156 The Realm of Nature CHAP, ix 



passes in order to know what weather to expect for the day. 

 The attempt to time the arrival on the coast of Europe of 

 cyclones whose path across America has been tracked out 

 is rarely successful, as most depressions either fill up or 

 change their path or rate of moving on the way across the 

 Atlantic. There are many prognostics or signs, such as the 

 appearance of halos, of mist on hill -tops, great clearness of 

 the atmosphere, exceptionally bright reflections in water, the 

 movements of animals, by which experienced people can 

 foretell the weather of their own district with marvellous 

 correctness. Indeed, for any mountain valley or seaside 

 town the opinion of an observant old shepherd or fisher- 

 man on the approaching weather is likely to be more 

 correct than the somewhat general Meteorological Office 

 forecast. 



REFERENCES 



1 J. Murray, "On the Total Annual Rainfall," etc., Scot. Geog. 

 Mag. iii. 65 (1887). 



2 A. Buchan, " Climate of British Islands, Pressure and Tem- 

 perature, " Journ. Scot. Met. Soc. for 1882. "Rainfall," ibid, for 

 1885. 



3 H. F. Blanford, "Cause of Anticyclones and Cyclones," 

 Nature, xliii. 15 (1890). "The Genesis of Tropical Cyclones," 

 Nature, xliii. 81 (1890). 



BOOKS OF REFERENCE 



Challenger Reports, Physics and Chemistry, Circulation of the 

 Atmosphere, by A. Buchan. (A unique collection of isobaric and 

 isothermal maps for every month of the year. ) 



A. Buchan, Art. " Meteorology," Encyclopedia Britannica. 



R. H. Scott, Elementary Meteorology. International Scientific 

 Series. 



H. F. Blanford, Climates and Weather of India. Macmillan 

 and Co. 



N. S. Shaler, Aspects of the Earth, pp. 197-257. Smith, 

 Elder, and Co. 



Consult also the publications of the Royal Meteorological 

 Society, the Scottish Meteorological Society, and of the Meteoro- 

 logical Office, 116 Victoria Street, London, S.W. 



