272 



NA TURE 



\yan. 20, i{ 



of snow required to yield an inch of water from observations 

 taken here : — 



l885, January 23, snow 2 inches, melted '063 (i.e. 33 inclies 

 for I inch oi water) ; March i, snow 7 inches, melted 'Soo (i.e. 

 9 inches for I inch of water) ; December 26, snow 7 inches, 

 melted ■^6t (i.e. 7 inches for i inch of water). 1887, January 4, 

 snow 3j inches, melted "379 (i.e. 8j inches for i inch of water) ; 

 January 7, z inch, melted "030 [i.e. 6 inches for I inch of water). 



The damage done on December 26 was unusually great, the 

 inow being very heavy, as much as 5 lbs. weight on a squa.-e 

 foot of a cedar-branch ; this, when moved by the wind, caused 

 much breakage. 



yaniiary 8. — Since sending my note yesterday I find that at 

 Chepstow and at Itton the snowflakes were larger than anyone 



liad before seen, su that probably the storm had an extended 

 area ; at all events it was 5 miles broad. 



The present storm is a very similar one to that recorded by 

 myself in January 1S3S, except that the largest flakes in 1838 

 did not exceed 2 inches. In that storm the largest flakes fell 

 more rapidly and more perpendicularly. I then pointed out that 

 large snowflakes were produced by two upper currents driving 

 the flakes together ; and afterwards, by the largest falling with 

 increased velocity and more perpendicularly : they were thus able 

 still more to augment their dimensions by adding smaller ones 

 to their bulk. This was well seen on January 7^ when an 

 estimate was made as to the velocity and angle of their descent. 

 Not only were a number seen to be added as they fell upon 

 lliem, but it was thought thatjsmall flakes when near to the 



Shape and size of siiowflake. (There w ere more of a some« h.it similar form 



and less i 



large ones were attracted to them. The flakes were, however, 

 large whilst at a considerable distance from the ground. 



Several flakes were sketched before they began to melt, and 

 one of the sketches is sent as an illustration. The glasses were 

 at a temperature of freezing, and therefore it was some time before 

 the snow melted, and not thoroughly so until they had been 5 

 minutes in a hot-house. 



January 13. — The snowflakes fjlded over on the edges, boat- 

 like, and this curling over caused the thick look observed. There 

 was a slight zigzag in their downward course of some 2^ or 3°. 

 This storm passed over Chepstow, Itton, and Monmouth in this 

 county ; Wirewoods Green, Tidenham, and Dennil Hill, all in 

 Gloucestershire, and Bath : in all of these places the flakes are 

 spoken of as the largest ever seen. One correspondent .at 

 Chepstow reports them as larger than the hailstones in the storm 

 of May 1848, which were larger than hens' eggs, and broke the 

 shop windows, and destroyed the glass of hot-houses near 

 Chepstow. E. J. Lowe 



Shirenewton Hall, near Chepstow 



Auroras 



The account, in Nature for December 16 (p. 159), of a 

 bright cloud "emitting brilliant rays of light," that suddenly 

 appeared at Hamar, in Norway, on the n ght of November 3, 

 recalls the fact that on November 2 there was at Lyons, New 

 York, an aurora which at one time during the evening consisted 

 entirely of detached luminous clouds, as was noted in Nature 

 for November iS (p. 54). It is stated that on November 4 one 

 of the finest auroras of the year was visible at Throndhjem, 

 Norway. M. A. Veedek 



Lyons, N.V., January 3 



A Solar Halo 



In the weather report issued on Friday evening, the 14th inst. , 

 a solar halo is recorded as " observed in Jersey during the day." 



> this than Ihe n.ore circular ones, though there were very many more circular 

 dented.) 



Between noon and 12.30 I observed a very complete and well- 

 defined halo, of radius about ir/S, in this neighbourhood. It 

 was not perceptibly tinted, but the dtiskiness of the interior, as 

 compared with the clear sky exterior to the luminous ring, was 

 more pronounced than I ever remember to have noticed it on 

 other occasions — so much as to suggest comparison with the 

 "curtain"' of the aurora: " Solem quis dicere falsum 

 audeat ! " J. J. WALKER 



Hampstead, N.W., January 15 



THE NATIONAL SCIENCE COLLECTIONS^ 

 W. 



25. "p EVERTING to thiscountry,the"PatentMuseum,' 

 ■Tv HOW under the charge of the Science and Art De- 

 partment, is a collection of a peculiar nature ; and in order 

 to explain its origin, and the objects it was intended to 

 serve, we may make some extracts from tlie Report of a 

 Select Committee of the House of Commons, appointed 

 in 1S64, to inquire as to the most suitable arrangements 

 to be made respecting the Patent Office, Library, and 

 Museum. The Committee said : — 



The second point to which your Committee directed 

 their attention was that of the Patent IVIuseum, having 

 regard especially to its formation, its present state, its 

 relation to the Patent Office and Library, and the nature 

 of its contents, so as to render it practically useful. 



Your Committee found that the Patent Museum was 

 formed by Mr. Woodcroft, the Superintendent of Specifi- 

 cations, by the request of the Commissioners of Patents, 

 and that it consists of models and machines belonging 

 partly to the Commissioners of Patents, partly to the 

 Commissioners of the Exhibition of 1851, and partly to 

 Mr. Woodcroft himself, and various private persons. 



^ Continued from p. 254. 



