Weather  services  are  best  known,  perhaps,  through  the  medium  of  their  forecasts,  and  the  public
estimate  of  their  efficiency  is  determined  largely  by  the  success  in  this  effort  Absolute  success,  how-
ever, has  not  been  attained,  nor  will  it  be  attained  until  a  perfect  understanding  of  the  complex  prob-
lems presented  by  the  atmosphere  has  been  reached.  But  so  much  has  been  apcomplished  in  the  past
fifty  years  that  he  is  indeed  lacking  in  faith  who  will  say  that  this  twentieth  century  may  not  witness
the  perfect  solution.
The  purpose  of  this  article  is  to  explain  briefly  the  practical  workings  of  the  weather  service  of
this  and  other  countries,  and  to  point  out  wherein  their  work  may  be  utilized  in  agricultural  practice.
The  work  of  such  service  is  of  necessity  of  a  generalized  character,  and  its  value  to  the  fanner  depends
largely  on  his  ability  to  localize  and  adapt  it  to  his  own  needs.  It  may  not  be  substituted  for  a  loiowl-
edge  of  the  conditions  in  his  own  locality,  which  every  farmer  should  possess ;  but  the  farmer  should
rather  supplement  that  knowledge  with  the  larger  and  more  extended  view  to  be  secured  through  the
weather  service.
No  attempt  is  made  to  discuss  the  underlying  principles  of  meteorology  further  than  to  point  out
the  significance  of  some  of  the  more  common  weather  signs.  Such  a  discussion  is  given  by  Cleveland
Abbe,  Jr.,  in  his  article  in  Chapter  XVIII.
Weather  foreeagting  bated  on  observations.
