USVI Public Records

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often results in wide differences for any given month on adjacent estates. At same of these gaging stasions practien! ly continuous records have been kept for many vears; this is especially true of the gages at Christiansied, King Hiil, and Frederik-ted, where the records cover a period of 72 years (1832 to 1923). Thae average of these three stations has been tabulated by months for this period (see Table 1) and is accepted as the average for the Island. The Unit of Measure of raintall used in this report is the “‘Line’’ (¢equal to 1-8 inch), which is the unit in comnmen use on the Island. 36. [‘rom Table lit is seen that the mean annual rainfall 13 363 lines (46 inch- es) or practicall’ an average of a line a day. Itis also seen that there is an an- pual dry period of 4 consecutive months nately, Janruary to April, and that July ard December are also below the aver- sve: and that the months of greatest yaintail ave September, October and Nov- ember. These drv moenths are to be ex- peeted to a greater or lesser degree every year, and in a uncrmal vear, oreven a wet year, the rainlall du in 2 the dry pe- viod is not suflficient for the needs of crops. Thils being the case, if water could be stored during the wet months, it would be of very great value even though sufficient water could not be im- pounded to carry over for use during a cyvele of dry years. 37. The annual rainfall as shown by T:ble 1 is shown grachicaliy c¢n Plate 1. A study of this graph shows that the common belief, that the rainfall is re- duecing with time. is not borne out by faat, as the average for the last 20 year period is about the same as that of the first 20 years of reeord. The graph also <hows that there are occasional long dry cycles, the most pronounced being as fol- lews: 1858 to 1864; 1871 to 1875; 1910 to 1914: and 1920 to 1923. lhe last, or present, diy cycle contains the lowest year of record, namely 1922, with only 212 lines of rainfall; the average of this ¢y 2le is also lower than that of any of th,2 others; so it may be said that the Is- land is now passing through the most dr uth striken period of its history. 28. The rainfall is ¢lso tabulated in th.s report (see Tables 23 and 4) from o.ging stutions located within the th:ee ca ctwen: basins considered for storage veser voirs, and the monthly means ut these points are compared with the n:eans for the Island. By this compari- son it is seen that the mean annual rsin- s::i ot estate Annaly (Table 2) which is near the west end, and is also in the mcuntaing, is nearly 509 greater than th average for the Island: that at estate River (lable 3) wkhich is at the foothilis near the Beitblehem Sugar Factory, anid several mies east of Annaly, the raintall is about 5% greater than for the lsland and that of es ates Giynn and Windsor ( Lib.e 4) which is on the flat lands east of ihe River station, the rainfall is about =1 ( RUIX A \"’____‘ S, 5% less than the average for the Island. See general map of the Island [Plate A] for location of rzin gayges, This lessen- ing of the rainfall at points farther east is explained vy the fact that the storms generally cotne from the northeast and increase In intensity as they pass over the Isiand due to the cooling effect of the land. ' 39 Ruaneff: Thouceh elaborate records hfve been kept of the rainf4il, there have been practically no measurements made of the runeff on the lsland. This being | the fact, any irrigation studies made at this time mist neeccessarily be largely | speculative. Careful inquiry disclosed but one brief record of runctY, namely, a | few months record of the runoft and | rainfallat Jolly Hill. kept by a Danish | engineer in 1906-07 who was connected with the sugar Compary now known as | the La Grange Sugar Factory [See Table | 6]. From thls record the percentage re- | lation of the runoff to the rainfall has | been computed for the separate movths, | and also by combining the months so | as to show the percentage runcff for each storm. These data were platted [see Piate 2] and a curve was then draun showing in a general way, as near us the brief data would permit, the percen- tage of runoff that might be expected from any monthly rainfall. From this | curve it is seen no runotf may be expeect- | ed from a monthly rain of 10 'ines or less: a 30 line rain will ruunoff 14%7; a- -80 line rain, 50%: and 122 iines, BSU°7, wlhi(:h is the maximum percentage tigur- ed. Sad Accident on Board the U, S. Batileship “Mississippi”. FORTY SIX MEN KILLED AND TWENTY INJURED. San Pedro, Calif, June 12th. -Forty- six men were killed cutright and twenty injured, many severelv, today when tur ret No. 2 on the battieship “"Mississippi”’ blew up while the dreadnought was fi:i- ing practice on the San Clemente drili crounds off here. Viece Admiral W ley, commanding the battleship division, re- poried tonight to the Navy Department as follows: *“‘During battle practice, “Mississippi’”’ at 1 p m. today the pow- der bags of two right guns of second turret were ignited. Although not vet fuily known, believed there were 43 men and three officers killed. Also there were several men very badly burred, When furiher details are received they will be forwarced.”” Itis reposted the aceident was crused by a flareback that carried the charge throuzh the breech of the gun, instead of out through the muzzle. The gun crew were preparing to fire as one unit the great sea fighter’s powerful broadside, when a sailor called for the eleetricity to be turned on for the charge, The swyilch was throwno onto ignite the sheil before the breech was locked and in another moment the inte rior of the turret was littered with dead and dving. TELEGRAMS. S . OROIN STATION New York, Juve 11'h—Continued Lib- eral oferings brourht a ‘urther decline of & cent in the raw sucar maiket today, tc the basis of 5.02 for Cuban, duty pa.d The demand for refined sugar was quict er at former prices, which raaged from 6.30 to 6.65 for fine granulated. Retine | futures were nominal. Bari, Italy June 11th.—United Press. With the capture of Elbassan, thc whol of Albania ils pow in the hands of the insurgents, accordingto latest advices It is confirmed that Zegu Las fled 10 Jugo Slavia. Honolulu, Jurne 11th.—There we:e four violent earthquakes in the region near the voleano Kilauca yesterday, u four hour intervals, and the emission of steam, notable for several days, stiil goes on. The fall of seetions of the craters slip into the depth below has ceased again, however. Winnipeg, Jume 11th.-—Sensational ad- vances in wheat of sets. recorded today. Brokers had hard times filing orders. The buying came from all quarters, much of it from the United States export houses and mills. Brokers state thev still bave heavy orders from the United States to {ill, Ltm(inn‘ June I‘.“'.. Th(‘ E\'t'nin: Standard, owned by Lord Beaverbrook, in an editorial on thae gravity of the re- marks of Premier Mae kenzie King and Mr. Arthur Meighen. Conservative leader in the Canadian House of Commons, early this week, duning the debate on the Lausarne Treatv, savs. ''The dish cultics of a comimon foreign poliey for the empne no doubt are enormons, and while we may need te be reminded bt the empire is a world power, rather than a Kurspean power, the D nminion must also not forget the stern geographical fact that makes the conter 0o the empire vir- tually interested in the v eissitudes of Furope, which for some generations to come may be the dicisive field in the world polities. The business of tninking imserially is in the main a British neces- sity. We must get out of the babit of insular prececupation and evase to imag- e that out pulitical decisions are hit- ed in their effects to these islands. QOth- erwise misunderstandi gs will accuinun late and the solution of great Imperial problems will become yearly more diffi- cult’’. Scarborough Eng, June 11th -In the Davis Cup matches yesterday Louise Raymond and P, D. B. Spence of South Africa, beat A A. Godfree and M. Wees- nam of England 11-9, 7-5, 6-4. §