546 



NA TURE 



L April 9, 1908 



tions lasted at Teplitz Bay from September i, 19031 to 

 April 30, 1904, and at Cape Flora from May 21, 1904, to 

 July 30, 1905. Taking the mean of the three daily read- 

 ings, the monthly mean temperature varied at Cape Flora 

 from — 19°-9 F. in January to +35°'6 in July; at Teplitz 

 Bay, March had the lowest mean temperature, — 19°-7 F. 

 At Cape Flora, the precipitation during the year ending 

 with May, 1905, was equivalent to 2i'37 inches of rain. 

 A recording thermograph and barograph were in action at 

 Teplitz Bay from October, 1903, to April, 1904, and a 

 barograph was run at Cape Flora from June, 1904, to 

 May, 1905. From the records of these instruments diurnal 

 inequalities are deduced for individual months, and Fourier 

 coefficients calculated. Taking; arithmetic means from 

 individual months, the amplitudes (in thousandths of an 

 inch) of the three first terms in the case of the barometric 

 pressure were : — 



34-bo:r 12-hour 8-hoiir 



Teplitz Bay (winter) 14 ... 6 ... 3 



Cape Flora (year) 13 ... 5 ... 3 



Tidal observations were made at Teplitz Bay from 

 April I to June 3, 1904, and at Cape Flora from May 21 

 to August 31, 1904. Readings, to 001 foot, were taken 

 on a tide staff once an hour, usually throughout the whole 

 twenty-four hours. Fig. 2, reproduced from p. 493, shows 

 the arrangements at Teplitz Bay. The wooden frame 



Fig. 



-Tide Gauge at Teplitz Bay. 



rose and fell with the ice it rested on, the heavy stone 

 remaining on the sea bottom. There is an elaborate 

 harmonic analysis of the data, following generally the 

 methods of Sir G. H. Darwin. The mean difference 

 between high-water and low-water level was fairly similar 

 at the two stations, being 1-138 feet at Teplitz Bay and 

 0-966 foot at Cape Flora. There was, however, a differ- 

 ence of 35 hours in the " establishment of the port " at 

 the two places, and the conclusion is drawn (p. 596) that 

 the tide from the Atlantic reaches Franz Josef Land by 

 two channels, the deeper, between Spitsbergen and Green- 

 land, chiefly influencing Teplitz Bay, the other, between 

 Spitsbergen and Norway, chiefly influencing Cape Flora. 



The astronomical observations served to fix the latitude 

 and longitude of the stations and the azimuths of the 

 declination marks. Considerable care was evidently given 

 to them, but they call for no special remark. 



As will have already been inferred, one can have nothing 

 but praise for the zeal displayed. Magnetic observers who 

 took observations at two-minute intervals for eight hours 

 on end, at temperatures below 0° F. , cannot be accused 

 of treating Arctic exploration as a pretence for a picnic. 

 It may also be added that no trouble has been spared in 

 making the most of the material collected. Valuable, 

 however, as the results are, they must be accepted with 



NO. 2006, L. 77 



several reservations. As the dates will have shown, the 

 series of observations, especially the tidal ones, were short, 

 and the representative nature of the results is thus exposed 

 to more or less doubt. This consideration cannot but 

 suggest itself to anyone who examines some of the data 

 critically. Taking, for instance, the mean monthly data 

 from the thermograph record at Teplitz Bay, we find that 

 in March the 10 p.m., midnight, and 2 a.m. readings 

 are the only ones of the two-hour readings to exceed, the 

 mean for the day, the maximum coming at 2 a.m. : but 

 in April these are the precise hours to which the lowest 

 temperatures are attached. Again, the diurnal inequality 

 range is 3°-3 in January, in the depth of the Arctic night, 

 but only o°-8 in October. In the case of the magnetic 

 data, there are other sources of uncertainty. There was 

 appreciable local disturbance both at Teplitz Bay and 

 Alger Island, and its precise effect, though probably not 

 large, cannot be assigned. After the return of the 

 magnetometer to .America it was found that a cloth hood, 

 believed to have been fastened to the end of the magnet 

 box in 1*99, had been attached with steel tacks. Observa- 

 tions at Cheltenham showed no effect on the declination, 

 but a decrease of 250 7 (i 7=0-00001 C-G-S.) in the hori- 

 zontal force. A correction of -f255 7 (or nearly 4 per 

 cent.) was thence calculated and applied to observations 

 made in the Arctic. In the case of the dip circle com- 

 parisons at Cheltenham before the expedition gave for the 

 two needles corrections of only 4-o'-2 and — o'-3, but the 

 corresponding corrections obtained after the expedition 

 were —4'-! and — s'-6. 



In view of these uncertainties, and the lack of direct 

 information as to diurnal change, the deductions made as 

 to secular changes of horizontal force and inclination at 

 Teplitz Bay by comparison with the results of the Italian 

 observers for iqoo should be regarded with reserve. 



Again, at Teplitz Bay there were only nine inonths' 

 magnetic observations, and the deductions of diurnal 

 inequalities for the three missing months, and thence for 

 the year as a whole, are of somewhat doubtful value. 



The deficiencies referred to are such as attach more or 

 less to most expeditions, and there are probably few Polar 

 observations which are not affected by at least as serious 

 uncertainties. There are many points in connection with 

 the observational programme and its execution which merit 

 the attention of those contemplating magnetic or meteor- 

 ological work in high latitudes. C. Chree. 



SANATORIA FOR CONSUMPTION. 



A S a supplement to the thirty-fifth annual report of the 

 ^^ Local Government Board, Dr. Bulstrode has pub- 

 lished an imposing volume on " Sanatoria for Consump- 

 tion and certain other Aspects of the Tuberculosis Ques- 

 tion." This report, copiously illustrated by photographs, 

 plans, and charts, extends to 700 pages, and is an 

 admirable exposition of the present position of the problem 

 of prevention of tuberculosis. 



In part i. is set forth a general review of the changes 

 which have taken place in medical opinion as to the 

 etiology of tuberculosis and as to the mode of its invasion 

 of the human body. 



The theory of infection by inhalation of dust infected 

 by dried sputum, and the evidence on which it is based, is 

 reviewed ; also the theory of von Behring that infection 

 can be usually traced to the ingestion of tuberculous milk 

 in infancy, remaining latent until some debilitating in- 

 fluence causes the focus of infection to light up to the 

 undoing of the organism. Calmette's theory that direct 

 infection occurs mainly by the ingestion of food tainted 

 by droplets of infective expectoration is also discussed, and 

 finally we have the conclusions of the Royal Commission 

 on Tuberculosis, that a materi.al amount of human 

 tuberculosis is attributable to infection of the intestinal 

 tract by " tubercle of bovine origin." 



The proportion of tuberculosis due to this source, un- 

 fortunately, has never been definitely ascertained, but the 

 pronouncement of the Royal Commission is important in 

 the light of Koch's dogmatic statements as to the essential 

 difference between human and bovine tubercle, and all this 

 difference entails. 



