May 26, 1892] 



NATURE 



85 



terranean, says they vary considerably at different seasons of the 

 year and in different localities. During storms and boisterous 

 weather the sea assumes a deep green and sometimes a brownish 

 tint, but when calm and undisturbed it is of a bright, deep blue. 

 In the Bosphorus, and among the islands of the Archipelago, the 

 water is of varying tints, in some places being of a liquid blue 

 graduating into a brighter green, and in others assuming a blue 

 so deep in its intensity as to almost approach a purple. 



Mr. K. Sekiya and Mr. F. Omori contribute to the new 

 volume of the Transactions of the Seismological Society of 

 Japan a most careful paper presenting a comparison of earth- 

 quake measurements made in a pit and on the surface ground. 

 It is generally thought that the earthquake motion is consider- 

 ably less in a pit than on the surface. The conclusion of these 

 inquirers is that for small earthquakes there is no practical 

 difference between the surface and underground observations. 

 For the principal undulations of severe earthquakes a difference 

 may exist, but not to any marked degree ; but for small quick 

 vibrations the difference is considerable. Though the calculation 

 for the ripples may be only approximate, their maximum 

 velocities and maximum accelerations are found to be very great, 

 and, in fact, many limes greater than those for the principal 

 undulations. Thus, if these ripples are really in great part 

 smoothed away in the pit, it is very likely that in the case of 

 very severe earthquakes there might be less destructive action in 

 deep pits than on the free surface. 



The weather during the past week has been less settled 

 generally than for some time past, although for the most part it 

 was fine and dry over the south and east of England. The dis- 

 tribution of atmospheric pressure was favourable to a westerly 

 type of wind, the barometer being highest over the south of our 

 islands, and lowest over Scotland. An anticyclone was situated 

 over France and Spain throughout the period, and the southern 

 portion of England came greatly under its influence. Several 

 depressions reached the northern parts of the kingdom from the 

 Atlantic, and caused strong winds and gales at some places. 

 The rainfall was considerable in the north and west, amounting 

 to one inch at Stornoway on Monday, but slight in other parts. 

 Bright sunshine was less prevalent ; the Meteorological Office 

 report for the week ended the 21st shows that it was below the 

 average in all districts except the Channel Islands. A thick fog 

 occurred over the south of England and parts of the Channel 

 on Sunday. Temperatures have been rather high recently, the 

 maxima reaching 70° and upwards, in places, since Sunday. 



The Weather Bureau of Washington, U.S., has issued, under 

 the title of " Meteorological Work for Agricultural Institutions," 

 a pamphlet containing suggestions as to observations and in- 

 vestigations regarding the relations of climate to agriculture 

 which may with advantage be undertaken at stations situated in 

 agricultural districts, as distinct from the work carried on at 

 observatories and stations established in towns. These sug- 

 gestions are equally useful for observers in any country ; we 

 therefore draw attention to some of the points referred to. 

 (1) Problems of temperature; such as the differences that 

 occur in quiescent air, between places that are close together. 

 These differences depend on solar and terrestrial radiation, the 

 covering of the soil, &c. The subject of protection from frosts 

 also deserves further study. (2) Moisture in the air ; especially 

 measurements of evaporation, both from a water surface and 

 from different kinds of soil. The transpiration of plants should 

 also be measured, in such a way that the evaporation from a 

 plant can be compared with the precipitation over the surface 

 occupied by the plant. {3) Condensation and precipitation of 

 moisture. An accurate record of the amount of dew is much 

 wanted ; at present, no observations are regularly made. A 

 drosometer has, however, been recently constructed by K>.p- 



NO. I 178, VOL. 46] 



peller, of Vienna ; it is described in the Meteorologischt Zeit- 

 schrijt of March last, and is said to give good results. Snow 

 presents many features of interest, such as its density, and the 

 relation of the character of the flake to the character of the 

 weather at the time of the fall. The density of fog, also, 

 should be recorded on some uniform plan, such as the distance 

 at which a slender pole can be seen. The average size and 

 usual forms of hail-stones should also be recorded. (4) Local 

 weather predictions, independent of the daily weather charts, 

 should be carefully studied. The special study of thunder- 

 storms and other local disturbances will result in enabling them 

 to be predicted several hours in advance. Systematic observa- 

 tion with the rain-band spectroscope should also be made. 

 These are but a few of the questions raised in Prof. Harrington's 

 interesting memoir. 



We have received from the Director of the Batavia Observatory 

 (i) rainfall observations in the East Indian Archipelago, and (2) 

 observations made at the Magnetical and Meteorological 

 Observatory, Batavia, both for the year 1890. The daily and 

 monthly rainfall values are given for 193 stations, together with 

 the mean values, calculated from five or more years for 171 

 stations. The summaries show that the rainfall which accom- 

 panied the eastern monsoon was copious over the whole area, 

 and that both in the years 1889 and 1890 he amount during 

 the months of May to September was abr. jrmally high in the 

 eastern parts of the archipelago. In addition to the hourly 

 meteorological observations for 1S90, results for twenty-five 

 years, 1866-90, are published in this volume. Dr. Van der 

 Stok considers the fact proved beyond doubt that at Batavia the 

 moon has an appreciable influence on the number of thunder- 

 storms. The cloud curve also shows an increase of cloudiness 

 as the moon rises above the horizon. After the moon has set, 

 the cloudiness does not decrease at a continuous rate, but ap- 

 parently remains constant. 



We have received the January number of the Revista do 

 Observatorio, which is a monthly publication of the Observatory 

 of Kiode Janeiro. This pamphlet, which, by the way, is an 

 index number, contains in tabulated form all the meteorological 

 observations made during that month at the several places from 

 which regular observations can be obtained. The tables show 

 the daily as well as the hourly reduced readings. 



The Technological Museum of Sydney was taken over by the 

 Department of Public Instruction on January i, 1890. In his 

 first annual report, just received, Mr. J. H. Maiden, the 

 Curator, says the public have shown their appreciation of the 

 usefulness of the Museum by presenting it with a large number 

 of objects, many of which are of great value. The authorities 

 of the Museum have done excellent service by supplying 

 lecturers with specimens, diagrams, and apparatus for illus- 

 trative purposes, and by answering questions sent to them by 

 public school teachers — chiefly in country districts — on such 

 matters as the naming of minerals and plants. Technological 

 museums have been, or are being, formed in all those towns io 

 New South Wales which already possess technical colleges. 

 Mr. Maiden says that the matter has been taken up warmly in 

 country districts, and that the formation of local collections is 

 felt to fill up an important gap in the arrangements for technical 

 education in the colony. A flourishing scientific society at West 

 Maitland offered its valuable collection of natural history speci- 

 mens to the Department of Public Instruction on condition that 

 suitable accommodation should be found for them, and facilities 

 given to the members for access to them. The specimens 

 having been accepted by the Miryster on these terms, they 

 form a valuable addition to the West Maitland Technological 

 Museum, constituting a natural history " side " to it. As local 

 scientific societies are always likely to be u;cful in securing 



