158 



NATURE 



[June i6, 1904 



particularly numerous, and we are at it all the time. We 

 laugh at them, for we have struck some good points in 

 tuning, which settle them very nicely. On the boat, when 

 receiving our stuff, two of the four wires are grounded 

 directly, which gives best results. Any resistance between 

 those wires and the ground weakens the signals. If we 

 want to hear the Japs call, disconnecting ground wire 

 entirely from syntoniser of the receiver brings them in 

 strong; while with the ground wire on, as in receiving our 

 stuff, the Japs come very faintly. On the shore station it 

 is different. Three wires are best in receiving up to loo 

 miles, with the other two wires free, at which time the 

 Japs come in weakest. By grounding the other two wires 

 the Japs come in very strong and our stuff weakest. Above 

 100 miles our stuff comes best with two wires grounded 

 directly. That, of course, allows others to come in, but they 

 are not strong enough to prevent my reading through. So 

 far, that tuning is best, and certainly gives very satisfactory 

 results." 



A Reuter message from New York states that Mr. 

 Marconi's effort to supply news daily on board the Cunard 

 liner Campania has been entirely successful. The daily 

 news bulletin was issued to the passengers at breakfast. 

 The Campania had not long started when news was re- 

 ceived from the Seaforth station, and later in the evening 

 from Poldhu. Touch was kept with the latter station 

 until a distance of 2300 miles had been reached on June q. 

 At 2 a.m. on that date communication was established with 

 Cape Breton, 2000 miles distant, and was maintained until 

 the end of the trip. On June 8 Cape Cod station, 1030 

 miles distant, was picked up. Cape Breton and Poldhu being 

 also in communication with the ship. On the following 

 day news bulletins were received from the American stations. 

 Comniunication was begun with Nantucket at 3 p.m. on 

 June 10, news being received from that place as well as 

 from Cape Breton and Cape Cod. In addition to the shore 

 stations, communication was established with the Etruria 

 and the Aurania. The Lucania exchanged news with the 

 Campania, and a number of private messages were sent at 

 intervals. Touch with both sides of the Atlantic was con- 

 tinuous for three days in mid-ocean. 



We learn from the Pioneer Mail that, through the 

 initiative of Mr. E. H. Aitken, a zoological society is about 

 to be founded in Sind with the object of promoting the study 

 of animal life. The society will not aim at making collec- 

 tions of its own, but rather at improving those already 

 existing in the municipal gardens and museum, and turning 

 them to the best account for scientific purposes. 



At the suggestion of Prof. W. F. Barrett, Royal College 

 of Science, Dublin, Mr. P. E. Belas described in Nature 

 of May 12 (p. 31) a simple method of showing vortex motion 

 by allowing aqueous fluorescein to flow from a capillary 

 tube with its point just below the surface of water in a tall 

 cylinder, and then tapping the stand supporting the tube. 

 Mr. Robert E. Doran, of Queen's College, Cork, writes 

 to direct our attention to the fact that he has performed a 

 similar experiment in his demonstrations for the past six 

 or seven years. Mr. Doran recommends that a bulb be 

 blown at one end of a glass tube, and that the open end 

 be contracted to slightly less than i mm. bore. The bulb 

 and tube are filled completely with a i per cent, solution 

 of common salt to which fluorescein has been added to 

 produce a liquid almost free from fluorescence. The tube 

 is clamped vertically over the centre of a tall cylinder filled 

 with water. When the water is at rest the tube is lowered 

 until its aperture just touches the surface. This starts the 



experiment, and no tapping is necessary. Several photo- 

 graphs showing the vorte.x rings resulting from his method 

 of procedure accompany Mr. Doran 's letter. 



In La Nature of May 28, Dr. A. Hamberg, of Stockholm, 

 gives an interesting account of his successful establishment of 

 meteorographs on two mountains in Swedish Lapland. One 

 set of apparatus, that shown in the accompanying illustra- 

 tion, is on the Portitjokko, at an altitude of 1850 metres, 

 and has been working satisfactorily since July, 1902, with 

 the exception of occasional interruptions of the anemometer 

 owing to hoar-frost. The second apparatus is installed on 

 the Sahkok, at an altitude of about 1080 metres. The baro- 

 graph and thermograph were constructed by M. Richard, 

 of Paris ; the other instruments were made by Dr. Ham- 

 berg, with the aid of M. Linderoth, clockmaker, in Sweden. 

 Each set of apparatus weighs 1000 kilograms, and the 

 separate parts had to be conveyed by men and reindeer. 

 The clocks go for a year, each " weight " being 300 kilo- 

 grams. The recording portions of the meteorograph are 

 encased in screens of sheet iron, inside which pans of 

 calcium chloride are placed. The apparatus on the left 

 of the diagram is the pluviograph. Instead of using ink, 



NO. 1807, VOL. 70] 



^^ 



which was found to be unsatisfactory, punctures are made 

 every twenty minutes in the papers covering the drums of 

 the instruments, and occasionally in the autumn the deposit 

 of hoar-frost has to be cleared away by Laplanders. The 

 great difficulties of the problem have only been overcome 

 by Dr. Hamberg after persistent and tedious experiments, 

 both as to position and methods of registration. 



We have received from the secretary of the Meteorological 

 Oflice an excerpt paper containing some of the principal 

 meteorological subjects dealt with in Section A of the British 

 Association meeting at Southport. Among these is a paper 

 on the general circulation of the atmosphere, by Dr. H. H. 

 Hildebrandsson, being a summary of a report to the Inter- 

 national Meteorological Committee (Upsala, 1903), which 

 will attract attention. The author points out that while, 

 thanks to the labours of Maury, Brault and others, the 

 system of winds prevailing at the surface of the earth is 

 well known, our knowledge of the motions of the upper 

 currents gained from general publications is mostly based 

 upon theoretical considerations. The late Rev. W. C. 

 Ley commenced observations on the upper clouds in 1872, 

 and in the following year the author established a series 

 of cloud observations in Sweden with the object of deter- 

 mining the movements of the air at different altitudes in 

 areas of high and low barometric pressures. These observ- 

 ations have been supplemented during recent years by ex- 

 periments with balloons and kites. The result of these 

 investigations, the author states, will render it necessary 

 to abandon once for all the theory hitherto adopted of a 



