20 



NATURE 



[May 5, 1892 



temperature in the brain oro°-36 C, without any change in the 

 lemperature of the muscles or of the rectum being observed. In 

 a curarised dog, the intervention of the muscles being thereby 

 excluded, the action of the cocaine may produce a rise of as 



the magnet was in oscillation, the force increasing, and reach- 

 ing a maximum at I3h. 43m., after which it began to decrease,, 

 the minimum being reached at oh. 15m. on the 14th. Further 

 abrupt movements occurred at 4h. 30m. on the I4lh, the oscil- 



Fig. 3.— Dog rendered insensible with chloral. The upper line represents the temperature of the rectum, the middle (thicker) line tli.-il of the 

 brain, the lower line that of the muscles of the thigh, a and b, electric stimulation of the muscles ; c, injection of 10 centigrams of cocaine int 

 the saphena vein ; d, e, spontaneous vari.itions in the temperature of the rectum. 



much as 4° C. in the temperatureof the brain, the author having 

 observed a rise from 37° to 41° C. This shows that in arrang- 

 ing the calorific topography of the organism a high place must 

 be assigned to the brain. 



THE MAGNETIC STORM OF FEBRUARY IN 

 MAURITIUS. 



A T a meeting of the Meteorological Society of Mauritius, 

 •*"*■ that took place on April 7, Mr. Meldrum read a short 

 paper on the sun-spots, magnetic storm, cyclones, and rainfall of 

 February 1892. The photographs of the sun that he exhibited, 

 which were taken at the Royal Alfred Observatory from 

 February 5 to 18, showed the very lar^e group of spots, their 

 approximate latitude on the 9th being from 6° to 16° south. 

 I^eading on to the occurrence of the great magnetic storm 

 which began at 8h. 55m. on the 13th, he states that its com- 

 mencement was distinctly recorded on the three curves, the 

 horizontal force suffering the greatest disturbance. Up to I4hj 



NO 



1 1 75, VOL. 46] 



lations, as shown by the curves, being very numerous, but at 

 igh. the magnets became more steady, and were quiet by 3I1. 

 on the 15th. The ranges obtained at the Mauritius Observa- 

 tory were the largest ever recorded there. 



Cyclone? were not absent during this month. One lasted 

 from the nth to the 14th, and another from the 25th to the 

 28lh, while a third was also experienced on the 21st and 22nd, 

 about 550 miles south of Mauritius. The rainfall for February, as 

 shown by returns from the numerous stations, was from 430 to 

 16-96 inches above the average for periods of 7 to 29 years. 

 At Antoinette the fall for the month amounted to 12 '53 

 inches, while that at Cluny came to 34'37 inches. St. 

 Aubin and Nouvelle France came in lor a considerable 

 quantity of rain, the falls in the 24 hours ending at 8 a.m. 

 on the 13th reaching the figures 5 00 and i8'20 inches re- 

 spectively. Referring lastly to the magnificent displays of aurorse 

 that have been observed both in Europe and America, he 

 mentions that, although at Mauritius the sky was overcast, under 

 similar conditions with respect to solar activity and terrestrial 

 magnetism, a great display was visible in 1872: Mr. Meldrum, 



