March 25, 1920] 



NATURE 



19 



then given on "The Effect of Neglect in the Past," 

 Remedying the Neglect," "The Basis of Research," 

 ,iad "Research: What it is not." 



It is to be regretted that the report shows a certain 

 lack of appreciation of the conditions under which 

 scientific research and investigations may be con- 

 ducted. The appointment of a director who comes 

 fresh and unbiased to the wool industry is an experi- 

 iiKnt well worth watching in view of future develop- 

 ments. But how comes it that the actual laboratories 

 are to be divorced from the Yorkshire University of 

 Leeds? This action appears all the more strange 

 when it is noted that of the seven researches and 

 investigations undertaken, five have been carried out 

 in the University of Leeds ; of the four appointments 

 made to the staff, three are from the Universitv of 

 Leeds; and of the two large researches conjointly 

 undertaken, both originated in the University of 

 LtH^ds, the second being started by drawing upon the 

 Iniversity's unique flock of Soay sheep. 



It is further somewhat strange to read that "in 

 the simplest matters it is not possible to find informa- 

 tion in a correct and authoritative form," in view of 

 the fact that the country which has been specially 

 (onimended in the report' for its highly developed re- 

 -. arch activities (the United States of America) adopts 

 ,1 Yorkshire text-book as its standard work of refer- 

 . nee, and th.it Australia similarly regards Yorkshire 

 publications on wool. We hope that the tendencies 

 here indicated are only a passing phase, and that ulti- 

 mately credit will be rendered to those institutions, 

 particularlv the University of 'L^eds and the Bradford 

 Technical ' College, and ' individuals who by their 

 labours in the past have made possible the develop- 

 ment of this association. 



Research work on wool presents such remarkable 

 difficulties that apparentlv the onlv possibility of sound 

 progress in the future lies in the closest and most 

 amicable association of all institutions and individuals 

 speciallv qualified to assist in introducing science and 

 scientific method to the greatest possible extent 

 throughout the wool industries. It mav be that the 

 secrecv insisted on bv this association is essential in 

 the interests of subscribing members, but the broader in- 

 terests of research are represented bv an approximately 

 equal Government contribution, and it is obvious that 

 these broader interests can best be fulfilled bv a well- 

 considered scheme of association between the educa- 

 tional institutions in question and the Research 

 Association. 



Climatology of North-west Russia and 

 France.^ 



SINCE the withdrawal of the British Forces from 

 -Archangel and Murmansk, the climate of North- 

 west Russia has become a matter of less interest to 

 the average Englishman than was the case six months 

 ago, but to the meteorologist the district remains one 

 of importance. The climatic features of the area in 

 winter must be considered in relation to its inter- 

 mediate position between the relatively warm waters 

 of the Arctic Ocean and the intense cold of Central 

 .Asia. The effect of these two influences is seen in 

 the approximate equality of temperature in January 

 at .Mexandrovsk, near the mouth of the Kola River, 

 in the north, and Petrograd in the south, notwith- 

 standing a difference of nearly io° in latitude between 

 the two stations. 



1 (i) "The Climate of North-weit Ruisia." Pp. 26 + 4 plates, (t.ondon : 

 Meteorojogiral Oflfice, tpiQ.) 



(a) " Ktud's stir le Climat de la France." Deuxieitie Pnrtie : " Reeion 

 du Sud-Ouest et du Sud." By A. .\ngot. Pp. 114+13 plate<!. (Rijime 

 des Piuies.) 



NO. 2630, VOL. 105] 



The comparative warmth of the Arctic coast is 

 likely to become a matter of considerable economic 

 importance, as it enables the recently developed port 

 of Murmansk to be used for navigation throughout 

 the year. The dates of the forming and breaking-up 

 of ice on the Nova, Dvina, and Onega Rivers and on 

 Lcike Onega are shown in a table in the work under 

 notice, where are eriven not only the mean date, but 

 also the periods within which the date will occur on 

 the average, (a) once in two years, and (fc) once in 

 five years, thus indicating the degree of variability 

 experienced. This may be a matter of nearly as much 

 importance as the actual mean value. 



The climatic conditions of North-west Russia are 

 presented in a series of tables giving data for seven 

 stations, while letterpress directs attention to the more 

 important features. It may cause surprise to learn 

 that a temperature of 85° F. has been recorded at 

 Archangel, while the average highest reading for Julv 

 is 80° F. The percentage of cloudy skies in North 

 Russia is high even in the summer — a feature which 

 is well brought out by diagrams of a novel type, which 

 show the frequency of fog, precipitation, and over- 

 cast, cloudy, and clear skies for Archangel and Kola. 



Upper-air temperatures are presented for Petrograd, 

 where trustworthy means are available, and also for 

 Kiruna, in Swedish Lapland, where the number of ob- 

 servations is less satisfactory. In the two tables in 

 which these data are set out, increasing height runs 

 in one case up the page, and in the other down. It 

 seems desirable that one or the other of these methods 

 should be standardised. There is much to be said for 

 reversing the older method and following the more 

 natural way by running increasing heights up the 

 page, so that the greater heights are above the smaller. 

 The paper does not aim at being a complete treatise 

 upon the subject of the climate of North-west Russia, 

 but within a small compass a good deal of interesting 

 information is put together. 



The second of the two publications under notice is 

 of a different and more specialised type, dealing with 

 but one branch of climatology, namely, rainfall, for 

 the southern and south-western districts of France. 

 This forms the second part of a larger work which 

 is to cover the rainfall of the whole of France, and, 

 as the discussion of the data is left over until the 

 publication of the whole is complete, the present 

 volume contains little but tabulated matter. The 

 region embraced is bounded by the Rhone on the 

 east and by the Pyrenees on the south, while north- 

 ward it stops somewhat short of the Loire. 



The thirty Departments included in the area are 

 represented by some 950 rainfall stations, the mean 

 "density" varying in general in the different regions 

 from \ to I station per 10 km. square. In the main 

 tables each Department is dealt with separately in the 

 following manner : — First are set out brief particulars 

 of the different stations giving height above sea-Ievel 

 and the period covered by the observations. Next are 

 given the mean monthly and annual fall in millimetres 

 for each station reduced to the common period 185 1- 

 iQoo. Finally, for selected stations the proportionate 

 fall in each month of the year is shown. The means 

 from these selected stations show the annual march of 

 rainfall for the .Department as a whole, and in this 

 case correction is made for the unequal lengths of 

 the months. 



.'\t certain stations, more numerous in some Depart- 

 ments than in others, the rain-gauge is placed upon 

 a roof, which leads to an unsatisfactory exposure. It 

 is pointed out that the errors introduced bv such an 

 exposure are proportionately greater in winter than 

 in summer, so that the annual curve is distorted. It 

 is worth noting that the normal height of the rin> 



