METEOROLOGY AND ALLIED SUBJECTS. 



329 



altitude can be determined. Thus for Southwestern Germany the mean 

 annual temperatures from ISGO to 1878 give a diminution for each hun- 

 dred meters of altitude, as shown in the following table: 



lie then gives the constants in an empirical formula for the same 

 portion of Europe, and finds the following : « 



h = 18517 (log 762.56 - log Bo) (1 + 0.003665^) 



and shows, by means of this, that the altitude may be computed with a 

 probable error of plus or minus 3 meters. {Z. 0. G. M., XV, 1880, 

 p. 106.) 



H. Feld and C. A. Vogler have put into convenient form for the com- 

 l)ntation of barometric altitudes at the latitude of 50°, the hypsometric 

 fornmla of Ruhlmann. By introducing a graphic process they have re- 

 duced the time very materially, but with slight expense of accuracy. 

 {Z. 0. G. ilf., XVI, 1881, p. 85.) 



(c) Biological Relations. — Oettingen has investigated some points in 

 the connection between meteorology and botany that are worthy the 

 attention of other meteorologists. The principal previous workers in 

 this field have been Boussingault, De Candolle, Gasparin, and Linsser, 

 whose results are reviewed by Von Oettingen. 



Boussingault maintained that any particular phase of development (.r), 

 such as the time of budding, ripening, &c., should be considered as a 

 function of /, the mean temperature, during the interval of time, 2", that 

 has elapsed since an assumed starting i)oint, and «, r, id, &c., which 

 represent other climatic elements. 



De Candolle and Gasparin showed that x should be a function not of 



f, but of /— .9, where s represents a minimum temperature limit, below 



which the development «f the plant makes no progress whatever. 



tz 

 Linsser showed that a; is a function oiyyrr/ and it, i\ w, where T Z is 



a constaut, having a different value for each plant and each locality. 



Oettingen finally proceeds to investigate the dependence of blossom- 

 ing upon temperature for fifty-five plants, for which he had accurate 

 observation at Dorpat. The general conclusions to which the author is 

 led are as follows: 



1. Certain values of the epochs of budding can be deduced with pre- 



