

July 31, 1890] 



NATURE 



329 



21 to 28, 1888, written by Mr. A. Pedler. The text is accom- 

 panied by eighteen plates, giving the general meteorological 

 conditions, and showing the track of the storm-centre day by 

 day. Mr. Pedler states that this storm fully bears out the con- 

 densation theory of the formation of cyclones. It was formed 

 over an area where comparatively low pressure had for some 

 time been persistent, and there is abundant evidence of heavy 

 rain falling over the district in which the storm was developed, 

 and to the south of it. Several points of interest are referred to 

 in the discussion, viz. the irregular cyclonic circulation of light 

 winds near the centre of the storm, with a violent circulation of 

 the clouds above these light winds, and these conditions appeared 

 to shift their position, like an eddy; secondly, the sudden change 

 from light winds to winds of hurricane force, extending chiefly in 

 the southerly direction. Also the entire absence of a calm 

 centre, and the fact that the lowest barometric pressure was re- 

 corded from ten to fourteen hours after the storm centre (as 

 judged by .the winds) had passed. The storm was remark- 

 able for the slight barometric depression which accompanied it, 

 considering the excessive force of the winds. 



Dr. R. J. SuRiNG, of the Meteorological Office, Berlin, has 

 submitted to the Friedrich-Wilhelms Universitat, on the occasion 

 of his taking his diploma, a useful paper on " the vertical de- 

 crease of temperature with height in mountainous districts, and 

 its dependence upon the amount of cloud." In most works 

 upon this subject, the special effect of cloud upon temperature 

 has been limited to very moderate heights ; in this paper the 

 author has carefully investigated the observations at mountain 

 stations up to about 4100 feet. The results arrived at are : — 

 (i) In the morning, when the weather is clear, there is a constant 

 tendency to an inversion of temperature. In summer this 

 tendency extends to some 1650 feet, and in winter considerably 

 higher. This condition recurs in the evening in a smaller 

 degree. (2) If the sky is overcast, neither a daily nor yearly 

 period of the vertical gradients is strongly marked. (3) A 

 departure from the law of direct proportional decrease of tem- 

 perature with height occurs chiefly during the morning hours of 

 clear days — the change of temperature then takes place more 

 slowly in the lower strata of air than in the upper — and on 

 cloudy days, during the warm season, when, in the lower strata, 

 the vertical decrease of temperature appears to be accelerated. 



The Allahabad Pioneer reports the result of a recent expedi- 

 tion to investigate the upper course of the Irawadi, the source of 

 which, as is well known, is one of the still unsolved problems of 

 geography. It has long been known from native report that 

 two rivers, the Mali Kha and the Meh Kha, the former from the 

 north, the latter from the east, unite a little below lat. 

 26^ to form the Irawadi. The sources of the Mali Kha are 

 known to be in the mountains to the east of the Brahmakund, 

 which form the south-eastern water-parting of the Lohit 

 lirahmaputra ; but the Meh Kha, which is stated to be the 

 larger stream, and which Colonel Walker supposes to be iden- 

 tical with the Lu River of Tibet, has never before been seen by 

 any European. The junction of these two rivers has now for 

 the first time been reached by an expeditionary party as- 

 cending from Bhamo. On May 27, Captain Barwick, of the 

 Indian marine, accompanied by Mr. Shaw, the Deputy Com- 

 missioner of Bhamo, and Major Fenton, of the Intelligence 

 Department, left Bhamo in the Pathfinder, a paddle-steamer of 

 about 35 tons, with a view to reaching the point of confluence. 

 From Bhamo as far as Maingna the stream is well known. 

 Above Maingna the river runs between mountains from 1200 to 

 2000 feet high, and a succession of rapids has to be passed 

 through, which by dint of hard struggling and after many attempts 

 the Pathfinder successfully ascended, not, however, without 

 several hairbreadth escapes from foundering, the whirlpools 

 NO. IDS'?, VOL. 4.2] 



simply taking charge of the vessel. After six days' steaming,, 

 the party reached the confluenceof the streams, distant about 150^ 

 miles from Bhamo. Here the river was found to be 500 yards 

 wide, one branch, the Mali Kha, trending to the north-eastward, 

 the other, theNmaika(Meh Kha of the map), to the eastward. 

 Up the former the explorers proceeded some six miles, and then 

 came upon a series of rapids. It was decided not to go further, as 

 the small quantity of fuel remaining was reserved for steaming 

 up the other branch. A halt of a day was made, and the 

 position fixed in lat. 25° 56' N., and long. 97" 38' E. Re- 

 turning to the confluence, Captain Barwick proceeded three 

 miles up the Nmaika, when a rapid prevented further pro- 

 gress. The Kachins are said to have been very friendly, though 

 they had never seen or been in communication with Europeans 

 before. 



The recent expedition to the Bellenden Ker Range (says the 

 Colonies and India) has added a long and interesting list of 

 new specimens of Australian flora to Queensland. Since the 

 publication of the official report the Queensland Government 

 Botanist (Mr. F. M. Bailey) has discovered ten more new 

 plants, making a total of forty-one species entirely new to 

 botanical science, and the collection is not yet exhausted. There 

 are also several specimens of mosses and lichens, which so far 

 have remained untouched, Mr. Bailey having had no time up to 

 the present to devote to their examination. The total number 

 of new species will probably extend to fifty — a result far exceed- 

 ing that of any previous Australian botanical expedition. In 

 the 1889 report of the proceedings of the Linnean Society of 

 New South Wales there is an account of four new specimens to 

 be added to the list of those discovered by the Bellenden Ker 

 expedition. One of these belongs to the genus CoccincillidcBy 

 and has been named Chilocorus Baileyi, after the Queensland 

 botanist. A large and remarkable dark blue earthworm, over 

 seven inches long, has been named Perichata terrce-regince — the 

 latter a rather pedantically inflated version of Queenslandia. 

 The worm was found by Mr. Meston on the top of the Herberton 

 Range, at 2700 feet, and given to the Brisbane Museum. Two 

 Bellenden Ker lizards of a genus new to Australian herpetology 

 have been named by Mr. C. W. de Vis, Curator of the Queens- 

 land Museum. They belong to the order Geckonidce, and are 

 called respectively Tropidophortis Queenslandia and Perochirus 

 Mestoni, the latter after the discoverer. 



An experimental study of the transpiration of plants has been 

 recently made (we learn from Hutnboldt), by Herr Eberdt, of 

 Marburg. The general method was to periodically weigh an 

 air-tight vessel containing the roots of a plant (chiefly Asclepias 

 incarnata, A. Cornuti, or Mercurialis perennis) in water, while 

 the organs of transpiration projected. Absorption was alsa 

 measured by means of a graduated capillary tube. We may 

 note the following points : — The absorption and emission-values 

 did not generally differ much. Increase of transpiration by 

 sunlight occurred though the latter had parted with its heat-rays 

 by passage through an alum solution ; but when, after action of 

 diff"use daylight, the dark heat-rays of sunlight (passed through 

 a solution of iodine in carbon-sulphide) were thrown on the 

 plants, transpiration was also increased. Direct sunlight causes 

 more emission than absorption (shown by a relaxed appearance 

 of the plant) ; and on passage into duller light, the emission falls 

 off" more quickly than the absorption, and the plant freshens. In 

 plants with strong cuticle or few stomata, there was but little in- 

 crease of transpiration from drying the air in abell- jar over the plant 

 by means of a dry air-current. The stomata of Trianea bogotensis, 

 being watched through a microscope while light- and heat-rays 

 were thrown on the plant from above, they were seen to open 

 more slowly if the heat-rays were cut off"; but with heat-rays 

 alone they remained closed. If opened in light, they remained 

 open when the heat-rays acted alone, and closed when these too 



