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12 THE INFLUENCE OF SMALL LAKES ON LOCAL CLIMATE. ' In a letter to the Chief of Bureau of the Weather Ser- vice, the following questions have been asked: t. Do the lakes in central and western New York have an appreciable influence on the amount of rain, snow, fog, or dew, and is this region consequently, favored bier a greater certainty of crops than neighboring localities! 2. Is the climate in their’ neighborhood modified in any particular so as to make it more desirable? os The following extracts are made from the Chief’s reply: There are a number of ways in which lakes affect the climate of their immediate neighborhood: 1. The reflection of the sun’s light and heat from the surface of the water has a decided influence in warming the soil on the east, west, and north sides of the lake. lf the banks are steep and high this influence is felt to a cor- responding clevation above the water, but if they are very low it is inappreciable. 2. Evaporation from the lake surface throws more water into the air than evaporation from the ordinary fields or forests. There is, therefore, an increased ten- dency to the formation of fogs during the late night hours and calm weather, and a corresponding protection from frosts, up to the limit of the fog. : 2 3. When the wind blows, the vapor being carried to the leeward side increases the chance of forming fog, cloud, and rain to a distance from the lake, depending upon the strength of the wind and the size of the lake. As the surface of the lake is cooler than the surface of the land in the summer time, and in the middle of the day, the wind also tends to diminish the range of temperature on the leeward side of the lake. The actual numerical amount of these lake influences must diminish with the size of the lake. Thus, on the east shore of Lake Michigan there is a region 5 miles broad, and at the southeast a region 10 miles broad, greatly protected by warmth, fog, and cloud when cold west or northwest winds are blowing._ Without having any special local observations to guide our estimates we dare only suggest that the small lakes in central New York probably affect local climates very much as Lake Michigan does, but only to an extent proportional to their areas. ‘That is to say, Lake Cayuga, for instance, hav- ing an area of 25 square miles, would have an influence of about one one-thousandth part of that of Lake Michigan, with its area of 25,000 square miles. Although local ob- servers might be well persuaded that an. occasional cloud or rain, or fog is due to the presence of the lake. yet on the average of many years the influence of the lake would be inappteciable, at least so far as items 2 and 3 are con- cerned. With regard to the first item, namely, the reflection of heat from the surface of the small lakes we think that should be appreciable. In so far as the small lakes occupy depressions into which the cold air may drain in still, clear nights, they do by that process oppose the formation of frost over the neighboring watershed, but this is an influence independent of the lake water, and depending only on the contour of the depression. ; A comparatively thick network of observers with ther- mometers and rain gauges would be necessary to convert these general expressions into figures. V—_—_—— OOOO oo A SAIL IN A GLASS BOAT. A hotel keeper at Nassau has elaborated the idea of the marine telescope in striking fashion. Most people who have been in the tropics are familiar with the “marine telescope,” a long wooden box with a pane of glass at one end, which, being thrust into the water at one side of the boat, enables one to get a fairly satisfactory view of the animal and vegetable life or near the bottom—when the bottom is not too far from the surface. What the in- nious hotel keeper proposes is to make a big boat which all itself be a marine telescope, and so provide his THE MARINE RECORD. A TRUSCOTT BOAT SIMPLE, SAFE, RELIABLE, SPEEDY. It may be possible to safer lighting. build better and boats, but it hasn’t been done yet. We send a completely illustrated catalogue and price list free, which tells you all about boats and WHY TRUSCOTT BOATS EXCEL. Truscott Boat Mfg. Co., ST. JOSEPH, MICH. patrons with an opportunity to watch the sea gardens of the Bahamas much more conveniently than they could with the glazed tube. The boat, which is now building at Palm Beach, F'la., is to be 48 feet long, and 28 feet wide, its bottom is to be made of plate glass, clear and thick Thus will the opacity of the surface ripples be avoided, while deeper immersion, increased steadiness and wider field of view are expected to give the passengers such a spectacle of sub-marine wonders as they never secured by the simpler arrangement. ei A PROTEST AGAINST THE METRIC SYSTEM. The executive committee of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers has issued, in the form of a circular, ? letter to all members, the report of its committee on the metric system. The report is signed by Messrs. Coleman Sellers, Coleman Sellers, Jr., George M. Bond, J. FE. Sweet, and Charles T. Porter, and is strongly against the com- pulsory adoption of the metric system in this country. Members are earnestly urged to address their respective representatives in Congress and to protest against the pend- ing legislation in that direction. It is pointed out that the metric or French system is now legal, and its use is optional, while, if the bill now before the House is passed it will be illegal to use in the United States pounds and tons, yards feet and inches, and gallons, as measures. OS —T TO PATROL BERING SEA. Every effort is being made by the Navy Department to have the entire revenue patrol fleet in readiness to enter Bering Sea and resume the duties of patroling that district at an earlier date than usual. An influx of miners to Nome and other mining camps of Alaska is expected this season which will render the presence of the cutters im- perative as the only representation of Federal authority. rp ‘ PASSENGER TRAFFIC. The Central Passenger Association at a recent meeting passed the following resolution : “Resolved, ‘That the members of this association limit interchange arrangements, ticket and rate representation to the lake lines who may file with the commissioner their assent to entirely discontinue payment of ticket commis- sions, and that fares shall not be quoted in tourist publi- cations via lake lines declining to cease such allowances.” In connection with the above the following resolution was offered for considering at the next meeting of the association : “Resolved, That, in event the steamboat lines on Lake Erie agree to discontinue the payment of ticket commis- sions to ticket agents, all one-way or round trip tickets issued on the basis of established rail fares may be option- al for passage either all rail or water between Detroit and Buffalo, or between Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo, and that the low rates locally between Detroit. and Buffalo via the Detroit and Buffalo Steamboat Co., shall not be used for basing purposes. “Resolved further, That the lake lines may honor such tickets when tendered with contracts attached without requiring them to be exchanged at ticket office.” The purport of this action of the Central Passenger Association in regard to the lake lines seems to be that unless they accede to the demands of the rail lines they will be refused ticket representation or interline arrange- ments. The two big lines out of Detroit have been the bone of contention ever since the ticket commission proposition came up for adjustment. A. A. Schantz, it is claimed speaking for the D. C. line, agreed with other lake line representatives to continue the payment of commissions, saying that the season of lake lines was short, and that some inducement must be held out in order to secure the business. For the new D. B. line he did not vote, but later in a communication to the association said that he would not pay commissions on the new route. Pintsch Gas Lighted Buoys. Adopted by the English, German, French, Russian, Italian and United States Light-House Departments for channel and harbor Over 1,000 gas buoys and gas beacons in service. Burn Continuously from 80 to 365 days and nights without attention, and can be seen a distance of six miles. ...... THE SAFETY CAR 160 Broadway, New York City. APRIL 3 1902. Controlled by HEATING AND LIGHTING CO. DISCHARGING FACILITIES. The detention at the docks during the past season of navigation, when the output of ore from ‘the Lake Super- ior region exceeded 20,000,000 tons, has hastened the plans of dock managers, who have been watching for two years past, the experimental unloading machines of the Webster, Camp & Lane Co., of Akron (Hulett type), on the Con- neaut docks, and the machines of Hoover & Mason at South Chicago, and it is announced that a large plant of the Hoover & Mason kind, now being erected by interests con- trolling the Angeline and Mahoning, and Chenango docks at Ashtabula, is to be in readiness for the coming season; — that the large new docks to be erected at Ashtabula by Pickands, Mather & Co., are to be equipped with similar machines, and that they will be tried also on the Nypano docks, Cleveland; that M. A. Hanna & Co., on the Penn- sylvania side of Ashtabula harbor, are to operate during the coming season on one of their docks grab buckets of Hulett type, and that they are to experiment with one machine of the kind that is entirely automatic, with a view to extensive adoption of it; also that the docks at the new works of the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Co., Buffalo, will be equipped with the latest type of Webster, Camp & Lane machines. This new machinery will require so much time in de- velopment that little can be expected in the way of im- proved Lake Erie dock equipment for the present season, but this branch of the ore industry is hoping for consid- erable relief from improved railway facilities. : At Conneaut, for instance, no dock changes are being made, but officials of the Steel Corporation confidently ex- pect that their railway to Pittsburg will be so improved in sidings, etc., and the number of cars and locomotives so increased that they will handle close to 4,000,000 tons of ore at Conneaut this year, as against about 3,200,000 tons in 1901. ‘The Webster, Camp & Lane type of automatic unloader originally tried at Lorain, and the Hoover & Mason. machine first installed at South Chicago are, of course, being very much improved in the plants that are to be erected at the places referred to. "These machines are the basis upon which the general change is being planned. rr oe or INTERNATIONAL MOTOR-BOAT EXHIBITION. On the 1st of June next there will be opened at Wannsee, a pleasant watering place station on the Havel, a few miles west of Berlin, an international exhibiton of motor boats and ail that pertains to their construction, use, and mainte- nance, writes Consul General Frank H. Mason, from Berlin. The enterprise is projected under the auspices of the Mid- dle European Motor-Carriage Association. ‘The exposi- tion will have the powerful support of the emperor of Germany whose technical knowledge and enthusiastic in- terest in all that relates to boat construction and navigation are well known. The plan of the exposition contemplates a practical com- petitive international display. which is intended to bring together in friendly competition the best that has been achieved in all countries in respect to the construction, care and use of baats, launches, yachts, and other craft of moderate tonnage and propelled by gas, gasoline, electrical or steam motors. Every facility will be given for enter- ing and withdrawing, duty free, articles for exhibition which remain unsold at the close of the display. ‘The winners in~ the proposed contests in speed, endurance, and economy will be placed in a position of great advantage for the trade of Europe and the colonies in tropical latitudes where ~ motor boats have proven so practicable and useful. In order that the dimensions of the buildings, tents, and pavilions may be adapted to the space requirements of ex- hibitors, it is desirable that all who wish to avail them- selves of the opportunities offered by this exposition shall announce their intentions and make requisition or space at the earliest practical date. Corespondence should be ad- dressed to Oskar Counstrom, general secretary, No. I, Universitat strasse, Berlin.