594 



NATURE 



[October 20, 1392 



drawn by the native Cingalese artists attached to the gardens. 

 The first part is now in the press. The book is more especially 

 designed for use in the colony, and will enter into more local 

 detail than has been hitherto the practice in the Colonial floras 

 published by the Government. 



Mr. G. Hogben delivered an excellent address lately before 

 the Canterbury College Science Society, New Zealand, on 

 earthquakes. In the course of his remarks he described the 

 system which, for the last three years, has been in force in New 

 Zealand for the observation of earthquake phenomena and the 

 telegraphing of the results to a central station. This system 

 has been adopted in Victoria, New South Wales, South 

 Australia, and Tasmania, and will probably be shortly adopted 

 in Queensland. The various colonies exchange reports with 

 New Zealand, and it is proposed that the system shall be further 

 extended, so that the colonies may be brought into communica- 

 tion with the islands of the Pacific and America and Japan. 



A Reuter telegram despatched from Vienna on October 14 

 announced that reports had reached that city of the occurrence 

 of violent earthquake shocks in Eastern Europe. The vibra- 

 tions were strongest in Roumania, being felt at Bucharest, 

 where they lasted 15 seconds, and at Galatz during 30 seconds. 

 At Oltenizza the shock lasted fully 90 seconds, and did consider- 

 able damage in the town. A shock was felt at Sofia on October 

 14, at seven o'clock A.M., and also at Philippopolis, Varna, and 

 Rustchuk. The seismic wave passed from south to north, the 

 vibration lasting several seconds, and being accompanied by 

 subterranean rumbling. 



The depression over the Bay of Biscay referred to in our last 

 issue took a very unusual route, the track being almost circular, 

 moving first in an easterly and north-easterly direction towards 

 the north of France, and then recurving by the south-west of 

 England back to the Bay of Biscay, when it again travelled to 

 the eastward. The disturbance caused to the weather in this 

 country was very great and the rains were very heavy, with 

 serious floods, especially in Wales and the midland and northern 

 counties. In Yorkshire it rained almost incessantly from 

 Thursday to Saturday, a fall of i| inch being measured in one 

 day. The weather was still further disturbed by an area of low 

 pressure lying over the north of Germany between Sunday and 

 Monday, which caused disastrous gales and further heavy rains 

 in the eastern part of the country. The temperature has been 

 very low for the season, the daily maxima scarcely reaching 55° 

 in any part of the kingdom, owing to the persistent northerly 

 and north-easterly winds. Towards the close of the period 

 temperature fell several degrees lower, with sharp day frosts in 

 Ireland, under the influence of an anti-cyclone, which spread 

 over the country from the Atlantic, while hail and sleet showers 

 fell in places. The Weekly Weather Report of the 15th inst. 

 showed that the temperature of the past week was everywhere 

 below the mean, being as much as 4° in the south-west of 

 England and 5° in the south of Ireland. The rainfall greatly 

 exceeded the average over the north and east of England. 



An anemometer by M. Timchenco of a novel construction is 

 described by Prof. Klossovsky, of the Odessa Observatory, by 

 which both the wind direction and velocity are marked on a 

 cylinder by one symbol. The recording apparatus is moved by 

 clockwork and the indications are made by electrical contacts. 

 The duration of the contact depends upon the velocity of the 

 wind, a light wind producing a contact of longer duration than 

 a strong one. The indications are by means of arrows printed 

 on the paper covering the cylinder, which show the direction of 

 the wind, and the number of arrows marked on a length of paper 

 corresponding to one hour furnishes data for finding the velocity 

 by an empirical scale determined by comparison with a Robin- 

 son's anemometer. The apparatus only requires to be adjusted 

 twice a month, or in some instruments only once a month, and 



NO. 1 1 99, VOL. 46] 



calls for no attention in the meantime. A battery cell is 

 sufficient to produce the contact, for most of the work is done 

 by means of weights. 



1-B.-K Anmiaire oiiht Municipal Observatory of Montsouris for 

 the years 1892-93 contains, in addition to the usual tables showing 

 inter alia the extremes of temperature at Paris since 1699 and 

 the monthly rainfall values since 1690, much useful information 

 with reference to the climate and the microscopic examination 

 of the quality of the air. Although it does not fall within the 

 province of the observatory to issue weather forecasts, applica- 

 tions for such information are sometimes received and answered, 

 m the interest of agriculture. The opinion is expressed that by 

 basing the calculations on the general methods adopted by 

 Laplace in his memoir entitled " Probabilite des causes d'apres 

 les evenements," it is not impossible to give a long forecast which 

 may be at times of much use. Some interesting remarks are 

 also made as to the possibility of foreseeing the character of the 

 summer from the weather experienced in the early spring, based 

 chiefly on the time of the appearance of the north-east winds, 

 and the diff"erences in their usual strength and physical qualities, 

 in connection with the transparency of the air. The results of 

 the analysis of the air show that the minimum amount of car- 

 bonic acid occurs between May and September, and that the 

 amount at night is greater than during the day. 



The new University of Chicago has decided that its work 

 shall go on all the year through, including the summer months. 

 According to the New York Nation, the calendar year is divided 

 into four quarters of twelve weeks each, beginning respectively 

 on the first days of October, January, April, and July ; and at 

 the end of each quarter there is to be a recess of one week. 

 Each quarter consists of two terms of six weeks. No student 

 is to be held to an attendance of more than three quarters, or 

 six terms, in each year, so that the normal academic year is no 

 longer than at other colleges. Each student is to begin his 

 academic year whenever he is ready, and to take his quarter's 

 vacation whenever it suits his convenience. He may even take 

 his two terms of vacation in diff"erent quarters. 



An investigation of the phenomena exhibited at the negative 

 poles of vacuum tubes appears in vol. xl. of the Sitzungsherichte 

 of the Prussian Academy. Professor E. Goldstein considers 

 that the term " stratification " as applied to the light at the 

 cathode is a misnomer, since two at least of the strata can be 

 shown to pervade the entire region of luminosity. The light 

 nearest the cathode is yellowish, and about i cm. thick. Next 

 comes Crookes' " dark space," which in reality shines with a 

 faint blue light. Then follows the third and most highly lumi- 

 nous layer, whose colour changes from a blue to a violet as the 

 exhaustion is carried further. The first layer was shown to be 

 a separate phenomenon on a previous occasion. The so-called 

 second layer shows the peculiarity of rectilinear propagation. 

 It is emitted from the electrode normally to its surface, or very 

 slightly divergent, whereas that of the third layer spreads 

 throughout the bulb and even passes round corners. The se- 

 cond layer is best shown by concave poles, which concentrate 

 the light at the centre of curvature. If obseived through a blue 

 glass, which cuts off" the third layer, it is seen to diverge from 

 the focus and impinge upon the wall of the bulb. The phos- 

 phorescence observed in the glass where it £is struck by the 

 "radiant matter" is due to this part of the light only, and not 

 to the third layer. It is this also which produces the well-known 

 phenomena of shadows. A glass rod laid in its path casts a 

 shadow through the blue space, which is, however, relieved by 

 the purple luminosity of the third layer. The former is also the 

 only light deflected by a second cathode. It is to be concluded 

 that the light at the negative pole of a vacuum tube consists of 

 three different species, each pervading the others, but having 

 distinct and characteristic properties of its own. 



