344 



NA TUKE 



[February 9, 1905 



Ihc drought arc favourable. It hiis delinitely broken up 

 in Australia." (Wealher forecast, dated November 23, 



I003-) 



Writing a year later, November 23rd, 1904, I said : 

 " My weather forecast for last year (published in the 

 C<i/)e Times of November 23, 1903) indicated the expecta- 

 tion of a n\ore or less complete break-up of the drought. 

 This forecast has been fulfilled. In many parts of South 

 Africa, particularly towards the north, the drought has 

 broken, and good seasons were experienced last year. In 

 other parts the rains were insufllcient to really break the 

 drought. This was the case in the fertile ' conquered 

 territory ' of Orangia, and over wide areas in Cape Colony. 

 In the Transkei drought remains vmbroken. It is de- 

 scribed as a drought of terrible severity, and one that has 

 stopped all ploughing ami killed from 50 to 60 per cent, 

 of the sheep in some of tl\e districts. As was remarked 

 by a correspondent In tlu' ('ii/>c Times a few days since, 



c/ .^oinfi/l 



' No one not living here has any idea of the terrible 

 condition existing in the Karoo and Eastern Trovince. 

 The springs on most of the farms have utterly disappeared. 

 On one farm in the Cradock district with large lands, 

 orchards, and a water-mill at the junction of two kloofs 

 in the Sneeuwberg, the river beds are as dry as a street ; 

 the farmer has sold all his stock, and I actually saw the 

 water for household use brought some distance in a barrel. 

 In former years the water-mill was in constant use for all 

 the surrounding country.'" 



Writing to me recently from Zomba, in British Central 

 Africa, Mr. Clounie, the head of the scientific department, 

 speaking of last summer's rains, says ; " The wet season 

 from November to April last has been remarkably good, 

 and crops everywhere have been excellent. I think every- 

 thing points to the end of the drought and a return to a 

 period of good rains." 



As regards the drought further north, the reader may 



NO 1841, VOL. 71] 



turn to Nature of November 3, 1904 (p. 15). I produce 

 the extract for ready reference : — 



" Appendix iii. of a report upon the basin of the Upper 

 Nile, with proposals for the improvement of the river by 

 Sir William Ciarstin, contains an interesting account of the 

 variations of level of Lake Victoria Nyanza contributed by 

 Captain H. G. Lyons, the director of the Survey Depart- 

 ment of Kgypt. This lake has a water surface of about 

 68,000 square kilometres, and is situated about 1129 metres 

 above sea-level. It is believed to be of shallow depth, and 

 lies for the most part of the year in the region of the 

 equatorial rain and cloud belt, the excess water draining 

 olif at the Ripon Falls by the Victoria Nile. After refer- 

 ence to the geology and climate of the region, a brief 

 historical summary is given of the early lake levels as 

 observed by travellers and others visiting or residing by 

 it ; this is followed by a detailed study and discussion of 

 the various gauges. .Some of the results obtained are as 

 follows : — The annual oscilla- 

 tion of the lake is from 030 

 metre to 090 metre. Between 

 1S9I) and 1902 there was a fall 

 of 70cm. in the average level, 

 since followed by a rise of 

 50cm. The epochs of high 

 and low levels are given 

 as ;— 1878, high level ; 1880- 

 yo, falling level ; 1S92-5, tem- 

 porary high level ; i89(>-i902, 

 tailing level ; 1903, rising 

 level." 



The kernel of this quotation 

 lies in the last six words: it 

 shows the same correspond- 

 ence with the Indian rainfall 

 figures as the suiumer rain- 

 fall figures of South .\frica. 



1). E. IIUICHINS. 



Cape Town, December 8. 



Compulsory Greek at 

 Cambridge. 



So.ME years ago a young 

 lady who was studying at 

 Ciirton came to Bristol to 

 spend a part of her first vaca- 

 tion after passing the 

 "Little-go." She h.id never 

 liarnt (ireek at school, but 

 had been coached by an elder 

 brother, who was at that 

 time in residence at Cam- 

 bridge ; in about two months 

 she obtained a knowledge of 

 Cireek sullicient to meet the 

 requirements of the authori- 

 ties at Cambridge. 



While she was with us we 

 paid a visit to the neigh- 

 bouring city of Bath, and I 

 directed her attention to the 

 motto which is inscribed on 

 the Roman baths there, viz. : 

 apiarov i^iv Sfiwp. 



Remembering her recent success in the " Little-go," I 

 jokingly asked her the nteaning of this inscription — not 

 imagining for a moment that Cambridge compulsory Greek 

 would be unequal to such an easy task ; she was, how- 

 ever, unable to give the meaning of the words ; she did 

 not think she had ever seen &pi<rroy, but was of 

 opinion that she had in the course of her reading met the 

 word BSiuf), but did not remember what it meant. 



It may be well to add that the lady in question has great 

 linguistic abilitv, and in due course obtained a good place 

 in the Modern Languages Tripos. 



Do our ultra-classical friends really think that com- 

 pulsorv " Greek " of this type is worth preserving? 



J. Wertiieimer. 



Merchant Venturers' Technical College, 

 Bristol, January 30. 



i 



