46 



NATURE 



[September ig, 1918 



i-:rs to the editor. 



[The Editor does not hold himself responsible (or 

 opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither 

 can he undertake to return, or to correspond with 

 the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended for 

 this or any other part of Nature. No notice is 

 taken of anonymous communications.] 



A Shower of Sand-eels. 



About 3 o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, 

 August -'4 last, the allotment-holders of a small 

 in Hendon, a southern suburb of Sunderland, were 

 sheltering in their sheds during a heavy thunder- 

 shower, when the} observed that small' fish were 

 being rained to the ground. The fish were precipi- 

 tated on three adjoining roads and on the allotment- 

 gardens enclosed by the mads; the rain swept them 

 from the roads into the gutters and from the roofs 

 of the sheds into the spouts. 



The phenomenon was recorded in the local news- 

 papers, the fish being described as "sile." I was awaj 

 ai the time, but, seeing the account, I wrote to Dr. 

 Harrison, and thanks to him, and especially to Mr. 

 H. S. Wallace, I obtained a sample of the fish, and 

 I was aide yesterday (September 5) to visit the place 

 in the company of the latter gentieman. 



From those who saw the occurrence we derived 

 full information, which left no doubt as to the 

 genuineness of what had been stated, and this we were 

 able to put to the test, .for a further sample was 

 obtained from a rain-barrel which could have got its 

 supply only from the spout of the shed to which 

 it was connected. The precipitation of the fish, we 

 were told, lasted about ten minutes, and the area 

 involved Commercial Road, Canon Cocker Street, the 

 portion of Ashley Street lying between these streets, 

 and the adjoining gardens. The area measured 

 approximately 60 yards by 30 yards, and was thus 

 about one-third of an acre. It is not easy to say how 

 many fish fell, but from the accounts it may be 

 gathered they were numerous; there were apparenth 

 several hundreds. 



_ There can be no question, therefore, that at the 

 time stated a large number of small fish were 

 sfiow-ered over about one-third of an acre during a 

 heavy rain accompanied by thunder ; we were ' in- 

 formed that no lightning was observed, and that the 

 wind was variable. 



All the examples which came into mv hands from 

 different parts of the ground and from the rain- 

 barrel prove to be the lesser sand-eel (Ammodytes 

 us). They all, moreover, are about 3 in. in 

 length, or 7-5 cm. to 7-9 cm. They are not '''sile," a 

 name usually given to the verv small young of the 

 herring. But the sand-eels are sea-fish, and it is 

 evidenl that the sand-eels showered to the ground 

 al Hendon were derived from the sea. 



On sandy beaches around our coasts the lesser sand- 

 eel is ven common. As its name implies, it burrows 

 into the sand, but in the bays it ma'v often be seen 

 not ; far from the surface swimming about in inim 

 shoals— shoals which are characterised bv the members 

 being all about the same size. 



The place when th< sand-eels in question were 

 deposited lies about one-quarter of a mile from thi 

 seashore, but it is probable that the minimum dis-' 

 tance of transport was al leasl half a mile. 



The only explanation which appears to satisfy the 



conditions, therefore, is thai a shoal oi sand-eels was 



■ up by a waterspout which form, d in the ba\ 



to the south-east of Sunderland, and vva irried !>\ 



an easterly breeze to Hendon, where the fish were 



1 deposited. It is significant that the irea 



of deposition was so restricted, and that no othi 1 area 



NO. 2551, VOL. I02] 



was affected. Mi. origin and the deposition wen 

 therefore local. 



We were informed that the fish wen- all dead, and, 

 indeed, stiif and hard, when picked up immediately 

 .ill.-! the occurrence, This serves to detract from 

 the possibilities of distribution being influenced bj 

 such an occurrence, but it is possible that othet 

 species would be able to withstand such an aerial 

 method of dispersion. It is more than probable that 

 the vortical movement of a waterspout would trans- 

 port plankton. This was naturally not observed in 

 this case, and the small creatures, including eggs and, 

 young stages, would likely be carried over a wider 

 area. A. Meek. 



Dove Marin.- Laboratory, Cullercoats, 

 September 4. 



1 III: WATER-POWERS OF THE BRITISH 

 EMPIRE. 



FOR a number of years Nature has been, on 

 the subject of water-power in Greal Britain, 

 a vox clamantis. It has pointed out that while 

 other countries — notably the United States, 

 France, Italy, Switzerland, and even Canada — 

 have possessed hydrographic services, there has 

 been no co-ordinated effort — indeed, one might 

 almost say, no effort of any kind — in this count r\ 

 to procure the information essential to the deter- 

 mination of its water-power resources and their 

 extent and availability. It is true that a merely 

 superficial review is sufficient to show that those 

 resources cannot possibly vie with the vast stores 

 of power locked up in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and 

 tin Rockies. Neither, in consequence of the pleni- 

 tude of our coalfields, has there hitherto been any 

 occasion to trouble in the least about additional, or 

 alternative, sources of power supply. But the war, 

 or rather its unexpected protraction, has of late 

 completely changed the national outlook. The 

 reckless prodigality with which our stores of solid 

 fuel have hitherto been depleted can no longer be 

 countenanced, and the certainty of ultimate ex- 

 haustion has to be faced before increasing scarcity 

 causes prices to mount to unremunerative heights. 

 The nation is learning economy, not only in food 

 and clothing, but also in regard to its natural 

 resources and mineral endowments. A salutary 

 experience has been gained, and, though somewhat 

 late in the day, it is satisfactory to know that the 

 position is at last beginning to be fullv realised 

 and appreciated. 



The Water-Power Committee of the Conjoint 

 Board of Scientific Societies, in their preliminary 

 report, which was abridged in Nature of Sep- 

 tember 5, p. 16, has taken a wide and comprehen- 

 sne view of its functions. The committee has, the 

 reporl states, "endeavoured to collect all the 

 available relevant information " respecting the 

 amount and distribution of water-power in the 

 British Empire. Turning over the twenty-eight 

 pages oi the report, it must be affirmed that the 

 information thus forthcoming is lamentablv scanl 

 and imperfect. Throughout the length and breadth 

 of the Empire two countries only — Canada and 

 Xew Zealand — have recognised the fundamental 

 importance of systematic investigation. Initiatory 

 efforts on a small scale have, indeed, been made 



