December 26, 1918] 



NATURE 



339 



aeronautical engineering, timing the r.i t •• of cooling 



..1 the kata-therm'omi -bulbed spirit thermo- 



graduated between 100' and ^ !•'., and the 



1 which was determined whereby the cooling 



power on a surface at bod\ temperature is expressed 



in rnillicalories per so,, cm. per sec. The formula was 



deduced II , where 6 the difference 



between the temperature of the air and 36-5' C. 



I'sing this formula, the authors found the- velocit) 



of the wind determined by the kata-thermometer ai 



Observatory agreed closely with the velocitj 



determined l>\ the Cup and Dims anemometers. 



this formula to determine velocity, the cooling 



of tin- wi 1 kata-thermometer was reinvestigated in a 



tube _; in. in diameter, through which air was drawn 



from a chamber, the temperature and humidity of 



which could be varied. The effect on evaporative 



power of varying the temperature of the evaporating 



surface was determined, and the use of the kata- 

 tln rmometer as a measure of evaporative power of 

 drying processes pointed out. The effect of baro- 

 metric pressure on cooling power was worked out in 

 iinlier in which the atmospheric pressure was 

 I from -i- 1 5 Hi. to 540 mm. Hi;. The formula 

 determined expresses influence of barometric pressure 

 on convection cooling power. At ordinarv tempera- 

 cooling power exerted on dry kata-thermometer 

 is half due to radiation, half to convection. — H. ('. 

 Bazett : Observations on changes in the blood- 

 pressure and blood-volume following operations in 

 :n. in. Dr. Marie ('. Stopes : The lour visible in- 



• nts in banded bituminous coal. The coal dis- 

 cussed is the ordinary streaky bituminous coal of the 

 British Coal Measures widely used in house and fac- 

 tory. Disregarding for the time the ultimate morpho- 

 logical nature of the plant organs contributing to 

 them, four differing substances 01 constituents are 

 described as composing such coal. These can be 



nised by differences in their general character. 



(a) Differences in their macroscopic appearance and 



with the naked eye in hand specimens). 



(/>) By their different behaviour when treated with 



».is chemicals, (c) By the difference's in the debris 



• h which result from their treatment with various 

 chemicals, (d) By the differences in microscopic sec- 

 tions of untreated samples of each. These different - 

 .it. further followed up by analyses and distillations 



1 i iidi ied in a later paper. Diagrams are given 

 ,.>w the characteristic distribution of these con- 

 stituents in section, and to indicate, if not a parallel 

 to, at least a possibly useful comparison with, petro- 

 .il work on rocks. The four ingredients thus 

 determined are fusain (the already widely discussed 

 "mineral charcoal"), and durain, clarain, and vitrain, 

 tin- three latter names being given now for the first time. 

 v: \Y. Crookes : The arc spectrum of scandium. 



Royal Meteorological Society, December iS. Sit 

 JCapiei Shaw, president, in the chair. — Capt. C. J. 1'. 

 Ca\e : A cloud phenomenon. On April 15, 1915, a 

 cloud with an approximately straight front was seen 

 approaching South Farnborough from the north-west. 

 The sky had been clear in the morning. The cloud 

 came overl .1.111., after which the sky was 



asl ; the sunshine record ended abruptly. At all 

 stations in the eastern and south-eastern counties the 

 sunshine record was similar, though the times ,,f 

 iation differed considerably. Bj comparing the 

 was possible to draw lines on a map show- 

 ing the times when the cloud-front was approximate!) 

 overhead. The o a.m. line ran through the Isle ,,l 

 Wight to Southampton, through Hampshire, Berk- 

 shire, ami Middlesex, north-west of London, along the 

 western borders of Suffolk and Essex, through Norfolk 



NO. 2565, VOL. I02] 



'iier. At 1.. a.m. the 1 loud-front ran over the 

 easl Mid of the Isle of Wight, along the eastern 

 bolder of Hampshire, through Surrey, south-east of 

 on, through Essex, Suttolk, and Norfolk to the 

 sea -nine miles north of Yarmouth. At 2 p.m. the 

 cloud-front ran from between Pevensej and Bexhill 

 to YVestgate. A map shows the travel" of the cloud- 

 Iront from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and indicates that the 

 (loud travelled across the country at about twelve 

 miles per hour. C E. P. Brooks: Notes on a 

 meteorological journal at Wei-hai-wei kept by Com- 

 mander A. E. House, lulo to 1916. Wei-hai-wei is 

 a small British concession in the north of China, and 

 is important as being in a sense the sanatorium of 

 British stations in the North Pacific. It has a cool 

 summer with a moderate rainfall, and a dry, bracing 

 winter. Meteorological observations were taken by 

 Commander House four times daily, and include 

 pressure, temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, and 

 weather. These have been summarised and dis- 

 cussed, with notes on the relation of the various 

 elements to wind direction and on the general climato- 

 logy and possibilities of Wei-hai-wei. — Capt. E. H. 

 Chapman : The annual symmetrical variation of cer- 

 tain elements, with a note on the choice of seasons. 

 The average lengths of the astronomical day for the 

 calendar months are more symmetrical for the calendar 

 ve-ar January to December than for a year (1) Decem- 

 ber to November or (2) February to January. The 

 mean monthly temperatures, Midland Counties, are 

 most symmetrical for a year February to January. 

 The mean monthly values of various meteorological 

 elements are symmetrical for the calendar year 

 January to December. Mean weekly temperatures, 

 Midland Counties, are symmetrical for a year com- 

 mencing with the fifth week of one year and ending 

 with the fourth week of the following year. The 

 method used for showing annual symmetry is to draw 

 the first half of the curve forwards and the second half 

 of the curve backwards along the ordinates of the 

 first half, the nearness of the two portions of t he- 

 curve showing the degree of symmetry. Annual sym- 

 metrical variation makes the division of the year into 

 seasons a difficult matter. There is evidence in favour 

 of making March a winter month. The usual 

 meteorological three-monthly seasons are too early in 

 the vear, while the astronomical seasons are too late-. 

 An alternative suggestion of the three-monthly seasons, 

 mielelle' of December to middle- of March, etc., is put 

 forward. 



Sheffield. 

 Society of Glass Technology, December 18. — Mr. 

 W. F. J. Wood, president, in the chair.— S. English : 

 An apparatus for the accurate calibration of burette 

 ml" -. The method employed for the burette is based 

 on that for the pipette, since it involves the use of 

 a standardised pipette of precisely known volume and 

 time of drainage. Mercury, however, is used instead 

 of water to till the burette and the standard pipe-tie- 

 into which it drains in order to calibrate it; under the 

 same- conditions of ordinary use- water is placed above 

 the mercury level in the burette. This meniscus i- 

 viewed through a telescope attached to a cathe to- 

 me ter, and by an ingenious arrangement a needle is 

 made to produce a mark on the burette precisely at 

 e| of the- meniscus. The author stated that a 

 burette could 1»- calibrated in five- minutes, and the 

 accuracj was far greater than was usually observed 

 in calibrating these- instruments.— Dr Turner: Bottler 

 glass and "lass-bottle- manufacture. The- authors 

 remarks were confined largely to two points— qualm 

 and quantity in glass-bottle production. In regard to 

 quality he pointed out that it was use :■ ss to produce a 



