October 2, 1919J 



NATURE 



99 



followed bv a sea-wave, which swept over the southern 

 coast of databato, causing great damage and loss of 

 life. About a month later, on September 13, there 

 were two violent shocks in the Batanes Islands, the 

 first of intensity 8 at 6.56 a.m., the second of inten- 

 sity 9 at II. 5 a.m., by which the towns of Sabtan 

 and Ivana were destroyed. 



The Bulusan volcano rises on the south-east end 

 of the island of Luzon to a height of about 5000 ft. 

 For centuries — indeed, so far back as the historic 

 record extends — it has been dormant, only occasionally 

 ejecting small jets of steam from numerous vents 

 around its breached and nearly filled-up crater. A 

 few light outbursts with ejection of ashes are reported 

 as having occurred in 1852, 1889, and 1894. Far more 

 important were the eruptions which took place in 

 January, 1916, and October, 1918, and are briefly 

 described by the Rev. M. Saderra Maso in the 

 U.S. Weather Bulletin for January last. The first 

 began on January 16, 1916, and lasted five days, 

 with numerous earth-tremors and rumbling noises 

 and small explosions. The eruption of October, 1918, 

 was more violent, and at the end of Decemlx;r incan- 

 descent lava began to pour down a deep ravine on 

 the south-south-west side of the mountain, continuing 

 until the end of March, 1919. The damage caused by 

 the eruptions is of little account; indeed, the planta- 

 tions on the lower flanks of the volcano have Ix-en 

 benefited by the small falls of ashes. 



Sy»ions's Meteorological Magazine for September 

 inaugurates the passing of the magazine from the 

 I^ritish Rainfall Organisation to the Meteorological 

 Office as a part of the unification of the British 

 Meteorological Services. The Thames Vallev rain- 

 fall map for August shows the general rains to have 

 ranged during the month from 2 in. to 4 in., the 

 rains being heaviest in the southern districts of 

 Hampshire and Sussex. In London and over a large 

 part of Middlesex the rains measured about 2-5 in., 

 the least rains amounting to 2 in. and less over the 

 estuary of the Thames. 



The Monthly Meteorological Chart of the North 

 .Atlantic Ocean published by the Meteorological Office, 

 in addition to the usual information dealing with 

 matters of especial interest to the seaman, has on 

 the face of the chart a note on the increasing storm 

 tendency during the autumn. Attention is directed 

 to the fact that during the winter half of the vear 

 both anticyclones ind cyclones are of greater intensitv 

 than those of the quieter months of summer, the 

 barometer during the winter season both rising higher 

 and falling lower, which accounts for the greater 

 severity of the wind. As an illustration of the ir- 

 regular track of storms at times, attention is directed 

 to a storm experienced by H.M.S. Caesar in the 

 neighbourhood of Bermuda during the early davs of 

 September, 1915, when the storm's path seenis to 

 have nearly completed a circle and then to have 

 doubled back over a considerable area. To confirm 

 so erratic a path, a minute discussion of neighbour- 

 ing and surrounding observations seems desirable. 

 .'\utumn is referred to as the most stormv period for 

 hurricanes in the tropical belt, but the accumulated 

 data for many years show August as the most stormy 

 month for West Indian hurricanes. Charts are given 

 of the North Polar seas for the months from .April 

 to August inclusive, taken from the " State of the 

 Ice in the .Arctic Seas, 1918," published by the 

 Danish Meteorological Institute. 



The developments of aerial photographv during the 

 war seem likely to be put into practical use in peace- 

 time in connection with surveying and cartographic 

 work. In La Nature for September 6, P. Dautriche 

 NO. 2605, VOL. 104] 



expresses the opinion that the field of application for 

 aero-photography seems to comprise (i) land carto- 

 graphy (revision and explorations); (2) marine carto- 

 graphy or charting; (3) the preparation of large-scale 

 maps and plans for various public works enterprises ; 

 and (4) control work (forest sections, the traffic of 

 ports, stations, etc.). His article develops the subject 

 in an elementary way by simple examples of the 

 method of procedure. 



A WRITER in La Nature (September 6) sketches the 

 development of the French Ministrv of Inventions, 

 from its inception in 1915. The Department has been 

 responsible, like the British War Inventions Depart- 

 ment, for carrying out numerous investigations re- 

 lated to matters of artillerv, small arms, lorries, 

 tanks, aircraft, and shipping. One of the most useful 

 inventions which was the outcome of much experiment 

 by Prof. Perrin and his collaborators is a method of 

 acoustic signalling by means of a compressed-air 

 trumpet. The apparatus, which is quite portable, 

 comprises two clarions or bugles having different 

 notes and a compressed-air cvlinder. It has a range 

 of several kilometres. Much valuable work was 

 done, too, on the photographv of projectiles at extra 

 high speeds. Mention is also' made of Prof. Rotht^'s 

 method of recording wind velocity by means of small 

 anemometers and mills attached to captive balloons, 

 the anemometers closing an electric circuit at intervals 

 of 10 m. of change in wind force. 



An interesting pamphlet has been issued by the 

 Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce relating to the 

 electro-chemical industries established at the Falls. 

 The power at present utilised amounts to 605,000 h.p., 

 whilst schemes in process of development will absorb 

 a further 420,000 h.p. It is estimated that a total 

 of 2,500,000 h.p., equivalent to more than 16,000,000 

 tons of coal per annum, may be obtained without 

 impairing the natural beauty of the Falls. The sub- 

 stances produced by the various companies cover a 

 wide range, and include abrasives, refractories, fer- 

 tilisers, metals and alloys, inorganic compounds, and 

 a variety of organic substances such as chloroform, 

 methyl alcohol, and formaldehyde. When cheap 

 power is available, electro-chemical methods of pro- 

 duction often prove cheaper than alternative pro- 

 cesses, and to this fact may be attributed the rapid 

 development of hydro-electric schemes in all countries 

 where water-power is available on a sufficientiv large 

 scale. The policy of the United States is to utilise 

 water-power to the fullest extent, therebv conserving 

 fuel ; and it is worth while considering whether the 

 British Empire could not act as a whole in this con- 

 nection, particularly in view of the present situation 

 in relation to coal supplies. Judging from the success 

 already achieved at Niagara, it appears probable that 

 a continuously increasing proportion of chemical and 

 metallurgical products will emanate from water-power 

 centres in the future. 



We have received a copy of an interesting pamphlet 

 (obtainable from the editor of the British Baker, 

 Mess'-s. MacLaren and Sons, Ltd., 38 Shoe Lane, 

 E.C., price i^.) by Capt. Robert Whymper on "The 

 Conditions that Govern Staleness in Bread." For the 

 greater part the report deals with work carried out by 

 Capt. Whymper himself as -Assistant Inspector of 

 Bakeries with the Army in France, and it extends 

 over far too large a field for complete abstraction 

 here. The questions studied include the estimation 

 and location of losses occurring in the manufacture 

 of bread, the conditions that govern staleness 

 in bread, changes occurring in bread with age, and 

 the colloid nature of bread-crumb. The conclusions 



