September 29, 1923] 



NA TURE 



489 





insular Italy was actually less rigorous than usual. 

 In continental Italy the snowfall both in the moun- 

 tains and plains during the early months of 1921 was 

 very light, and this coupled with the almost entire 

 absence of rain in the autumn caused the Alpine 

 treams at the end of the year to fall lower than had 

 (ver been remembered. Perhaps the most interesting 

 feature in the geographical distribution of the drought, 

 as concerns the four countries named, is the general 

 intensification from England in the N.W. to Italy in 

 the S.E. — that is from a more oceanic to a more 

 continental regimen of climate. (See article in 

 Nature on " Climatic Continentality and Oceanity," 

 April 21, p. 549.) It is known that both excesses 

 and deficiencies of rainfall with respect to the 

 average are normally more marked in continental 

 than in maritime regions, and the reason is not 

 difficult to understand when one reflects that rain- 

 fall is but a by-product of the circulation of the 

 atmosphere and the changes of temperature, in the 

 several strata, associated therewith. Hence, one 

 would expect vicissitudes of rainfall to bear some 

 relation to continentality, because all variations of 

 temperature, seasonal, diurnal, or irregular, tend to be 

 accentuated on land and damped out on sea. 



In France and England the drought, which was 

 essentially a summer one, commencing about Febru- 

 ary and tenninating about November, was connected 

 with a marked excess of barometric pressure over 

 central Europe. There seems to be no doubt that 

 the normal Mediterranean high pressure was in the 

 summer of 1921 displaced northward, permitting 

 secondary depressions to develop now and then over 

 the Mediterranean Sea, with alleviation of the ordinary 

 summer drought in that region as stated above. In 

 England during the summer we were commonly 

 located in the northern portion of the French anti- 

 cyclone, with the usual westerly winds but without the 

 usual moisture. More usually we lie farther towards 

 the polar edge of the south-westerly winds, which 

 are then associated with the convergent air-streams 

 of barometric depressions ; but evidence has been 

 adduced {" British Rainfall, 1921 ") that in 1921 there 

 was a greater preponderance of divergent air-currents. 

 It is important that students endeavouring to under- 

 stand something of the origin of rainfall in England 

 should co-ordinate the more distant point of view of 

 the physical geographer who associates our rainfall 

 with the abundant moisture supplied to the south- 

 westerly winds by the warm Atlantic Drift, with the 

 more immediate point of view of the meteorologist who 

 relates it to the incidence of barometric depressions, 

 that is, of convergent and ascending air. Students, 

 too, accustomed to think of the proverbial dryness of 

 east winds in Great Britain, are often greatly puzzled 

 by the persistent rain we not infrequently experience 

 with wind from that quarter. There is no discrepancy, 

 however ; for in many cases of rain with east wind on 

 the northern side of a depression, the moisture is 

 supplied by an Atlantic current above the drier easterly 

 current through which the rain is falling. 



L. C. W. BONACINA. 



University and Educational Intelligence. 



London. — An attractive series of free public lec- 

 tures during the Michaelmas term has been arranged 

 at King's College. Prof. A. Dendy is giving nine 

 lectures on Wednesdays, commencing October 17, on 

 the biological foundations of society ; Mr. R. Aitken, 

 five lectures on the geography of Spain and typical 

 Spanish institutions, on Thursdays, commencing 

 November i ; Prof. H. Wildon Carr, four lectures on 



the Hegelian philosophy and the economics of Karl 

 Marx, on Tuesdays, commencing October 9 ; and 

 Miss Hilda D. Oakeley, three lectures on the roots 

 of early Greek philosophy, on Tuesdays, commencing 

 November 27. In addition. Prof. R. J. S. McDowall, 

 of Edinburgh, is giving an inaugural lecture in the 

 Department of Physiology on the position of physio- 

 logy in science and medicine on October 4, and Prof. 

 W. T. Gordon is giving the Swiney lectures (12) on 

 geology on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 

 commencing November 19, taking as his subject 

 " Gem Minerals and their Uses in Art and Industry." 

 The lecture hour in every case is 5.30 p.m. 



At University College, the list of public lectures 

 includes the following : introductory lecture by Sir 

 Flinders Petrie on religious life in Egypt, on October 4 

 at 2.30 P.M. ; three lectures on the new Babylonian 

 creation and flood stories, by Dr. T. G. Pinches, 

 beginning on October 4 ; an introductory lecture 

 by Prof. C. Spearman on psychology as transfigured 

 behaviourism ; and a course of lectures by Prof. 

 J. A. Fleming on ionic and thermionic valves, beginning 

 on October 24. Single lectures are to be given by 

 Miss Margaret Murray, on primitive religion, on 

 October 5 ; by Prof. G. Dawes Hicks, on the philosophy 

 of Bernard Bosanquet, on October 8 ; by Mr. Moiris 

 Ginsberg, on the sociological work of the late Dr. 

 W. H. R. Rivers, by Mr. A. H. Barker, on the heating 

 equipment of a small house, and by Miss I. C. Ward, 

 on the application of phonetics to the curing of 

 speech defects, at various times on October 10 ; 

 and an inaugural lecture by Prof. A. V. Hill, on the 

 present tendencies and future compass of physiological 

 science, on October 16. Particulars of the lectures 

 and courses should be obtained from the Secretary of 

 University College. 



A COURSE of six lectures on the bearing of psycho- 

 analysis upon sociological problems has been arranged 

 by the Sociological Society, Leplay House, 65 Belgrave 

 Road, Victoria, S.W.i. The lectures are to be given 

 on Tuesdays, and commence on October 9 with an 

 introductory lecture by Dr. Ernest Jones. Succeed- 

 ing lectures will deal with man as an individual, the 

 family, politics, education, and vocation. Half-price 

 tickets are available for a limited number of students. 



A SERIES of " Celebrations," arranged by Dr. F. H. 

 Hayward, Inspector of Schools, of 87 Benthall Road, 

 London, N.16, will be held during the winter on 

 certain Saturday evenings (6 o'clock) at the Birkbeck 

 Theatre, Birkbeck College, Fetter Lane, E.C. Four 

 of these in particular may be of interest to readers of 

 Nature, namely : Two homage celebrations, " The 

 Geologist," December i, and " The Scientist " (in 

 general), March i, 1924, and two memorial celebra- 

 tions, " Leonardo da Vinci," January 12, 1924, and 

 " Goethe," February 9, 1924. All these four have 

 a predominant scientific interest. Though we 

 understand that Dr. Hayward has found it difficult 

 to discover music and poetry that can be effect- 

 ively employed in the glorification of science and its 

 devotees, he has discovered some, and he thinks that 

 the main purpose of the celebrations will be achieved, 

 namely, the creation of emotional associations in 

 connexion with the history and the methods of 

 science. Recent studies in psychology and sociology 

 have pointed to the conclusion that knowledge and 

 reason are more closely related to instinct and 

 emotion than was formerly believed. Without an 

 emotional basis, they cannot flourish or even receive 

 adequate recognition among the mass of mankind. 

 Hence the importance of Dr. Hayward's attempt 

 to employ " mass " methods and other devices. 



NO. 2813, VOL. I 12] 



