472 



NATURE 



[March 14, 190T 



that fall are like blood. The phenomanon, which is 

 known by the name of blood rain, is attributed to dust 

 from the Sahara Desert, carried here by the wind." And 

 the Rome correspondent of the Agency on the same date 

 says : " The phenomena reported from Sicily have also 

 been observed in Southern Italy. The sky here has a 

 yellow tint, and a violent sirocco is sweeping over the 

 city. At Naples showers of sand have fallen, and the 

 phenomenon of the Fata Morgana has been observed, the 

 sky being of a deep red colour." 



Later reports from Algiers describe the same occur- 

 rence in North Africa, and the explanation suggested is 

 no doubt correct. It is simply a case of fine sand raised 

 to a great height by one of the " dust devils " or whirl- 

 winds of the Sahara, and carried by the movement of the 

 upper air to a considerable distance before the particles, 

 resisted in their fall by the friction of the air, have suc- 

 ceeded in reaching the ground. If rain happens to fall 

 through such a cloud of suspended dust it naturally 

 carries down a good deal of the material with it, and 

 leaves red stains on drying up. If there is no rain, the 

 fall of dry dust takes place all the same, and this efifect is 

 well known at sea in the trade-wind belt west of the 

 Sahara. 



It must be remembered that another kind of " blood 

 rain," even more effective in appealing to the fears of the 

 ignorant and superstitious, owes its alarming tint to the 

 presence of minute organisms similar to those of red 

 snow. 



Dust rains of one kind or another are fairly frequent. 

 Those of "sulphur" have been traced to the pollen 

 blown abroad from conifers in the spring, and those of 

 " ink," unhappily commoner in this country, to the catch- 

 ing up of smoke from manufacturing districts. Such a 

 black rain, accompanied by intense darkness, fell over 

 nearly 500 square miles in the north of Ireland in 

 February 1898 during a spell of north-easterly wind, 

 while in May 1899 a similar phenomenon was reported 

 over an equal area of central and south-western England. 



The precise atmospheric conditions necessary for the 

 raising of dust or smoke into the upper parts of the 

 atmosphere, and for the concentration and descent over 

 special areas, is not yet fully understood ; but the careful 

 meteorological observations now made in many parts 

 of Italy may be expected to throw some light on the 

 general phenomenon when dealing with the recent 

 occurrence. 



DR. G. M. DAWSON, C.M.G., F.R.S. 



GEOLOGICAL science, and Canada in particular, have 

 suffered an irreparable loss in the death of George 

 Mercer Dawson, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., the director of 

 the Geological Survey of that Dominion. He was born 

 at Pictou, Nova Scotia, on August i, 1849, and was the 

 eldest surviving son of the late Sir John William Dawson, 

 whose death was recorded in Nature for November 23, 

 1899. 



After studying at the McGill University in Montreal, 

 he came to London and entered the Royal School of 

 Mines in 1869. Here he gained the Duke of Cornwall's 

 scholarship and the Edward Forbes and Murchison 

 medals, thus passing with distinction as an Associate of 

 the School. The training which he received in biology, 

 as well as in geology and mining, was of essential service 

 in his after career. 



Having returned to Canada, he was in 1873 appointed 

 geologist and botanist to the North American Boundary 

 Commission, and two years later he joined the staff of 

 the Geological Survey of Canada, becoming assistant 

 director in 1883 and director in 1895. 



NO. 1637, VOL. 63] 



For nearly thirty years he was thus actively engaged 

 in field-work, gaining a broad and firm grasp of the 

 leading features in the geology of Canada. If, as he 

 himself remarked, much of his work was " of an ex- 

 ploratory character, and only occasionally, and then to 

 a limited extent, precise or finished," it has been none 

 the less important in advancing the science of geology 

 and in furthering the development of the mineral resources 

 of the Dominion. Far better equipped as a pioneer than 

 was possible in the early days of geology, and keen in the 

 examination of fresh ground, his enthusiasm was tem- 

 pered only by the reluctance in leaving unsolved those 

 problems which required further detailed study. In spite 

 of constitutional infirmity, he possessed a marvellous 

 amount of energy, while as a companion and leader he 

 gained the confidence and affection of all who had the 

 privilege of working with him. 



His contributions to science, though mainly geological, 

 were imbued with a general knowledge of natural history, 

 and included observations on such subjects as seals, 

 locusts and freshwater sponges. In geology he dealt at 

 times with all the great formations, with volcanic rocks, 

 with changes in the level of land, and with fluctuations 

 of the great American lakes. In one of his earlier papers, 

 communicated to the Geological Society of London, he 

 described the glacial phenomena of the central regions of 

 North America, and attributed the deposits of the great 

 plain to the action of floating ice. In later papers he 

 gave accounts of the remarkable evidences of glaciation 

 in British Columbia, and of the shore-lines and terraces 

 which extend from the present sea-level up to a height 

 of more than 5000 feet. He then maintained the marine 

 origin of the drifts of the western plains, but stated his 

 opinion without dogmatism, or, as he puts it (in the 

 British Association Handbook of Canada), "under all 

 reserve and subject to further inquiry." 



Many of his geological observations were embodied in 

 his official reports, commencing with a general description 

 of the Tertiary Lignite formation which overlaps the 

 Cretaceous strata of the Red River — a report prepared 

 for the British North American Boundary Commission. 

 On the Geological Survey his work lay principally in 

 British Columbia and the North-West Territory. The 

 economic resources necessarily occupied much attention, 

 and the mines and minerals, as well as the more purely 

 scientific problems, were investigated as fully as possible 

 in Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte's Island, the Yukon 

 territory, and in all parts of British Columbia. He con- 

 tributed also to journals and transactions of societies in 

 the United States as well as in Canada. 



In later years his time was so largely occupied with 

 administrative work, and in the preparation of his annual 

 reports of the progress of the Geological Survey in 

 Canada, that he had little time for recreation. The full 

 value of his work has hardly as yet been appreciated, but 

 there is no doubt that his name will stand in the fore- 

 front among Canadian geologists. It is already written 

 permanently in Dawson city, of gold-bearing fame, in 

 recognition of his able researches in that region. 



In 1891 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society 

 of London, and in the same year he was appointed one 

 of H.M. Behring Sea Commissioners. During the 

 inquiry connected with this Commission he made 

 personal observations on the natural history of seals, and 

 his services were officially recognised by his being made 

 CM G. In 1891 also he was awarded the Bigsby Medal 

 by the Council of the Geological Society of London, in 

 appreciation of the value of his researches into the geo- 

 logical structure of Canada. In 1893 he was elected 

 president of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 1896 

 he was chosen president of Section C at the Toronto 

 meeting of the British Association. 



He died on March 2 after a brief illness. 



