July 27, 1893J 



NA TURE 



295 



half-day's journey " from the valleys named by Mr. Haliburlon. 

 I was favoured with interesting replies from all those to whom I 

 had written with the single exception, very curiously, of our 

 consul at Barcelona, a letter from whom you published, and 

 who appears to have been Mr. Halihuiton's chief authority. As 

 to the replies I received, I need only say that they so strongly 

 negatived the assertion of there being " racial dwarfs," though ad- 

 milling that there are " certains goitreux de petite taille," in the 

 Pyrenean valleys, that I did not think it worth while to make 

 the proposed journey. And as Mr. Haliburton repeats, in the 

 current Aiiatic Quarterly, the assertions made in Nature, I 

 feel bound to stale these facts, though I may say that I quite 

 agree with him as to the probability of a former wide distribu- 

 tion of dwarf races, and should have found Pyrenean dwarfs, 

 had they been discoverable, in most interesting relations to the 

 Ligurian giants, whose caves I had been exploring at Baousse 

 Kcius^e — the " Red Rocks " of Grimaldi. 

 Athenaeum Club, July 10, J. S. Stuart-Glennie. 



THE XOTTINGHAM MEETING OF THE 

 BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



THE forthcoming meeting of the British Association 

 in Nottingham recalls the year 1866, when the pre- 

 sent Mr. Justice Grove presided over the meeting in the 

 town, and delivered his epoch-making address. Although 

 this was the only meeting held in Nottingham, national 

 conferences and associations of all kinds are constantly 

 gathering in this very convenient, healthy, and pictur- 

 esque centre ; the inhabitants are therefore accustomed 

 to the entertainment of guests. The public buildings 

 will also be found to offer special facilities for the usual 

 work of the British Association. 



The University College, a large building almost central 

 in position, has naturally been allotted to the meeting of 

 the various sections. 'I he lecture-theatres and class- 

 rooms of the College provide accommodation for all the 

 sections with the exception of two, and these will gather 

 in commodious rooms in the immediate vicinity. 



'J he various laboratories of the College are to be de- 

 voted to the e-\hibition of scientific apparatus and dia- 

 grams, some of which will be used during the meeting 

 for the illustration of papers in the sections ; and since 

 these laboratories are very convenient for the purpose 

 and are in direct communication with the sectional 

 meeting-rooms, it is hoped that authors of papers will be 

 induced to bestow special attention to the illustration 

 of their papers, as the illustrative matter will be per- 

 manently on view throughout the meeting. 



The Corporation of Nottingham not only grants the 

 use of the University College, but also gives permission 

 for the Castle Mu=eum to be used for the conversaziones, 

 and throws open the Exchange as a luncheon hall, with 

 smoking-room and ladies' room as adjuncts. The large 

 luncheon room thus provided will be supplemented by 

 another large and convenient room in the University 

 College. 



The large hall at the Mechanics' Institution will be 

 fitted as the reception-room with all the usual conveni- 

 ences, the Albert Hall being reserved for the popular 

 lectures, the president's address, and for a special con- 

 cert to be given on .Saturday evening by the Sacred 

 Harmonic Society of the town. 



It will be found on reference to a local map that not 

 only are these various buildings easy to find, but that 

 they lie most conveniently within range of one another, 

 the extreme distance not exceeding a walk of five 

 minutes. 



The inhabitants of Nottingham are quite alive to the 

 duties of hospitality, and not only will the officials and 

 working members of the Association receive entertain- 

 ment in private houses, but the clubs of the town are also 

 throwing open their doors with one consen':. A list of 

 hotel and lodging accommodation is nearly ready for 

 issue. 



The local excursions include visits to the Dukeries, 

 Charnwood Forest, Lincoln, Belvoir Castle, and 

 Derbyshire ; and, in connection with these visits, hos- 

 pitality has been offered by the Duke of Portland, 

 the Duke of Newcastle, the Duke of Rutland, and the 

 Bishop of Southwell. Many other offers of hospitality 

 are expected. Important works in the town and neigh- 

 bourhood will also be open for inspection. 



The local programme and excursion handbooks are in 

 an advanced stage of preparation. These will serve as 

 guides to the public buildings used for the meetings and 

 indicate the hotels and lodgings, and the routes followed 

 in the various e.xcursions ; they will also give information 

 concerning the natural history of the district. 



The work of the local committee would be greatly 

 facilitated if all those who intend to be present or to 

 take part in the meeting would communicate with the 

 local secretaries, Guildhall, Nottingham, as soon as pos- 

 sible. 



Without unduly anticipating the information which 

 will be found in the local programme and publications, 

 enough has been said to indicate that the local committee 

 are actively preparing for the reception and entertain- 

 ment of the members of the Association ; and it is pro- 

 posed next week to give some statement of the more 

 serious work which will engage the attention of the 

 general meeting and of the sections. 



Frank Clowes. 



THE GREAT DROUGHT OF 1893. 



THE draught of 1893 will unquestionably take its place 

 among the recorded events ot history, if regard be 

 had to its intensity, the length of time during which it has 

 lasted, and the wide extent of the earth's surface it has 

 overspread. Treating the British Islands as a whole, 

 the drought may be considered as embracing by much 

 the greater part of the country for the fifteen weeks be- 

 ginning with March 5. But while copious rains have 

 fallen during the past few weeks in many places, it may 

 be regarded as continued to near the present time in 

 many of the more important agricultural districts in the 

 south. 



The drought was most severely felt in the southern 

 division of England, and least in the north of Scotland. 

 Over Scotland, England, and Ireland it increased in in- 

 tensity, with pretty uniform regularity, from north to 

 south. Thus the deficiency in percentages from the 

 average rainfall of that portion of the year was 30 at 

 Lairg and 59 in Berwickshire ; 59 at Penrith, and 90 at 

 Dungeness and Falmouth, and 38 at Londonderry and 67 

 at Waterford. The least deficiency at any of the stations 

 of the Weekly Weatlier Report was i at Glencarron, in 

 Ross-shire, and the greatest at Dungeness and Falmouth, 

 as stated above. At Glencarron the amount of the rain- 

 fall was i6'9l inches, whereas it was only 060 inch at 

 Dungeness, 077 inch in London, o'92 inch in Scilly, and 

 094 inch at Falmouth. At places south of a line drawn 

 from Cambridge to Scilly less than a fourth part of the 

 average rainfall of these fifteen weeks was collected, and 

 consequently over this large district the effects of the 

 drought have been most disastrous to agriculture and 

 horticulture, the hay crop, for example, being in many 

 places a complete failure. It was altogether a unique 

 experience, in travelling in June from London to Scot- 

 lard, to mark the great and steady improvement in the 

 condition of the crops in the northward journey. 



During the period the type of weather prevailing was 

 eminently anticyclonic, with the appearance, ever and 

 anon, in localities more or less lestricted, of small satel- 

 lite cyclones with their attendant thunderstorms and 

 rains. Hence the remarkably sporadic character of 

 much of the rainfall, of which the most remarkable in- 



NO. 12.-59, VOL. 4S' 



