Ai'lui.. 1911. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



151 



METEOROLOGY. 



B.v JoHX A. Curtis, F.R.Met.Soc. 



IHl-: WEATHER of the week ending Febrnary Itith 

 as detailed in the Weekly Wcatlier Report issned 

 by the meteorological office, was very warm for the 

 time of year, with heavy rain in Scotland and Ireland 

 and the Northern Counties of England, and moderate 

 to scanty sunshine. The excess of temperature \aried 

 from 5" -6 in Scotland E., to 0"-6 in the English 

 Channel. The maxima were above 50' at nearly every 

 station, and reached 59' at Aberdeen on the 16th, and at 

 Bawtry on the ISth. At Guernsey, however, the highest 

 reading was only 51 . The nights were cold, and the 

 minimum fell to 18° at Balmoral on the 12th, and to 21" at 

 Cirencester and Swarraton on the same day. On the grass 

 the temperature fell to 10 ' at Llangammarch Wells, and to 

 12" at Newton Rigg. 



Rainfall was frequent and heavy in the North. .At 

 Glencarron it rained every day, and the total for the week 

 was 6-94 inches; at Fort William 5-39 inches were collected. 

 At Westminster the total was only 0-25 inch in three days. 



Sunshine varied a good deal in different parts. At Newquay 

 the total duration was only 7-0 hours, as compared with an 

 average of 19-4 hours, while at Eastbourne it was 29-7 hours, 

 or 11-3 hours above the average. 



The mean temperature of the sea w-ater varied from 47° -5 

 at Scilly to 38°- 1 at Cromarty. 



The weather of the week ended February 25th was very 

 changeable. There was a good deal of rain, but bright 

 intervals were common. Snow was plentiful in parts of 

 Scotland, where also thunderstorms were experienced. 

 .Aurora was seen on several nights during the week. 



Temperature was still unusually high in all parts. The 

 highest reading was 59' at Dublin on the 21st, but readings 

 of 58° were reported at several stations from Leith to Fulbeck 

 (Lincoln) and Birr Castle. The lowest readings reported were 

 21 ' at Sunburgh Head and Balmoral. At Guernsey, however, 

 while the maximum did not exceed 52', the mininuun did not 

 fall below 40°, a range of 12", as compared with a range of 28° 

 at Sunburgh Head (49° to 21'). The lowest readings on the 

 grass were 15' at Llangammarch Wells and 16 at Crathes. 



Rainfall was in excess in all Districts except the English 

 Channel, where it was just below the normal. In some places 

 very heavy amounts were collected — thus at Glencarron the 

 total was 5-01 inches, and at Fort William 5-60 inches. 

 Including the amounts collected in the previous week the 

 totals at these two stations for the fortnight were 11-95 inches 

 and 10-99 inches respectively, or 8-39 inches and 7-45 

 inches, above the averages for the same period. In spite of 

 the generally heavy rain sunshine was abundant in all districts. 

 Dublin was the sunniest station with 36-9 hours (53%) but 

 many stations reported upwards of 45%, Ventnor 47% and 

 Torquay 48%. In Westminster the total duration was 24-5 

 hours or 35%. The temperature of the sea water \ariedfrom 

 49° -47° at Scilly to 39" -34= at Cromarty. 



The week ended March 4th proved to be unsettled, with 

 frequent rains. Aurora was seen in Scotland on the night of 

 February 28th. Temperature continued above the average in 

 all districts, the excess amounting to as much as 6" -7 in the 

 Midlands, where 60 ' was reported as the maximum at Raunds, 

 on March 2nd ; 60° was also reported at Westminster on the 

 same day. The maximum for the week at Jersey was 53° on 

 the 3rd, on which day Strathpeffer reported 54°. The lowest 

 minimum was 22° at Balmoral on the 27th. In Ireland and in 

 the South of England no frost was experienced during the 

 week. On the grass minima down to 19 were observed. 



Rainfall was also in excess, except in England N.E. In 

 England N.W. and S.W. the total for the week was double 

 the average, but individual heavy falls were rare. Sunshine 

 varied in different districts. In Scotland E. it was 11 hours 

 (16%) in excess of the average, while in the Channel Islands 

 it was 5 hours (6°;,) in defect. Crathes I'eported the most 

 sunshine, 36-7 hours or 51%. .4t Westminster the duration 

 was 18-3 hours, 25%. The temperature of the sea water 

 varied from 51° at Seafield to 33° at Wick. 



The weekended March 11th, was cooler and drier than those 

 that had preceded it. Temperature was, however, still above 

 the average in many places, though not to any great extent. 

 In the South it was slightly in defect. The maximum for the 

 week was 57° at Killarney, on the 8th, but at no other station 

 in the British Isles was a reading higher than 52° reported. 

 In many places the maximum was below 50\ Frost was 

 experienced in all Districts except the English Channel, the 

 lowest readings being 24° at Balmoral, and 25° at 

 Fort Augustus and Llangammarch Wells. On the grass the 

 temperature fell to 13° at Llanganunarch, and to 20° at Kew 

 and Tunbridge Wells. 



Rainfall was variable. It was heavy in Scotland N. and in 

 the South of England and Ireland, but not far from the 

 normal in other parts, generally slightly below. 



Sunshine as a rule was above the average, and the District 

 percentages ranged from 46% in Scotland E. to 24% in the 

 Midland Counties. The sunniest station was Gordon Castle, 

 40-5 hours or 53%. Westminster reported 10-4 hours or 

 13%. 



The mean sea temperature was 47-4 at Scilly and 38° -5 at 

 Cromarty. 



UPPER AIR RESULTS.— On February 14th, a kite at 

 Pyrton Hill, when three thousand six hundred feet above the 

 ground, entered a current of air, which, though moving in 

 nearly the same direction, was 9° F. warmer and much drier, 

 and had a velocity of 50% greater than that immediately 

 beneath it. 



On the 16th, at Brighton, a kite sent up by Mr. S. H. R. 

 Salmon entered the clouds at only three hundred feet above 

 the ground, and became unmanageable owing to the great 

 increase in wind velocity. 



ANCIENT RAINGAUGES.— It has generally been 

 accepted that the first raingauge of which we have record was 

 made by an Italian, Benedetto Castelli, a contemporary of 

 Galileo, in 1639, but Dr. Y. Wada, the Director of the Korean 

 Meteorological Observatory at Chemulpo, has given in the 

 "Scientific Memoirs of the Korean Meteorological Observatory," 

 Vol. I., an interesting account of the installation of a number 

 of raingauges and the organization of a system of rainfall 

 observation in the year A.D. 1442, or one hundred and ninety- 

 seven years before Castelli. The account, which has been 

 unearthed from the Korean historical records, tells how " King 

 Sejo caused an instrument of bronze to be constructed to 

 measure the rain. This is a vase fifteen inches deep and 

 seven inches in diameter, placed on a pillar. The instrument 

 has been placed at the Observatory, and each time rain falls 

 the Officials of the Observatory measure the height with a 

 measure and make it known to the King. These instruments 

 were distributed to the Provinces and Cantons, and the results 

 of the observations were sent to the Court." 



MICROSCOPY. 



By A. W. Sheppard, F.R.M.S., 

 icitli the assistance of the folloicung iiticroscopists : — 



AlClHLK C. P.ANKIKLU. ARTHUR EaRLAND, F.R.M.S. 



[AMES r.uRTON. RicHARu T. Lewis. F.R.M.S. 



The Rev. E. \V. B.iwELl,, M.A. Chas. F. Rol'SSELet, F.R.M.S, 



Charles H. Caffvn. D. I. Scolrkield, F.Z.S., F.R.M.S. 



C. D. Soar, F.R.M.,S. 



TRANSMISSION OF FLAGELL.-\TES IN FRESH- 

 WATER FISHES.— At the meeting of the Royal Society 

 held on February 23rd, Miss M. Robinson, M.A., read a 

 paper on the above subject, of which the following is an 

 abstract. 



The goldfish in a pond at Elstree have for some years shown 

 an infection of trypanosomes in their blood. Quite recently 

 tr\-panoplasma has also appeared. Upon investigation it was 

 found that the leech Hemiclcpsis iiiarginata occurred in the 

 pond and effected the transmission of the parasites. 



A large number of these leeches were obtained from the 

 Grand Junction Canal reservoir, which is only a short distance 

 from the pond. The young of these were hatched out in 

 captivity, and it was ascertained that the flagellates are not 



