xxxvi GENERAL SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND 



of abnormal warmth. Loomis has shown, among numerous 

 other important details, that they move toward the regions 

 of greatest rainfall; while Ferrel, in a memoir replete with 

 interest, has deduced, from a purely theoretical point of view, 

 the relation between the winds and gradients of cyclones, 

 and has shown the agreement of his laws with actual ob- 

 servations. 



The connection between sun-spots and cyclones has been 

 more minutely examined by Meldrum, according to whom it 

 is beyond all question that the number and violence of the 

 cyclones of the Indian Ocean are far greater in years of 

 maximum than of minimum sun-spots. 



Very important maps have been compiled by Cornelissen, 

 showing the frequency of the occurrence of storm-winds for 

 each square degree in the neighborhood of the Cape of Good. 

 Hope. 



Professor Harkness has given the first results of a memoir 

 prepared for the Smithsonian Institution on the distribution 

 of temperature over the earth. 



One of the most important contributions to meteorology 

 consists in the isobares and winds published in the Admiralty 

 Charts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. 



Dove has shown that areas of extreme cold weather re- 

 quire about two days' time to complete their movement 

 westward over the whole of Europe, showing that their mo- 

 tions are similar to the cold areas of America, and that they 

 proceed from the interior of Asia, as do ours from our north- 

 west territories. 



The meteorology of the arctic zone has been developed in 

 a series of interesting studies by Mohn, Chavanne, and oth- 

 ers, which have appeared as successive chapters of Peter- 

 mann's contributions to the geography of the polar regions. 



Among the notable storms of 1874 we should record the 

 typhoon of March 27-28, at the Mauritius; that of Septem- 

 ber 23, over Macao, Hong-Kong, and the China seas; that of 

 October 17, in Bengal; that of August 9, at Nagasaki and 

 in the Japan seas; and that of Oct. 30-Nov. 1, in the West 

 Indies. These two latter were of unprecedented violence, 

 and caused great destruction of life and property; fortunate- 

 ly, their paths appear to have been short and narrow. 



Among meteorological instruments is especially worthy 



