1918.] METEOEOLOGY. 617 



Preservation of unfermented grape juice, S. P. Anderson (Jour. Ayr. [Neio 

 Zeal.-\, 16 {1918), No. 1, pp. 32-36, fig. i).— The object of this article is to 

 " assist producers in preparing and placing on the market a pure, wholesome, 

 and nonalcoholic vinous juice." The principles involved in the preservation of 

 unfermented grape juice and the methods of operation and utensils required are 

 discussed. The directions are particularly applicable to the output from a 

 small vineyard. 



Improvements in methods of pickling olives, F. T. Bioletti and W. V. 

 Cruess {Califoi-nia Sta. Bui. 289 {1911), pp. 195-200, figs. ^).— This bulletin 

 suggests improved methods for pickling olives, while still adhering to the theory 

 of treatment with lye and oxidation to darken the color. The new methods are 

 subject to better control and are much quicker. They have been used success- 

 fully in the laboratory and in some cases in factory tests. 



The methods suggested are a combination of continual movement of the liquid 

 with continual aeration, high temperature and circulating liquid, aeration by 

 compressed air with the use of hot standing liquid, and a combination of the 

 three principles of aeration, circulation, aud high temperature. The last is con- 

 sidered a very rapid and satisfactory method. Descriptions of the methods 

 and diagrams of the necessary apparatus are given. 



The possibility is suggested of subjecting ripe olives to a method of fermenta- 

 tion similar to that used in the preparation of " Queen " olives. Two methods 

 are outlined, in one of which the ripe olives are pickled without exposure to air 

 and then fermented. In the other method olives pickled by the darkening proc- 

 ess are fermented. The two methods are said to combine the good qualities 

 and avoid the defects of the present green and ripe olives. 



METEOROLOGY. 



The meteorological resources of the Empire, H. G. Lyons {Abs. in Nature 

 [Lo7idon], 100 {1918), No. 2517, pp. 416, ^i7).— Attention is called to the great 

 diversity of meteorological conditions and requirements in the British Empire, 

 the need for better organization and coordination of meteorological agencies, 

 and the necessity for developing an efficient corps of specially trained men for 

 meteorological work. 



It is stated that " the work of the meteorologist does not end with recording 

 the pressure, or the temperature, or the monthly amount of the rainfall, but 

 meteorological observations, after being taken, must be worked up into the 

 various forms in which they will be most useful for shipping, agriculture, 

 water supply, engineering, sanitation and health, and now, also, aerial trans- 

 port. The same form vrill not suffice for all, and meteorology itself has its own 

 especial needs, but the important thing is that this information, however ac- 

 curate and detailed it may be, will not be available in exactly the forms that 

 answer to different requirements unless there is a sufficient staff of trained 

 meteorologists to handle it and to supervise its preparation." 



Report of the chief of the Weather Bureau, 1917 {V. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Weather Bur. Rpt., 1917, pp. 291, pis. 7). — This contains (1) an administrative 

 report summarizing the work of the Weather Bureau during the year, (2) a 

 review of weather conditions during 1916, including also sections giving de- 

 tailed data on sunshine and excessive rainfall, and (3) monthly and annual 

 summaries of pressure, temperature, precipitation, and related data for 1916, 

 and of monthly and seasonal snowfall for 1916-17. Attention is called par- 

 ticularly to the extension of the activities of the bureau for the time being to two 

 primary projects, namely, " the forecasting of the weather for purely military 

 operations, and the sounding of the upper air for the benelit of aviators, bal- 



