Rules for Foretelling the Weather. ADAPTED FOR USE WITH ANEROID BAROMETERS. A RISING BAROMETER. A RAPID rise indicates unsettled weather, A gradual rise indicates settled weather. A rise with dry air and cold increasing In Summer indicates wind from the northward; and if rain has fallen, better weather may be expected. A rise with moist air and a low temperature indicates wind and With dry air and seasonable temperature indicates a continuance of very fine weather. A FALLING BAROMETER. A rapid fall indicates stormy weather. A rapid fall with westerly wind indicates stormy weather from the northward. A fall with a northerly wind indicates storm, with rain and hall in Summer, and snow in Winter. A fall with increased moisture in the air, and heat increasing, indicates wind and rain from the southward. A fall with dry air and cold increasing in Winter indicates snow. A fall after very calm and warm weather indicates rain with squally weather. The barometer rises for northerly winds, including from northwest by north to the eastward for dry, or less wet weather, for less wind, or for more than one of these changes, except on a few occasions, when rain, hail, or suow comes from the northward with strong wind. The barometer falls for southerly wind, including from southeast by south to the westward, for wet weather, for stronger wind or for more than one of these changes, except on a few occasions, when moderate wind, with rain or snow, comes from the northward. The above printed rules are in use by the Seawanhaka-Corinthian Yacht Club of New York. SUNSET COLORS.-A gray, lowering sunset, or one where the sky is green or yellowishgreen, indicates rain. A red sunrise, with clouds lowering later in the morning, also indicates rain. HALO (SUN DOGS).-By halo we mean the large circles, or parts of circles, about the sun or moon. A halo occurring after fine weather indicates a storm. CORONA.-By this term we mean the small colored circles frequently seen around the sun or moon. A corona growing smaller indicates rain; growing larger, fair weather. RAINBOWS.-A morning rainbow is regarded as a sign of rain; an evening rainbow of fair weather. SKY COLOR.-A deep-blue color of the sky, even when seen through clouds, indicates fair weather; a growing whiteness, an approaching storm. FOGS.-Fogs indicate settled weather. A morning fog usually breaks away before noon, VISIBILITY.-Unusual clearness of the atmosphere, unusual brightness or twinkling of the stars, indicate rain. FROST.-The first frost and last frost are usually preceded by a temperature very much above the mean, OBJECTS VISIBLE AT SEA-LEVEL IN CLEAR WEATHER. The following table shows the distance at sea-level at which objects are visible at certain elevations: High-Tide Tables. FOR GOVERNOR'S ISLAND (NEW YORK HARBOR). (Specially prepared from the Tide-Tables of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for THE WORLD ALMANAC.) 1908. New York Mean Time. To express in Standard Time, subtract 4 minutes. 1214 6 51 832 9 21 10 9 15 10 210 316 6 31 7 0 8 24 354767II August. H. M. H. M. September. October. November. P. M. December. P. M. Н. М. H. M. 20 11 43 HIGH-TIDE TABLES-Continued. TIME OF HIGH WATER AT POINTS ON THE ATLANTIC COAST. The local time of high water at the following places may be found approximately for each day by adding to or subtracting from the time of high water at Governor's Island, N. Y., the hours and minutes annexed. EXAMPLE-To find the approximate time of high tide at Atlantic City, N. J., on any day, find first the time of high water at New York under the desired date, and then subtract 20 minutes, as in the above table; the result is the time of high water required. Highest tide at Eastport, Me., 218 inches. Lowest tide at Galveston, Tex., 13 inches. Earthquake Areas of the Earth. MAJOR DE MONTESSUS DE BALORE, after years of labor, has drawn up a catalogue of 130,000 shocks, of which trustworthy details have been procured, and this indicates with some scientific accuracy how the symptoms of seismic activity are manifested over the earth's surface. The period of observation includes generally the last fifty years; but there is no reason to suppose that a longer time would materially affect the proportionate numbers. The appended figures, drawn from M. de Montessus's statistics, will give an idea of the general result: The most shaken countries of the world are Italy, Japan, Greece, South America (the Pacific Coast), Java, Sicily, and Asia Minor. The lands most free from these convulsions are Africa, Australia, Russia, Siberia, Scandinavia, and Canada. As a rule, where earthquakes are most frequent they are most severe. But to this general statement there are exceptions-Indian shocks, though less numerous, being often very disastrous. Loss of life in many cases depends, however, on density of population rather than on the intensity of the earth movement. Numerically, also, France has registered more seismic tremors than Spain and Portugal, but France in historictimes has experienced no earthquake disaster approaching the havoc wrought by the one calamity at Lisbon, Table of Magnetic Declinations, OR VARIATION OF COMPASS FOR JANUARY, 1908-WITH THE ANNUAL CHANGE IN 1906 FOR THE PRINCIPAL PLACES IN THE UNITED STATES. A plus (+) sign to the annual change denotes that the declination is increasing, and a minus (-) sign the reverse. (Specially prepared for THE WORLD ALMANAC in the Office of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.) STATE OR TERRITORY. Ala. STATION. Montgomery. Alaska... Sitka.... Kodiak. St. Michael. Ariz...... Prescott.... 32 22 86 18 2 50 E+ Yuma 'Col Conn. Del. STATE OR Miss.... Mon.... 238 Approximate Longitude. 34 22 89 33 5 40 E+1 Jefferson City... 38 35 92 9 7 40 E+2 Kansas City. Omaha....... Nevada... Carson City. N. H.. N. J.. Eureka.... N. C......... Raleigh. Wilmington. Oregon... Portland.... Ohio.... Okla... Pa.. R. I.. Illinois... Springfield. Indiana.. Indianapolis.....39 47 86 8 1 18 E Fort Wayne... Ind. Ter.. Atoka.. Des Moines.. Kansas... Topeka..... Ness City. Ky....... Lexington, La......... Paducah.. Shreveport. Maine.... Bangor. 34 24 96 9 8 30 E+ 2 30 27 91 11 6 0E+2 爾 Md... Portland.. Eastport.. Annapolis.. Baltimore. Mass....... Boston. Pittsfield.. Mich........ Lansing. Detroit.... Marquette. Minn........St. Paul... Duluth. Miss......... Jackson.. 38 4 84 30 0 29 E 37 5 88 37 4 20 E 38 15 85 46 1 15 E 32 30 93 45 7 5 E 44 48 68 48 17 33 W 43 39 70 17 15 0W 44 58 93 5 8 45 E+1 38 33 90 16 5 15 E+S 39 7 94 38 9 10 E+ 2 46 37 112 2 19 55 E+ 3 40 49 96 42 10 19 E + 2 41 16 95 58 9 45 E+ 2 39 10 119 46 17 10 E + 3 39 31 115 58 16 57 E+ 8 43 12 71 29 12 45W + 3 40 13 74 44 8 15W + 3 35 41 105 57 12 55 E+ 8 42 40 73 45 11 15W + 3 40 43 74 0 9 15W + 3 42 27 76 29 7 34 W + 8 42 55 78 54 6 22 W+2 35 47 78 38 2 40W+8 34 13 77 56 2 20W+ 3 46 48 100 47 15 20 E 48 58 97 14 11 30 E+ 2 40 083 0 1 0W +2 41 30 81 42 8 34 W 39 8 84 25 0 59 W 35 53 97 25 9 40 E 45 31 122 41 22 53 E 40 16 76 53 6 43W8 39 58 75 10 7 52W 40 29 80 1 4 10W +2 Providence. 41 50 71 24 12 15W +3 34 0 81 2 0 2W+1 32 47 79 56 0 44W+2 44 22 100 22 13 5 E+2 42 53 97 25 11 22 E + 3 36 9 86 48 3 47 E 0 35 58 83 55 0 14W+1 35 890 8 5 25 E 30 17 97 44 8 24 E+2 29 27 98 28 9 2E+2 29 47 95 20 8 0 E+2 Galveston 29 18 94 47 7 32 E+ 2 El Paso.... 31 46 106 29 12 11 E + 3 'Salt Lake. 40 46 111 64 16 50 E+ 3 [Ogden... 41 13 112 017 47 E+ 3 Montpelier 44 15 72 3214 20W + 3 Burlington. 44 28 78 12 12 55 W Richmond.. 37 32 77 26 4 5W + 3 Norfolk. 36 52 76 17 4 45W + 3 Lynchburg. 37 25 79 9 2 45W + 3 Olympia. 47 2122 54 23 26 E 46 4118 21 21 45 E 38 21 81 38 2 28 W 40 3 80 44 1 28 W 43 4 89 25 4 55 E 43 4 87 53 3 30 E 0 43 50 91 14 5 30 E 0 41 8104 49 15 3 E+2 Columbia.... EXTREME VALUES. [21 0W] .. || Alaska ...|N. E. Corner... .. .. [40 0 E .. DEPENDENCIES. 23 81 82 22 2 50 E-3 0 21 18 157 52 10 37 E 14 35 120 580 55 E+1 Facts About the Earth. ACCORDING to Clark, the equatorial semi-diameter is 20, 926, 202 feet-3963. 296 miles, and the polar semi-diameter is 20,854, 895 feet-3950. 738 miles. One degree of latitude at the pole -69.407 miles. One degree of latitude at the equator-68. 704 miles. POPULATION OF THE EARTH BY CONTINENTS. The above estimate was made by Ernest George Ravenstein, F. R. G.S., the geographer and statistician, and is for 1890. The population of North America, 1900, had increased to over 100,000,000. An estimate of population of the earth, made by Drs. Wagner and Supan, editors of "Bevölkerung der Erde" (Perthes, Gotha, 1891), is as follows: Europe, 357,379,000; Asia, 825,954,000; Africa, 163,953,000: America, 121,713,000; Australia, 3, 230,000; Oceanic Islands, 7, 420, 000; polar regions, 80, 400. Total, 1,479, 729, 400. The estimate of area of the continents and islands by the same authorities is 52, 821, 684. Ravenstein's estimate of the earth's fertile region, in square miles, is 28, 269, 200; steppe, 13,901,000; desert, 4, 180,000; polar regions, 4,888, 800. The population of the earth at the death of the Emperor Augustus, estimated by Bodio, was 54,000,000. The population of Europe hardly exceeded 50,000,000 before the fifteenth century.-Mulhall The area and cubic contents of the earth, according to the data of Clark, given above, are: Surface, 196, 971,984 square miles: cubic contents, 259, 944,035,515 cubic miles. Murray (Challenger expedition) states the greatest depth of the Atlantic Ocean at 27,366 feet: Pacific Ocean, 30,000 feet; Indian Ocean, 18, 582 feet; Southern Ocean, 25, 200 feet; Arctic Ocean, 9,000 feet. The Atlantic Ocean has an area, in square miles, of 24,536,000; Pacific Ocean, 50,309,000; Indian Ocean, 17,084,000; Arctic Ocean, 4,781,000; Southern Ocean, 30, 592,000. The highest mountain is believed to be Deodhunga or Everest, one of the Himalayas, 29,002 feet. For population of the earth according to creed, see RELIGIOUS STATISTICS. POPULATION OF THE EARTH ACCORDING TO RACE. (Estimated by John Bartholomew, F. R. G.S., Edinburgh.) The human family is subject to forty-nine principal governments. As to their form they may be classified as follows: Absolute monarchies, Abyssinia, Afghanistan, China, Korea, Morocco, Siam, Turkey; Limited monarchies, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, British Empire, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Persia, Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Servia, Sweden, Spain; Republics, Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Hayti, Honduras, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Switzerland, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela. Besides these are the undefined despotisms of Central Africa, and a few insignificant independent States. The average duration of human life is about 33 years. One-quarter of the people on the earth die before age 6, one-half before age 16, and only about 1 person of each 100 born lives to age 65. EUROPEAN LANGUAGES SPOKEN. These estimates (that for 1801 being by Mulhall) exhibit the superior growth of the English language in the last century. |