NATURE 
| DECEMBER 27, 1906 
became faster as the centre progressed nearer the coast, 
where it reached 14-3 miles an hour; the high pressure to 
the north also made the gradient steeper, and so increased 
the violence of the vortex. The track of the storm was 
approximately W.N.W. or W. by N. 
The Rev. José Algué, S.J., director of the Manila 
Observatory, has published an article upon the above 
typhoon in the Monthly Bulletin of the Philippine Weather 
Bureau for September. The observations at Santo 
Domingo (Batanes Islands) and at Aparri (Luzon) show 
how accurate were the warnings and particulars of the 
track of the storm issued by the Zi-ka-wei Observatory, 
and that the typhoon passed close to the north of Santo 
Domingo between 3h. and gh. p.m. on September 15, 
the centre moving in the direction of N.W. by W.; the 
barometric minimum at the latter place at 2h. 30m. p.m. 
on that day was 29-290 inches, the mercury having fallen 
0-572 inch since Sh. p.m. on September 14. Father Algué 
thinks it probable that a depression felt at Guam 
(Marianne Islands), lying to the eastward of Santo 
Domingo, on September 8, may have been caused by the 
passage of the typhoon about 200 miles to the north of 
that station; in this case its mean rate of progression 
to Santo Domingo would have been about eight nautical 
miles an hour. 
Report of the Fernley Observatory, Southport, for the 
Year 1905.—This institution, which is maintained by the 
Corporation, occupies an important position between the 
Liverpool Observatory and the anemograph station at Fleet- 
wood, and possesses an exceptionally complete equipment 
of standard self-recording instruments. The year was very 
dry, the rainfall being 26-31 inches, or 7-11 inches below 
the average. Owing to the position of the observatory on 
the coast of the Irish Sea, gales were experienced in every 
month, but although barometric pressure was lowest in 
November, this was one of the two calmest months, the 
other being May. The town enjoys a good amount of 
bright sunshine; in the year a duration of 1624 hours was 
recorded, or seventy hours above the average, being only 
about fifty hours less than at Brighton, and above 300 
more than in the London district. 
Annuaire météorologique, Observatoire Royal de 
Belgique, 1906.—Although, as pointed out by M. Lancaster, 
an Annuaire is not indispensable for a meteorological 
organisation, the results of its observations being given in 
other publications, it is a very convenient method of bring- 
ing together data useful to different classes of workers, 
including agriculturists, engineers, medical men, and others. 
The work in question is certainly most valuable, and con- 
tains, in concise and handy form, the yearly and average 
results of observations made at Brussels (or Uccle) since 
1833, together with a summary of miscellaneous inform- 
ation, including tables and constants which are both 
useful and instructive to meteorological students of any 
country. To render the publication more attractive, it con- 
tains from time to time original articles by members of the 
observatory staff. Among those contained in the current 
volume we may mention one by M. Vincent on weather 
prediction, illustrated by fourteen maps, as well worthy of 
attention. The author looks for future improvement in 
the wider dissemination of daily weather reports and the 
instruction of persons interested in drawing their own con- 
clusions from the synoptic charts, in decentralisation to 
some extent, in the preparation of local forecasts as in 
the United States, and, eventually, in each person becoming 
his own forecaster, from information supplied by the central 
offices. 
Climate of Alaska.—In the U.S. Monthly Weather 
Review for June reference is made to an important memoir 
on this subject, by Dr. C. Abbe, jun., which forms part 
of Professional Paper No. 45 of the U.S. Geological Survey. 
Dr. Abbe summarises the materials collected during the last 
thirty years by the Signal Service and the Weather Bureau, 
and therefore supplements the useful memoir by Dr. Dall 
published in the Pacific Coast Pilot in 1879. The territory 
is divided into eight climatic provinces, for each of which 
much fresh information is afforded, especially as regards 
temperature and rainfall. The maximum shade tempera- 
ture in the great Yukon basin is given as 90°, and 94°, on 
the Copper River plateau, is the highest reported from 
any of the Weather Bureau stations, instead of 112° or 
NO. 1939, VOL. 75 | 
even 120° formerly spoken of. The lowest recorded 
temperature is —8o°, at Fort Reliance, in January. The 
largest annual rainfall is 170-09 inches, at Fort Constan- 
tine; the number of rain days is 251, at Unalaska, being 
the highest number at any point in the United States. 
Meteorological Observations, Bremen, 1905.—The publi- 
cation of the results obtained at this important observatory 
under the superintendence of Dr. P. Bergholz forms part 
of the German Meteorologisches Jahrbuch, which is pre- 
pared on a uniform plan for all parts of the empire. The 
present volume is of more than usual interest, as, in 
addition to hourly readings and means from self-recording 
instruments for the year in question, it contains monthly, 
seasonal, and yearly means for the lustrum 1901-5, results 
for the thirty-year period 1876-1905, and for all obsery- 
ations available from 1803-1905. As the latter are not 
quite continuous, we quote the following data for the thirty- 
year period:—mean temperature, January, 32°-5, July, 
62°-6; the absolute extremes were 93°-g (May 28, 1892), 
—13° (December 4, 1879); means of the absolute monthly 
extremes, 11°-1, January, 83°-5, July. The mean annual 
rainfall was 27-48 inches; July, 3-64 inches, April, 1-63 
inches; the greatest fall in one day was 3:39 inches 
(June ro, 1884). The mean percentage of bright sunshine 
for fifteen years was 32-4, as compared with 29 per cent- 
in London for twenty years. 
BRITISH INLAND WATERWAYS. 
THE commissioners appointed early this year to investi- 
gate and report on this important question, have 
exercised a wise discretion in publishing, as soon as prac- 
ticable, the first portion of the evidence given before them 
by fifty-four witnesses, at twenty-two meetings, held 
between March 21 and July 31, relating almost entirely 
to English canals and inland navigations. This first instal- 
ment forms a fairly bulky Blue-book, with 375 pages of 
evidence, an index of ninety-five pages, various appendices, 
together with a list of English inland waterways, occupy- 
ing 111 pages, and a map of the canal-systems and navig- 
able rivers of England and Wales in two sheets at the 
end of the volume, coloured so as to indicate each separate 
system, with the name of the system printed in large 
letters of the same colour. 
Since the evidence here recorded was taken, the com- 
missioners have been hearing evidence in Ireland on Irish 
inland waterways, and have also resumed lately their 
sittings in London; and they further propose to obtain 
detailed information with regard to inland navigation in 
the Continental countries of Europe where it has been 
most fully developed, which will doubtless be published 
in due course. Accordingly, considering the large amount 
of matter with respect to inland waterways which will be 
gradually collected by this commission, it is very advan- 
tageous that it should be given to the public at intervals 
to give an opportunity of its being properly studied; and 
this arrangement has the further merit that it will enable 
future witnesses, by seeing the previous evidence before- 
hand, to supply omissions or correct errors. 
A perusal of the engineering evidence alone suffices to 
show, by its conflicting nature, the magnitude of the task 
which lies before the commissioners, and the complicated 
problems which they will have to solve. The questions to 
be considered with regard to the improvement of inland 
waterways are:—first, the additional traffic that an 
improved waterway would be likely to attract ; secondly, the 
size of barges which could most economically transport the 
traffic; thirdly, what would be the cost of a transformed 
waterway suitable for the passage of such barges, how far 
it should be carried inland, what connections should be 
formed with other waterways, and what return might be 
expected on the capital expended; and, lastly, by what 
means the funds might be raised for executing the pro- 
posed improvements. 
The engineers of inland navigations being sometimes also 
the managers, or generally concerned in the management 
of their system, and being thoroughly conversant with the 
cost of improvements and with the working expenses, have 
for the most part dealt with the above questions in their. 
evidence. One engineer suggests that the Government 
