METEOROLOGY. 



48? 



weld readily, with the electric method no 

 metal or alloy yet tried has failed to unite 

 with pieces of the same metal ; and the trials 

 have included most of the metals commonly 

 known. Joints between different metals or 

 alloys are often easily produced, if their physi- 

 cal properties are not too much unlike. 



METEOROLOGY. In a lecture on "Popular 

 Errors in Meteorology," Prof. Cleveland Abbe 

 insists that in approaching the study of the 

 science we should recognize that in general the 

 atmosphere is governed by immutable laws, 

 and should seek for the forces that control it. 

 It is folly to pay any attention to the weather- 

 predictions in the old almanacs, which are made 

 up sometimes several years in advance on an- 

 cient astrological principles, whereas the plainest 

 teachings of the real science of meteorology go 

 to show that the influence of the moon, the plan- 

 ets, and the stars on our atmosphere is wholly 

 inappreciable. The observations as a whole 

 show it to be probable that the total amount 

 of spottedness, or total frequency of spots, on 

 the sun, is accompanied by a slight change in 

 the general condition of the earth's atmosphere ; 

 but these effects are only barely appreciable in 

 the atmosphere as a whole, and it is utterly 

 illogical to conclude that there is any direct 

 connection between special spots on the snn 

 and special localities on the earth. The power 

 of forecasting weather, which has been as- 

 cribed to animals, from the observation of 

 some of their habits, is, like many customs of 

 men, simply the result of the accumulated 

 experiences transmitted and increased from 

 generation to generation. The flight of the 

 Rocky Mountain locust, which has been at- 

 tributed to a seeking for regions where food 

 may be found, is simply the result of the action 

 of a hot, drying air on its wings. Stiffening 

 them, it causes a nervous irritability, which 

 can be gratified best by active flapping of the 

 wings; and thus the insect, without instinct or 

 intention on its part, is carried to the upper, 

 cooler currents, where it is wafted to distant 

 places. In a similar manner nearly all the 

 rules for weather prediction founded on the 

 behavior of plants, or such signs as the gather- 

 ing of dew on stones, or the falling of soot in 

 the chimney, are simply hygroscopic phenome- 

 na; and a well made hygrometer, such as is 

 used by meteorologists, will give more accurate 

 indications than any of these natural objects. 

 The quotation of such indefinitely known 

 agents as electricity and ozone as active causes 

 of meteorological phenomena, is rated as an 

 error. The supposed cooling of the air by 

 thunder-showers, is just as likely to be the pro- 

 duction of the showers by the cooling of the 

 air; or the phenomena may be simply coinci- 

 dent, or the different results of a common 

 cause, and not at all related as cause and ef- 

 fect. Concerning the effect of destruction or 

 restoration of forests and of the extension of 

 railroads and telegraphs on climate, observa- 

 tions have not been long enough continued to 



justify any definite conclusion whatever. The 

 so-called equinoctial storms are simply those 

 of the several storms likely to occur in the 

 early spring and fall that come nearest to the 

 21st of March and September. 



The discrepancy between the popular names 

 given to meteorological phenomena and their 

 real nature as determined by means of instru- 

 ments, was discussed at one of the meetings 

 of the Meteorological Society of Berlin. Dr. 

 Schultz remarked that the sirocco wind in 

 Italy is spoken of as "heavy," whereas the 

 barometer indicates a diminished pressure. 

 Summers are spoken of as wet or dry, accord- 

 ing as they are accompanied by much or little 

 rain, without taking into account the usually 

 opposed indications of the psychrometers ; 

 similarly our sensations of heat and cold are 

 often directly opposed to the indications of 

 the thermometer. Observations made by the 

 speaker in Rome and the Riviera, showed oc- 

 casionally, among other things, the anomaly 

 that the temperature in the shade was higher 

 than in the sun. especially when the thermome- 

 ter in the sun was exposed to a strong wind. 

 Prof. Von Bezold laid stress upon the differ- 

 ence between physical meteorology and the in- 

 fluence of temperature and moisture on the 

 living organism. Alterations of atmospheric 

 pressure have no effect on healthy human be- 

 ings, although they must have on sickly people, 

 inasmuch as a diminution of pressure must lead 

 to an increased evolution of gases from the soil, 

 and their accompanying miasmas. The idea of 

 sultriness has not yet been defined from a 

 physical point of view; probably in connection 

 with this, it should be borne in mind that the 

 air is occasionally supersaturated with aqueous 

 vapor, and that in this case an incipient con- 

 densation may be accompanied by a real evolu- 

 tion of heat. Dr. Sklarek mentioned experi- 

 ments on the radiation of heat from the human 

 body, which showed, in opposition to the laws 

 of radiation from non-living bodies, that it 

 radiates more heat from exposed parts of its 

 surface which are usually covered with clothes, 

 when the difference of temperature between 

 the skin and the surroundings is less than when 

 it is greater. This anomalous behavior may be 

 explained by the supposition that, when the 

 difference in temperature (between the skin 

 and the surroundings) increases, the physical 

 properties of the skin and its radiating powers 

 undergo some change. 



The influence of the moon on the weather 

 has been discussed by J. W. Oliver, in an arti- 

 cle in " Longman's Magazine " and the "Popu- 

 lar Science Monthly." The author, consider- 

 ing some of the most important of the popular 

 predictions in which the moon is concerned, 

 deals, first, with the notions that are utterly ab- 

 surd, and, second, with those that are explica- 

 ble by the aid of physical principles. While 

 he regards most of the predictions founded 

 upon the changes and aspects of the moon as 

 baseless, he holds it unfair to consider the 



