February 8, 1906] 



NA TURE 



General Rykatcheff, St. Petersburg, Russia. 



Prof. Dr. J. Scheiner, Konigl. Friedrich Wilhelms 

 Universitat, Berlin. 



Dr. W. N. Shaw, Meteorological Office, 63 Victoria 

 Street, London. 



M. A. Silvado, Direction de Meteorologia, Morro de St. 

 Antanis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 



Prof. A. Steen, Meteorological Institute, Christiania. 



Mr. R. F. Stupart, Canadian Dominion Meteorological 

 Service, Toronto. 



Prof. J. Violle, Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, Paris. 



Prof. Dr. C. H. Wind, University of Utrecht, Holland. 



Prof. A. Woeikoff, St. Petersburg, Russia. 



Prof. Dr. Max Wolf, Grossherz Ruprecht-Karls Uni- 

 versitat, Heidelberg, Germany. 



Prof. A. Wdlfer, Zurich Observatory, Switzerland. 



At a meeting at Cambridge in August (18-23), I 9°4. Sir 

 Norman Lockyer was elected president and Sir John Eliot 

 secretary. 



A provisional programme was considered, and the follow- 

 ing resolutions were passed or action taken : — 



A letter received from Mr. Hale respecting the cooper- 

 ation of the Commission with the Committee on Solar 

 Research of the National Academy of Sciences was read, 

 and it was agreed to cooperate with the Committee on 

 questions of common interest. 



Upon the initiation of the Committee a union was 

 formed for the study of solar phenomena, and Dr. W. J. S. 

 Lockyer was appointed later by correspondence to attend 

 the meeting of this union at Oxford in September, 1903, 

 as the representative of the Commission. 



A scheme of solar observations was approved. 



It was resolved (1) that in connection with the observ- 

 ations of solar radiation, observations of the transparency 

 of the air would be desirable, more especially (a) on the 

 visibility of distant and high mountains when possible ; 

 and (b) photometrical observations of Polaris. 



The following resolutions were passed : — 



(1) That, in the first instance, for the purpose of com- 

 parison with solar phenomena, the meteorological observ- 

 ations to be considered should be monthly means of 

 pressure, temperature (including maximum temperature 

 and minimum temperature) and rainfall. 



(2) That the members of the Commission be requested to 

 communicate to the secretary a short report of the data 

 available in their respective countries, and the number of 

 years over which they extend. 



(3) That a circular be addressed to the various meteor- 

 ological organisations asking them to send to the secretary, 

 for the purposes of the Commission, a copy of the publi- 

 cations of their offices embodying the data specified in the 

 two preceding resolutions, and that the organisations be 

 also requested to obtain and forward copies of similar 

 publications from the colonies and dependencies of their 

 respective countries. 



(4) That the Commission considers it is desirable that the 

 data for the purposes of comparison should be sent to the 

 president of the Commission, South Kensington (Solar 

 Physics Observatory), for tabulation and comparison. The 

 Commission attaches the greatest importance to this work, 

 more especially as it may lead to a practical system of 

 long-period forecasting, and hopes that if it be necessary, 

 an increase of staff at that observatory may be authorised 

 to bring all old observations up to date. 



(5) That the establishment of magnetical observatories 

 in about lat. 70 N. (e.g. Bosskop, in Norway) and in very 

 high latitudes of the southern hemisphere is of the highest 

 importance for the advancement of science. 



Prof. Ricco informed the Commission that it is intended 

 to establish in Italy or Sicily a magnetic observatory with 

 self-recording instruments belonging to the Italian Meteor- 

 ological Office. 



It was agreed that all communications for the Com- 

 mission should be received at a central address, viz. the 

 Solar Physics Observatory, South Kensington. 



At the meeting at Innsbruck, September 11-15, 1903, 

 the following resolutions were adopted : — ■ 



(1) That for the sake of brevity the name of the Com- 

 mission be the Solar Commission of the International 

 Meteorological Committee. 



(2) That the secretary be instructed to report the pro- 



NO. 1893, VOL. 73] 



ceedings of the meetings of the Commission held at Cam- 

 bridge in August, 1904, and at Innsbruck in September, 

 1903, to the International Meteorological Committee, and 

 to ask that it will take the proper steps to bring their 

 suggestions before the International Association of 

 Academies. 



(3) Que pour la pression et la temperature les chefs des 

 dirKrents services meteorologiques soient pries de preparer 

 une liste des stations qu'ils considerent comme suffisantes 

 pour bien representer les diff<5rents regimes meteorologiques 

 que existent dans leur pays. 



(4) Que dans le nord de Siberie et le nord de l'Amerique 

 soient organizes des stations permanentes meteorologiques 

 au moins deux ou trois sur chaque continent. 



La Commission exprime le desir de recevoir communi- 

 cation des observations des iles dont les noms suivent ; ' 

 insiste sur l'utilite' d'assurer la permanence des observ- 

 ations meteorologiques dans ses regions, et prie son presi- 

 dent de faire par intermediate du Comite international 

 des Academies officiellement aupres des divers gouverne- 

 ments les demarches necessaires pour que des observations 

 meteorologiques soient organizes et maintenues dans les 

 stations mentionees ou ces observations n 'existent pas 

 d'une maniere reguliere et permanente. 



A form was prepared and approved for the tabulation 

 of the pressure, rainfall and temperature data. 



Pour le but que poursuit la Commission, il est 

 desirable que dans toutes les stations, les valeurs normales 

 soient deduites des memes annees (20, 25, ou plus) le 

 miliesime de la premiere annee se terminant par 1 ou 6 

 d'aprfes les recommendations du Congres meteorologique 

 international de Vienne. 



The normal period selected for comparison when possible 

 is the twenty-five year period from 1881 to 1905. 



M. Angot presented a selected list of stations for 

 France which the Commission decided should be utilised in 

 the circular as an example of the requirements of the Com- 

 mission. In connection with this selection it was decided 

 that the proportion of mountain stations to plain stations in 

 any country should not exceed one to four. 



The questions of magnetic and rainfall data were 

 taken up, and it was resolved 



(1) That the Magnetic Commission should be asked to 

 assist the Solar Commission in the selection of magnetic 

 observatories, and to advise as to the amount and extent 

 of information which these observatories would be able to 

 give in order to assist in the investigation of the relations 

 of solar and terrestrial meteorology. 



(2) That the suggestion of Mr. Langley that ten-day 

 means as well as monthly means be employed be referred 

 to the Magnetic Commission for opinion. 



General Rykatcheff, president of the Magnetic Com- 

 mission, read a communication in reply to the request 

 mentioned above : — 



" Decision de la Commission magnetique par rapport a 

 la demande de la Commission solaire. 



" La Commission magnetique a pris certaines decisions 

 qui entrent dans les rues de la Commission solaire, celles 

 sont les decisions sur la publication des courbes troubiees, 

 sur les listes des jours calmes et troubles, sur les 

 coefficients exprimant l'activite magnetique de chaque jour 

 et sur la publication d'une liste d'observatoires magnetiques. 



La Commission magnetique decide que toutes ces publi- 

 cations seront communiquees aux membres de la Com- 

 mission solaire. 



" Si la Commission solaire trouverait que d'autres 

 donnees, que celles enumerees tout a l'heure sont desirables, 

 la Commission magnetique se declare prete a collaborer 

 avec la Commission solaire en la priant toutefois de vouloir 

 bien presiser ses desirs ! 



" Quant a la question des movennes par decades la 

 Commission estime que cette question ne peut §tre resolu 

 que par le comite des directeurs, auquel elle sera remise. 



" La Commission magnetique estime qu'il serait bien 

 de diriger 1 'attention du futur Bureau permanent mag- 

 netique sur les demandes de la Commission solaire." 



(3) Pour le moment on se contente de demander les 

 donnees relatives a la pluie aux stations que fournissent 

 deja celles de la temperature et de la pression ; on pourra 



1 The complete list will be given later in the official report of the meeting 

 oftheCc 



