METEOEOLOGY IN RUSSIA. 275 



(" Sapiski ") memoirs entirely to meteorology, especially to investiga- 

 tions relative to the climate of Russia. The reason of this decision was 

 the desire that was felt to have this subject thoroughly investigated, so 

 as to produce a work on the level of the science of our time, as 

 Wesselovski was of that of sixteen years before. It was hoped that 

 the members of the meteorological commission would contribute to the 

 desired result, which could only be attained by the united efforts of 

 many laborers. The plan of periodical publication of the society 

 "isvastia" was not well adapted to meteorological works of great 

 extent, being principally devoted to the progress of geography. The 

 Siberian section of the geographical society at Irkutsk has also estab- 

 lished a meteorological commission, with the same powers as that of 

 St. Petersburg. Many observations made in Eastern Siberia are reduced 

 and discussed there, and much progress in the science may be ex- 

 pected from that quarter. There are few countries so interesting to 

 meteorology and yet so little known as Eastern Siberia. It includes 

 the meteorological pole of winter — that is the coldest region in this sea- 

 son — and besides embraces an enormous extent of country, with every 

 variety of local climates. 



A secondary meteorological center at Irkutsk is also very important 

 for the supervision of stations and comparison of instruments. It is 

 next to impossible to effect these objects from St. Petersburg. 



It would be going too far to mention the efforts of the various gpv- 

 ernment boards and societies to establish systems of meteorological ob- 

 servations in different parts of Eussia, the more so as a unity of direc- 

 tions is now shown to be necessary to the jirogress of this science. Most 

 of these systems are now united with that of the physical observatory, 

 having adopted the same measures and methods. This is the case with 

 the navy, which has meteorological stations on the White, Baltic, 

 felack, and Caspian Seas, and also on the Pacific coast. 



We shall now give a brief exposition of what is known of the climate 

 of Russia, what are the advances made in latter years, and what re- 

 mains to be done in this respect. 



Our knowledge of the temjierature of Eussia is far more complete 

 than that of the other meteorological elements. A striking fact has 

 been brought to our knowledge in the last ten or fifteen years, that the 

 mean temperature of winter is higher on the shores of the Arctic Ocean 

 than to the south of it on the same meridian. Near the North Cape it 

 is higher, even if we advance from southwest to northeast, while in the 

 rest of Europe the northeast is the coldest quarter. This is due to the warm 

 waters of the Gulf Stream, which flows along the north coast of Norway, 

 and farther along the Eussian Murman coast as far as the Svjatoi Noss, 

 (Holy Cape.) The waters in this region never freeze, even masses of 

 floating ice are never seen in them, and they communicate their tem- 

 l^erature to the surrounding air. The places in the interior of the con- 

 tinent, far from the warming influences of the Gulf stream, will uatur- 



