August 24, 1905]) 



NA TURE 



405 



another memorandum dealing mainly with the object 

 numbered 3 in the foregoing summary, because the 

 services indicated under numbers i and 2 would be 

 included incidentally in the development of number 3. 

 This memorandum is as follows : — 



The idea underlying the proposal is to deal with the 

 general meteorological conditions of wider areas than those 

 witli which the various meteorological offices of the world 

 have hitherto been regarded as being primarily concerned. 

 The British Meteorological Office does indeed concern itself 

 with the meteorology of the oceans from the point of view 

 of shipping. In effect, the proposal is to utilise further the 

 information already obtained at sea in conjunction with 

 land observations for the investigation of the meteorology 

 of large ocean areas in relation to that of the adjacent 

 land areas, and from the point of view of the land 

 population. 



It is known, for exainple, that the meteorological con- 

 ditions of India, .'\ustralia. South Africa, East Africa, and 

 Egypt stand in close relation to those of the Indian Ocean, 

 and the study of these relations promises very important 

 results in connection with the prediction of the seasons. 

 This investigation requires that the information shall be 

 treated in a manner different from that now followed for 

 the more immediate purpose of its application to the 

 interests of shipping. 



The meteorological phenomena which are regarded as 

 demanding careful study, in the first instance, are the 

 following : — 



The conditions of favourable and unfavourable seasons 

 in India. 



The droughts of .Australia and South .'\frica. 

 The conditions of favourable and unfavourable Nile 

 floods. 



With those would be associated the relation of the 

 weather of the Mediterranean to the Indian cold weather 

 anomalies, and the relation of the South Indian anti- 

 cyclone to the Antarctic ice. 



The larger part of the necessary land data for the 

 investigation of these particular questions can probably be 

 found in the publications of the meteorological organ- 

 isations of India, Australia, South and East .Africa, Egypt, 

 Mauritius, Hong Kong, Singapore, or can be furnished 

 directly by those organisations. They should be supple- 

 mented by observations contributed by certain foreign 

 Governments. The marine data would have to be com- 

 piled from the documents collected from ships by the 

 meteorological departments of this country and India. The 

 further development of the collection of observations — more 

 especially of marine data — might be necessary, in order to 

 complete the investigation. 



The use of the data would be, in the first instance, to 

 obtain a survey of the sequence of the more general weather 

 changes over the whole region under consideration. The 

 first step in the operations therefore would be to consider 

 the nature and extent of the data available for the purposes 

 in view, and the form in which they should be compiled 

 for study or for publication. 



A corresponding inquiry for the .Atlantic Ocean and the 

 countries bordering upon it is equally desirable, and should 

 be conducted concurrently in the interests of the British 

 Isles and the American and West Indian colonies. 



In order to carry out the proposal, something more than 

 what would be generally understood bv "a moderate 

 addition to the staff of the Meteorolog;ical Office " is 

 required. The proposal involves a scientific investigation 

 of a very important character which could not be regarded 

 as merely an incidental addition to the usual operations 

 of the office. K man of suitable scientific attainments 

 should be responsible for conducting it in consultation with, 

 and under the general supervision of, the director of the 

 Meteorological Office. It is desirable to mark the nature 

 of the qualifications expected in the person to whom the 

 work is entrusted by giving him the title of assistant 

 director, and providing a salary of from 400L to 600Z. a 

 year. It should be remembered also that the Meteor- 

 ological Office could not find accommodation for the pro- 

 posed additional staff without some addition to the space 

 at present available. 



It is estimated that the annual cost of the work would 

 NO. 1869, VOL. 72] 



be 2000/., rising in five years to 2500/., made up as 

 follows : — 



£ £ 



Salaries : Assistant Director ... ... 450 to 550 



Scientific assistant, computers 



and clerical staff ... ... 1,050 to 1,300 



Publications, printing and stationerv ... 300 to 500 

 Incidental E.xpenses, office rent, S:c. ... 200 to 150 



The estimate is based on the supposition that the Meteor- 

 ological Committee would be willing to undertake the 

 general control of the department as a branch of the 

 .Meteorological Office. 



It may be mentioned that the Government grant to the 

 Meteorological Office at present stands at 15,300/. The 

 cost of the marine department, as shown in the report of 

 the Meteorological Council for 1903-4, is 1366/., exclusive 

 of office expenses, publications, &c. 



The council, in approving this memorandum, has 

 caused it to be conveyed under a covering letter to 

 the .Secretary of State for the Colonies. 



SECTION C. 



Opening .Address i!v Prof. H. A. Miers, M.A., D.Sc, 



F.R.S., PRESmENT OF THE SECTION. 



In opening the proceedings of Section C in its first visit 

 to South Africa, and speaking first on behalf of those 

 who are visitors, I think I may justly claim that to no 

 Section of the British .Association can this visit be more 

 interesting or even more exciting than to us ; we enter for 

 the first time a country the geological features and history 

 of which, and the mineral productions of which, have long 

 aroused the keenest interest among European geologists 

 and mineralogists. 



We have followed the discoveries and discussions of 

 .South -African writers ; we have read your views and have 

 become familiar with your terminology ; we have heard 

 the reports of those who have visited the country, either 

 as travellers or with the special object of investigating 

 its geological problems or mineral resour:;es ; and, indeed, 

 ever since the Geological Society of London received the 

 historic papers of .Andrew Geddcs Bain, the father of 

 .South .African geology, many of the memoirs of your own 

 geologists have been communicated to European societies 

 and journals ; we have looked from afar with yearning 

 eyes upon this alluring country ; and at length we have 

 found ourselves upon its shores. 



It has not been given to many of us to see those great 

 picneers of South .African geology whose work was done 

 in ihe days before amateurs and experts could come out 

 for a few weeks or months to lake a hurried survey of the 

 ccuntry : but their enduring labours, which have laid the 

 foimdation of all subsequent work, are well known to us, 

 and it is not necessary for me to do more than mention 

 the familiar names of Bain, Wyley, Stow, .Atherstone, 

 Sutherland, and Dunn. Of these only the last named 

 survives ; but when one remembers that his maps of North 

 Cape Colony and of Orange River Colony have served as 

 the basis of the maps now in use, one is reminded how 

 recent is the whole history of South African geology, and 

 how much was achieved in so short a time by these early 

 workers. 



It is exactly one hundred years since John Barrow wrote 

 the concluding words of his " Travels in South Africa " 

 which first directed attention to the geology of this 

 country ; it is only fifty years since Bain sent home the 

 manuscript of the classic papers to which I have already 

 alluded. 



Since their days many have been the scientific visitors 

 to the country who have remained here for longer or 

 shorter periods, whose works have made us familiar with 

 its problems and have contributed to their solution ; the 

 names of Cohen, Draper, Exton, Gibson, Green, Gries- 

 bach, Passarge, Rubidge, Sawyer, Schenck, and Seeley 

 recall some of the most substantial scientific work which 

 has been done either by visitors or residents. Several 

 others who, without visiting the country, have by their 

 researches in Europe helped to unravel the problem of 

 South African stratigraphy were enumerated by Dr. 



