444 



NATURE 



\_March 8, 1888 



The Report on the Administration of the Meteorological 

 Department of the Government of India for the financial year 

 1886-87 gives interesting details of the work carried on in the 

 various provinces, and of the inspection of the stations. The 

 observatories now number 135 ; three have been established in 

 the new territory of Upper Burmah, where scarcely anything is 

 yet known about the meteorology. Rainfall is registered at 486 

 stations, and bright sunshine at six observatories. Ground tem- 

 perature is recorded at five selected stations, and some of the 

 results are of great interest, showing that the average tempera- 

 ture of the ground in India is about 5° above that of the air ; and 

 also that there is a small oscillation of many years' duration, 

 amounting to about 4°, affecting the air temperature and the 

 intensity of solar radiation. Considerable attention is paid to 

 the laws of drought, and the hope is expressed that by degrees 

 they may be established on a sound physical basis. The in- 

 fluence of forests on rainfall has been fully discussed, and the 

 evidence afforded is favourable to the assumption that forests 

 increase the rainfall. The work of marine meteorology also is 

 actively prosecuted ; the weather charts of the Bay of Bengal 

 have been lately mentioned (Nature, December 8, 1887, p. 137). 

 A work on the storms of that district is in course of preparation, 

 and it is proposed to draw up a hand-book on the subj ect, for 

 the use of seamen. 



Under the title of "Deutsche ueberseeische meteorologische 

 Beobachtungen," the Hamburg Meteorological Office has com- 

 menced a new publication containing observations made under 

 its auspices abroad. The first part contains observations made 

 at six stations in Labrador from September 1883 to December 

 1884. These stations were equipped in August 1882 as supple- 

 mentary to the International Polar Expeditions, and, as the 

 missionary observers were willing to continue the observations, 

 and the stations are important owing to the passage of many 

 barometric depressions over Labrador, it has been decided to 

 retain them. The other stations for which observations are 

 published are Hatzfeldhafen (New Guinea) and Walfish Bay 

 (West Coast of Africa). Future parts are to be published as soon 

 as another year's observations are received from Labrador, and 

 will include observations received from other stations in the 

 meantime. 



The Pilot Chart for the North Atlantic Ocean for the month 

 of February draws attention to the great danger to Transatlantic 

 navigation from icebergs and field ice, from the present time and 

 until the end of August. The ice is liable to be encountered off 

 the Grand Banks as far south as 42° N., and between the 42nd 

 and 52nd meridians. It is pointed out that too much reliance 

 should not be placed on the use of the thermometer, and that 

 warning may often be obtained by means of the echo thrown 

 back from the surface of an iceberg when a whistle is sounded, 

 or any sharp noise is made. 



The Chief Signal Officer of the United States has issued a 

 new edition of "Instructions to Observers of the Signal 

 Service" (Washington, 1887, 142 pp. large 8 vo). The " In- 

 structions " are most complete, and contain information which 

 will be very useful to observers in all countries, and many points 

 that will be novel to English readers. On the establishment of 

 a station, a local committee of management is formed, the chair- 

 man of which corresponds directly with the Signal Office, and a 

 detailed report on the working of the station is furnished each 

 year. All barometrical observations are to be reduced for 

 gravity at lat. 45°, and complete directions are given for remov- 

 ing air from both barometers and thermometers. Instead of the 

 usual drawings of the instruments, detailed plans of all their 

 separate parts are given ; by this means observers obtain an 

 accurate knowledge of their construction. The observation of 

 clouds is referred to seven types only. Full directions are given 



for drawing weather maps from telegraphic reports, and, finally, 

 a good list of works recommended for study, and the necessary 

 tables for reduction, complete the volume. 



A remarkable achievement in transportation of live fish a 

 great distance is described by M. Jousset de Bellesme in a recent 

 number of the Revue Scientifique. The aquatic fauna of Chili 

 being very poor, a selection of fish, comprising 100 Californian 

 salmon, 40 carp, 20 tench, 20 gudgeon, with a number of eels, 

 barbs, minnows, lotes, &c., were despatched from Paris in 

 September last to stock the waters. The voyage, of about a 

 month, was, of course, a very trying one in this relation, 

 especially as regards variation of temperature. In treatment of 

 the fish care was taken to lessen the activity of their functions by 

 refrigeration and starvation (a carp will live fifty days without 

 food), and a continuous air circulation was kept up in the water 

 (which was not renewed). There was some loss among the 

 salmon, but thirty-nine were successfully installed at Santiago ; 

 and the other groups were mostly intact. Only the gudgeons, 

 lotes, and barbs, suffered serious loss. The experiment seems 

 to prove the possibility of carrying alive the most delicate fish 

 from any point of the globe to any other point. It -was also 

 ascertained that a tempSfature of 23"^ C. is not hurtful to the 

 health of alevins of Salmo quinat, as might have been feared. 

 The expense of the transport was considerable, but was willingly 

 borne by the Chilian Government, in view of future advantage 

 to the country. 



The Zoologist for March reprints an extraordinary pamphlet, 

 entitled, " An Account of Wolves nurturing Children in their 

 Dens." This pamphlet was printed at Plymouth in 1853, and 

 has long been out of print. On the wrapper of a copy in the 

 Zoological Library of the Natural History Museum at South 

 Kensington there is the following memorandum in the hand- 

 writing of the late Colonel Hamilton Smith : — "This account, 

 I am informed by friends, is written by Colonel Sleeman, of the 

 Indian army, the well-known officer who had charge of the 

 Thugg inquiries, and who resided long in the forests of India." 

 The writer records a number of cases of children who are said to 

 have been nurtured by wolves in India. In one in'-tance a large 

 female wolf was seen to leave her den followed by three whelps 

 and a little boy. This happened near Chandour, ten miles from 

 Sultanpoor, in the year 1847. The boy went on all fours, and 

 ran as fast as the whelps could. He was caught with difficulty, 

 and had to be tied, as he was very restive, and struggled hard to 

 rush into holes and dens. When a grown-up person came near 

 him he became alarmed, and tried to steal away. But when a 

 child came near him he rushed at it with a fierce snarl, like that 

 of a dog, and tried to bite it. When cooked meat was put near 

 him he rejected it with disgust ; but when raw meat was offered 

 he seized it with avidity, put it on the ground under his hand?;, 

 like a dog, and ate it with evident pleasure. He would not let 

 anyone come near him while he was eating, but he made no ob- 

 jection to a dog coming and sharing his food with him. The 

 trooper who captured the boy left him in charge bf the Rajah 

 of Hasunpoor, who sent him to Captain Nichollets, commanding 

 the first regiment of the Oude Local Infantry at Sultanpoor ; and 

 some interesting notes as to the boy's habits are given on this 

 officer's authority. He died in August 1850 ; and after his death 

 it was remembered that he had never been known to laugh or 

 smile. He used signs when he wanted anything, and very few 

 of them except when hungry, and he then pointed to his mouth. 

 When his food was placed at some distance from him, he would run 

 to it on all fours, like any four-footed animal, but at other times he 

 would walk uprightly occasionally. He shunned human beings, 

 and seemed to care for nothing but eating. If the pamphlet can 

 be proved to be perfectly trustworthy, it certainly deserves to be 

 carefully studied by anthropologists. 



