262 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884. 



annual distribatiou of rainfall and the cause of the droughts. Much 

 pains have been taken to increase the number of rainfall observers ; and 

 an elaborate discussion of special cyclones by his assistant, Mr. Elliot, 

 shows that the origin, continuation, and movement of a storm depend 

 only upon the atmospheric conditions in the region visited by the storm 

 and not on anything outside of this region, so that the weather normal 

 to the season ijrevails over surrounding countries, while storms move 

 over the Bay of Bengal. The great collection of meteorological obser- 

 vations made in the Indian Ocean since 1856, as collected by the Lon- 

 don Meteorological Office, has been purchased from that office, prop- 

 erly corrected by the India office, and is now under discussion by Mr. 

 Elliot and Mr. Dallas. The chapter relating to barometric observations 

 is substantially completed. The new system of storm signals for Cal- 

 cutta has been successfully introduced. A special system for Bombay 

 has also been continued as in former years. The daily time-signals for 

 Calcutta are in charge of this office. The erection of a first-class me- 

 teorological observatory at Allahabad has not yet been completed. 

 The Indian Meteorological Office has published among its Indian Me- 

 moirs the following : 



F. Chambers, The Winds of Kurrachee. 



S. A. Hill, Some Eesults of Meteorological Observations at Alla- 

 habad. 



S. A. Hill, The Meteorology of the Northwest Himalayas. 



11. The London Meteorological Council began with January, 1884, 

 the publication of its Monthly Weather Eeport, which, although it is 

 published very late in the year, yet afibrds encouraging evidence of the 

 energy with which meteorology is studied in Great Britain. [Similar 

 monthly weather reviews are now published by many important mete- 

 orological offices. We believe that the initial step in this direction was 

 taken by the United States in 1872. Its monthly review as re-organ- 

 ized in 1873 by the present writer, has continued with praiseworthy 

 thoroughness and promptness.] 



12. The report of J. Y. Buchanan on the Physics and Chemistry, the 

 Specific Gravity and Deep-Sea Temperatures, observed during the voy- 

 age of H. M. S. Challenger, has been published, and is reviewed by 

 E. H. Mill. {Nature, xxx, p. 313.) 



13. At the Health Exhibition, London, July, 1884, a meteorological 

 conference was held. Papers were read by Dr. J. W. Tripe, on Mete- 

 orology and Health ; E. H. Scott, on Equinoctial Gales, and also on 

 Cumulative Temperatures, or Phrenological Constants. (Nature, xxx, 

 p. 351.) 



14. The International Geodetic Congress, held at Eome in October, 

 1883, adopted resolutions lecommending Greenwich as the initial me- 

 ridian for all longitudes, and also Greenwich noon as the initial point 

 of a universal hour and cosmopolitan date. 



15. The International Meteorological Congress, held at Eome, 1870, 



