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J2 THE MARINE RECORD. May 23, IgoI. Truscott VAPOR MARINE MOTORS. HIGH GRADE PLEASURE CRAFT TRUSCOTT BOAT MFG. CO. ST. JOSEPH, MICH. SEND & STAMPS FOR CATALOG. lighting. Pintsch Gas Lighted Buoys. Burn Continuously from 80 to 365 days and nights without attention, and can be seen a distance of six miles. . . Controlled by 160 Broadway, New York City. Adopted by the English, German, French, Russian, Italian and United States: Light-House Departments for channel and harboz Over 1,000 gas buoys and gas beacons in service. THE SAFETY CAR HEATING AND LIGHTING CO. DEBATE IN THE DOMINION HOUSE OF COM- MONS ADVOCATES OF A NATIONAI, PORT—MONTREAL, HALIFAX OR ST. JOHN? QUEBEC, During a recent debate in the Dominion House of Com- mons, Ottawa, Mr. Bickerdike, of Montreal, brought up the transportation question. He complained that during a former discussion some members had spoken of Montreal as a port of the past. It was true the Grand Trunk had for- saken Montreal and made the foreign port of Portland their terminus. The papers, when brought down, would show that not a single dollar of public money had been spent in Montreal harbor. The Government had guaranteed inter- est on certain bonds, but the interest had always been promptly paid. He went thoroughly into the subject of im- proved aids to navigation, and pointed out where new light- houses and fog alarms were needed. Dr. Roddick, referring to the question of insurance by _the St. Lawrence route, said that, whereas the rate to-Balti- more was 4% per cent., the rate to Montreal was 9, Io and Ir per cent. Ona ship worth $500,0co, making five trips per season to Montreal, this would make a difference of $35;- coo in the year. He also read the evidence of sea captains, showing that the existing Admiralty charts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence were incorrect as to soundings, and they ad- vocated a new survey of the route and afuriher examina- tion of the currents. Dr. Roddick urged the Government to take over the port of Montreal and make ita free port. The present high dues militated against the harbor of Mon- treal in competition with Newport News, Baltimore and other free harbors in the United States. Mr. W. C. Edwards thought Montreal had been liberally dealt with. There was nodoubt about getting grain and other products to Montreal; the difficulty was in obtaining shipping to carry the cargoes to the countries importing. If the route were improved, the insurance difficulty would dis- appear. He held the opinion, however, that large expendi- ture on the St. Lawrence river was so much more wasted. The city of Quebec was the natural port of the St. Lawrence, not Montreal. The channel between Quebec and Montreal would never be safe for large vesssels. : Mr. Gallery (St. Anne’s division of Montreal) said the Government had spent five or six millions on Qnebec har- bor, and it was not a national port yet. In the past few years 20 million dollars had been spent on the canal system, but the harbor of Montreal had not got a five-cent piece. Mr. Dobell spoke for Quebec and the necessity of more elevators, so that when we got winter navigation, which we would certainly get in the new future, that port would be in a position to handle a large grain trade. It was discrimina- tion in insurance rates that kept the St. Lawrence trade back, Mr. Dobell said. Headvocated making the route safe by additional aids to navigation. Headded that as a winter port Quebec could successfully compete with Portland. Mr. Gourlay (Colchester, N. Y.): ‘The whole solution is to double track the Intercolonial Railway and lower the rates to Halifax.” Mr. Charlton strongly favored Quebec as the St. Lawrence terminus of ocean navigation. He expressed doubts as to whether the Ottawa end Georgian Bay Canal would materi- ally reduce the cost of grain transportation below the rate at which Mr, Booth was now carrying grain by rail from Parry Sound. Dismissing, therefore, the consideration of an ex- penditure of $100,000,000 for this canal, and bearing in mind the new 14-foot system, the problem was changed. The use of larger vessels on the lakes, the fleet drawing but 14 feet loaded would go out of business on the lakes, and carry grain from Port Colborne to the seaboard. As for the national port, it should be Quebec, which was destined to become the commercial, military and social metropolis of Canada. Mr. Prefontaine urged the making of Montreal the national port of Canada. Mr. Ganong advocated a complete hydrographic ‘survey of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic ports, and the establishment of naval stations, one in the west and two on the Atlantic coast, to train the seafaring population who now went to the United States for employment inthe navy. Mr. Brock agreed with Mr. Monk’s suggestion of a non- political commission on transportation. Mr. Wright, of Renfrew, urged the advantage of the Georgian Bay canal. Mr. Ross, of Victoria, advocated Halifax as the national port. Mr. W. F. Maclean asked how it was, if all this was true about Halifax, that more of the trade of Canada did not go through that.port. Mr. Ross laid the blame to high freight rates on the Inter- colonial. Mr. Fowler followed, in support of St. John, and Sir Louis Davies moved the adjournment of the debate. OOO OS, THE MOON AND THE WEATHER. ’ (MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. ) The relations between the moon and various meteorologi. cal phenomena have been studied for a century past with great diligence, but hitherto nothing has been discovered to confirm the popular belief that the weather hasa depen- dence upon, or even an indirect relation with the condition of the moon. The origin of this belief in the lunar influ- ence can be traced back to Arabia and the astronomers of Assyria end Chaldea, and it is maintained in various forms by all peoples that use the Arabic language or inherit the old Arabic folk lore. We know of no recent investigation into the connection between the moon and the Arabian. weather, but all studies bearing on European or American weather show that the lunar influence is inappreciable. We believe that the only plausible exception to this statement is to be found in the studies of Mons. A. Poincare (an engi- neer and meteorologist of Paris, and not to be confounded with Prof. H. Poincare, the eminent mathematician). His study of the international daily charts of the Northern Hemisphere, published by the United States Signal Service, seems toindicate that when the moon is far south of the equator, it has an appreciable influence in causing a general movement of the atmosphere southward, and vice-versa when she is north of the equator; but this movement is only appreciable when we take the average barometric pressure for several days or a week; it is essentially a fortnightly tidal wave, and is not known to have any apparent influence upon the temperature, cloudiness, rainfall, or wind. It cannot, then, be spoken of asan influence of the moon upon the weather, - The students of lunar influences are at present rejoicing in the patronage of a wealthy Russian railroad engineer, Mr. Nicolai Demtschinsky, of Torbino, Russia, who has flooded the scientific world with his prospectus and the first few sample numbers of a journal devoted to the exact prediction of the weather by means of the lunar influences. The study of the influence of the moon on the atmos- phere is certainly legitimate, but the study of the influence of the sun is also important, and it would be suicidal to neg- lect it. At the present time the trend of modern physics is to show that the sun’s radiation produces all the thermal and most of the electric and optic phenomena of the atmos- phere and that the modification introduced by the moon is scarcely worthy of consideration. The new journal states that— It aims to be the depository for all information upon the question of athmospheric ebb and tide, including therein, first, the influence of the moon on the atmosphere, and second, the investigation of the upper strata of the atmos- phere. But, of course, every scientific journal is willing to pub- lish investigations on these subjects. Investigations con- ducted by rational methods are precisely what is meant by science. All that has hitherto been found out about lunar influences and the upper strata of the atmosphere has al- ready been published in scientific journals and memoirs. If any onein the United States has anything worthy of publi- cation on this subject, he can make it known in the columns of the Monthly Weather Review or the American Journal of Science even more easily than by sending it to Torbino, Russia. In fact, we cannot but suspect that most of the articles published in a miscellaneous way had already been rejected by the editors of recognized scientific journals as containing assumptions and statements directly contrary to the known laws of nature. One may have the best of ob- servational data, and yet go far astray when he attempts to reason ujonit. The data that has been furnished to Mr. Demtschinsky by the Chief of the Weather Bureau during the past few years, and which is now quoted in his monthly journal, was communicated for his information, and the reader should not infer from the text of the journal that the Weather Bureau has any reason to adopt new doctrines that are contrary to observed facts and scientific principles. SO OD OS VISIBLE SUPPLY OF GRAIN. As compiled for THE MARINE RECORD, by George F. Stone, Secretary Chicago Board of Trade. CITIES WHERE WHEAT.| CORN, OatTs. RYE. BARLEY STORED. Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels, 1,910,000 865,000] 1,169,000 52,000 285,c0o "'8,722.00c| 5.597.000] 2,875,000] 195,000] 165,000 176,00¢] 199,000! 1,0 0] Bodo}! Ss 8,438,90c| 4,367,000] 1,183,000 348,000 74,000 Fort William, Ont..| 1,990,00c) . ail aio saa a akon Goyer Milwaukee......... 550, 00¢ 677,00¢ 2, 1,000 17,00¢ 17,00 a 51 8,000 200,000 1,000 1,000 i HOO. Kaas 60,000 ead 17,000 510,000 61,coo], . Se On TAKS. cans 3,103,0C0| 1,623,000 428,00 102,000 60,0co On Miss. River...... 130,000 BS OOO |? sais tatcdovel lm guabeian cabeld bay. ones Grand Total..... 42 498,000} 15,913,000} 10,724,000 862,000 918,000 Corresponding Date, 1899 46,263,000} 15,227,000} 6,386,000} 1,118,000 $29,000 Increase Fave atecnie'e! oe Ba cencteeee Tete ne wares 199,000 Decrease 3,263,000] 1,425,000 725,000 YOL,OO0) «5 vance apie While the stock of grain at lake ports only is here given, the total shows the figures for the entire country except the Pacific Slope,