Skptember 7, 1905] 



NATURE 



46 J 



describer to a separate family group. Most of the speci- 

 mens were collected by means of tow-nets attached to 

 the back of a trawl in such a position as to capture any 

 creatures disturbed by the ground-rope. 



In the report on the sea and inland fisheries of Ireland 

 for igo2 and 1903, part iii., scientific investigations, Mr. 

 E. W. L. Holt, the scientific adviser of the fisheries 

 branch of the Board of Agriculture and Technical Instruc- 

 tion for Ireland, takes a broad view of the services which 

 scientific investigations can render to practical fishery 

 problems. Not only are such subjects as oyster culture, 

 the artificial propagation of the Salmonidae, and the 

 mackerel fisheries dealt with, but the various appendices 

 to the report constitute a most valuable addition to our 

 knowledge of the invertebrate marine fauna of Ireland, 

 more especially of the very interesting and little-known 

 fauna occurring in the deeper water off the west coast. 

 The most important paper, from a scientific point of 

 view, is that contributed by Mr. Holt himself, in collabor- 

 ation with Mr. W. M. Tattersall, on the schizopodous 

 Crustacea of the north-east Atlantic slope, in which a great 

 number of new or little known species are fully described 

 and figured. Other papers deserving special notice are 

 Mr. G. P. Farran's account of the copepoda of the 

 Atlantic slope, and the interesting contributions of the 

 Misses Delap on the rearing of Cyanea lamarcki and on 

 the plankton of Valencia Harbour from 1899 to 1901. The 

 whole report, which treats of both sea- and fresh-water 

 fisheries, is well illustrated with a large number of plates 

 and diagrams excellently reproduced, and reflects great 

 credit upon the department responsible for the scientific 

 study of the Irish fisheries. 



. The Pioneer Mail of July 28 published an account of 

 the phenomenal storm of wind and rain which devastated 

 a large portion of the province of Gujarat between 

 July 22 and 24, owing to which it was estimated that about 

 10,000 people were rendered homeless. The storm seems 

 to have been most severe at Ahmedabad, 310 miles north 

 of Bombay. The average annual rainfall of that place 

 is only about 33 inches ; during the storm in question it 

 was stated that fully 37 inches were measured in two days. 

 We find from the Official Indian Daily Weather Report 

 that the fall was over-stated, but that nevertheless it 

 was quite abnormal ; 14 inches fell in twenty-four hours 

 ending 8h. a.m. July 23, and 123 inches on the following 

 day. The Government meteorological reporter states that 

 the fall was due to a severe cyclonic storm passing over 

 the head of the peninsula, and to the fact that when it 

 entered Gujarat it was fed by strong winds from the 

 Arabian Sea. 



We have received " British Rainfall, 1904," being the 

 forty-fourth annual volume of this very useful publication, 

 containing the carefully prepared results of observations 

 taken at nearly 4000 stations. Dr. Mill states that every 

 return undergoes critical e.xamination before the results 

 are published, a task that must strain the energies of 

 himself and his small available staff to the utmost. While 

 every page of this now somewhat voluminous work con- 

 tains information of the highest value in connection with 

 the distribution of rain over the British Isles, it is difficult 

 to fix upon any particular portion calling for especial re- 

 mark. One new feature is the publication of complete daily 

 records for ten selected stations, and, as last year, atten- 

 tion has been given to a discussion of some of the wettest 

 days, illustrated by special charts. There are also several 

 interesting articles dealing with various branches of rain- 

 fall work, e.g. an analysis of the observations on the 

 NO. 1 87 I, VOL. 72] 



summit of Ben Nevis and at the base station at Fort 

 William, for the years 18S5-1903 ; for more complete 

 details reference is made to an exhaustive discussion pub- 

 lished by Mr. A. Watt in the Journal of the Scottish 

 Meteorological Society. Another article deals with October 

 rainfalls ; this is generally the wettest month of the year 

 over the greater part of England. In the present case, 

 special reference is made to the comparatively dry Octobers 

 of 1879, 1888, 1897, and 1904 ; with one exception, 

 October, 1904, was the driest on record since the found- 

 ation of the British rainfall organisation. Another 

 important article discusses the duration and average rate 

 of rainfall in London since 1881. It shows inter alia 

 that the rate of fall per hour is twice as great in July as 

 in January. 



We are glad to be able to reproduce from the .Annuarto 

 of the Messina Observatory for the year 1904 an illus- 

 tration of that important Sicilian station, which, under 

 the able superintendence of Prof. Rizzo, undertakes, in 

 addition to the usual meteorological observations, valuable 





researches connected with solar and terrestrial physics. 

 The institution has risen from modest beginnings in 1876, 

 when, at the instigation of Prof. Manzi, it was attached 

 to the Technical and Nautical Institute of that city. The 

 importance of its work was soon recognised by the Central 

 Meteorological Office at Rome, which supplied it with 

 several instruments. The present edifice on the hill of 

 .^ndria was completed in 1902, under the auspices of the 

 Royal University of Studies at Messina, and occupies 

 a position much better suited to its useful work; it is 

 now removed from all disturbing influences, and we look 

 forward with confidence to important results connected 

 with the relation of magnetism to solar activity and to 

 the movements of the ground, to which subjects Prof. 

 Rizzo devotes special attention. 



The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea 

 continues to issue its publications in rapid succession. 

 Of the Bulletins, which embody the records of the work 

 more especially entrusted to it, we have received those for 

 the terminal expeditions in November, 1904, and February, 

 1905 (Conseil Permanent International pour 1 'Exploration 

 de la Mer, Bulletin, 1904-5, Nos. 2 and 3). We note, as 

 additions to the routine observations of the council, an 



