Foreign countries have contributed little or nothing to the development of the motorcycle. To be sure, efforts were made to produce two-wheel motor vehicles, but little success is recorded. Record of the earliest known effort was found in an English newspaper of 1876. This report, however, was very meager and lacking in any profusion of mechanical detail. Moreover, beyond the newspaper reports there is little verification that any steps were really taken at that time. The French contribute the only known features that are credited to foreign inventors. The DeDion motor was used in some of the racing motor tandems which appeared in this country in the late nineties. Other French racing bicycles were no doubt in existence, but there is no history which can ascribe any truly constructive innovations in motorcycle making to any foreign country. The motorcycle in its form of today was designed and built by America. * * * * * How is the Weather Man Able to Predict Tomorrow’s Weather? The Weather Bureau was founded in 1870 by the United States Government, its purpose being to make daily observations of the state of the weather in all parts of the country, and to calculate from the results a forecast for each section of the country, based on the information thus obtained, these predictions being published so that the people of each district may know in advance the kind of weather likely to occur. While these forecasts are of great convenience to practically everyone, and of importance to the agriculturist, they are frequently of still more importance to ship masters, storm warnings being given that may keep them in port when storms are expected and thus save their ships from the danger of injury or shipwreck. This system has made great progress since its institution, and reports are now received daily from more than 3,500 land stations and about fifty foreign stations, while by means of wireless telegraphy, under normal conditions, some 2,000 ships send reports of the weather conditions at sea. [Illustration: WEATHER BUREAU BOX KITE The Government Weather Bureau uses large box kites carrying recording barometers, thermometers and other apparatus to ascertain weather conditions high in the air. This view shows a kite about to be sent up from an observatory.] Study of results has led to the belief that more than eighty per cent of winds and storms follow beaten paths, their movements being governed by physical conditions, a knowledge of which enables the Weather Bureau officials to estimate very closely their probable speed and direction and send warning of their coming in advance. Within two hours after the regular morning observation at eight o’clock, the forecasts are telegraphed to more than 2,300 principal distributing points, from which they are further sent out by mail, telegraph and telephone, being mailed daily to 135,000 addresses and received by nearly 4,000,000 telephone subscribers.