132 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



nous Meteors ; G. J. Symons, Report on the Rainfall of Ire- 

 land ; S. 1\ Thomson, Report on Rainbows ; W. Morris, Re- 

 port on Temperature of the Earth ; C. Meld rum, Report on 

 Sun-spots and Rainfall; R. Anderson, Report on Lightning- 

 Conductors; Professor II. Ilennessy, Report on Climate of 

 British Islands; Wheeler, Report on River Administration. 



According to Nature^ the Swedish Diet has granted the 

 necessary funds to establish a meteorological observatory at 

 Upsala, separate from the Astronomical Institution. 



The Permanent Committee of the Vienna Congress of 

 Meteorologists held a session in Utrecht, October 16 to 20, 

 and, among other things, are understood to have expressed 

 themselves very favorably relative to international simul- 

 taneous observations. Their report embraces sections by 

 Everett on Atmospheric Electricity, and Scott on Maritime 

 Meteorology. The next general Congress will be held in 

 Rome in April, 1879. 



The possibility of carrying on successful weather predic- 

 tions for the Mediterranean and its shores is discussed by 

 Hellmann, who shows that probably a greater efficiency can 

 be attained than in Western Europe. 



The Russian Geographical Society warmly advocates the 

 establishment of polar meteorological stations. The exten- 

 sive magnetic survey of Russia by Smirnoff (declinations 

 and inclinations at 287 localities, and declinations alone at 

 261 other localities) have been brought to its notice by 

 Colonel Thilo of the general staff. 



A Russian meteorological association is announced as be- 

 ing formed, with its headquarters at St. Petersburg. 



Wild has published a description of the new meteorolog- 

 ical and magnetic station at Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg, 

 at which regular observations began January 1, 1878, while 

 preliminary and comparative observations have been made 

 regularly since June, 1877. This new observatory, furnished 

 with everything that physical science can suggest, and lo- 

 cated in the midst of an extensive imperial domain, promises 

 to do for meteorology and magnetism work as important as 

 the Astronomical Observatory in the neighboring village of 

 Poulkova has done for astronomy. 



The annual report for 1870 of Mr. Meldrum, the Director 

 of the Royal Alfred Observatory at Mauritius, was received 



