300 



NATURE 



[July 26, 1900 



Power Supply Bill, which;, asks for authority to supply 

 electric energy, over a smaller region, consisting of the 

 districts of Hornsey, Hendon, Barnet, St. Albans, 

 HatAeld, Hertford, Ware, . &c.,:, was, after being con- 

 sidered by another Committee of the House of Commons, 

 read for a third time*^ and 6nally, on Tuesday, July 24, 

 the Newcastle-on-Tyne Electric Supply Companies 

 scheme already referred to in this article receivesd the 

 sanction of a Committee of the House of Lords. 



The era of Electrical Power Distribution en a vast 

 scale in our country has, therefore, begun. 



W. E. AVRTON. 



THE DAILY WEATHER REPORT 0^ THE 



METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE. 

 npHE Meteorological Council has made provisional 

 *• arrangements for the sale of single copies of the 

 Daily Weather Report at a penny each from the first of 

 August next. The copies will be on. sale from about 

 3 o'clock of the afternoon of the day of issue at the 

 Meteorological Office and at the railway bookstalls of the 

 following terminal railway stations in London : Victoria 

 (S. E. & C. and L. B. & S. C), Charing Cross, St. 

 Pancras, King's Cross and Euston. Hitherto the issue 

 of the reports has been confined to certain public offices 

 and institutions, and to annual or quarterly subscribers. 

 The distribution has been by hand or by book-post. The 

 area within which delivery can be effected on the day of 

 issue is necessarily verj: limited, and it is hoped that the 

 facilities afforded by the new arrangement may bring the 

 information which the reports contain within the reach 

 of some of those interested in the subject who live out- 

 side the present limits of delivery on the day of issue. If 

 the provisional arrangement should make it apparent that 

 there is any public demand for the accommodation, efforts 

 will be made to continue and extend it. 



From the same date some modifications will be intro- 

 duced into the form of the Report. The morning and 

 evening observations of the telegraphic reporting stations 

 will appear on the first page as usual, but the two charts 

 on the second page, representing the morning distribu- 

 tion of pressure, wind and sea, and of temperature and 

 weather respectively, will be supplemented by three 

 smaller charts. One will represent the barometric dis- 

 tribution over the whole of Europe at 8 a.m. of the pre- 

 ceding day in order that the general atmospheric changes 

 may be more readily traced. Another will represent 

 mean monthly or bi-monthly morning isotherms for the 

 British Isles, so that the distribution of temperature for 

 the day may be easily compared with the normal distri- 

 bution for the season as estimated for a period of twenty- 

 five years. The third will represent the distribution of 

 mean maximum temperature estimated in a similar 

 manner. 



There will also be several changes on the fourth page 

 of the Report. Instead of " General Remarks on the 

 Weather over Europe " there will be a table giving the 

 latest information in the possession of the Office as to 

 maximum and minimum temperature, rainfall, and 

 weather at selected stations on the Continent and else- 

 where which are beyond the area represented by the 

 telegraphic reports. The selection of the stations will 

 be mainly determined by the current interests of tra- 

 vellers, and will be varied from time to time accordmg to 

 the information available. 



The information as to the weather in the British Islands 

 will also be supplemented by data as to sunshine for the 

 preceding day from a number of stations which will re- 

 port by post, and it is intended, in course of time, to 

 replace "yesterday's 2 p.m. reports " by postal reports 

 of maximum and minimum temperature and rainfall for 

 A number of inland stations which are expected to prove 



NO. 1604, VOL. 62] 



a useful addition to the telegraphic reports of the first 

 page. 



For convenienc^e of reference a small supplemental table 

 will give the Greenwich time of sunrise, noon, and sunset 

 for four selected stations in the British Isles, so that the 

 variation in the duration of daylight and the standard 

 times of local noon for any locality may be ascertained. 

 . • W. N. Shaw. 



THE BRADFORD MEETING OF THE 

 BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 



THE local arrangements for the Bradford meeting of 

 the British Association in September next are now 

 rapidly approaching completion. The railway companies 

 have agreed to give the usual special facilities, both to 

 visitors who come to Bradford from long distances, and 

 to members resident in Yorkshire who travel to and fro 

 every day. Those persons who attend the meeting can 

 obtain a return ticket from nearly all the railway com- 

 panies at a fare and a quarter, provided they present to 

 the booking-clerk a certificate, which can be obtained on 

 application to the local office at 5, Forster Square. Any 

 Members or Associates visiting Bradford day by day, and 

 staying in places within fifty miles of the city, can obtain 

 return tickets at the single fare on presenting their card 

 of membership to the booking-clerk in Bradford. The 

 following railway companies have entered into this 

 arrangement : — the Caledonian, the Great Eastern, the 

 Great Central, the Great Northern, the Great Western, 

 Lanes, and Yorks , London, Brighton and South Coast, 

 London and North Western, London and South Western, 

 Midland, North British, North Eastern, South Eastern, 

 Chatham aiid Dover, and the other companies belonging 

 to the Associated Railways. 



The local programme is now in the press, and will be 

 issued within the next fortnight to the Members and 

 Associates who have notified their intention of being 

 present. The following items, however, will give a brief 

 summary of the information contained in it : — 



General Programme. 



Wednesday, September 5. — 4 p.m. : Meeting of General 

 Committee at the Town Hall ; 8.30 p.m. : the President's 

 Address in St. George's Hall. 



Thursday, September 6.— 3.30 p.m. : Reception at the 

 Technical College (Textile Exhibition) ; 8.30 p.m. : the 

 Mayor's Conversazione in St. George's Hall. 



Friday, September 7.— 8.30 p.m. : Lecture in St. 

 George's Hall by Prof. Gotch, F.R.S., on "Animal 

 Electricity" ; 9.30 p.m. : Smoking Concert in the Tech- 

 nical College in honour of the President. 



Saturday, September 8.— Excursions (half-day) ; 8 p.m. : 

 Artisans' Lecture in St. George's Hall, by Prof. Silvanus 

 Thompson, F.R.S. 



Sunday, September 9.— 10.30 a.m. : Sermon by the 

 Bishop of Ripon in the Parish Church. 



Monday, September 10.— 3.30 p.m. : Corporation Gar- 

 den Party in Lister Park ; 8.30 p.m. : Lecture in St. 

 George's Hall by Prof. W. Stroud, D.Sc, on " Range 

 Finders." 



Tuesday, September 1 1. — 8.30 p.m. : Corporation Soiree 

 in St. George's Hall. 



Wednesday, September 12.— 3.30 p.m. : Private Garden 

 Parties ; 8 p m. : Full-Dress Concert in St. George's 

 Hall (Festival Choral Society ; Permanent Orchestra ; 

 conductor, Mr. F. H. Cowen ; Miss Ella Russell). 



Thursday, September 13. — Excursions (whole day). 



The conferences of delegates of corresponding societies 

 will be held on Thursday, September 6, and Tuesday, 

 September 1 1, at 3 p.m., at the Reception Rooms. 



The Reception Room at the Grammar School will be 

 opened on Monday, September 3, at 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., 



