April 2 2, 1886] 



NA TURE 



59: 



Mclcor SJwwers 

 The piincipal sliower of tliis week is that of the Ai/ntviJs, 

 radiant R.A. 326°, Decl. 2° S. It is a strong shower, visible 

 just before daybreak, from April 29 to May 2. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



The Geographical Society of Paris held last Friday its first 

 general annual meeting. M. de Lesseps was in the chair, and 

 delivered an address on the Panama Isthmus and Canal. 

 Amongst tlie gold medallists are MM. Capello and Ivens, the 

 Pandit Krishna, and Alfred Marche. 



M. Pellet, a French explorer belonging to the cavalry, was 

 murdered by an unfaithful guide on his way to Timbuctu, before 

 reaching Insalah, the capital of Tuat. 



The Portuguese Legislature has, at the initiative of the Geo- 

 graphical Society of Lisbon, passed an act relating to MM. 

 Capello and Ivens, of which the following are the main pro- 

 visions:— (i) They are to receive apension of 600,000 )v/y(i35/.) 

 per annum each, in addition to a similar pension granted to 

 them after their first journey ; (2) exemption from all taxes ; (3) 

 the Treasury is to bear the expense of printing an edition of the 

 account of their last African journey, of which 5000 copies will 

 be given to them, and the copyright will be their property ; (4) 

 confirmation of the rank conferred on them, and dispensing with 

 the condition of serving the remainder of the term in Africa in 

 consideration of which the rank was granted to them by law. 

 Portugal, it would thus appear, knows how to honour officially, 

 as a nation, her sons who have done honour to her. MM. 

 Capello and Ivens's work is in the National Press at Lisbon, and 

 the first volume is expected to be published in two months. 



The current number (Band v., Heft i) of the Mitlheiluiigcii 

 of the German African Society is full of interesting matter. 

 The contents are divided into two parts : (i) the reports of the 

 Society's explorers in the Congo region, and (2) those in the 

 Western Soudan. The first part contains Dr. Biittner's diary of 

 his journey during July, August, and September last year. 

 Leaving .\rthinglon Falls on July 3, he travelled eastward to 

 the Quango, at its junction with the Quito, which point he 

 reached on the 2ift of the same month. He then turned south 

 along the right bank of the Quango for seven days, as far as 

 Muene Putu, where he stayed for a fortnight, again returning 

 northward, and crossing to the left bank near the spot where the 

 Quilo joins it. Leaving this on August 21, he continued down 

 the left bank to Kiballa, whence he turned westward to Stanley 

 Pool. A map compiled by Dr. R. Kiepert accompanies the 

 diary, and also tables of various measurements calculated by 

 Dr. von Danckelman. The reports from the Expedition in the 

 Western Soudan are written by Dr. Flegel (from Bakundi, on 

 the Tarabba) and Dr. Semon. 



The last number of the Mittheilimsm of the Geographical 

 Society of Vienna, like so many similar publications just now, 

 is mainly devoted to African geography. It contains, with a 

 description, routes &c., a map of the neighbourhood of Ango- 

 Ango, by Herr Baumann, a member of Dr. Lenz's Austrian 

 Congo Expedition. 'Ihe topographical material was collected 

 during a stay at Ango-Ango, and was put together in Vienna. 

 Two further letters from Dr. Lenz ore also published : the first 

 describes the journey from Ngombe to Stanley Pool, and 

 the second the journey to the Equator Station on the Upper 

 Congo. It is satisfactory to learn that the Expedition reached 

 this point in excellent health, and that the Free State officials 

 gave it every assistance. The only other paper in the number 

 is the conclusion of Dr. Diener's contribution to the geography 

 of Central Syria. At the end he confesses that it is at present 

 impossible to say whether the physical features of a great part 

 of this region have altered since the days of the Romans. 

 There are facts, historical, climatic, and geographical, which tend 

 in favour of both sides, and the problem is one for solution in 

 ihe future. 



According to a recent communication of M. Venukoff to the 

 Geographical Society of Paris (to which we have already 

 referred), the results of a survey of the basin of the Neva, exe- 

 cuted in 1S84--85, show that hitherto the levels generally 

 accepted by geographers here have been totally incorrect. The 

 following is a comparison of the levels now ascertained with 

 those given by M. Reclus in his " Geographie Universelle " for 

 Lakes Ladoga, Onega, and Ilmen : — 



New Survey M- Reclus 



Ladoga ... 5-01 metres ... 18 metres 



Onega ... 34-97 .. ■•■ 72 ,, 



Ilmen ... I7'97 >i ■■■ °- >> 



These figures, and others which might be quoted, show that the 

 region watered by the Neva and its tributaries is much lower 

 than was generally supposed. The new figures refer to the 

 normal zero of Cronstadt, which is itself 0'66 m. above the level 

 of the Baltic at Revel. The absolute heights of the lakes is thus 

 slightly increased, but still the differences between the old and 

 the new figures are very great. As the results of the new suryey 

 appear unquestionable, the former hypsometric details respecting 

 the basin of the Neva must be dismissed as wholly incorrect. 



The French Topographical Society proposes that an Inter- 

 national Exhibition of Topography should take place in the 

 Palais de ITndustrie next year, uc.der the patronage and with 

 the assistance of the Government. The Committee of Organis- 

 ation which has been appointed has addressed a circular to 

 P'rench topographers, geologists, geographers, and explorers, 

 asking for their co-operation. The Society, the circular says, 

 has for its aim the popularisation of the science of topography, 

 especially by means of gratuitous lectures, and it is antici- 

 pated that an exhibition will give a spur to this work. 



SOME RESULTS OF OBSERVATIONS WITH 

 KITE- WIRE SUSPENDED ANEMOMETERS 

 UP TO 1300 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND 

 IN 18S3-S5 



SINCE I had the honour of reading a japer on the first series 

 of observations t.aken in 1883-84 before the Association in 

 Montreal last year, I have made twenty-five fresh observations 

 at heights above the ground varying from 300 to about 1300 feet, 

 or double the greatest height before attained. I had hoped in 

 have been able to make a greater number and variety of obser- 

 vations, but a pressure of private and other work has stood to 

 the way. 



Since, however, in ten of the new observations the upper 

 anemometer was suspended at a height of over 1000 feet above 

 the ground, or 1500 feet above the sea, I trust the results may 

 be thought sufficiently novel and valuable to merit the brief 

 discussion to which I have subjected them. 



In dealing with the observations I have included fifteen of 

 those made in 1883-84, and have thus been able to utilise forty 

 observations in all. As the observations were intentionally made 

 as nearly as possible at certain desired heights, so as to afford a 

 regular progression upwards in the scale of height, I have been 

 able to arrange forty-two pairs of observ.ations at two different 

 levels in six groups. 



In order to present the results in a form in which they can be 

 readily compared, as well as to exhibit the law of change of the 

 velocity with the height, I have computed for each observation 

 the value of the corresponding exponent in the empirical formula 



-!=(- \ , wliere V, v, H. h, are the velocities and heights of the 

 V \ h I 



upper and lower instruments respectively. The several groups, 

 together with their corresponding heights, mean velocities, and 

 exponents, are given in the following table : — 



Table I. 



The general and obvious conclusion to be drawn from this 

 table, as well as from the individual observations (in which a 

 reverse case has never occurred), is that the velocity of the wind 



• These two groups comprise observations made in 1883-B4 only. The 

 other groups those made in 18S4-85 only. 



