19161 METEOROLOGY. 619 



Anemometers (illus.). by B. J. Sherry; Solar Variability, by C. G. Abbot et. al. ; 

 Tropical Rains: Their Duration, Frequency, and Intensity (illus.), by O. L. 

 Fassig (see below) ; Mechanism of Cyclones, by F. J. W. Whipple; Causes Con- 

 tributory to the Aimual Variation of Latitude, by H. Jeffreys ; Meteorolosical 

 Aspects of Oceanography (illus.), by H. Pettersson ; Precipitation Over the 

 Southeast Rocky Mountain Slope (illus.), by C. Hallenbeck ; Fog in Relation to 

 Wind Direction on Mount Tamalpais, Cal., by H. H. Wright ; On the So-called 

 Change in European Climate During Historic Times, by H. H. Hildebrandsson 

 (see below) ; Violent Easterly Winds at Tatoosh Islands, Wash, (illus.), by R. 

 C. Mize; Weather as a Business Risk in Farming (illus.), by W. G. Reed and 

 H. R. Tolley (see p.- 616) ; and Snow Surveys in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, 

 1912-1916 (Ulus.), by H. K. Burton. 



On the so-called change in European climate during historic times, H. H. 

 HiLDEBRAXDSsoN {Nova Acta Reg. Soc. Sci. Upsal., 4- ser., 4 {19 J5), No. 5, pp. 

 31, pis. 3; U. S. Mo. Weather Rev. U {1916), No. 6, pp. 3U~352) .—From an ex- 

 haustive review of data from various sources on the subject, tlie general conclu- 

 sion is reached "that there exist everywhere climatic variations of long and short 

 duration, but it is not possible to prove that the climate of Europe has changed 

 for either better or worse during historic times." 



CUmatological data for the United States by sections (t7. fif. Dept. Agr., 

 Weather Bur. Climat. Data, 3 {1916), Nos. 5, pp. 22J,, pis. 2, figs. 4; 6, pp. 224, 

 pis. 2, figs. 4)- — These numbers contain brief summaries and detailed tabular 

 statements of climatological data for each State for May and June, 1916, 

 respectively. 



Meteorological observations at the Massachusetts Agiicultural Experi- 

 ment Station, J. E. Ostkandeb and J. S. Sims {Massachusetts Sta. Met. Buls. 

 331-332 {1916), pp. 4 each). — Summaries of observations at Amherst, Mass., on 

 pressure, temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, sunshine, cloudiness, and 

 casual phenomena during July and August, 1916, are presented. The data are 

 briefly discussed in general notes on the weather of each montli. 



Tropical rains: Their duration, frequency, and intensity, O. L. Fassig 

 iV. S. Mo. Weather Rev., 44 {1916), No. 6, pp. 329-331, figs. i5).— The rainfall 

 phenomena of Porto Rico and of Maryland are compared. It is shown that 

 there is a fairly even distribution of rainy days throughout the year in both 

 regions. Rains, especially excessive rains, are more frequent and more uni- 

 formly distributed throughout the year in the tropical region. 



"Frequent moderate rains are generally more favorable for plant growth than 

 heavier rains, assuming equal total amounts for the year. There is a wide 

 range in the frequency of rains of 0.01 to 0.1 in. in Porto Rico, a condition 

 which is probably common to all regions with pronounced differences in topog- 

 raphy. As the amounts grow larger the range rapidly decreases. The best and 

 most extensive tobacco plantations of Porto Rico are situated in the portion of 

 the island having the greatest number of light rains, with a total annual amount 

 close to the average for the entire island. The station at Caguas, typical of 

 this region, shows a record of 160 days with rainfall from 0.01 to 0.1 in., with 

 a total annual frequency of 262 days and a total rainfall of 68 in. In the moun- 

 tains of the western portion of the island, a region noted for the abundance 

 and fine quality of its coffee, the rainfall is very heavy. A peculiarity of the 

 rains of this region is that they show a maximum frequency of amounts between 

 0.2 and 0.3 in., whereas the usual record shows a very decided preponderance 

 of amounts less than 0.1 in." 



Fog as a source of water supply, W. G. Reed {TJ. S. Mo. Weather Rev., 44 

 U916), No. 5, p. 288). — Referring to an article by Descombes, previously noted 

 (E. S. B., 34, p. G14), it is stated that "there is apparently a close relation 



