Chapter 57
Wealth of the Nations. The estimated wealth of the principal nations of the Earth is given in billions. United States 130, Great Britain and Ireland 80, France 65, Germany 60.5, Russia 40, Austria-Hungary 25, Italy 20, Belgium 9, Spain 5.4, Netherlands 5, Portugal 2.5, Switzerland 2.4. Weather Flags.
The Weather Bureau maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture displays at its stations flags which indicate probable changes in the weather. A white flag indicates clear or fair weather. A blue flag rain or snow. A flag with the upper half white and the lower half blue, local rain or snow.
A black triangular flag indicates temperature. A white flag with black square in center, a cold wave. When the black triangular flag is placed above the white flag, the black flag or the white and blue flag, it indicates warmer weather. When below, colder.
When the black triangular flag is not displayed at all, the temperature is likely to remain stationary. Flags are displayed by the Weather Bureau as storm warnings in the following manner. Small craft warning. A red pennant indicates that moderately strong winds are expected.
Storm warning. A red flag with a black center indicates that a storm of marked violence is expected. The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction of the wind. White, westerly, from southwest to north. Red, easterly, from northeast to south.
The pennant above the flag indicates that the wind is expected to blow from the northerly quadrants below from the southerly quadrants. By night, a red light indicates easterly winds and a white light below a red light, westerly winds. Hurricane warning.
Two red flags with black centers displayed one above the other indicate the expected approach of a tropical hurricane or one of those extremely severe and dangerous storms which occasionally move across the lakes and northern Atlantic coast. No night small craft or hurricane warnings are displayed. Wedding anniversaries.
First, cotton. Second, paper. Third, leather. Fourth, fruit and flowers. Fifth, wooden.
Sixth, sugar. Seventh, woolen. Eighth, India rubber. Ninth, willow. Tenth, tin.
Eleventh, steel. Twelfth, silk and fine linen. Thirteenth, lace. Fourteenth, ivory. Fifteenth, crystal.
Twentieth, china. Twenty-fifth, silver. Thirty-fifth, pearl. Fortieth, ruby. Fifteenth, golden.
Seventy-fifth, diamond. End of section 57.
