand planets are solid bodies and have slowly grown from atoms, and electricity is thebuilder."
21
+ + +"This period of great disturbances will begin during the first part of May, while Mars will be passing its equinoctial, Mercury passing the sun's equator and the moon passing the earth's equator; but while these storms will be very severe, they will not compare with those that will occur later in the year and during the first part of 1892.This will also be a period of great earthquakes in countries where they are common,and volcanoes will become more common and increase in activity."The principal causes of these disturbances will be the equinoxes of Saturn and Jupiter. These great planets throw an electric influence into space over their equators,and this electric influence of Saturn will strike Mars in May, while it is passing itsequinoctial, thereby extending its electric influence to the sun. The electric equator of Saturn will affect Venus, the earth and Mercury in succession, and will directly affect the sun in October, while on the opposite side of the sun the great planet Jupiter will be approaching its equinoctial in a similar manner, reaching that point early in January."
22
+ + +"The storms of April will all be severe both from minor causes and the effects ofthe powerful electric currents from the equators of Jupiter and Saturn, which willbegin to have a light influence on the earth's electric currents. Mercury will pass thesun's equator on April 2, and with the continued influence of Venus, which will have passed the sun's equator March 28, will materially increase the force of this first April storm, so that it will affect most parts of the United States. These storm waves cause all the changes of the weather, including the winds and their changes, the cool weather
21The Fort Worth [TX] Daily Gazette, Dec. 27, 1890, p. 8.22The Wheeling [WV] Register, Feb. 8, 1891.
and cold waves, the warm days, frosts, rain, hail, snow, sleet, and when their trackscontinue far to the north great drouths result. I cannot explain all these effects of thestorm waves in every letter, and to secure the full benefits of these forecasts the readermust study my science notes and discussion on the beginnings of creation and thephysical forces. A scrap book of these articles would be convenient for reference."
23
+ + +"THE MOON'S INFLUENCES"This satellite has more influence on the weather than any other body except thesun, but the masses have been led into an error by supposing that the changes of themoon cause changes in the weather. When the moon and sun are on the same side ofthe earth the electrical influences are increased in that direction, but this does notincrease the force of the storms but merely affects their location. There is also a beliefamong the hunters, frontiersmen and sailors that when the moon hangs on its pointmuch rain or snow will occur during that moon. The North American Indians alsofollow this sign and believe it to be a propitious sign for hunting. Damp weather andsnow are favorable to the hunter for in dry weather the leaves make too much noisefor success and snow is favorable for tracking game. When the moon hangs on itspoint the hunter says he cannot hang his powder horn on its point and then is the timeto hunt and when the moon at new lies on its back it indicates that the hunter canhang his shot pouch on its point and he would better not waste his time at hunting. Ihave no use for anything that has superstition for its base, but these signs that have somuch influence with certain classes of people throughout the world should not be castaside without investigation. Many of those common beliefs have some real foundation and thousands of years of experience on the part of those who are compelled to bemuch out of doors has taught them that with certain positions of the planets come certain changes of the weather. Why this is so they know not; all they know is the coincidence. I have investigated these crude signs and have found real causes at the bottom of some of them. The moon lies on its back when it runs north and hangs on its point when it runs south. As the moon causes tides in the ocean it must also cause tides in the atmosphere, and as it moves from about 24 degrees north of the earth'satmosphere, to the same distance south and the reverse, passing over about 3300 milesof the earth's surface in about fourteen days, or about nine miles north or south and1000 miles east in twenty-four hours the change necessarily affects the atmosphereand the weather by pulling the storms north or south."The changes of the moon occur a little more than six days apart and the regular storm waves pass over this latitude in little less than six days apart, so that if a storm
23The Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colorado, March 22, 1891.
wave is due about the change of the moon the next storm wave will be due very near the next change of the moon, and these coincidences will occur for several weeks. This has led to the belief that it is the changes of the moon that causes the storm waves. But the coincidences will not continue long and I see no reason why changes of the moon should cause a change in the weather. If the moon crosses the earth's equator a little before a storm wave is due it will cross the earth's equator in two weeks near when a storm wave is due, and if the changes of the moon should occur at the same time it would lead to the belief that it is the changes of the moon that causes these storms of greatest force. The electrical theory of weather changes requires that we follow thelaws of electricity and whatever is not in accord with these laws must be rejected, andif these electrical laws will not explain all meteorological phenomena, then the theorymust be rejected as a failure."The moon is 225,719 miles from the earth at perigee and 251,947 miles atapogee, making a change of 26,228 miles about every fourteen days. This change makes a great difference in the tides and must necessarily make a difference in its effect on the atmosphere. Professor Proctor
24
admitted that it had been fairly proven that more earthquakes occur when the moon is close to the earth because of its greater influence on the tides and if this be true it must also have greater influence on theatmosphere at the same time. "
25
+ + +"Forty years ago the great Faraday said: 'When we remember that the earth itself is a magnet, pervaded in every part by this mighty power, universal and strong asgranite itself, we cannot doubt that it is exerting an appointed and essential influenceon every particle of matter and in every place wherein it is present. What its great purpose is seems to be looming up in the distance before us; the clouds which obscure our mental sight are daily thinning and I can not doubt that a glorious discovery innatural knowledge is awaiting our age.'"
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necessary for each person to have copies of my published letters. To understand planetary meteorology the astronomy of the solar system must be understood. The astronomy taught in our schools takes the ecliptic, or the earth's orbit, as the basisfrom which to calculate and this is like beginning the study of arithmetic in decimal fractions. I take the sun's equator as the base from which to calculate, and by this means the solar system and the relations of the planets to each other are much more easily understood. Astronomy as taught in our schools is adapted to surveying andnavigation, but not to planetary meteorology. To individuals, clubs and societies thatdesire to study or discuss planetary meteorology I will furnish diagrams once a weekand give special instructions which, with the letters published in this paper, will enable anyone to calculate the future of the weather from the standpoint of planetary meteorology. Parties interested in this matter will please correspond with me. This will give to literary and scientific societies a new feature for their fall and wintermeetings, and the expense will be so small that individuals may well afford to engagein the study alone."WEATHER AND SCIENCE NOTES."Our cold winters are caused by the eastward oscillations of the North Atlantic permanent high barometer, therefore when we have cold winters in the Mississippivalley the winters are warm in Europe. This North Atlantic high barometer controlsthe routes of our storm centers, and the tropical hurricanes and these control the cold waves. When that high barometer swings eastward our storm centers take southern routes, causing our cold winters, and at the same time that high barometer covers Southern Europe, causing their storm centers to take northern routes, and warm winters ensue. To a less extent this effects the Northeastern states and Canada in asimilar manner, and this will cause their coming winter to be less severe than will be experience in the Mississippi valley. A more complete knowledge of the oscillations of the North Atlantic permanent high barometer is indispensable to correct forecasts ofthe weather on this continent and Europe, and the weather bureaus of the United States and Europe should give this matter careful attention. If we had a correct record of the weather of the Bermudas, the Azores, the West Indies and the Windward islands and a ship signal station between the Bermudas and the Azores we would be in possession of the means by which we could calculate the periods of hurricanes andgive warning of their approach. In order to forecast cold waves the weather bureau is looking toward the Northwest, where the cause of these cold waves is to be found inthe opposite direction. Cold waves and hurricanes are matters of great importance tothe United States and should have more practical investigation by the weather bureau.Such investigations are too expensive for independent meteorologists to undertake. In this matter of the oscillations of the North Atlantic high barometer, Europe is as muchinterested as is North America, and the expense should be shared by both. A correct foreknowledge of cold and warm winters, early springs, later and early frosts on both
+ + +"CLASSES IN METEOROLOGY."I will give special instructions in meteorology to all persons who are subscribers to this paper in which my weekly letters are regularly published. It will be
24Richard Anthony Proctor.25Fort Worth [TX} Gazette, May 21, 1891, p. 1.
26
Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, June 15, 1891, p. 3. Quoted in
New Theories of the Great Physical Forces
by Henry Raymond Rogers, p. 92http://books.google.com/books?id=-T8GvOmnSm4C&pg=PA92. Rogers iscited herein in an article later this year by Foster.
continents and our tropical hurricanes depends on a better knowledge of this NorthAtlancic [sic] permanent high barometer. In other respects the weather record is good,but in this it is seriously deficient."
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+ + +"PLANETARY METEOROLOGY."It is a species of supreme arrogance for 'orthodox' scientists to pretend that theyhave investigated planetary meteorology, for not one of them understands it. A number of them have declared that there is nothing in the claim that planets affect the weather, because after long and careful observations they find the changes of themoon have no influence on the weather. Of course not. Planetary meteorology makes no such claims, and therefore the tests they have made have no bearing. Others againdeclare that they have carefully examined the equinoctial theory, and find it does nothold good. The difficulty with them is that they do not understand the equinoctial theory. It is not claimed that the equinoctial theory demands a storm everywhere onthe 21st of March and September. It is not even claimed that these equinoxes originatestorms, but that they influence them. We do not look for a storm on the 21st of March,but whenever the regular storm wave is due near that date we expect the equinox toincrease its force. In their investigations these 'orthodox' scientists have taken the 21stof March and September as the storm days, and as they find that the equinoctial storms do not uniformly occur on those days they conclude there is nothing in the equinox theory. The trouble is not with the equinoxes, but with the ignorance of those'orthodox' scientists, who never make a discovery and know nothing outside of the theories announced hundreds of years ago when our predecessors were just emerging from the dark ages. So far as I know there is none but myself who understands thesystem of planetary meteorology I use as the basis of my calculations, and therefore noone is competent to investigate it. I am the discoverer, not of all the facts, but ofimportant facts which make planetary meteorology a harmonious whole. It is very complicated, however, and if I make mistakes it is not the fault of the system, but because of errors in my calculation. I have no secrets regarding my theory, but no onecan expect to understand it in a day. The subject is equal in extent to that of law orpolitics or theology. Within a year the planets cause about 160 electrical disturbances,and to group these so as to know what storm waves will be affected and to whatextend is no small matter, and those scientists who have never given a day's study to the subject are presumptuous when they claim to have investigated that of which they are supremely ignorant."It is my design to give as full information as I can on this subject through my
27The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, July 30, 1891, p. 1.
published letters, which go regularly to forty daily papers and a number of weeklies,besides being copied into a large number of weeklies, but some of the dailies andmany weeklies are not prepared to publish diagrams and illustrations which arenecessary to a complete understanding of the subject. As before stated, subscribers tothe paper can obtain these diagrams and illustrations by corresponding with me. I amprepared to give through these public letters during the fall and winter months morecomplete information as to planetary meteorology and will discuss electricity as thecause of motion. One kind of electricity, the positive being the large and the negativethe small quantity, electricity the cause of magnetism, magnetism and attractionidentical, every atom of matter endowed with its own power of motion — that poweris electricity as manifest in the natural magnet. Each planet revolves on its axis becauseof its own inherent forces and around the sun because of the movements in thatdirection of the elements that surround the sun. Sun and planets are not, never were,molten matter, but radiate electricity, not heat. Heat and light do not penetrate space,but originate and are confined to the atmosphere of the sun and planets. The electricenvelope of each planet determines its orbit and distance from its primary. Theattraction of gravitation is a push. The planets float. The centripetal and centrifugaltheories are errors. The calculated revolution on their axis of most of the planets areerrors because of their clouded envelopes. Sun spots are similar to our earth stormsand are from the same causes. Our storm waves move entirely around the earth andtheir forces are controlled by planetary positions. Tropical hurricanes cause our coldwaves."
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+ + +"I have now completed all arrangements for giving lessons in meteorology by mail. These lessons will be given to individuals or clubs at $2.50 for thirteen lessons. In a club of five this will cost the members only 50 cents each. No person must be admitted into these clubs who is not a subscriber to this paper, and each must keep a file of my published weekly letters. Each lesson will consist of a weather map, two astronomical illustrations and a letter of special instructions. I have a good number of subscribers to begin with and members can begin the studies at any time in the future."My long-range weather forecast has stood the test for a number of years and many persons, especially those interested in agriculture, fruit-raising, coal mines, ice-houses, etc., are in favor of adding this feature to the national weather bureau. I would not desire to make the officers of the national weather bureau responsible for my theories of weather changes, because they know nothing about the principles upon which my forecasts are based, and for the same reason I would not accept any position in the weather bureau that would prevent me from freely presenting my views. I am
28The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Aug. 13, 1891, p. 1.
not begging the people of the United States for government support, and I will enter into no logrolling scheme for that purpose. My work is giving me a good support, and I am not dissatisfied with my efforts and opportunities. But there would be some advantages to the public and toward perfecting a system of long-range weather forecasts in establishing a bureau of agricultural meteorology."I estimate that such a bureau can be put into operation at an expense of $15,000annually. One man cannot cover all the ground and give to the subject that careful study necessary to perfect the system and make it of practical utility to all interests.There are three natural divisions of labor in these long-range forecasts, and each of these divisions should have a man at its head peculiarly fitted for the work. One of these departments includes the periodical storm waves that cross the continents, thechanges of weather accompanying them, and the cool waves, hot waves and frosts.Another department would include rainfall and drouths and a third department would give special attention to plant life, making estimates of the effects that coming weather will have on the growing crops of the world. If we could know the future ofthe weather farmers would better know what kind of crops to plant."In order to make this bureau of agricultural meteorology accountable directly to the people and prevent it from becoming a tool in the hands of cereal speculators Ipropose that its chief be elected biennially by the lower house of congress and that the chief appoint his clerk and two assistants. Should such a bureau be established I would probably be a candidate for the first place and Prof. Blake
29
of Topeka, Kan.,would be my choice for the department of rainfall and drouth. He is a remarkably well-informed man on these subjects, besides being a man of very considerable ability in other matters. My choice for the department of plant life would be Prof. Mansill
30
of Rock Island, Ill. He is well-informed in astronomy, meteorology, geology and chemistry, and would be a valuable man in that work."This bureau would use the information gathered by the present weatherbureau, and as it would not make daily weather predictions, there would be no conflict between it and the weather bureau officials. Let the latter pursue their work.At most there could only be a rivalry between the two systems and the public would
29C. C. Blake of Topeka, Kansas, was described in 1889 as "the most eminent weather prophet of the'planetary' school" ("False Weather Prophets," Dec. 26, 1889 Daily Inter-Ocean of Chicago IL, p. 6). In publicity material that year, Blake wrote: "For more than thirty years I have been at work calculating theweather by means of Astronomical Mathematics. My system is purely astronomical, and I have nothing to dowith astrology; I deal only with the rigid laws of cause and effect. For the last fifteen years I have published the result of my calculations in the form of weather predictions and the verification has been over 90 per cent.till this year. As the year is only half out, I do not know what it will be this season — probably not less than 80 per cent." The Bridgeton [NJ] Evening News, Sept. 9, 1889. A decade earlier a reviewer of Blake's almanac noted: "For the past two years his predictions have been remarkably correct, and have become a necessity in every family." The Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, Feb. 13, 1879, p. 2. 30Richard Mansill of Rock Island, Illinois. See Appendix I herein for his theory
soon determine which can furnish the most valuable weather forecasts.
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+ + +"ELECTRICITY."All Physical Phenomena DirectlyTraceable to this Energy."Twenty-three hundred years ago Aristotle declared there is but one singleuniversal force, and that declaration entitles him to be called the father of science. Butthe dark ages came and crushed that truth to earth to rise again in the last years of the19th century. When the clouds of the dark ages began to clear away a great minddeclared a half truth in the nebular theory of creation, which for more than a centuryhas been taken as a basis of astronomy, geology and meteorology. This nebular theory like the Ptolemaic theory of astronomy, is requiring of our astronomers, geologists and meteorologists constant inventions to make the nebular hypothesis and the consequent heat theory of force to hold together, and these invented theories so numerous that the nebular theory is tottering to its fall. For the salvation of science it is just as necessary to return to the unity of force, as announced by Aristotle, as it was to Christianity that Paul should establish the unity of spiritual forcein the truth of one God. The nebular theory stands to scientific truth in about the same relation that the theory of a million gods did to true religion in the days of Christ. Ifwe go back to the truth of one universal force, we do not only lift science from themire, but we do for the scientific world that which the doctrine of one God did for thereligious world."Prof. Wm. H. Preece, London's leading electrician, declares that 'all physical phenomena, without a single exception, may be traced to the mere transformation of electrical energy.' That is a reassertion of the great Aristotelian truth, and is in harmony with my views as to the physical forces. There is but one physical force, and that force is electricity, or matter in motion. Its origin is found in the condensation of the diffused matter of space."As this ether of space condenses into the solid bodies as the meteors, comets,moons, planets, suns and the clusters of stars, it is, by these condensations, caused to converge toward these common centers in straight lines, and after moving through them and depositing its grosser materials, radiates to other bodies gathering more matter in space. This movement of that which has been called the ether of space constitutes all there is of electricity and of force, and is the basis of my meteorological
31The Dallas [TX] Morning News, Sept. 13, 1891, p. 2.
theories. Electricity is the universal force, is the cause of light, heat, magnetism,attraction, repulsion, gravitation, earthquakes, the high and low barometers, heat inthe earth, volcanoes and is the life principle of the vegetable and animal kingdoms. Itmoves the atmosphere lifts the moisture and is the force of the tornado. Everyheavenly body, from the meteors to the suns, have grown from atoms bycondensations. Suns and planets are caused to revolve on their axes by the electricalforce we see in the natural magnet and planets and satellites revolve around theirprimaries because of the elements that surround and revolve with the latter. The sun isnot and the earth never was a hot body; neither light nor heat comes from the sun, butare effects of electrical radiations; the planets, satellites and asteroids entered our solarsystem as comets and each will continue to grow by accumulations from the ether ofspace electricity till it becomes a sun and the center of a solar system. The earth'sdiameter at its equators is greater than at its poles because of vegetable and coralgrowths. Coal is not of vegetable origin. The moon is not a dead world."All storms are whirlwinds and north of latitude 30 they move entirely aroundthe earth, never die, and they increase and decrease in force by reason of the positionof the sun, moon and planets. The high and low barometers constitute electric pairsand the currents of electricity that rise in the low come down in the high formingelectric circuits. Cold waves, early fall and late spring frosts are caused by tropicalhurricanes. Early springs, late falls, cold and warm winters, drouth, rain bolts,excessive heat, extreme cold, great storm periods and the location of storms aregoverned by the position of the planets."
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+ + +"STUDY ELECTRICITY."Of all the subjects now attracting general attention none are of more importance than electricity, and there is certainly a very great demand for information on that subject. More attention should be given this subject in our institutions of learning, especially in the high school, seminaries, colleges and universities."Electricity is destined to supersede the use of steam as a motive power, gas for light and wood and coal for fuel, and only one or two more such men as Edison are necessary in order to usher in these important events much earlier than the masses will be prepared for them."The time is probably not far away when our railroads will be operated by electricity instead of steam, and this change alone will require a vast amount of
32The Evening Bulletin of Maysville, KY, Oct. 1, 1891, p. 2 via http://kdl.kyvl.org/.
education. In all affairs of the world young men must be prepared to take the places ofthe older ones, and railroad men, especially train crews, of the near future, must understand electricity. They must possess a vast amount more information than do theaverage graduates of our higher schools on this subject."To a great extent our common schools are failures compared with what theymight be, because they take up too much time in efforts to give each pupil a general instead of a special education. On an average it requires ten school years for a pupil to graduate in our public schools, and one-fifth of that time is used up in the study of geography. Studying the details of the geography of Asiatic Russia and many other countries is useful to very few, and in a similar manner much useless time is spent onother studies that might with more profit, be given to the study of electricity and othernecessary studies, especially by those who are liable to be called on to work with electricity."Electricity is certainly the life principle of the animal and vegetable kingdoms,the motive power that sends the life-blood through the arteries and veins, the sap tothe vegetable cells, and when these ideas fully dawn upon the slowly-progressivemind of the world of man, a greater demand for knowledge on the subject of electricity than has ever been dreamed of will spring up."Add to all this the fact that electricity is the force that causes all weather changes and that this force constitutes the only true basis for the science of meteorology and the argument is complete that no time should be lost in establishing electricity as one of the principal studies in our schools."At this time it may be considered premature to surmise as to the ultimate source of generated electricity when we have passed the rapids of discovery through which we are now going, but I will venture a few suggestions. I believe that all space is filled with matter, either electric or condensed. We find least electricity where wefind most condensed matter, and most electricity where we find least condensed matter. The higher we go into the atmosphere the lighter is the matter composing it,and the greater are the quantity and tension of electricity, and when we go to sea level we find this order is reversed."This leads up to the idea I desire to express as to the future source of electricity for use as a motive power, light, fuel, etc."Its fountain head being above or outside our atmosphere, or the lower and denser portions of it, we must tap that great fountain and bring our electricity from above.
"This idea is not inconsistent with the known laws of electricity. All scientists hold that space is positive and the earth negative, or in more easily understood terms,the large quantity is above and the smaller quantity in the earth. Benjamin Franklin brought down the electricity from above on the string of a kite, showing that it moves from the atmosphere above to the earth below. All electricians say that the higher strata of clouds are positive as to the next below them and these in turn are positive asto still lower strata, while the lower clouds are positive as to the earth. All this means that the electricity comes from above, which is not only in accord with the suggestion that we must tap space above us for electricity but is also evidence in support of my other theory that the earth grows by condensations of electricity, those condensations being the origin of electrical force, which is only the attenuated matter of space set inmotion."Edison's theory, so far as it has been made known, is that we must either get electricity from the earth or transmit it from some great water power. I believe that he,or someone soon to take up his work, will find this to be an error, and instead they will look aloft. So far as I know it has not been tested, but when it is I believe a much greater volume and tension of electricity can be generated on top of the highest mountains than at sea-level."If some scheme could be devised by which to draw from the immense quantity of electricity existing in the upper atmosphere, then I have another suggestion tomake. I believe the atmosphere and water, as well as other condensed matter, to be condensations of electricity, and we must discover how to resolve these into their original electricity. I have long believed this to be the principle of the Keely motor,which has not yet been perfected, and if Mr. Keely
33
fails to solve this mystery with his'atomizer,' as he very significantly calls it, the times will soon furnish another who will take up the work where he left it and discover the secret of resolving water or atmosphere, perhaps both, into electricity."Necessity is often the propagator of discoveries as well as the mother of invention, and of necessity a great discovery in the field of electricity must soon bemade. Great improvements have been made in the appliances for controlling and
33
John Worrell Keely. For more on the Keely motor, see "The Keely Motor Secret" by C. J. BloomfieldMoore in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, August 1887, p. 300 ff. http://books.google.com/books?id=07MRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA300and the same author's book,
Keely and His Discoveries: Aerial Navigation
by Clara Jessup Bloomfield (1893)http://www.archive.org/details/keelyhisdiscover00moorrich. Researcher Dale Pond notes at the site just linked that the book is a compilation of past magazine articles with key details edited out. Pond wrote in 2003, "That Keely, [Walter] Russell and [Nikola] Tesla knew basic natural laws and principles that we do not is a given. After nineteen years of investigating their works it is obvious that the one single element they understood one way and we another is the nature, structure and dynamics of vibration and oscillation (or 'wave' as Russell termed it)."http://www.svpvril.com/pdffiles/What_Vibration_Is.pdf .
using electricity, while but little progress has been made for many years in the base ofoperations in generating electricity. As I believe, a wrong theory has preventedprogress. Electricity has been looked upon by all 'orthodox' scientists as onlyincidental, accidental, an effect with no permanent and prominent place in the greateconomy of nature."We must reverse all this and give to this force its true position which is thecause of causes, the one great, original force, while everything else in nature, mindand matter, in all their relations and conditions are only effects. If our electricians oncelearn that electricity is only matter in motion, coming from all points in space, addingits atoms to the gross matter of our earth, they will then understand that everything ismade from condensations of this electric ether and they will set about resolving matterback into electricity for use as fuel, light and power. On this line I firmly believe that agreat discovery will be made within a few years which will revolutionize manyindustries and make a vast demand for those who have knowledge of the practicalworkings of electricity."For years I have believed that the time would come when, by chemical action,water, air and many solids would be exploded as we now explode gunpowder, andthat instead of transforming the matter into gases, as in the case of gunpowder, itwould be resolved into its original atom, electricity, as it existed before beingcondensed. Study electricity."
34
+ + +"THE PLANET MARS"Astronomers are generally agreed that the two moons of Mars came to that planet within a few years past, and this is a very strong argument in favor of the electrical theory. The nebular theory holds that the earth was a molten mass, andwhen its crust had formed its cooling interior shrank away from this outer crust,which finally broke it, and coming together formed our moon. This idea contains thegist of the whole nebular theory of creation."The electrical theory holds that bodies of mater are growing in all parts of chaotic outer space by accumulations and condensations of electric ether now, as has been the case in all the past, and that these bodies come to our solar system as comets,occasionally one of them being caught by the magnetic influences of our solar system,becoming a planet, a moon or an asteroid. There are about three hundred of these small planets moving around the sun in orbits between Mars and Jupiter, and our
34The Fort Worth [TX] Gazette, Nov. 5, 1891, p. 1.
astronomers believe that the two moons of Mars are identical with these small planets called asteroids, and that they came from the asteroidal belt within ten years past."The moons of Mars are very small, said to be not more than fifty miles in diameter, and are not easily seen except when Mars is at perihelion — nearest point tothe sun — and the earth at the same time between Mars and the sun, and this occurs only once in about nine years. These moons were discovered at the last of these conjunctions, and therefore came to Mars between the last two such conjunctions."Unquestionably Mars received her moons from outer space and not by the breaking up of an outer crust formed by cooling and this is not only evidence, it is positive proof, that the earth received its moon in the same manner. The indisputable facts connected with the moons of Mars destroys the nebular theory, for if these moons came to that planet from outer space then it can not be successfully denied that the earth came to the sun in the same manner: and in these two little moons of our near neighbor we have incontrovertible evidence in favor of the theory that the sun,earth, planets and moons slowly grow in outer space and are caught by our solar system as it moves constantly into new space never before occupied by it."Another evidence is that Jupiter in recent years caught a comet and held it,revolving around it like one of its moons for six months, and finally, when it did breakaway, changing its orbit so that it revolves around the sun in about seven years,instead of twenty-seven as before. This has occurred twice with the same comet and itwill, probably, become the fifth moon of Jupiter."One of the moons of Mars moves around that planet in less time than itrevolves for Mars to revolve on its axis. If this was the case with our moon it wouldrise in the west and set in the east. This appears to refute the theory that the elements surrounding the sun, earth and planets, revolving with them, cause the planets and moons to revolve around their primaries, for these elements move slower than the revolution of the bodies, while this moon of Mars moves faster than the planet revolves, causing that moon to rise in the west and set in the east, relative to thatplanet."But when this moon came to Mars it necessarily moved with the velocity of acomet and its momentum would, for a time, carry it around its primary with great speed. Astronomers say that our moon is losing time, decreasing in velocity, and they fairly prove this by the dates of ancient eclipses, and no doubt this rapidly moving moon of Mars will lose velocity till it is in accord with the elements that revolve around that planet.
A Scrapbook of Planetary Meteorology:W. T. Foster and his contemporaries
The Gannstudygroup Presents
A Scrapbook of Planetary Meteorology:W. T. Foster and his contemporaries
(FIRST EDITION)
This E-Book is not to be sold.
It is a free educational servicein the public interestpublished by
Gann Study Group
gannstudygroup@gmail.com
A NOTE ABOUT THE SCRAPBOOK
For modern readers, this Scrapbook represents an absolutely unprecedented glimpse into the methods and theories of weather forecaster W. T. Foster, whose reports appeared weekly in newspapers throughout the United States from the 1880s to his death in 1924. No other forecasts by a planetary meteorologist were so widely read and their accuracy was frequently praised in their day.This collection started very modestly with a routine search for more informationon the writers of nineteenth-century weather-forecasting almanacs. Probably the single article that was most influential in arousing the curiosity of the editor appeared in the Dec. 31, 1891, issue of the Herald of Grand Forks, ND, reproduced herein.Written by W. T. Foster, it mentioned, by last name only, a number of long-forgotten forecasters from whose work Foster said he had learned valid techniques. This virtually demanded further research. Who were these people and did Foster have anything else to say about them? As that question began to be answered, it became evident that Foster's column was widely disseminated over a number of years and that it was full of information about his own methods. A new question arose: What were those methods? To find the answer to this new question, an intensive search of databases was required. Thus from a humble beginning of just a single newspaper column, this collection grew to its present length as a book of more than 100 pages.There is no pretension that this is a complete collection of Foster's thinking; it is only claimed that this book contains many of his most stimulating newspaper writings. My purpose was to present, as far as possible, Foster's explanations of the HOW of his work. Thus I omitted his actual predictions in most cases in order to concentrate on his explanations of his techniques. Most people who make predictions want to keep their methods a proprietary secret and indeed Foster did not want commodities speculators to capitalize on his work (recognizing, as he did, that if changes in the weather affect the amount of crop production and therefore the prices that harvests can command, foreknowledge of weather conditions could be exploited).Nonetheless he apparently sought — through the columns he wrote and by means of correspondence courses and a series of educational pamphlets — to disseminate , with unusual frankness ("c’est gros comme une maison," as the French might say) the broad outline of his forecasting methods, if not the fine details, and this is full justification for the attention given to his theory in this book.Entries in the Foster section are organized by date of publication and are also thus organized in each of the individual appendices. When a newspaper report is about Foster, as opposed to being a column that he himself wrote, this is indicated in brackets before the text quoted; therefore, unless otherwise indicated, quotes in the main section of the Scrapbook are from Foster's newspaper column.Throughout the main part of the book, footnotes give the sources of the Foster columns and also some explanatory information where it was deemed helpful or necessary (such as the full names of competing weather forecasters, to give one example). In certain cases, I found entire articles of interest on a personality or subject treated by Foster and it seemed cumbersome to attempt to put these into footnotes spreading over several pages. At this point the idea of creating a series of appendices was born.The appendices serve two essential purposes: 1) While, as Foster (correctly)wrote, "Prof. [C. C.] Blake, of Topeka, Kansas, is uncommunicative as to his theories," I found that in a select number of cases, such as Richard Mansill and W. F. Carothers,they lifted the veil on their methods to some degree, and since Foster stated explicitly in the same article that "I have carefully studied all these theories, have tested them bythe records of the Washington weather bureau, and find some truth in each," it made sense to me to include what these persons were saying about their methods. And since Foster said "We are all followers of Prof Tice" and I found a copy of a biographical sketch and summary explanation of Tice's work by his son-in-law and partner, I could scarcely in good conscience avoid its inclusion. 2) Certainly the work of some individuals was clearly tremendously supportive of Foster's statements (the astronomer Father S. J. Ricard and Foster seemed to be in perfect agreement in their prediction results, for example, even though their methods of getting to those results were different — Ricard used sunspots to predict the weather, Foster held that sunspots and the weather were both only the effects of the planetary causes that he used in his work; in another case, it was found that the astrologer Sepharial agreed with Foster's findings that the movement of the planets creates sunspots). It seemed to me a disservice to the reader not to include the thinking of such individuals in this collection.Throughout the text, obvious typographical errors in the originals have been corrected.Evidently Foster's work was known to stock and commodity market analyst and theoretician W. D. Gann, inasmuch as the latter sold Foster's pamphlet "Sun Spots and Weather" to interested followers of his work. Just as Foster did in forecasting the weather, Gann, too, used mathematical calculations and astronomical indications in forecasting the financial markets.THE EDITOR.
William Thomas Foster, who was without a doubt the best-known planetary meteorologist of his day, was born in Marshall, Clark County, Illinois on Jan. 17, 1840.As a child, he went to school in the winter and worked on a farm in the summer.
1
"In 1849, his parents decided to migrate to California with the gold seekers, but upon reaching Rubidoux Landing, which is now St. Joseph, Miss., and hearing of the many hardships and privations necessary before reaching California, it was decided that the mother and children would remain in Missouri and the father, Thomas Foster,would go on to California alone, where he was very successful for a short time and was supposedly murdered for his valuable claims."The mother and children settled in Harrison county, Missouri, where the children, including the deceased W. T. Foster, were educated as far as possible in those days, W. T. Foster himself being a school teacher at the age of 20 and his wife, who survives him, being one of his pupils.
2
At the outbreak of the war, on April 18, 1861, he
1Foster Genealogy by Frederick Clifton Pierce, p. 688.
2Foster and Nanny A. Bryant, born May 27, 1849, were married on Dec. 24, 1865, according to Foster
was mustered into the Second Missouri Cavalry, known as Merrill's Horse, as a lieutenant of that organization, the company of home guard militia of which he was an officer being taken as a unit of the Merrill's Horse. He was mustered out at Memphis, Tenn., on August 19, 1865, after more than five years of service.
3
"After holding several political offices following the war he settled intonewspaper work,
4
owning and editing papers in Bethany, Gallatin and Chillicothe,Missouri, and then in Albia and Creston, Iowa; then to Burlington, Iowa, as associate editor of the Hawk-eye; then to Omaha, Nebr., as editor of the Republican and afterward as associate editor of the Bee; then to St. Joseph, Missouri, as associate editor of the Herald, — which was the last newspaper editing he did, for in 1891 he left the Herald to devote his entire time to the study and research necessary toward better weather forecasts and the publishing of same."When a boy he was interested in the signs or lore of those days relative to weatherology and being of an investigating mind, he was soon led to the positions of the moon and planets as the origin of most of these old sayings.
5
In 1879 he began writing weekly weather letters for publication and the wonderful record of one interesting as well as instructive letter a week for 2,314 weeks without missing a week was broken after issuing his letter under date of August 16, 1924.
6
"In March, 1903, he moved from St. Joseph, Mo., to Washington D. C., in order that he might be able to gain access to and copy the old government meteorological records, which are so necessary in his forecasting and were not obtainable in any other way. All income from his work, outside of a meager living, and also many donations toward his work, were used in compiling these records and in research work. The largest single donation toward his research work was given by G. A. Glines, now deceased, formerly of Winnipeg, Canada, who spent $20,000 on the work after being in close touch with the work many years.
7
Genealogy
.3"Was private, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant and captain," according to
Foster's Genealogy
.4Foster's Genealogy says "After the war became newspaper editor, and did editorial work on country newspapers; then on Leavenworth Times [in Kansas]..." proceeding on to list others of the newspapers above.
5. According to
Foster's Genealogy, he "began lecturing on this subject in 1876."6
Foster's Genealogy
states that in 1899, at the time that book came out, "his weather bulletins are extensively published from Manitoba to Texas, and Maine to California. The basis of his calculations is that the sun, moon and planets, through magnetism, control all weather changes. He claims that his calculations are about perfected and that he will soon be ready to place before the world the greatest, most wonderful and most useful of modern discoveries."
7
About a year later, the Foster column stated: "A hundred years from now, when governments have discovered more of Foster's theories and have charted the cycles of our atmospheric changes and their planetary causes, almost perfect forecasts of great storms, temperature extremes, drouth, excessive precipitation and general crop weather will be made. Fifty years ago, when W. T. Foster first began to issue weather forecasts and explain his theories, few gave him credit
and many thought fake; twenty years ago when such advanced minds as J. R. Townsend, of Los Angeles, and the late G. A. Glines, of Winnepeg, and
work,
and many thought fake; twenty years agowhen such advanced minds as J. R. Townsend, of Los Angeles, and the late G. A. Glines, of Winnepeg, and
"On. Aug. 11, 1924, he had an acute attack of appendicitis and an operation was necessary. He was apparently well on the road to recovery from the effects of this first operation when it was found that abscesses had formed that necessitated a second operation. While he had a most wonderful physique for a man of 84, his strength was not sufficient to overcome the effects of this second shock. [He passed away on Sept.26, 1924.]"Interment was in Arlington cemetery under the auspices of the G.A.R.
8
and Masonic
9
organizations of which he was a member."
others had sufficient faith in the late W. T. Foster and his theories to give them financial support, planetary weatherology had taken a long stride ahead in the minds of free thinking scientists; today, such men as Prof.[Ellsworth] Huntington, of Yale; Prof. [C. G.] Abbott [properly Abbot], of the Smithsonian Institution; Dr.[Jerome S.] Ricard, of Santa Clara College, and many other advanced scientists in different parts of the world are firm in their convictions that terrestrial atmospheric changes are caused by the positions of the bodies in our solar system. I believe that the time is not far distant when some government will thoroughly investigate planetary influence and prove the majority of the late W. T. Foster's theories to be laws of nature. I expect to live to see our cause, accepted by the world." The Herald-Mail of Fairport, NY, Oct. 8, 1925, p. 3.
8 The Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal group.
9 St. Joseph Lodge No. 78, A. F. & A. M., according to the Elk City (OR) News Democrat, Oct. 2, 1924.This paper reported that he had a granddaughter in those parts, identified as Mrs. J. L. White. His daughter,Mrs. M. C. Koester, lived in Portland, OR, according to the Oregonian of Oct. 7, 1924. The latter paper noted that Foster's weather forecasts were carried by publications in Canada and England as well as in the US.
10 The quoted material, along with the drawing of Foster, came from "Foster's Forecast" as published inThe Herald of Fairport, NY, Oct. 15, 1924. Some paragraph breaks have been added that were not in the original, for ease of reading.
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