Nov. 17, 1887] 



NA TURE 



67 



it was illustrated. After indicating the position of Siam in the 

 Malay Peninsula, the author went on to say that on the west is 

 a chain of mountains which runs in an unbroken range to 

 Singapore, the southernmost limit of the Malay Peninsula; 

 some of its peaks between Burmah and Siam rise to a height of 

 7000 feet, while one peak in the Malay Peninsula reaches 8oOD 

 feet. On the east there is another range of mountains which 

 forms the grand watershed of all the rivers that flow into the 

 Gulf of Tonqum and Chinese Sea on the one hand, and the 

 Memam Kong on the other. There are peaks in this range 

 that reach even 9000 feet above mean sea level. Besides these 

 ranges there is another which breaks away from the western 

 range from a point north-east of Chingmai, and forms the water- 

 shed between the Meinam and Meinam Kong valleys. In this 

 range, at the source of the eastern branch of the Meinau, are 

 famous salt-wells. The salt is procured at depths varying from 

 35-45 fest — in these land-locked countries as valuable as money. 

 Ihe greater part of the valley of the Meinam Kong and the Mei- 

 nam IS flat, diversified by isolated hills, and broken and jagged 

 ridges of hmestone mountains. The most important river, 

 though not the largest, is the xMeinam Chau Phraya. It is the 

 V. u°^ Siam, a good rice harvest very much depending on 

 whether the river overflows its banks or not. The eastern 

 branch of the river is specially known for the numerous croco- 

 ddes which yearly cany off some victims. Two other rivers 

 converge towards the Meinam, the Mei Klong and Bang Pla- 

 Kong. All these_ rivers are connected by canals, rendering 

 communication easier in a country where roads are conspicuous 

 by then- absence. The Meinam Kong is the largest river, and 

 flows through the northern and eastern parts of the kingdom, 

 receiving the waters of many large affluents ; but the channel of 

 this mighty river is so blocked with large rocks and cataracts, 

 that Its navigation is very difficult, and in some parts impossible 

 even for native craft. Mr. McCarthy then went on to describe 

 some of his journeys in detail, especially the one to the north- 

 east frontier, which led him through scenes of surpassing beauty, 

 and during which he opened up much new ground. 



The Arctic land seen by Sannikof eighty years ago has been 

 seen again by the Expedition of MM. Bunge and Toll from the 

 northern extremity of the Kotelnyi Island. The Great and Small 

 Liakhov Islands, the Thadeus Island, and New Siberia have also 

 been visited by the Expedition, which has returned with rich 

 zoological, botanical, and geological collections. Throughout 

 the summer of 1886 the ice on the Siberian coast did not move 

 from the shores, and the hunters said that the sea had not been 

 clear from ice since the Vega Expedition. 



METEOROLOGICAL NOTES. 

 We have lately been subjected to a series of storms which fortu- 

 nately in the British Islands is not of very common occurrence. 

 The storm of October 30, which was noticed in Nature a few 

 days after its occurrence, had scarcely left our shores before a 

 fresh disturbance was approaching us from off" the Atlantic, and 

 by the evening of Monday, the 31st, another gale was blowing 

 in Ireland, and during the night this storm extended to all parts 

 of the British Islands. The central area of low barometer 

 readings, which primarily occasioned the renewal of disturbed 

 weather, kept to the westward of our coasts, but the Daily 

 Weather Chart of November i shows that two secondary dis- 

 turbances had been formed, one having its centre in the St. 

 George's Channel, and the other over the Bay of Biscay. The 

 very severe gale experienced in the south-west and west of 

 England on November i was due to the former of these, the 

 storm area passing during the day slowly up the Irish Sea. The 

 fall of the barometer for this gale amounted to 1-02 in. at 

 Pembroke in fourteen hours, from 6 p.m. 31st to 8 a.m. ist ; 

 and at Lyme Regis the wind attained the velocity of 83 miles 

 an hour between 7 and 8 o'clock in the mo rning. Another 

 disturbance skirted to the westward of Ireland on the evening of 

 the 2nd, and during the following day, causing southerly gales 

 in many parts of the country, the barometer standing below 

 29 inches over the whole of the United Kingdom. °On the 

 evening of the 3rd another subsidiary was formed in the Irish 

 Sea, and subsequently passed over the north of England, causing 

 gales and disturbed weather in parts adjacent to its path. 

 Before the expiration of the week a fresh disturbance was shown 

 in the west, and on Saturday, the 5th, the barometer was again 

 falling : the force of the wintl, however, was not severe, altholigh 



t blew a fresh gale in places. It will be seen from this notice 

 tnat no fewer than five distinct storms were experienced in 

 seven days, and in each case the wind was accompanied by 

 heavy rain. ' 



The Meteorological Council have published Part I. of the 

 Hourly Readings '■ for 1885 (January to March) made at their 

 self-recording observatories, together with the daily means, 

 daily maxima and minima, and the daily range for pressure and 

 temperature Hourly values have now been issued in either 

 lithographed or printed form since 1874, and afford valuable 

 data for discussion in various ways, although the hourly means 

 are not calculated. Corrections are given for reducing the 

 barometric observations to mean sea-level. In connection with 

 these observations it may be mentioned that the Meteorological 

 Institute of the Netherlands lately published an interesting paper 

 by iM. Schokker on atmospheric disturbances studied by means 

 of the hourly readings issued by the Meteorological Office and 

 elsewhere ; he traced on charts the positions of depressions for 

 various hours, and showed that many phenomena which are 

 clearly traceable from hourly observations are entirely lost sigh 

 of on charts giving only one or two hours a day. He also 

 quoted instances where timely warning of storms could have 

 been given, which were not possible from the usual observations 

 received by telegraph. 



The Hydrograp'iic Office of the United States calls special 

 attention to a new form for reports of storms, fog, ice, and dere- 

 licts, issued for the use of trans-Atlantic steamers. This form re- 

 places those hitherto issued by that Office and the Signal Service, 

 and the information thus collected is immediately utilized in 

 preparing the telegrams sent daily to France by the United States 

 Signal Service for the benefit of westward-bound vessels. Captains 

 of trans-Atlantic steamships are requested, in the interest of naviga- 

 tion, to send in prompt and complete reports. No doubt Britfsh 

 shipowners will instruct their officers to co-operate in this 

 enterprising experiment, as this country has at least equa 

 interest with others in the safety of Atlantic navigation. 



A DISCUSSION on the distribution of cloud over the eastern 

 part of the North Atlantic, by Dr. W. Koppen, will be found 

 in the Antialen der Hydrographie und Maritimen Meteorologie 

 for October. The author points out that the cloud-conditions 

 over the Atlantic are now fairly well known from the publica- 

 tions of the Meteorological Office (Captain Toynbee's great 

 work for nine 10° squares), and the six 10' squares dis- 

 cussed by the Deutsche Seewarte. Dr. Koppen gives a table 

 showing the mean monthly cloud from 20°-5o' N. and from 

 lo''-40^ W. , and the number of observations used, for every 

 5°, showing that, with regard to longitude, in the months Janu- 

 ary to April the cloud decreases north of 10" N. as we approach 

 the shores of Africa and Europe, while in the other months this 

 does not hold good. South of the equatorial calm-belt, May 

 has the least cloud towards the east of the district, and in the 

 months September to February the least cloud is towards the 

 west. The differences of the amount of cloud with regard to 

 latitude are much more decided, and these changes are shown 

 on a map of equal lines of mean cloud, on the same plan as was 

 adopted by the author in his discussion of the rainfall (Nature, 

 vol. xxxvi. p. 617). He also compares the cloud and rainfall 

 curves for the yearly period, and draws attention to their marked 

 difference in the zone of i5°-27^ N. lat. While the tropical 

 summer rains cease between \^^ and 20" N., the summer maxi- 

 mum of cloud extends as far as 25° N. In the same way the 

 winter maximum of cloud only extends southwards to 25" N., 

 while the rain extends to 17" N. In these latitudes the mini- 

 mum of cloud falls in the autumn, and the minimum of rain in 

 sprinj. Only from i5°-i 7° to the southwards is the amount of 

 cloud in spring less than in autumn, while northwards of 27° N. 

 both minima coincide in the late summer season. Between 15° 

 and 20° N. the end of the long dry season, lasting from Febru- 

 ary to June, is very cloudy. The author also compares his 

 cloud-results with those obtained by M. Teisserenc de Bort from 

 independent data (Nature, vol. xxxvi. p. 15), and on the whole 

 expresses himself satisfied at the agreement between the two 

 investigations. 



We have the pleasure of recording the commencement of the 

 publication of meteorological observations in the Boletin de 

 Estadislica of Puebla (Mexico). Observations taken three times 

 a tlay are published for several stations, and monthly means for 

 several others. The stations are generally at great altitudes 

 above the sea. 



