648 



NATURE 



[February 13, 1913 



surface into the atmosphere for a disrance of only ten 

 metres would give for the first metre a voltage of 

 100, for the second 200, for the third 300, and so on, 

 each voltage tending independently to send a current 

 to the lower end of the conductor. So that a total 

 voltage of 5500 would operate to send a current 

 through the end of a conductor ten metres in height. 

 By the same rule, a voltage mounting into the 

 billions would operate to produce a current in a con- 

 ductor reaching up to the top of a mountain two or 

 three miles high. Yet there is no corresponding 

 current, if indeed any at all. However poor the air 

 may be as a conductor in transmitting the voltage, it 

 would seem that winds would keep it stirred so as to 

 have fresh portions of it continually in contact with 

 the wire, and so cause a continuous current along it. 



I know that others besides the writer would be 

 grateful for some explanation of this apparent para- 

 dox. Evan M'Lennan. 



Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A., January 14. 



The Upper Trade and Antitrade Winds. 



The table published by Dr. van Bemmelen in 

 Nature of October 31, 1912 (p. 250), on an atmo- 

 spheric sounding over Batavia up to a height of 

 30,800 metres, compared with Dr. A. Wegener's 

 diagram of gases constituting the atmosphere, reveals 

 a striking connection of the succession of the principal 

 wind-drifts with the principal boundary-plains of the 

 atmosphere. 



(i) The surface of the pure nitrogen and oxygen 

 atmosphere, almost free from hydrogen, is situated 

 at a height of nearly 23 km. 



(2) The surface of the troposphere is, between the 

 tropics, situated at a height of nearly 17 km. 



(3) The third principal surface is situated nearly at 

 o km. 



The table of the sounding of September 12, 1912, 

 shows over each of these heights a succession of 

 v.'inds having a distinct trade and antitrade character. 



Over surface (i), about 24 km., the direction from 

 S,jE, above 25 km., the Krakatoa winds from 

 EjjE to EgjN. Over surface (2), about 18 km., the 

 upper trade from E,S to E^.S, above 19 km., the 

 high westerly winds from W,-S to W,„N. Over sur- 

 face (3) the common trade from S to E,N, above 

 4 km., the antitrade from £,„ to E,^N. 



The formal agreement is more perfect between the 

 wind-directions over (i) and (3); but in any case, the 

 directions over (2) confirm the German proverb : " Die 

 .Ausnahme bestatigt die Regel." For the directions 

 from E,S to E.,S (average Ej,S) are clearer trade- 

 directions, and from W,-S to WjjN (average W,N) 

 are clearer antitrade-directions than the directions over 

 surface (i) and surface (3). 



This being so, it seems to be useful to compare 

 the averages of these atmospheric layers in a table : — 



Averages 



Heights, Of simple 



/■25-30-5 

 I 24 



Of wind Of air- 

 forces transport 



.. 20 ... E.N 



Wind-drift 

 atmosphe 



■■e;,n ... 



24 ... K„.S ... 



/ 19-23 ... WiN ... 



"i 17-5-18 ... E.i,S ... 



r4-i7 ••• E„N ... 



\o-3 ... E„,S ... 



There is a striking agreement of layers (i) and (2) 

 as regards the averages of wind-forces, and a better 

 agreement regarding the real air-transports (averages 

 of directions x forces) than the simple wind-directions. 



Here I should like to correct an erratum in the 



Kraliatoa winds 1 

 EsiS ... High trade-winds ( 

 W4N ... High westerly winds'^ , 

 E415.S ... Upper trade-winds f ~ 

 E^^N .. Antiirade-winds \ 

 E,,S ... Trade-winds /■' 



letter of Dr. van Bemmelen, vol. xc, p. 250. The 

 antitrade is in the dry season situated Xo-Mcr instead 

 of higher (compare vol. Ixxxvii., p. 415). 



VVlLHELM KrEBS. 



Holsteinische Wetter- und Sonnenwarte, Schnelsen, 

 January 9. 



NO. 



2259, VOL. 90] 



Nomenclature at the Zoological Congress. 



Certain proposals regarding zoological nomen- 

 clature, circulated by Dr. Franz Poche, of Vienna, 

 and supported by many zoologists, may be worth dis- 

 cussing in the columns of Nature. An appeal has 

 been made to zoologists in general, because it has 

 proved difficult to get matters submitted to the 

 Zoological Congress through the Commission on 

 Nomenclature owing to the rule that permitted a 

 single member of the commission to block progress in 

 this direction if he so desired. It is therefore pro- 

 posed that propositions for the amendment of the 

 e.xisting rules must be submitted to the congress if 

 they have been approved by a majority of the com- 

 mission. There can be little doubt that this plan will 

 receive the support of the congress, and in the absence 

 of anything better, 1 have willingly voted for it. It 

 must be acknowledged, however, that the vote of the 

 congress, in open session, may not always represent 

 the best considered opinions. I was present when the 

 proposals of the Commission on Nomenclature were 

 submitted to the Zoological Congress at Boston, and 

 it seemed evident that the time and place were ill- 

 suited for the careful consideration of the subject. 

 The commission had, indeed, held a special session 

 during the congress, to which all zoologists were 

 invited, but the attendance was sparse and not very 

 representative. 



At the coming congress at Monaco, owing to the 

 change of date, it is probable that few Americans will 

 be present, and probably many others, who are 

 teachers, will be unable to leave their classes in the 

 midst of the spring term. The plenum vote is there- 

 fore likely to be even less representative than usual ; 

 but, on the other hand, the active discussion of the 

 last few years will undoubtedly stimulate more intelli- 

 gent and widespread interest than was manifested at 

 Boston. Is it not possible to adopt an entirely 

 different and more representative plan, which will 

 give all the results desired by Dr. Poche and his 

 supporters? Why not circulate in advance the argu- 

 ments for and against proposed amendments, prepared 

 by prominent representatives of the two sides, and 

 then reach a decision by votes received through the 

 mails? Each country could be assigned a certain 

 number of voters, according to its zoological strength ; 

 or it would perhaps be simpler to permit all those 

 to vote whose works had been cited in as many as 

 five different issues of The Zoological Record. In 

 this way we should obtain a very accurate representa- 

 tion of zoological opinion throughout the world, every 

 zoologist of any long standing having a vote, and all 

 having plenty of time carefully to consider the ques- 

 tions involved. In the long run, the majority of 

 working zoologists will have their way, and it will 

 be a great saving of time and annoyance to permit 

 them to do so as soon as possible. The same method 

 could be adopted by the Botanical Congress, where 

 it is perhaps even more needed, owing to the less 

 settled state of botanical nomenclature. 



A second of Dr. Poche's proposals relates to generic 

 names published by authors who do not apply "the 

 principles of binary nomenclature." Some of the 

 decisions of the commission on this question have 

 seemed to many of us contrary to the true meaning 



