December 22, 1892] 



NATURE 



18: 



a Prussian gendarme, who had followed it at a gallop for some 

 distance. The route passed over part of Belgium, the Taunus, 

 and the Odenwald, and the towns of Metz and Frankfurt were 

 recognized in passing. 



The "Annals of the Harvard College Observatory" contain 

 a discussion by H. H. Clayton of the cloud observations made 

 at Mr. A. L. Rotch's observatory at Blue Hill, Massachusetts. 

 One of the most noticeable facts brought out by the measurements 

 of cloud heights and velocities, which have been conducted 

 with great care, is the difference in height between the same 

 clouds in summer and winter, the clouds, with few exceptions, 

 being lowest in winter. The bases of the cumulo-nimbus clouds, 

 however, are generally lower in summer, while, at the same 

 time, their tops are higher than in winter. The heights of the 

 different clouds were found to maintain an almost constant ratio 

 to each other. The mean velocities recorded showed that the 

 entire atmosphere moves twice as fast in winter as in summer. 

 The mean velocity of the highest clouds in winter was about 

 100 miles an hour ; the extreme velocity amounted to 230 miles 

 an hour, from which it appears that the upper currents are 

 much more rapid over America than over Europe, which pos- 

 sibly explains the greater velocity of the storms in America. 

 As regards the directions of cloud movement, the tables show 

 that from the highest clouds to the earth's surface, the prevail- 

 ing wind is west ; above 4000 metres more than 90 per cent, of 

 the observations show the clouds from some point between south 

 west and north-west inclusive. In the cirrus and the cumulus 

 regions, and near the earth's surface, the prevailing direction is 

 from a little north of west, but in the intermediate levels, from 

 a little south of west, the excess of the southerly component 

 in these regions being possibly due to the influence of 

 cyclones. 



The weather during the past week has been generally very 

 dull, and scarcely any rain has fallen over the southern parts of 

 the kingdom. Butween Friday and Monday there were several 

 depressions to the northward of our islands, passing in an easterly 

 direction, which caused very severe gales and high seas on the 

 coasts of Scotland, the difference on pressure on Sunday between 

 the north and south of our islands being more than an inch. 

 During the first part of the period the temperature was un- 

 usually high for the season, the maxima exceeding 55° in 

 some parts, and the night minima were occasionally higher 

 than the average daily maxima for the month ; subsequently, 

 however, a decided fall occurred, with fog and mist in most 

 parts of England, while in Scotland hail and sleet showers 

 were experienced. The Weekly Weather Report of the 17th 

 instant shows that for that period the temperature was from 2" 

 to 4° above the mean. Rainfall exceeded the mean in the north 

 of Scotland only, and just equalled it in the north of Ireland ; 

 in all other parts there was a deficiency. Bright sunshine was 

 much less prevalent than during the preceding week, although 

 in most parts of England the amount exceeded the average. 



Prof. Cole writes from Dublin that the afterglow in the 

 •west and zenith on Saturday, December 17, was of a superbly 

 brilliant character. Mr. R. Langton Cole observed that in 

 London on December 15 the whole sky was covered by the 

 jglow, which was deeper all round towards the horizon. 



An interesting lecture on "Water and Water Supply" was 

 ■delivered last week at the London Institution, by Major L. 

 Flower, of the Sanitary Institute. As an instance of the im- 

 portant part which water played in the economy of nature, he 

 mentioned that if a man weighing 140 lbs. were placed under a 

 hydraulic press and squeezed flat, the result would be 105 lbs. 

 of water and only 35 lbs. of dry residue, which was a fact for 

 conceited people to reflect upon. Major Flower gave some 

 interesting facts about the rainfall of England. It is, of course, 

 NO. 1208, VOL. 47] 



highest in mountainous districts, the maximum fall being found 

 in Cumberland, where the record for six years shows an 

 annual rainfall of 165 in. The lowest in England is between 

 Biggleswade and Bedford, where it reaches only 20 in. London 

 and the east coast average about 25 in. Speaking of drinking 

 water, Major Flower said the best way to get it was to bottle 

 it at the fountain-head and have it delivered in bottles, which 

 had been done already and might be done to a greater extent in 

 the future. 



Mr. W. F. Howlett writes to us from Pahiatua, New 

 Zealand : — " Can you inform me what is now sold in England 

 as gum arable ? I used to be able to buy a soluble gum ; what 

 I get now is the same in appearance, but it will not dissolve. It 

 swells up, truly, but will not form a homogeneous filterable 

 solution. It would be a great boon to small buyers if such 

 things were sold under their proper names. Am I right in sup- 

 posing that since the Soudan trouble gum arable has disappeared 

 from commerce ? " 



A VERY interesting report on artesian boring, by Mr. 

 J. W. Boultbee, is included in the volume containing the 

 annual report of the Department of Mines and Agricul- 

 ture, New South Wales, for the year 189 r. Mr. Boultbee 

 shows that, as a rule, artesian waters are suitable for 

 irrigation purposes, only those heavily charged with salt or 

 alkaline matters being unsuitable ; and he can see no reason 

 why such irrigation should not be an element of immense 

 value, deserving the utmost consideration in connection with the 

 development of that north-western portion of the colony, where 

 the fertility and recuperative powers of the soil are so wonder- 

 fully illustrated by the growth of feed after rainfall at the proper 

 season. The average quantity of water required for the ir- 

 rigation of grain crops, based upon the experience of other 

 countries, may be roughly estimated at 72,600 cubic feet, or 

 543,485 gallons per acre. One inch of rain would equal 3630 

 cubic feet, or 22,622 gallons per acre. A rainfall of 20 inches 

 would therefore yield 72,600 cubic feet, or 543,485 gallons per 

 acre. 640 acres would consequently require 46,464,000 cubic 

 feet, or 347,830,400 gallons upon them as an equivalent to 20 

 inches of rain. When it is considered that the flow per diem 

 from the Native D ig Artesian Bore, 45 miles from Bourke, is 

 approximately 2,000,000 gallons per diem, or 730,000,000 

 gallons per year, it will be seen that upon the foregoing basis a 

 supply of water equal to a rainfall of 40 inches per annum, per 

 640 acres is available, or that an area of considerably over 1280 

 acres can be supplied with water equalling a rainfall of 20 inches 

 per annum. 



The Cambridge Local Lectures Syndicate have just issued 

 an announcement of their next Summer Meeting of University 

 Extension students, to be held at Cambridge in August, 1893. 

 The programme is a large and varied one, and a number of 

 well-known lecturers have already promised their services. 

 Among the scientific 'lecturers we notice the names of Sir 

 Robert Ball, Sir H. E. Roscoe, Mr. Pattison Muir, and several 

 of the best known of the Cambridge Extension lecturers. Cam- 

 bridge has always laid great stress on the importance of pro- 

 viding, as far as possible, practical work in science as well as 

 theoretical teaching. It has seldom been found possible to 

 arrange much practical work in connection with the lectures 

 given in the provinces, chiefly on account of the difliculty of 

 finding laboratory accommodation. But students who can 

 spare a fortnight — or, better still, a month— have now the op- 

 portunity of coming to Cambridge and seeing, at any rate, 

 something of the resources of the University laboratories. Even 

 two or three weeks' work in a well-equipped laboratory may 

 easily be a revelation to a student who has hitherto learnt his (or 

 her) science from books or lectures. The laboratory work has 

 always formed an important and highly appreciated part of the 



