May I, 1919] 



NATURE 



171 



given of the vitality of British science, and we trust 

 that the Faraday Society will be strengthened greatly 

 by increase of membership to continue its valuable 

 work of co-ordinating scientific activities. The 

 address of the society is 82 Victoria Street, West- 

 minster, S.W.i. 



Unfavourable weather has as yet delayed the trans- 

 Atlantic flight, and the aeroplanes, although perfectly 

 ready for the start eastwards, have still to wait for 

 weather conditions which, at all events, will give 

 them some chance of success in their attempt at 

 crossing. There are few days in the course of the 

 year when the whole passage' from Newfoundland to 

 Europe is quiet and favourable to the safe passage of 

 aeroplanes. May and June are probably as favour- 

 able as any time throughout the year for settled 

 and favourable weather conditions, but this does not 

 mean that such favourable conditions occur in these 

 months every year. At this season there is commonly 

 at times a large amount of easterly wind. On an 

 average there are fewer gales in the North Atlantic, 

 and if storms develop they are of less intensity than 

 at other seasons. In mid-Atlantic fog is most pre- 

 valent during the summer season, but an aeroplane 

 would be well above this, although it would prevent 

 passing vessels being seen. In Newfoundland fogs 

 are more prevalent at St. John's than on the north- 

 east coast, the latter part being peculiarly free from 

 fog throughout the year. On our own coasts fogs are 

 most prevalent in the winter. For the last week 

 there can be no doubt about the stormy character 

 of the weather, and the conditions throughout the 

 route have become less favourable than in the pre- 

 ceding week ; from this it must not be understood 

 that the conditions have been sufficiently settled for 

 the flight since the aeroplanes have been ready. The 

 heavy snowstorm and gale over England on Sunday 

 last sufficiently illustrate the suddenness of our 

 weather changes. The Air Ministry in its bulletin 

 issued on the evening of April 28 said : " Strong 

 northerly winds, with squalls and much low cloud to 

 the westward of Ireland, continue to render the condi- 

 tions unsuitable for the flight." 



An excellent summary of the work of our Air Ser- 

 vices has been issued as a Parliamentary paper under 

 the title " Synopsis of British Air Effort during the 

 War," and was reprinted in the Times of April 24. 

 The enormous growth of the Air Force is illustrated 

 by figures, and an idea of the extent of its activities 

 may be gained from the fact that on the Western 

 front, between July, 1916, and Armistice Day, more 

 than 7000 enemy machines were brought down, nearly 

 7000 tons of bombs dropped, io| million rounds fired 

 at ground targets, and 900,000 flying hours completed. 

 The aid of the man of science has been called for in 

 many ways, apart from the fundamental investiga- 

 tions of aerodynamics and the principles of flight. 

 Examples of this may be found in such important 

 work as the design of oxygen apparatus and elec- 

 trically heated clothing for use at great altitudes. 

 Photography, again, has played a marvellous part, as 

 may be gathered from the statement that in a single 

 month more than 23,000 negatives were made and 

 650,000 prints issued. The photographic branch has 

 now 250 officers and 3000 other ranks, and it is esti- 

 mated that no fewer than five million prints of aerial 

 photographs have been issued by the Air Services in 

 the field. .Another great sphere of scientific activity 

 has opened out in connection with the application of 

 wireless telegraphy to aircraft ; and this branch of the 

 Service, which was in its infancy in 19 14, now pos- 

 sesses 520 officers and 6200 other ranks, numbers 

 which testifv to the great progress made. Never 

 before in history has science been so widely and 



NO. 2583, VOL. 103] 



effectively employed as during the recent struggle, and 

 the .\ir Services alone afford an example which should 

 establish for ever the great value of organised scientific 

 research. 



A SNOWSTORM of unusual severity for so late in the 

 season occurred generally over the British Isles on 

 Sunday, April 27, and in the south-east of England 

 the storm was particularly severe. On the morning 

 of Sunday a subsidiary disturbance was developing 

 over the northern portion of the kingdom, and it 

 afterwards moved southwards and eastwards over 

 England, the parent disturbance being centred over 

 Denmark. By the evening the subsidiar\- had 

 assumed more serious proportions than the p'rimary 

 to the north-eastward, and was now centred over 

 London and the south-east of England. Snow or 

 hail fell in all districts of the United Kingdom. A 

 region of high barometer extended from Iceland to 

 the Azores which caused strong northerly winds in 

 the rear of the disturbance, and gale force was 

 reached in all districts, whilst at Holyhead the wind 

 force attained the velocity of seventy 'miles per hour 

 during Sunday night. In London snow commenced 

 at about i p.m. after somewhat heavj- rain, and it 

 thoroughly covered the ground by 3 p.m. The depth 

 of snow by the early morning of April 28 in the north 

 of London was 12 in. to 15 in., and the total pre- 

 cipitation in the twenty-four hours was i-6 in. at 

 Camden Square and 1-7 in. at Hampstead. The 

 snowfall occasioned much dislocation of the telegraph 

 and telephone services, and the rapid melting of the 

 snow caused floods in many parts. Temperature on 

 April 27 was abnormally low for so late in the season, 

 the thermometer in London during the afternoon 

 standing at about freezing point. .Agriculturists and 

 fruit-growers have suffered somewhat badly. 



A NEW expedition to the .Antarctic is announced to 

 sail in June, 1920. It will be known as the British 

 Imperial Antarctic Expedition, and will be under the 

 leadership of Mr. J. L. Cope, who accompanied the 

 Ross Sea party of the recent Imperial Antarctic Ex- 

 pedition, 19 14-17, as surgeon and naturalist. Mr. 

 Cope's plans are ambitious and cover a wide area. 

 Primarily, he aims at ascertaining the position and ex- 

 tent of minerals of economic value in Antarctica, and, 

 by observations on the distribution and migration of 

 whales, to foster the British whaling industry. It is 

 understood that his plans include a base at New Har- 

 bour, in Victoria Land, and a wintering party in the 

 middle of the Ross Barrier, mainly with a view to 

 meteorological and magnetical observations. The ship 

 itself, which is to be the Terra Nova, a vessel of 

 proved capacity for .Antarctic work, will spend the 

 second winter at or around Cape Ann, in Enderby 

 Land. Since that is a part of Antarctica which is 

 practically unknown, a wintering party cannot fail 

 to achieve results of great value. It is proposed to 

 make use of an aeroplane for survey work and facili- 

 tating the choice of a route for sledge journeys. It is 

 hoped that by this means Mr. Cope will be able to map 

 the missing coast-line between Enderby Land and 

 Wilkes Land to the east, and between Enderby Land 

 and Coats Land to the west. Later it is proposed to 

 follow the coast of Antarctica from Graham Land to 

 Edward Land. The expedition is expected to last for 

 six^ years, during which time communication with 

 civilisation will be kept up by wireless telegraphv. 

 While the plans, so far as announced, seem sound arid 

 likolv to result in valuable discoveries, Mr. Cope might 

 perhaps be well advised to curtail the duration of the 

 expedition by at least two years. In anv case, it is 

 oracticallv certain that his ship will require to dock 

 for overhaul and minor repairs after two or three 

 years among the ice. 



