September, 1911. 



KNOWLEDGE. 



353 



hours, while in England S.E. it was over eleven hours. The 

 percentage of possible duration varied from eighteen per cent. 

 in Ireland N. to seventy per cent, in England S.E. and in the 

 English Channel. 



The temperature of the sea water was generall}' high, the 

 means varying from 5Z -5 at Lerwick to 65°- 9 at Margate. 



The weather of the week ended July 29th, was more variable 

 than that of the preceding week. In Ireland it was unsettled, 

 with frequent rain. Many thunderstorms were reported, that 

 in London, on the 2Sth, being very severe. Temperature was 

 above the average in all parts, the excess exceeding 7" in 

 England E. and S.E. The maxima were again unusually high, 

 though not c|uite equal to those of the preceding week. The 

 highest readings were 93" on the 29th, at Bath, 92' at 

 Tnnbridgc Wells, and 9P at Fulbeck. Oxford, Raunds, Cardiff 

 and Clifton. 



The minima for the week ranged from 37' at Balmoral to 

 57° at Scilly. On several nights the minima over a large part 

 of England were as high as 60\ On the grass the readings 

 did not. as a rule, fall below 40 , but at Burnley. Balmoral and 

 Crathes, readings of 34' were observed, and at Llangammarch 

 the exposed thermometer registered 29' or 3° of frost. 



Rainfall was much less than the average in most parts of 

 England, but was more than usual in Scotland N. and \\".. in 

 Ireland and the English Channel. In Ireland S. the total was 

 two and .a-half times as much as usual. 



During the thunderstorm in London on the 2Sth 1 • 1 inches 

 of rain fell in South Kensington in fifteen minutes. On the 

 next day 1-21 inches fell in Dublin in forty-five minutes, and 

 2-14 inches at Kilkenny in two and a-half hours. 



Bright sunshine was again in excess in England, but was 

 deficient in Scotland and Ireland N., and just normal in 

 Ireland S. The sunniest stations were Weymouth with 83-5 

 hours (77%) and Salcombe 82-6 hours (77%). On the other 

 hand, at Fort Augustus only 11-9 hours (10%) were recorded, 

 and at Nairn only 14 hours (12%). 



The mean temperature of the sea water round our coasts 

 varied from 52' -7 at Lerwick to 67' -6 at Eastbourne. 



The week ended August 5th was unsettled, but the rainfall 

 over England E. and S.E. was again very slight. Thunder- 

 storms were experienced in most parts, and in some cases 

 these were accompanied with very heavy showers. Tempera- 

 ture was above the normal in all districts, by as much as 7°- 1 

 in England E. The highest maxima reported were 88° at 

 Cambridge on the 30th July, with 87° at Cromer and Hillington, 

 and 86° at Greenwich. In Jersey the highest reading was 76°. 

 The lowest readings varied much. At West Linton the 

 minimum was 42°, and readings below 50° were reported at 

 many stations. The lowest reading reported at Jersey was 57°. 

 No frost on the grass was reported during the week. 



Rainfall was largely in excess in most of the western districts, 

 but over the rest of the country it was still in defect, and in 

 England S.E. it was less than one-fourth the usual amount. 



Sunshine was in excess in all Districts except the English 

 Channel where it was slightly in defect. The district values 

 ranged from 63 hours (59%) in England E., to 35 hours 

 (32%l in Ireland N. The sunniest stations were Felixstowe 

 72-8 hours I68%l and Clacton 71 ■ 7 hours (67%l. At West- 

 minster the total duration was 55-9 hours (52%l. 



The temperature of the sea water varied from 53° at 

 Lerwick to 71° at Margate. 



The week ended .August 12th. was very fine and dry. though 

 with slight rain in Ireland and Scotland, and some thunder- 

 storms. Temperature was remarkably high and in England 

 E. the district mean was as much as 9-2 above the average. 

 In most parts the hottest day was the 9th, when temperatures 

 higher than any previously recorded in the United Kingdom 

 were reported. The highest reading was 100° at Greenwich, 

 which is the highest reported since precise observations were 

 begun there in 1841. The previous highest was 97°1 in July, 

 1881. Other very high readings were 98° at Raunds, Epsom 

 and Canterbury, and 97° in London, and Hillington, Norfolk. 



Dr. H. R. Mill, the head of the British Rainfall Organization, 

 writing in Syinons's Meteorological Magazine says that the 

 maximum temperature at Camden Square was 97° -1 at 

 2.15 p.m. on .August 9th, the previous highest, since the record 

 began in 1858, being 95°-2 in July, 1900. On the same day at 

 Mill Hill, 380 feet above sea level, while the maximum in the 

 Stevenson screen was 95° -8, Mrs. H. R. Mill noted the 

 reading of a black bulb thermometer in vacuo as 142° -4. On 

 July 22nd this year, however, with a screen reading of 90° -0, 

 the black bulb was as high as 146° -8. 



The lowest readings ranged down to 41' at Wick and to 

 42° at Gordon Castle. In Jersey the minimum for the week 

 was 59°, and on several nights over a large part of England 

 the temperature did not fall below 60°. No ground frost was 

 reported, but at Crathes the exposed thermometer fell to 33°. 



Rainfall was largely in defect in all districts, and over the 

 greatest part of England it was very slight indeed. At many 

 stations the week was rainless. 



Sunshine exceeded the average in all districts, the values in 

 England S.E., being 79 hours (75%). The sunniest stations 

 were Felixstowe. 88-2 hours (84%1, Brighton, 86-9 hours (84%), 

 and Hastings, 86-2 hours (83%). The mean temperature of 

 the sea water ranged from 55°-0 at Lerwick to 68°-3 at 

 Margate. 



An unmanned balloon sent up at Mungret College, Limerick, 

 on July 6th. reached a height of thirteen miles. The lowest 

 temperature met with on this ascent was —57° C, at about 

 seven and three-quarter miles above the ground. 



MICROSCOPY. 



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



zaitli the assistance of the following microscopists : — 



Arthur C. Bankield. .Arthur Earland, F.R.M.S. 



The Rev. E. W. Bowei.l, II. A. Richard T. Lewis, F.R.M.S. 



James Burton. Chas, F. Rousselet, F.R.M.S 



Chari.es H. Caffvn. D. J. Scourfield, F.Z.S., F.R.M.S. 



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



MICRO -FAUNA OF A SEWAGE FILTER BED.— 

 This short note is the result of isolated observations I have 

 made from time to time, over a number of years, as occasion or 

 necessity arose for paying a visit to the works where the 

 process of sewage purification is carried out. The large 

 variety of bacterial fauna present in such a nidus will not be 

 touched upon, but only that part of the life which can be 

 readily observed by the average microscopist. The bulk of 

 the organisms herein noted, can be examined in a cursory way 

 with a good pocket lens. 



A sewage bed, as most of my readers are probably aware, is 

 a specially constructed area for dealing with liquid sewage. 

 The particular type to. which this note relates is circular in 

 plan, and is filled to a depth of about six feet, with a specially 

 prepared material or " media," as it is termed, which forms a 

 ■' nidus " or breeding ground for the bacteria responsible 

 for the process of purification. The " media" is prepared 

 from what is known locally as " Blast Furnace Slag " broken 

 to varying degrees of fineness, ranging from a quarter of an 

 inch to two inches in gauge. The sewage is applied to the 

 surface of the bed by a travelling form of distributing 

 apparatus similar to an elongated water wheel, which has 

 a circumferential together with a rotary motion on its own 

 axis, and so sprinkles the sewage evenly and regularly over 

 the whole area of the bed. 



On taking up into the hand a piece of the " media " one is 

 struck with the gelatinous covering, which forms as it were 

 a sort of blanket enveloping the whole piece under examination. 

 This covering consists largely of bacterial life which is outside 

 the scope of this note. 



The first form of active life noticeable consists of a large 

 number of small black bodies which, on a closer inspection, 

 reveal themselves as a sort of " fly." They are very different 



