April 19. 1888] 



NATURE 



58 r 



cooled star; for, with one, its life is stirred up by millions 

 of beings of various kinds which are always changing, by 

 trees and shrubs and different kinds of plants which adorn 

 its surface and supply man and beast with the food and 

 nourishment necessary to sustain life. 



Again, when we consider that, of the myriads of meteo- 

 rites which people space, twenty millions, with weights 

 varying from tons to the minutest possible specks, are 

 met with by the earth every twenty-four hours, a new 

 function of the atmosphere is revealed, for owing to its 

 buffer-like action they fall harmless, and indeed almost 

 unperceived, on the surface of our planet. 



Since a knowledge of the atmosphere and its laws must 

 be of more service — though not of greater interest — to 

 those whose lot it is to sail the ocean than to those who 

 sit at home at ease, no country should foster meteorology 

 with more gladness than England, so many of whose 

 subjects are under the influence of the " vital fluid," 

 which the author gives as a definition of the atmosphere. 



The volume is divided into six books, each of which 

 contains about eight chapters. In the first book is 

 described the atmospheric envelope, the method of deter- 

 mining its height and chemical composition, finishing with 

 a chapter on sound and the history of the invention and 

 development of the balloon which was tried at Paris in 

 1884, with some most interesting descriptions of ascents 

 which from time to time have been made, including a 

 table of the highest inhabited places, highest mountains, 

 and the distribution of the various species of birds as 

 regards the height to which they fly. 



Light and the optical phenomena of the air are next 

 dealt with. Reflection and refraction are first discussed, 

 followed by the beauties of sunrise and sunset, the 

 grandeur and magnificence of which it is almost im- 

 possible to describe. We find that not enough mention is 

 made of the absorptive power of the atmosphere which 

 produces at those times all the most beautiful colours. A 

 very interesting phenomenon is here referred to— a total 

 eclipse of the moon with the sun still above the horizon, 

 which is brought about solely by the refraction of the 

 atmosphere. 



Then follow illustrations and descriptions of all the 

 various kinds of rainbows, halos, and mirages which have 

 been seen both on land and at sea. 



The third book, which is by far the largest and most 

 important of all, is on temperature. When we come to 

 consider the enormous amount of solar heat that is poured 

 on to the earth's surface, we may have some idea of the 

 work which our atmosphere is continually doing for us. 

 The atmosphere, as the author says, is in truth a huge 

 machine, on whose action everything on our planet which 

 has life is dependent. There are in this machine neither 

 wheelwork, pistons, nor cogs, nevertheless it does the work 

 of several millions of horses, and this work has for its 

 end and effect the preservation of life. 



Next we come to the waters of the earth, which play 

 one of the greatest parts in the working of the atmo- 

 sphere. All day long, and every day, water is being 

 carried away from the earth's surface in the form of 

 vapour, and it is chiefly in this way that the action of the 

 sun's rays on the face of our planet is reduced. The 

 amount of water evaporated each year, as the author states, 

 amounts to 721 billions of cubic metres. The enormous 



quantity of heat which has produced this effect could melt 

 per year eleven thousand millions of cubic metres of iron, 

 a mass whose volume would exceed several times that 

 of the Alps. Following this are some very interesting 

 chapters on the seasons, containing a great many tables 

 of the highest and lowest barometric and thermometric 

 readings which have been taken at various places, con- 

 cluding with an account of the distribution of the 

 temperature on the surface of the globe. 



The wind and general circulation of the atmosphere 

 are the subjects of the next book, including a chapter on 

 ocean currents, showing how the wind is influenced by 

 them. The course of the Gulf Stream, which plays such an 

 active part with the climate of various places, and is the 

 most important of all currents, is here described, with a 

 map showing its course and that of various other cur- 

 rents. The atmosphere, as we know, is threaded with 

 winds, as the sea is with currents, some of which are more 

 or less constant, others variable. But there are still other 

 kinds of winds, especially those that characterize certain 

 countries and certain parts of the ocean, which are more 

 violent and destructive than the ordinary kind, such as 

 cyclones, the simoom, &c. 



In the next book the various forms and kinds of clouds 

 are described, and illustrated by splendid coloured plates, 

 which give very good ideas of their form, with the 

 results obtained by M. N. Ekholm, of Hagstrom, of the 

 heights of the various forms of clouds. This will be 

 read with great interest in connection with Mr. Ralph 

 Abercromby's latest observations. 



Electricity and the various forms and ways in which it 

 appears in our air are discussed in the sixth and last 

 book ; the aurora, the most curious and most beautiful 

 of all forms which are assumed by it, being fully treated. 

 These wonderful displays, which are seen to perfection in 

 the Polar regions, and which during the long winter there 

 tend to change its monotony by shooting forth brilliant 

 rays of light, and illuminating a region which would other- 

 wise be in darkness, are here described in a graphic 

 manner, woodcuts and coloured plates illustrating the 

 various forms they assume. 



The concluding chapter is on the prediction of weather 

 — a subject which at the present day is carried on to such a 

 great extent, and which to a country such as ours is in- 

 valuable in giving us warning of storms that would 

 otherwise come upon us and do much destruction. 



The volume is thoroughly well written. It is profusely 

 illustrated throughout, and there are fifteen plates 

 printed in chromotypography and two hand-coloured 

 plates. No pains seem to have been spared to make it 

 an intellectual and enjoyable book ; the object having been 

 to produce a work giving a broad outline of the various 

 causes of every-day occurrences in the atmosphere. 



W. L. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 Life itt Corea. By W. R. Carles, F.R.G.S. With Illus- 

 trations and Map. (London : Macmillan and Co., 

 1888.) 

 This is a valuable and interesting account of a country 

 about which little definite knowledge has hitherto been 

 accessible. There are some aspects of his subject with 

 which Mr. Carles does not profess to deal. Apart from 

 such incidents as happened before his own eyes, he has 



