August 1 6, 1883] 



NA TURE 



379 



simultaneous movement in July, 1880, together with the simul- 

 taneous movement of October, 1880. 



If this be a correct analysis of the curves, then there is the 

 remarkable fact to be noted, that the motion of these waves in a 

 westward direction takes place at an average rate of two and a 

 half months, that is to say, twice as rapidly as in the eastward 

 direction. And this fact would readily accord with the supposed 

 westward lagging of the atmosphere due to its inertia ; and also 

 with any supposed influence of the sun. The presence of this 

 westward transmission is not so apparent, however, as that of 

 the eastward. And whether it be present or not, there still 

 remains the difficulty, substantially the same as at the outset, 

 that the motion eastwards is by far the most denned and most 

 readily traceable ; a difficulty for which I cannot even guess at 

 any solution. Facts, however, should not be overlooked 

 because they cannot be explained, but rather an explanation 

 sought ; and in the explanation of this fact theoretical matters 

 of considerable interest may perhaps be involved. The only 

 hints at any facts which might by any pos-ibility suggest an 

 explanation are to be found La Mr. Chambers's summary of his 

 discovery, where he speaks of the direction eastwards being like 

 that of " the cyclones of extra-tropical latitudes " ; and in the 

 very interesting and more suggestive statement of Dr. Balfour 

 Stewart [vide Nature, vol. xxii. p. 151), in which he says, 

 speaking of terrestrial magnetism, " that we have some evidence 

 which leads us to suspect that particular states of declination 

 range, like particular states of weather have a motion from west 

 to east, the magnetical moving faster than the meteorological." 



As to the cause of these widely-distributed simultaneous move- 

 ments of the barometer, movements which I consider to be in 

 the main the initial impulses of the complication of abnormal 

 movements visible in the curves, I have no evidence of any 

 value. The most natural idea is that a connection, direct or 

 indirect, may be traced between them and changes in the state of 

 solar energy ; the downward movements perhaps being due to an 

 excess of energy, and the upward movements to a deficiency. 

 In some points, perhaps, they may bear analogy to magnetic 

 storms. I have not a sun-spot curve for the years under 

 consideration, and cannot therefore make the necessary com- 

 parisons. 



As a working hypothesis to serve as a guide in further investi- 

 gating the matter, I should be inclined to suppose that the 

 atmosphere, if it could, without stopping the earth's motion, be 

 divested of its regular diurnal and seasonal movements, and the 

 eddies and storms resulting therefrom, would present to ob>erva 

 tion a somewhat intricate mixture of m otions consisting of the 

 fallowing elements : — 



1. Certain initial movements, resulting mediately or immedi- 

 ately from changes in the state of the sun's energy, and affecting 

 very wide area-, and being of the form of heapiugs uo or draw- 

 ings away of the atmosphere over the e areas, the movements 

 attaining their maximum height or depth at the centre of these 

 areas. The centres of these areas would be immediately under 

 the sun, that is to say, within the tropical latitudes. 1 



2. Waves re ulting from the propagation in eastward and 

 westward (ani perhaps, though in a less marked degree north- 

 ward and southward) directions of the impulses given by the first 

 movements ; the waves which travel eastward being for some 

 unexplained reason more pronounced than those travelling west- 

 ward, but their rate of motion over the earth's surface being, on 

 account of the rotation of the earth and the atmosphere's inertia, 

 slower in the eastward direction than in the westward. 



3. Small local movements over more limited areas resulting 

 from the chance conjunction and interference of any two or 

 more of the first and second movements. 



An extensive and detailed examination of the barometric 

 records of stations scattered over the globe will bring to light 

 facts either favourable or unfavourable to this hyp othesis ; and 

 after this examination has been made, it will ihen be time to 

 decide whether or not it is worth while undertaking the labour 

 of dealing with the subject matheaoatica ly. 



The matter seems important even theoretically, for in it and 

 inve tigations of a like kind are to be found attempts at a 

 rational arrangement of the very complex collection of fac s con- 

 tained in the various records of barometric abnormal movements ; 

 and practically also, for on the results of further investigation 

 into it depends the confirmation or dismissal of a hypothesis 



1 Mr. H. F. Elanford's d.scovery of "a barometric see-saw between 

 Russia and India in the sun-spot cycle " (vide Nature, vol. xxi. p. 477) 

 seems to support this hypothesis. 



which has given promise of furnishing a useful method of 

 weather forecasting. A. N. Pearson, 



Acg. Meteorological Reporter for 

 Bombay, January 10 Western India 



SCIENCE IN RUSSIA 



THE Kieff Society of Naturalists was opened in 1869, and 

 soon had more than a hundred members, mostly belonging 

 to the University. Like other Societies of Naturalists at the 

 Russian Universities, its chief aim has been the exploration of 

 Russian natural history in the neighbouring provinces, these 

 explorations proving that though the region around the Dnieper 

 was not quite unknown in its geological, botanical, and zoologi- 

 cal aspects, still there were wide lacunae to be filled up before 

 arriving at a thorough knowledge of it. Prof. Feofilaktoff, who 

 had already published a geological map of the province of Kieff, 

 assisted by several young geologists, busily explored, therefore, 

 the surrounding provinces, especially on the right bank of the 

 Dnieper, and published in the Memoirs of the Kieff Society a 

 series of valuable papers on the Cretaceous, Tertiary, and post- 

 Tertiary of the region, as well as on brown coal on the Dnieper. 

 The Phanerogamic flora of the Dnieper region being sufficiently 

 well known from the former works of Professors Andrzeiovski, 

 Trautvelter, Rogowicz, and several others, the chief attention of 

 the Society has been devoted to the Cryptogamic flora ; and 

 numerous papers by MM. Borschoff, Plutenko, Wa-ltz, Rishavi, 

 Tiuoofeeff, Ryndovsky, Mo-diinsky, and Sovinsky, on the algae, 

 mosses, lichens, and fungi of the Dnieper region, as well as 

 of Caucasus, appeared in the Memoirs. In zoology the chief 

 researches were directed towards the exploration of the inverte- 

 brate fauna of the Black Sea, and whilst M. Bobretzky 

 thoroughly studied the Annelids of the Black Sea, M. Krich- 

 agnin carried out special studies of the CopepoJa, and M. 

 Paulson studied the Crustaceans of the Red Sea, in order to 

 compare them with those of the great interior sea of Russia 

 and Turkey. Several valuable papers were published at the 

 same time on the anatomy and physiology of animals and plants, 

 whilst the researches in chemistry and physics which were made 

 at the Kieff University were mostly sent for publication to the 

 Journal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society at St. 

 Petersburg. 



Finally, the Kieff Society has undertaken, since 1S73, the 

 yearly publication of a most valuable systematic catalogue of 

 papers in mathematics, in natural science, pure and applied, and 

 in medicine, published throughout Russia in the numerous 

 scientific publications which have grown up during the last ten 

 years. These catalogues, which have reached during the last 

 few years the size of large octavo volumes two hundred page; in 

 extent for natural sciences and the same f re medicine, are most 

 valuable, as the number of provincial publications rapidly in- 

 creases in Russia, and scientific papers of great value are virtu- 

 ally buried among the publications of the statistical committees, 

 provincial assemblies, local scientific societies, and so on. The 

 last (tenth) volume of this catalogue contains an index for the 

 whole series of ten volumes. 



The two last volumes of the Memoirs (Zapiski) 0/ the Kieff 

 Society of Naturalists (vols. v. and vi. 1S79-1882) contains, like 

 the preceding ones, a good ma oy valuable pipers. In geo'ogy 

 we find several papers by Prof. Feofilaktoff and Schmalhausen. 

 According to the former, the Eocene formati >n of the region 

 has its central parts in the Government of Kieff, 01 the banks 

 of the Dnieper. It consis's of two series of deposits, the 

 sand-tones and sands of Traktemiroff, which only contain re- 

 mains of Mollusks ; and the Spondylus deposits which cover 

 the former, and consist of sands, Spondylus city, and greenish 

 stndswith plant- (vol. v. fasc. 2). These plants, according to 

 M. Schmalhausen's researches, which will soon be published by 

 the Society, are the Alga ChouJri'cs, similar to the Eocene 

 Chondrites Ta>'gionii ; a Conifer similar t> the Araucarites 

 Duchartrei; fruits of Nipadites, similar to those of the London 

 clay ; and pieces of Coniferae and Palms and of a B.omelite 

 (Br. Dolinskii, Schmalh.), fruits of tropical Legumino.sae (Legit- 

 minosites Rogoviczi and L. Feoftlaktoioi), and leaves of Fiats 

 prisca. All these plants have been found in the upper parts of 

 the clay, whilst in the sands that cover it M. Schmalhausen found 

 a oTeat number of stems and leaves of marine Monocotyledons, 

 such as Caulinites Rogowiczi (a new species akin to the Caulinites 

 parisiensis), and a new species o' Zorlerites, as well as parts of a 

 new species of Graminea, Polocapyrum inertitm (vol. vi. Pro- 



