450 



NATURE 



{April df, 1878 



(i) that the evidence with respect to the European rain- 

 fall may be considered as " against a well-marked period- 

 icity," and (2) that the result of a " systematic inquiry (by 

 himself) into the American rain-returns altogether fails to 

 establish the existence of a common cycle, so far as con- 

 cerns the temperate zone." On each of these points I 

 be^ to make a few remarks. 



The evidence on which Dr. Hunter bases his statement 

 as to the European rainfall is derived (i) from an examin- 

 ation by Mr. Baxendell, for a short period, of the rainfall 

 at one English station, (2) from an examination by the 

 late Dr. Jelinek of fourleen stations on the Continent, 

 from 1833 to 1869, and (3) from a comparison of the 

 levels of the Elbe, Rhine, Oder, Danube, and Vistula, 

 with the sun-spots for six cycles, a comparison which Dr. 

 Hunter ascribes to Herr Gustav Wex, but which I believe 

 is due to another. 



Now, the evidence'is much more extensive. Instead of 

 being based on one British station and fourteen stations 



on the Continent, it is based on more than fifty British 

 stations and more than forty stations on the Continent, 

 and, taken with the evidence furnished by the rivers, it is, 

 in my opinion, conclusive. 



As to the American rainfall, an examination of thirty- 

 four returns has given me much more favourable results 

 than those Dr. Hunter has got from twenty-two stations, 

 and I have little doubt that he will, as he extends his 

 investigations, also find favourable results ; but I think 

 he must first adopt a method different from the one he 

 used for Madras. 



In support of my conclusion that the rainfalls of Europe 

 and America are subject to a periodicity which closely 

 corresponds with the sunspot periodicity, I will for the pre- 

 sent only submit to your readers two tables, the one show- 

 ing the general results for Great Britain, the Continent 

 of Europe and America, and the other the results for one 

 station in each of these countries, namely Edinburgh, 

 Paris, and New Bedford. 



Table II. — Comparison of the Variation in the Sunspot Area with the Variations in the Rainfalls of Great Britain, Continent 



of Europe, and America, from 1824 to 1867 inclusive. 



The above results have been obtained in the manner in I Great Britain the number of stations is 54, for the Con- 

 which I obtained the rainfall variation in Table I. For | tinent of Europe, 42, and for America, 32. 



Table III. — Comparison of Variation in Sun-spot Area with Variations in Rainfalls of Edinburgh, Paris, and New Bedford, 



from 1824 to 1867 inclusive. 



It will be observed (see Table I.) that the variation in the 

 Madras rainfall is not nearly so favourable as the varia- 

 tions for Edinburgh, Paris, and New Bedford. 



What I have given here is but a small portion of the 

 evidence in favour of a rainfall cycle. Having worked at 



the subject for six years, I have concluded that the whole 

 evidence is as satisfactory as the evidence of a connection 

 between sun-spots and terrestrial magnetism. 



C. Meldrum 

 Mauritius, February i 



JULIUS ROBERT VON MAYER 

 CEVERAL years ago (vol. v. p. 117) we published a 

 ^ paper by Prof. Tyndall on the nature and value of 

 Mayer's researches, in which they were so fully detailed 

 that now, on the occasion of the death of the man whose 



labours have won for him an undying renown, we need 

 only briefly remind our readers of the chief events in his 

 scientific career without entering into or attempting to 

 renew a painful controversy of which it may be said that 

 the truth lay neither wholly with one side nor the other. 

 Julius Robert Mayer was born at Heilbronn, November 



