METEOROLOGY WATER. 315 



about SO" F. and varies very slightly throiighont the year. The mean annual 

 rainfall, ISSO to 1908. was 92.84 in. The year is roughly divided into 2 wet and 

 2 dry seasons, a long wet season beginning about the middle of April and last- 

 ing until the beginning of August and a short wet season covering a part of 

 November, December, and January. The nights are cool enough to be pleasant 

 but are not subject to a great fall of temperature. 



Roumanian agricultural climatography, W. Prager {Rumdnien's Land- 

 v-irtschafUk-he KUmutographie. IlaUc, 1909, pp. XV+203, pis. 7, chart 1). — 

 This book, which is intended to aid in the improvement of Roumanian agricul- 

 ture l)y diffusing a better knowledge of the relation of climate to crops, describes 

 in detail the physiographic and climatic features of 3 typical districts, namely, 

 the mountains, the foothills, and the plains, and discusses the selection and 

 culture of crops with reference to the climatic conditions. 



Attention is given especially to the climatic conditions of the plains, which 

 constitute the great crop-producing area of the country, and which are subject 

 to disastrous droughts. In opposition to Hepites' contention that the climate 

 of Roumania has not undergone any change the author maintains that the 

 rainfall has diminished as a result of the removal of forests. As a remedy 

 for the unfavorable conditions he recommends reforesting and irrigation with 

 the use of methods of culture specially designed to conserve the soil moisture. 



Evaporation in Egjrpt and the Sudan, B. F. E. Keeling (Survey Dept.. 

 Egypt, Paper No. 15, pp. 29, pi. 1). — " The present report is an attempt to sum- 

 marize the present knowledge of the rate of evaporation from water surfaces 

 in Egypt. The first section describes the results of a series of comparisons 

 which have been made at Helwau Observatory between several types of evapo- 

 rinieter which have been used in Egypt from time to time. Afterwards, a sum- 

 mary is given of the rates of evaporation which have been observed at the 

 second-order meteorological stations in the Nile Valley. In the third section 

 an attempt is made to evaluate the rate of evaporation from the Aswan Reser- 

 voir and other natural water surfaces in Egypt, and the results are given of 

 some measurements which have been made of the rate of evaporation from the 

 Nile in the neighborhood of Cairo. In the last section some remarks are made 

 on the relation of the evaporation to the other meteorological factors, and the 

 diurnal variation of the evaporation is described. The evaporation from the 

 cultivated land is not treated, as up to the present few or no reliable experi- 

 ments have been made." 



The rains of the Nile Basin and the Nile flood of 1907, H. G. Lyons (Sur- 

 rey Dept., Egypt, Paper No. 9, pp. 60, pis. 8, fig. 1). — The detailed data which 

 are given show that the flood of 1907 was deficient as compared with that of 

 1906, and an attempt is made to explain the variation in flood volume with a 

 view to early pretliction of the probable abundance or deficiency of the water 

 supply for summer crops. The importance of more complete information as to 

 the monsoon and winter rains of Abyssinia in relation to such prediction is 

 pointed out. 



Rainfall in Italy (Ann. Uffic. Cent. Met. e Geod. Ital., 25, pt. 1; abs. in 

 Nature [L-ndon], 80 (1909), No. 2059, p. i92).— Rainfall data for 26 years. 

 1880 to 1905. obtained at 215 of the 700 rainfall stations of the Italian meteoro- 

 logical service are summarized in this report. 



The shortest period dealt with in any case is 15 years. The largest annual 

 rainfall reported was 90 in. at Gemona. near the Austrian frontier, the smallest 

 18.6 in. at Foggia. Wide seasonal variations in different parts of Italy are 

 recorded, the maximum rainfall occurring in midsummer in the extreme north 

 and in midwinter in Sicily. On the northern plains and in the northern half 

 of the country in general two maxima, in May and October or November, occur. 



