516 



NATURE 



[March 30, 1893 



more accessible site would be very m;ch better, but unfortun- 

 ately the Egyptian Prime Minister declines to sanction the 

 necessary expenditure, which would be about ^I30,cx)0. He 

 seems to have a very inadequate conception of the extra- 

 ordinary interest and importance of this famous collection. 



The GiJttingen Society of Sciences has recently proposed the 

 following prize-subjects : — For 1893 : From Rontgen and 

 Kundt's researches on changes in the optical properties of 

 quartz in an electrical field, there seems to be a close relation 

 between the electro-optic phenomena and elastic deformations 

 of that substance by electrostatic force. An extension of this 

 inquiry to a large number of piezo-electric crystals of various 

 properties of symmetry seems desirable ; and attention should 

 be given to whether the phenomena are due exclusively to the 

 deformations occurring in the electric field, or also to a direct 

 action of electrostatic forces on light motion. For 1894 : Between 

 the state of a hard elastic body and that of a liquid are a series 

 of intermediate states, producible by mixture. The properties of 

 these need elucidation by experiment ; and especially it should 

 be investigated how in the case of viscous bodies the laws of 

 those movements vary, which, in the case of liquids of small 

 viscosity, can be used to determine internal friction. Papers to 

 be sent in with motto, &c., before the end of September in 

 each year. The prize in either case is about ^25. 



The following are the arrangements for lectures at the Royal 

 Victoria Hall during April: — April 11, Principal Garnett, 

 " Some Pioneers of Electricity," with experiments ; April 18, 

 Prof. A. C. Haddon, "The Life of a Papuan Savage," with 

 lantern illustrations taken by the lecturer in New Guinea ; 

 April 25, Prof. Hudson Beare, "The Printing Press" with 

 special reference to newspaper work. 



Mr. G. p. Bailey writes to us that the meteor seen on 

 Saturday, March 18, by the Dundee correspondent whose com- 

 munication we printed last week was observed also at Kings- 

 land, Hereford. Mr. Bailey was informed of it by the observer 

 on the following day. From what Mr. Bailey can gather, the 

 meteor appeared about 6. 20 in a north-north-easterly direction. 

 "When first seen it was evidently nearing the end of its flight, 

 and after moving towards the north-west for about three seconds 

 it was hidden by an intervening hill. The trail left behind was 

 visible for about twenty minutes. When first seen the altitude 

 would be about 30°. 



The weather during the past week has been exceptionally 

 fine in the British Islands, owing to anti-cyclonic conditions, 

 which extended over the whole of western Europe. During the 

 first part, the day temperatures were much above the average, 

 generally exceeding 60°, and even reaching 69° in the Midland 

 and eastern counties, while the nights have been very cold, with 

 sharp frosts on the ground, and fog was prevalent in many parts 

 in the early morning. The range of temperature has conse- 

 quently been very large, exceeding 40° in the twenty-four hours 

 on one occasion. On Sunday both solar andclunar haloes \vere 

 visible at many stations in the south, and the anti-cyclone 

 partially disappeared from western Europe ; but these indications 

 of disturbed conditions were only of a temporary character, 

 although the barometer began to fall irregularly. The day tem- 

 peratures became several degrees colder, owing to the persistence 

 of easterly winds, but the readings were still high for the season. 

 A special characteristic of the week has been the dryness of the 

 atmosphere, scarcely any rain having fallen in any part of the 

 British Islands, with the exception of a quarter of an inch 

 measured at Valencia Observatory on the 25th instant. The 

 Weekly Weather Report shows that for the first quarter of the 

 present year there is a deficiency of rainfall in all districts, 

 amounting to nearly four inches in the west of Scotland. The 

 NO. 1222, VOL. 47 j 



percentage of possible sunshine for the week ended the 25th 

 instant was higher in nearly all districts than any obtained in 

 the month of March since sunshine recorders were established, 

 in 1 88 1. The duration ranged from 36 to 66 per cent, in Scot- 

 land, 52 to 60 in Ireland, and 62 to 82 in England, while in the 

 Channel Islands the percentage was 91^, being a higher weekly 

 value than hitherto recorded at any time of year. 



The Deutsche Seewarte has recently published part v. of the 

 observations made under its auspices beyond the sea. The 

 stations now number sixteen, of which six are in Labrador, five 

 in Africa, one in each of the following places : — Korea, Apia 

 (Samoa), Brazil, Arabia, and Persia. Four of the stations 

 included in this part are new, viz. Tripoli, Baliburg (West 

 Africa), Apia, and Campinas (Sab Paulo). The observations 

 are taken thrice daily, with good instruments, and all needful 

 particulars are given about the stations, so that the series forms 

 a very valuable contribution to our knowledge of the meteorology 

 of remote regions. 



We have received from Mr. S. B. J. Skertchly an account of 

 a remarkable cold wave which passed over the southern part 

 of China in January last. Since the establishment of the Hong- 

 kong observatory in 1884 the lowest temperature observed in 

 any previous month was 40' '3, and this did not last more than 

 an hour, but from January 15 to 18 inclusive the thermometer 

 did not rise above 46°, and fell as low as 32° at the sea level on 

 the i8th. Simultaneous observations collected for 4h. p.m. 

 from other localities show that the cold wave travelled a con- 

 siderable distance from the north to the south of Hongkong. 

 The readings were : — Canton 37°, Hongkong 35% Macao 36° on 

 the i6th, and Haiphong 46" on the 17th. The comparative 

 severity of the cold is also shown by the following values de- 

 duced from Hongkong observations for January 1884-8 : — 

 Mean minimum S6°'i, absolute minimum 4i'''8. Dr. Doberck 

 reported that neither snow nor hail was seen in Hongkong, 

 but the hills appeared to be covered with snow or hoarfrost, 

 and a few hundred feet above the sea level both the grass and 

 branches of the trees were covered in unusually clear and trans- 

 parent ice, without any appearance of crystallisation. The 

 Chinese, who had never seen such a sight, brought down a 

 quantity and sold it as medicine. At Macao, however, a 

 quantity of soft hail fell and lay from 3 to 6 inches in depth 

 where the wind had drifted it. The effect upon vegetation a 

 few hundred feet above the sea was disastrous ; nearly all the 

 trees seemed burnt up, and nearly the whole ot the butterflies on 

 the wing were killed. This was the coldest spell known to have 

 occurred in China for over fifty years, and it was apparently due 

 to a tongue of cold air being pushed below the warmer stratum. 

 The atmospheric circulation at the time was anticyclonic, and 

 snowstorms were reported from the northward and eastward of 

 Hongkong. 



The Central Physical Observatory of St. Petersburg has com- 

 menced from January last the issue of a monthly meteorological 

 bulletin referring to European Russia. It contains four pages 

 of tabular matter, one of which includes the observations taken 

 at 73 telegraphic reporting stations, and the other three contain 

 rainfall observations taken at 312 stations, all the monthly 

 means being calculated according to the Gregorian calendar. 

 The tables are followed by a general discussion of the weather 

 of the month, and of the various meteorological elements, and, 

 lastly, a map is given showing the mean monthly isobars, iso- 

 therms, and distribution of rainfall. With the exception of the 

 preface, which Dr. Wild has translated into German on a fly- 

 leaf, the whole of the work is written in Russian, which, 

 although one of the most methodical of modern languages, is 

 not yet generally read in Western Europe, so that the usefulness 



