Apeil 2, 1900.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



79 



intermediaries of his Government should be the pro- 

 prietors of the entire soil ; it does not appear that this 

 theory has at present ajiy practical consequence. 



While landed property is unknown, moveable property 

 in cattle attains a considerable development, as the 

 animals require continual care and watching they neces- 

 sarily become an object of individual property. Of all 

 the animals the horse takes front rank ; it is caressed 

 and extolled with affection in song ; money is often 

 lavished on the harness. When a traveller asked a 

 patriarch, the proprietor of several thousand horses, why 

 he did not sell some every year, he replied, ' Why 

 should I sell that which gives me pleasure ? I have no 

 need for money, and if I had it, I should shut it up in 

 a box where no one would sec it. But when my horses 

 traverse the steppe, whoever sees them knows that they 

 belong to me. and that I am rich." The theft of flocks, 

 especiallv of horses, is still, more than the usurpation 

 of pasturages, one of the causes of the interminable wars 

 vhich trouble the tranquility of the steppe. The owner 

 ship of a flock is such a necessity for a Kalka that he 

 cannot imagine a man capable of living without owning 

 beasts. It is needless to point out what an element of 

 stability and security the family finds in this property, 

 which, apart from disaster or epidemics, ensures sub- 

 sistence. 



The Family. — The pastoral occupation has permitted 

 the old men to preserve their authority ; they alone have 

 the necessary experience and wisdom for it, and it i.s 

 by no means an easy matter to command four or five 

 hundred persons. As their authority is uncontested, 

 so it is accompanied by absolute respect. 



The pastoral art scarcely tends towards the develop- 

 ment of riches and luxury, but does tend to maiixiain 

 between men an almost complete equality, and the isola- 

 tion of families emphasises the ties of blood. 



As husband, the patriarch receives by right the respect 

 and most attentive care of his wife, and as the Kalka 

 has not arrived at the idea of the relations of master 

 and servant he marries as many wives as he can afford 

 in order to have plenty of service, but as the husband 

 has to pay to the parents of the bride a large price in 

 beasts, polygamy is a luxury that is accessible only 

 to the rich and powerful. 



The children have a profound veneration for the 

 father, and have to go on their knees when they address 

 him and receive orders from him. Filial piety is the 

 first of the duties, and the " Holy Doctrine " teaches 

 that it is better to honour father and mother than to 

 serve even the spirits of heaven and earth. When the 

 time has come to marry, the wish of the patriarcn is 

 sufficient to constrain a son even against his will. It is 

 rare that a young man can consult his taste the first 

 time that he marries. As to the young girls, they are 

 not even allowed to have a wish. 



As the depository of the traditions of the ancestors, 

 the patriarch faithfully transmits them to those around 

 him, and all listen with respect. He is the supreme 

 judge of all the members of the aoul, and he has full 

 authority to punish offenders. On sacred days he offers 

 milk and mutton to the image of Buddha, which is 

 placed at the back of the tent. 



The first wife enjoys wide liberty and great power, 

 the whole responsibility of the household falls upon her 

 and also the education of the young children. It is 

 therefore important that she should be capable, and that 

 her character should be such that she can get on well 

 with the other women. Such are doubtless the reasons 



why the patriarch chooses his sons' first wives — the 

 comfort and well-being of the community is of more im- 

 portance than the predilections of a lad. 



Government. — There is no government external to 

 the family. The patriarch combines the functions of 

 father, teacher, magistrate, priest, and sovereign. The 

 sole grouping above the family is the tribe ; but it is 

 more an union of several families of cominon origin thau 

 a fixed territorial grouping. The tribe is mobile like 

 the family. The central government has not a more 

 real existence. It is at most a kind of nominal and 

 vague jirotectorate that is exercised, partly by Russia, 

 and in part by China. It manifests itself by the claim 

 for a tribute, which is rarely collected owing to the 

 difiiculty at getting at these singular tributaries. 



Peace reigns among the pastors. These men, so 

 dreaded in the numerous raids they have made in other 

 countries, are quiet, sociable, and hospitable in the 

 stejipe, where they have no foreign comjjetition to fear. 



The E.xpansion of the Herdeks. — The pastors of the 

 prairies are apt to swarm, but they are not qualified to 

 organise invasion or to remain masters of the conquered 

 country; but this aspect of their life will be dealt with 

 on a future occasion. 



♦ 



THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF CLOUDS. 



By Eugene Antoniadi, f.r.a.s. 

 A FEW days after the publication of the paper on 

 Clouds" in the September, 1899, issue of Knowledge, 

 the writer received a number of letters from English 

 meteorologists and photographers, asking him to give 

 some further details on the method used in photographing 

 cloud forms at Juvisy. Hence the excuse for the present 

 complementary notes. 



The first point to be attended to in cloud photography 

 h to have the camera and plates always ready, so as to 

 be in a position to immediately photograph any 

 evanescent atmospherical phenomenon. Trivial as the 

 statement appears, it is of paramount importance. In 

 fact, without this precaution the negatives of rainbows 

 solar halos, lunar coronje, etc., would probably never 

 have been secured at Juvisy. As a rule, the persistence 

 of fine cloud effects, or of the optical phenomena; of the 

 atmosphere are of very short duration, and the loss of 

 time involved in fetching plates or engaging in other 

 preparatory work at the last moment, is often a source 

 ff disappointment; for instance, to see a bv'ght rainbow 

 fade off and vanish when " everything is ready," pro- 

 duces a tantalizing effect too galling to bo endured more 

 than once when economy of time will serve as a pre 

 ventive medicine. 



It has been found that the number of days yielding 

 interesting forms of clouds is but a limited one. Long 

 weeks succeed each other without our recording a single 

 typical cloud. Occasionally, however, we may observe 

 the richest forms undergoing rapid and singularly beau- 

 tiful transitions. 



With regard to the choice of an apparatus, it may be 

 said that all cameras, large or small, and mounted or 

 tinmounted, can be employed in cloud photography A 

 large angle lens will be generally found more serviceable, 

 enabling, as it does, the student to photograph clouds of 

 large dimensions, a considerable arc of the rainbow, or 

 ordinary halos of 22° radius as nearly complete circles. 

 But it is, of cour5;c, preferable to have a variety of 

 object glasses, capable of being indifferently and rapidly 

 adapted to the camera, according to the nature of the 

 cloud to be photographed. 



