June 6, 1895] 



NA TURE 



'0/ 



The mean temperature of the year 1894 was 49°'9, being o°-5 

 above the average for the fifty years 1841-1890. The severe frost 

 which set in on December 30, and continued with slight inter- 

 mission until March 9, was the most remarkable meteorological 

 feature of the year. The cold wave, defined as the period during 

 which the mean daily temperature was below the average, ex- 

 tended from 1894 December 30 to 1895 March 9, with a break 

 from January 1410 20. and on March i, a period extending over 

 seventy days in all. The total defect of mean daily temjierature 

 below the fifty years' average during this period was 489°, or 

 7''0 per day. 



.\ comparison with some of the coldest winters since 1841 is 

 given in the follcjwing table : — 



Period of cold w.-ivc. 



1S45 Jan. 27 — March 2i 



1855 lan. 

 1S70 Dec. 

 I 886 Jan. 

 1890 Nov. 

 1894 Dec. 



10 — Feb. 24 

 21 — 1871 feb. 3 . 

 5— March 18 

 25—1891 Jan. 22 . 

 30 — 1895 March 9 . 



, 8 and 9 was par- 

 18° '6 or 20° '5 below 



The cold on the four days February 6, 7 

 licularly severe, the mean temperature being 

 (he average of the 50 years from 1S41-1890, and there -is no 

 other instance of four consecutive days since 1841 with so low a 

 lemperature. 



The lowest temperature recordeil 

 during[the ■ winter was 6'* '9 on February 

 8, the lowest temperature in February 

 since 1S41. the next lowest being 7'7 on 

 1845 February 12. Lower temperatures 

 have lieen registered twice since 1S41. 

 viz. 4° on 1 84 1 January 9 and 6° '6 on 

 1867 January 5. The mean temperature 

 throughout the whole of February was 

 28'''9, or io°'5 lielow the 50 years" 

 average. The mean in February 1855 

 was 29° "2. 



The mean daily horizontal movement 

 of the air in the twelve months ending 

 1895 .\pril 30 was 283 miles, which is 

 slightly above the average. The greatest 

 movement was 867 miles on December 

 22, and the least 50 miles on August 30. 

 The greatest pressure of the w ind was 36 

 lbs. on the square foot on .March 24, 

 with a velocity of 56 miles in the hour. 

 During the gale of December 22. the 

 greatest pressure recorded was 30 lbs., 

 witli a velocity of 50 miles in each of two 

 hours. 



The number ofhours of bright sunshine 

 recorded during the twelve months ending 

 1895 .\pril 30 by the Canipbell-Stokc's 



instrument was 928 out of the 4454 hours during which the sun 

 was above the horizon, so that the mean projiortion of sunshine 

 for the year was o'2o8. constant sunshine being represented by 

 I. In the corresponding period for 1893-4. the number of 

 hours of sunshine was 1364, and the mean proportion of sun hine 

 was o'3o6. 



The rainfall in the year ending 1895 .\pril 30 was 24-56 

 inches, w hich is very nearly the same as the average amount for 

 the 50 years i84i-i89a The nimiber of days on which rain fell 

 was 1S7. 



THE FIELD COLUMBIAN MiSELM. 



""VWV. museum founded to commemorate the Worlds Columbian 

 Exposition at Chicago has reached a stage which enables 

 it 1. 1 commence a series of publications designed to (iresent to 

 the world the results of research conducted under its auspices. 

 The first of this scries is before us, and is devoted to an historical 

 account of the movement that resulted in the establishment of 

 the museum. From this description we extract the following 

 sketch of the early history of the museum, and of the general 

 character of the contents. 



The formation of a museum at Chicago, after the CoUnnliian 

 Exposuion, was suggested by Prof. I'utnain in 1890, and 



NO. 1336, VOL. 52] 



received the support of I'rof. Goode, Director of the U.S. 

 National Museum, Prof Wilson, of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 and other representative men. In the summer of 1893, a nun)tx!r 

 of the prominent citizens of Chicago resolved ' ' to establish in 

 Chicago a great museum that shall be a fitting memorial of the 

 World's Columbian Ex|x>sition, and a permanent advantage and 

 honour to the city." The delicate and important task of securing 

 the funds necessary to carry the resolution into eliect was at once 

 begun, but the appeal at first met with little response. A 

 munificent gift from Mr. Field gave confidence in the assured 

 prominence and success of the nuiseum. Mr. G. M. Pullman 

 followed with a subscription of 100,000 dollars, and a like .sum 

 was contributed by .NIr. H. N. Higinbotham. Mrs. M. D. 

 Sturgis gave 50,000 dollars, and a number of other donations 

 for various amounts w-ere made, as well as Exposition .stock 

 having the approximate par value of 1,500,000 dollars. With 

 these funds in hand, the museum committee felt justified in 

 making extensive purchases, including the exhibits from Paraguay, 

 Peru, Java, .Samoa, the Ilagenbeck collection, and the Ward 

 collection of natural history, tor which a .sum of 95,000 dollars 

 was paid. The new President of the museum, Mr. E. E. Ayer. 

 presented the Ayer anthropological collection, valued at 100,000 

 dollars, to the museum, and other donations of material followed. 

 Many exhiljits were purchased at the close of the Exposition, 

 and these furnished the broad foundation upon w hich the present 

 collections have been built. Great gaps in the continuity of 

 separate subjects have thus been, to a large degree, obviated, until 





The Ki^Id Columbian .Museum. 



to-day, from one end of the nmseum to the other, can be traced 

 the story of nature and of man and his works. 



The collections illustrating geology in the museum are grouped 

 into Systematic Geology and Economic (ieologv". In the former 

 division there are about five thousand pakeontological specimens, 

 many of them especially instructive and valuable, and as many 

 specimens of minerals, classified according to the chemical con- 

 stitution of e.ach species. The collection of meteorites in the 

 same division includes several very large specintens. notably the 



' meteoric stone from Phillips County, Kansas, weighing 1 184 lbs. ; 

 two masses weighing respectively 465 and 344 lbs., with several 

 smaller ones from the meteorite of the Kiowa County. Kans.as ; 

 two masses weighing IOI3and 265 lbs. res|jectively. and several 

 smaller ones of the Cai-ion Diablo, .\rizona, meteorite : about 

 650 iiidividvial .aerolites of the Winneb,ago County, Iowa, fall. 



j and many other specimens. Physical geography, structural and 

 dynamical geology, and lithology are also well represented in 

 the division of systematic geology. 



! I'he collections of the division of Economic tieology were 

 obtained through the Chief of the Department of Mines, Slining 

 and Metallurgy of the World's Columbian Fxpnsiiii^n. from ex- 

 hibits made in that expo.sition. Heing desigjied to illustrate the 

 practical bearings of the science of geology, they consist chiefly 

 of specimens which show modes of occurrence in nature of 

 minerals having economic imi)ortance, and the localities where 

 they may be obtained. In addition to these, however, are 



