206 PROGRESS OF METEOROLOGY IN 1889. 



College. The director, Mr. A. L. Eotch, by his own private munificence 

 in the establishment and equipment of this observatory, has made it a 

 model of its kind, comparable with the best observatories of foreign 

 meteorological institutions. The personal inspection of European ob- 

 servatories made by Mr. Rotch has enabled him to incorporate their 

 best features in his own methods and equipment, and in the form of 

 publication of results. The staff of the observatory has remained un- 

 changed, with Mr. H. Helm Clayton as observer, and Mr. Fergussou as 

 assistant. 



The present volumes contain, besides the more usual observations 

 and their summaries, hourly precipitation; hourly wind azimuths and 

 movements ; number of hours of prevalence of each wind direction ; 

 days of visibility of western mountains; hourly sunshine; hourly cloud 

 observations from 8 A. M. to 11 P. m.; appendices in the volume for 1887, 

 containing comparisons of thermometer shelters; investigations of nor- 

 mal and abnormal temperature differences between the base and sum- 

 mit; and meteorograms illustrating special phenomena. Of the ob- 

 servations above enumerated, the hourly cloud observations deserve 

 special mention because of the indefatigable industry and enthusiasm 

 necessary to their prosecution, and because of the interesting and im- 

 portant results that promise to be developed from their discussion. 



Indian meteorological service. — The Report on the Administration of 

 the Meteorological Department of the Government of India in 1887-'88 

 describes the actual working of the department and the condition of 

 the observatories, and contains extracts from the reports of the inspec- 

 tion of the stations. Mr. Eliot has discontinued solar and terrestrial 

 radiation observations except at a lew selected stations. The calcula- 

 tion of daily averages, and the extension and improvement of the meth- 

 ods of collecting rainfall data have been undertaken. An observatory 

 has been opened at Bagdad, and the question ot establishing one at 

 Perim, at the entrance of the Red Sea, has been suggested by the Eng- 

 lish Meteorological Council. 



The International Meteorological Committee held a meeting at Zurich, 

 September 3-5, 1888, at which the following resolution was adopted : 



'< The committee, in view of the circumstance that the assembling of 

 an international meeting of the same character as the congress at Vienna 

 and Rome presents great difficulties, considers that the commission it 

 received at Rome is exhausted and that it ought to dissolve itself. 



"At the same time, in order to continue the relations between the 

 different meteorological organizations that have been productive of 

 such good results during a series of years, the committee appoints a 

 small bureau with the duty of using its best endeavors to bring about, 

 at some convenient time, an international meeting of representatives of 

 the different meteorological services." 



By a subsequent resolution the bureau was made to consist of the 

 president and secretary of the committee, Professor Wild and Mr. 

 Scott. {Nature, xxxviii, p. 491.) , 



