42 



NATURE 



[March io, 1910 



the forthcoming German expedition, and briefly outlined 

 his plan of campaign. He proposes that the main expedi- 

 tion shall start from a base on Weddell Sea and advance 

 straight across the Antarctic continent to the Pole. On 

 reaching the Pole the expedition, instead of turning back, 

 will proceed, probably following Sir E. Shackleton's route, 

 to the coast of Ross Sea. Meanwhile, a subsidiary expedi- 

 tion will have landed on the shores of Ross Sea and have 

 advanced inland along Shackleton's route about half-way 

 to the Pole, where, after leaving a dep6t of provisions, 

 it will turn back to the coast. The main expedition, if 

 all goes well, will pick up the dep6t of provisions and 

 join the subsidiary party at the coast. Lieut. Filchner 

 hopes to be able to start in October. He has already had 

 experience as an explorer in Central Asia, where he spent 

 the years 1903 to 1905 in exploring Tibet. He has also 

 done exploration work in the Pamirs and Turkestan. Dr. 

 Penck, president of the Berlin Geographical Society, 

 announced that an anonymous donor had promised 15,000?. 

 towards the expenses, and Lieut. Filchner said he had 

 received offers of aid amounting to 3000Z. If two ships 

 are chartered ioo,oooZ. will be required, but if one only 

 is sent out 6o,oooZ. will suffice. 



The following are among the lecture arrangements at 

 the Royal Institution after Easter : — Dr. A. Harden, three 

 lectures on the modern development of the problem of 

 alcoholic fermentation ; Prof. F. W. Mott, three lectures 

 on the mechanism of the human voice ; Prof. A. E. H. 

 Love, two lectures on earth tides ; Prof . C. J. Holmes, 

 two lectures on heredity in Tudor and Stuart portraits ; 

 Dr. Tom G. Longstaff, three lectures on the Himalayan 

 region ; Mr. W. McClintock, three lectures on Blackfeet 

 Indians in North America; Dr. W. Rosenhain, two lectures 

 on the constitution and internal structure of alloys ; Major 

 Ronald Ross, two lectures on malaria ; Mr. W. W. 

 Starmer, three lectures on bells, carillons, and chimes ; 

 Dr. D. H. Scott, three lectures on the world of plants 

 before th? appearance of flowers ; Prof. J. A. Fleming, two 

 lectures on electric heating and pyrometry (the Tyndall 

 lectures). The Friday evening meetings will be resumed 

 on April 8, when a discourse will be given by Prof. P. 

 Lowell on the Lowell Observatory photographs of the 

 planets. Succeeding discourses will probably be given by 

 Prof. W. J. Pope, Mr. T. Thorne Baker, Dr. Tempest 

 Anderson, Sir Almroth E. Wright, Prof. W. H. Bragg, 

 Sir David Gill, Captain R. F. Scott, the Right Hon. Sir 

 Rennell Rodd, and other gentlemen. 



The director of the Meteorological Office has given notice 

 that from April i forecasts of the weather prospects more 

 than twenty-four hours ahead will be issued as opportunity 

 is -afforded. Applications have been received at the Meteor- 

 ological Office from time to time for forecasts of weather 

 several days in advance, in addition to, or instead of, the 

 usual forecasts which refer to the twenty-four hours 

 reckoned from the noon or midnight following the issue 

 of the forecasts. According to the experience of the 

 Meteorological office, the weather conditions do not usually 

 justify a forecast detailing the changes of weather for con- 

 secutive days. There are a number of occasions in the 

 course of the year when the distribution of pressure is 

 typical of settled weather, and also occasions when the 

 conditions are characteristic of continued unsettled weather. 

 On these occasions, and on a few others when the sequence 

 of the weather is of a recognised type, a sentence giving 

 in general terms the outlook beyond the twenty-four hours 

 of the definite forecast might be useful to the general public, 

 and, as it could be justified by the statement of definite 

 reasons for the inference, it would come within the general 

 NO. 2106, VOL. 83] 



rules laid down by the office with reference to the issue of 

 forecasts. An indication of the general prospect extending 

 beyond the twenty-four hours' limit is frequently given in 

 the " General Inference " which precedes the forecasts for 

 the several districts on the sheet issued to newspapers. 

 It is expressed in more or less technical language, and the 

 application to the several districts might only be followed 

 by persons acquainted with the terminology used in weather 

 study. It is proposed, therefore, when the meteorological 

 conditions permit, to supplement the forecasts for districts 

 by a remark on the further outlook. 



The summary of the weather issued by the Meteorological 

 Office for the week ending March 5 shows that the condi- 

 tions were still very mild over the entire country, the excess 

 of temperature being generally from 2° to 3°. The rainfall 

 varied considerably in different parts of the country, but 

 was nowhere very large, whilst there was an excess of 

 sunshine in every part of Great Britain. On nearly all 

 parts of the coast the temperature of the sea-water was 

 warmer than during the corresponding period last year, 

 the difference amounting to between 6° and 7° on the east 

 and south-east coasts of England. The summary of! the 

 weather for the winter, comprised by the thirteen weeks 

 ending March 5, shows that the temperature was generally 

 in excess of the average, but not to any great extent. 

 The rainfall was everywhere above the average, the 

 greatest excess being 4-80 inches in the north-west of 

 England and 340 inches in the south-west of England. 

 The excess was more than 2 inches in every district of the 

 United Kingdom, except in the north and east of Scotland 

 and in the Channel Islands ; the largest actual measure- 

 ment was 16-49 inches, in the west of Scotland, and the 

 least 7-14 inches, in the east of England. The duration 

 of bright sunshine for the winter was everywhere in excess 

 of the average, the greatest excess being sixty-two hours 

 in the south-east of England, and more than fifty hours 

 in the east and north-west of England and in the Midland 

 counties ; the absolutely longest duration was 236 hours, in 

 the south-east of England, and the least 146 hours, in the 

 north of Scotland. 



In Man for February Mr. A. M. Blackman publishes 

 some interesting notes on Egyptian antiquities and customs. 

 Several noted tombs of Sheykhs, with the rites performed 

 at them, are described, such as the custom of sleeping in 

 the sacred precincts, as was done at Greek shrines of 

 Asklepius, and of hanging up bandages there as a charm 

 to secure recovery from circumcision and other operations. 

 The Copts, we are told, slay a sheep at the threshold as 

 the bride enters the house. She must take care to cross it 

 without staining her feet or clothes in the blood. Should 

 this occur the marriage is deemed unlucky. 



In the Gypsy Lore Journal for January Mr. W. Crooke 

 discusses the ethnographical results of the article published 

 in vol. ii. of the journal by Mr. E. O. Winstedt on 

 " Gypsy Forms and Ceremonies." An examination of this 

 extensive collection of Gypsy rites and ceremonies might 

 be expected to throw light on the supposed Indian origin 

 of the Gypsies. The result is that, except in some not 

 important cases, the analogy with Indian customs is not 

 satisfactorily established. It would seem that most of the 

 customs of the European Gypsies result from their long 

 contact with western peoples, such as the inhabitants of 

 Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula. 



The higher classes in India, particularly those who have 

 assimilated some of the culture of the West, have been 

 actively asserting their claims to political and social 

 equality with Europeans. They are confronted with a 



