258 SCIENTIFIC IlECORD FOR 1884. 



Chapter IX. — (a) General storms ; (&) Local storms ; (c) General weather relations. 



Chapter X. — (a) AtmospLeric electricity; ligktning; (6) Terrestrial magnetism; 

 (c) Ground currents ; (d) Auroras. 



Chapter XI. — (a) Refraction and mirage ; (6) Scintillation; (c) Spectroscopy, plioto- 

 spectroscopy, phosphorescence, etc. ; (d) Halos, rainbows; (e) Photometry, colorim- 

 otry, twilight, etc. 



Chapter XII. — Miscellaneous relations, (a) Periodicity and sun-spots ; (I) Hyp- 

 Bometry ; (c) Biology and botany ; (d) Glaciers and climates of geological epochs. 



I. — (rt) Institutions and periodicals; (b) Special stations; (c) 

 International Polar work; (d) Individuals and necrolgy. 



1. Dr. W. Koppeu, in reference to the distribution of meteorological 

 stations, says tliat the complaint still comes, on the one hand, of the 

 immense mass of meteorological figures written and published annually 

 without corresponding results, and, on the other hand, of the great want 

 of proper data whenever any new question is proposed. This state of af- 

 fairs results from the nature of meteorological work, and will probably 

 continue permanently. [Every new question in physics is tested by 

 means of new apparatus and experiments, but in meteorology, as in as- 

 tronomy, we can do but little experimenting, and must derive our knowl- 

 edge from the discussion of a large mass of observations taken under 

 widely differeu t circumstances. In both these latter studies the observa- 

 tions must be published to as great extent as possible, as no one can fore- 

 see how soon they will be wanted in reference to some new question, nor 

 how long the world must wait to accumulate new observations whereby to 

 answer that question in case those already made be not thus rendered 

 available. The experiments and apparatus in chemistry and physics 

 vastly outnumber the observations in meteorology, but do not need to be 

 published in full, as they can be easily repeated at any time.] jMore homo- 

 geneity could perhaps be given to the work by the formation of an inter- 

 national institute for the direction of observations and investigations, 

 but in the present system of individualized activity we find stations that 

 have the following peculiarities: (1) Those with very comprehensive 

 and complete observations, and corresponding publications ; (2) sta- 

 tions in such isolated situations that they must be used to fill up great 

 gaps in the weather chart of the world ; (3) stations with long-continued 

 uniformly-comparable records; (4) groups of stations, such that the dif- 

 ferences in latitude and longitude are slight and the differences in topo- 

 graphical conditions are large. Each of these groups gives data proper 

 to solve some special question, such as the geographical, the chronolog- 

 ical, and topographical distribution of climatic peculiarities, the in- 

 vestigation of i)hysical and mechanical details as to special storms or 

 other phenomena. [Special stations for rainfall, thunder-storms, torna- 

 does, auroras, have also been started in great numbers for the solution 

 of the respective subjects, and others for the study of glaciers, fog, 

 frosts, hygiene, forestry, phrenology, and various agricultural ques- 

 tions.] Koppen's idea seems to be that at present we need a greater 



