January 8, 1920] 



NATURE 



483 



examination was made by H. J. Conn, but it led to 

 no result, indicating the weakness of present-day 

 methods. The bacterial numbers fluctuated with the 

 moisture-content, as at other centres. Some interest- 

 ing soil-moisture relationships are brought to light in 

 Bull. 352 (1914). E. J. Russell. 



THE RAINFALL OF THE UNITED STATES. 



p ROF. ROBERT DE C. WARD, of Harvard Uni- 

 -'- versity, contributes an article on "Some Charac- 

 teristics of the Rainfall of the United States " to the 

 Scientific Monthly for September. The article is 

 essentially of a popular character, but it is dealt with 

 in a strictly scientific manner, and references to the 

 several works from which the information is selected 

 are given throughout, so that a closer and more minute 

 study can be made where thought desirable. Many 

 of the characteristics dealt with are among the most 

 important, and certainly the most interesting, asso- 

 ciated with rainfall. There is an endeavour to explain 

 the cause of the special characteristics, a feature in 

 many discussions of the present day. It has often been 

 said in the past, with respect to meteorology, that 

 there are bricks enough, but that we now require 

 builders. Those who have been familiar with meteoro- 

 logy for the last half-century note with satisfaction its 

 practical development. 



Referring to the annual and monthly rainfall, Prof. 

 Ward associates the varxing amounts with the tracks 

 of cyclones and the general pressure distribution which 

 constitute the rain-producing conditions. The ratio of 

 wettest and driest years to the mean fall is given for 

 the United States generally. Where the annual rain- 

 fall ranges from 5 in. to 30 in. the fall in the wettest 

 vears mav be expected to amount to about 180 per 

 cent, of the average, whilst in the driest years the 

 total is not likelv to be less than about 55 per cent, 

 of the average. Years with precipitation above the 

 mean are less frequent than years with precipitation 

 below the mean. It is emphasised that it is always 

 instructive to investigate the weather-map conditions 

 in all cases of unusually wet or dry periods, and to 

 follow especially the tracks of low-pressure systems. 



Dealing with periods with or without precipitation, 

 the article states that "over most of the country the 

 number of consecutive rainy days has been between 

 10 and 20. . . . On the north-western coast (Western 

 Oregon), where the rainfall is heavy and the cyclonic 

 activity is marked, more than 30 days in succession 

 (30 to 40) have been rainy. ..." 



It is said that droughts may occur anywhere in 

 the United States, especiallv where cyclonic controls 

 of precipitation are weak. There is a distinct relation 

 between droughts and forest fires — "a pre-requisite of 

 a forest fire is a drought." 



The Government meteorological reports, such as the 

 Annual Report of the Chief of the Weather Bureau 

 and the Monthlv Weather Review, give much valuable 

 material with respect to rainfall. As a rough-and- 

 ready classification of excessive rainfalls, mention is 

 made of 10 in. or riiore in a month ; 2'5o in. or more in 

 twentv-four hours; and i in. or more in an hour. 

 Referring to secular variation of rainfall, it is pointed 

 out that trustworthv conclusions cannot be drawn, as 

 few observations go back to 1850. and most observa- 

 tions date from later than 1S70. A period of observa- 

 tions for twentv-five vears, 1887-iqii, for all districts 

 of the I'nited States "lends no colour to the theory 

 of a rvcle in precipitation," and curves for Now Eng- 

 land, the Western Gulf, and North Carolina for iSvc)- 

 rqii "show no approach to uniformity of distribution 

 in time or spfiCe." For non-instrumental evidence a 



NO. 2619, VOL. 104] 



study has been made of the "rings" of trees in 

 Arizona and California, "it being assumed that the 

 thickness of the annual layers of tree-growth gives 

 an approximate measure of the annual amount of 

 precipitation. . . . The fact that the 'big trees' have 

 continued to thrive for three thousand years has been 

 taken to indicate a remarkable uniformity of climatic 

 conditions rather than a series of oscillations." 



C. H. 



RETIREMENT OF SIR OLIVER LODGE. 



ON January i the City of Birmingham gave expres- 

 sion to its high appreciation of the work of Sir 

 Oliver Lodge as Principal of the University. At a 

 meeting in the Council House, at which the Lord 

 Mayor (Alderman William Cadbury) presided over a 

 representative gathering of the leading citizens, an 

 illuminated address was presented to Sir Oliver and 

 Ladv Lodge. The address, which was read by Sir 

 Gilbert Barling (Vice-Chancellor of the University), 

 was as follows:— "To Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 

 LL.D., and Lady Lodge: On the eve of your depar- 

 ture from Birmingham we desire to express to you 

 our deep sense of loss, our sincere appreciation of 

 your great services, and our warmest wishes for your 

 happiness and well-being in your new home. To you. 

 Sir Oliver, we owe much as a physicist. Your dis- 

 tinction has added lustre to our city. As academic 

 leader you have started our University on its career 

 with loftv ideals. You have done much to _ form 

 public opinion as to the meaning of true education in 

 all its forms and among all classes, and your ethical 

 teaching has ever been directed towards social 

 amelioration. You may be satisfied that your labours 

 of nearly twenty years have left a deep and lasting 

 mark on the community which you have so long 

 adorned. To both of you we wish good-bye with the 

 deepest regret, and our most kindh feelings accom- 

 pany vou." 



sir Gilbert added that it was the intention of the 

 subscribers to oresent also more substantial evidence 

 of their kind feelings in the form of a motor-car, and 

 a jewel for Ladv Lodge. He reminded his audience 

 of the greatness 'of the task which Mr. Joseph Cham- 

 berlain had set before the first Principal of the L^ni- 

 versity, and he bore eloquent testimony to the admir- 

 able way in which Sir Oliver had realised the ideals 

 of that statesman and justified his choice. 



Sir Oliver Lodge in his reply emphasised the debt 

 which the city owed to those public-spirited men who 

 had gone before. Ho hoped th<? city had become proud 

 of the University which "it had brought into bein". _ It 

 took a little time always to know what an institution 

 was worth, but the L'niversitv was the crown of the 

 city. He referred to the difl'iculties under which the 

 University had laboured through lack of funds, but he 

 believed that a better day was dawning. The State 

 and the city were co-operating to a greater extent 

 than before'. One of the first uses he proposed to 

 make of his freedom was to visit America. He had 

 often been asked to go, but had never before been 

 free to do so. 



THE CHIPPAWA-OUEENSTON HYDRO- 

 ELECTRIC DEVELOPMENT SCHEME. 



AMONG the whole of the world's sources of 

 water-power the Niagara Falls stand in a posi- 

 tion of unique importance. Not only is the gross 

 capacity of 5,000,000 h.p a magnificent industrial 

 asset of unrivalled proportions, but the actual develop- 

 ment of the Falls at the present time has enabled 



