30 



cyclone to stop or the anticyclone to spread north, etc. ? There must be a cause, a reason, and we 

 ou<'ht to be able to find it. Sir R. Bill, in one of his books, asks the question, " What will be the 

 weather and the temperature on Lonion Bridge at noon on Christmas Day ? " and he states it ought 

 to be as possible to foretell this as to foretell eclipses. 



A very interestint? article recently appeared in Truth, and was copied into the Soutbport papers 

 at the time of the British Association meetinojs there this year, to this effect ; " Why do we have one 

 year a summer like that under which we have been suffering, while another year we may have three 

 months of calm air and drought ? The reason for this no one is able to tell at present ; but it cannot 

 be very far otf. It is probably lying, like a gi-eat many other discoveries that have taken a long 

 time to make, pretty close under our uosea in certain obvious phenomena, celestial and terrestrial. 

 Some people who have given thought to the matter attribute the eccentricities of weather on this 

 planet to sun spots ; others to the position of the moon ; others to volcanic disturbances ; others to 

 the movements of Polar ice. There is also our old friend the Gulf Stream. I do not profess to know 

 anything about it myself ; but what strikes me is that all these phenomena are probably closely 

 related." By all accounts the sun has been in a very spotty condition recently. We know for certain 

 that durin" the last twelve months our own planet has been in an unusuil state of volcanic activity. 

 We have h"ad a couple of West Indian islands almost blown out of the water ; Vesuvius is in a very 

 agitated condition ; and now it is reported that Hecla has broken out. On the top of all this the 

 pTanet Siturn is discovered t) be experiencing some kind of very violtnt disturbance. That the 

 climate over a considerabl-^ portion of our own planet should be at the same time in a state of chaos 

 is on the face ot it at leasr. a remarkable coincidence. We want, it seems to me, the man who will 

 detect the relition between all such phenomena ; and when ho has come to the rescue we shall 

 probably be able ti tell for months in advance when to look out for unusual heit, unusual cold, 

 excessive or deficient rainfall, violent gales, or other climatic pleasantries." 



We only await the key to unlock the mystery, and it may be possible for this key to be found in 

 the varying attraction of the sun, moon, and planets on our atmosphere. Gravitation acts upon every- 

 thin". Many think our atmosphere too thin to be influenced in any great degree. Tne tides of the 

 sea are not the simple ebb and Row that we frequently believe — as witness Holbein's latest attempt to 

 swim the Channel. It we carefully read Darwin's article on the tides in the " Encyclopiedia 

 Britannica." and consider this action on the atmosphere we sh^ll see that the problem is a very com- 

 plicated one. There are many factors, viz. : — (1) The distance of the moon and sun, especially the 

 former. (2) Whether these great luminaries are pulling together, against, or at an angle. (3) The 

 relative position of the sun and moon above or below the equator. (4) The month or season of the 

 year. Might I suggest that our meteorologists draw diagrams of all these things, and compare with 

 the barometer curves and other weather records as advLsed by Dr. Schuster at the British Association 

 last year ? 



Observations once or twice daily are of little use and often misleading. We need accurate self- 

 recordint' instruments to note down every fluctuation and then work from these curves. The 

 recording instruments in general use are very inaccurate and almost useless, except the very expensive 

 ones, in a few of the fully-equipped observatories. We badly need a set of really good and accurate 

 instruments at a rea ^onable price, so that observers can have them all over the land, and then we should 

 be much nearer the solution of the problem. 



In our report last year we stated that we were at work on a set 'if these instruments and gave a 

 few details about them. This year we have made further progress and the official inspector of the 

 Meteorological Office reported them to Dr. Shaw, in Landon, who asked to see them, and then requested 

 that the instruments should be sent to the British Association at Soutbport. This was done, and 

 although the plain experimental apparatus looked somewhat rough against the plating and polish of 

 some of th? instruments that were shown, yet we were encouraged and the apparatus excited much 

 interest, and we were requested to send some of them to Kew and elsewhere for a careful trial and 

 comparison with standard instruments. This is now being done, and we hope that the instruments 

 (pat'ticulars of which are given on page 33) will prove useful in the solution of some of the mysteries 

 ot our weither. In c>nelusion I have to thank the observers for kindly sending me their reports. 



ARTHUR LAXDER, Ph.C, MPS., F.S.M.C. 

 Medical Hall, 

 Canterbury. 



