172 



NATURE 



[April 8, 1906 



small craft, the 45-ton steamer Husseni — owner, Mr. 

 AUidina Vishran, of Entebbe, Uganda — for two months, 

 in lieu of the intended Heinrich Otto, of Muanza, which, 

 though otherwise likely to answer our purposes, un- 

 fortunately had broken down just when on the way to 

 meet us. This delay, of some four days, was the reason 

 that, contrary to our decided intentions, we only were cap- 

 able of a very insufficient collaboration during the inter- 

 national series of ascents of July 27 to August i. 



After having got through the starting difficulties usual 

 with African work we managed to execute in the time from 

 the end of July until the middle of September twenty-three 

 ascents of self-registering balloons, of which fifteen were 

 retrieved with their apparatus, and registered curves of 

 pressure, temperature, &c. , whereas eight instruments were 

 lost ; but even the lost balloons furnished highly valuable 

 data for the direction and velocity of wind in the alternate 

 vertical strata, since nearly all the balloon flights were 

 studied by means of theodolites from a fixed point on the 

 •shore. 



A large number of smaller or larger pilot balloons carry- 

 ing no apparatus, and some of them ascending to enormous 

 ■heights, were inserted between the ascents of the self- 

 registering tandem systems to complete the exploration of 

 the wind, so important in these latitudes. A dozen or 

 more kite ascents served the purpose of furnishing details 

 about the lower parts of the atmosphere, particularly 

 during the sea breeze, not exceeding in elevation 3000 feet 

 to 4000 feet above the level of the lake, where the breeze 

 •disappeared altogether, thus rendering higher kite ascents 

 impossible. 



There can be no question as yet, having only just 

 returned home from Africa, of giving a summary of the 

 meteorological results ; this must be reserved for some 

 months later. We can only mention here crudely a few of 

 the most striking points. 



The highest self-registering balloon recovered rose to 

 an elevation of 65,000 feet (iq.Soo metres), where a 

 temperature of —84° C, = — 119° F., was encountered, a 

 lower temperature than ever registered at equal or even 

 greater heights over Europe ! Two other ascents reached 

 55,000 feet to 56,000 feet, with variable, although also 

 comparatively low temperatures. 

 These very low temperatures confirmed the similar results 

 ■obtained by MM. Teisserenc de Bort and Rotch on the 

 Otaria in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic ; but over 

 continental East Africa we found also, occasionally, the 

 ^' upper inversion of temperature " not encountered in the 

 high strata of the atmosphere above the corresponding 

 latitudes of the ocean west of this, continent — certainly a 

 feature of great importance. 



While omitting the enumeration of manv other interest- 

 ing results, we at present only desire to point out the sur- 

 prising fact that several times there was found an upper- 

 most current of air blowing nearly from due west, and flow- 

 ing above the regular easterly current of the equatorial 

 region. The lower strata, underlying the regular east 

 trade, were dominated by diurnal (at the very bottom) and 

 seasonal winds. 



After the middle of September we made a cruise on the 

 lake, crossing it for the first time from east to west (from 

 Shirati to Bukoba). The interior, of the lake proved to 

 be devoid of islands and uniformly deep. 



The end of September and beginning of October were 

 devoted to simultaneous ascents on the coast — at Mombasa 

 — where experiments with kites and pilot balloons were 

 carried out, and on the borders of the Nvnnza, where Dr. 

 Elias remained for a couple of weeks and made a series 

 of pilot-balloon ascents, no kite work being possible there, 

 since the little steamer had to be given up. 



From October q until December 5. when the expedition 

 ■definitely started on its homeward voyage. Dr. Elias 

 preceding the other members bv three weeks, the hend- 

 ouarters of our work was transferred to Daressalam. In 

 this whole space of time there was hardly a day without 

 a kite ascent, and besides these quite a series of pilot- 

 balloon experiments was carried out. Part of the kite 

 work_ was executed on the ocean south of Zanzibar from 

 the little Government steamer Rovuma. in order to reach 

 greater elevations ; several of those higher ascents — a few 

 exceeding 10,000 feet— were made at the end of October 



NO. 2058, VOL. 80] 



in the time between the two monsoons, the others in the 

 first days of December, the north-east monsoon blowing 

 then steadily. 



We had at first the intention of making in the month 

 of November simultaneous researches on the coast of the 

 continent and on the Seychelles Islands, situated in mid- 

 ocean, some 1000 miles to the eastward. This plan had 

 to be given up for meteorological and practical reasons ; 

 we succeeded, though, in replacing it, at least to a certain 

 extent, by two of us going on board the small German 

 cruiser Biissard to the south as far as Delagoa Bay, 

 and making a couple of ballons-sondes and several kite 

 ascents from this ship, on the ocean as well as in the bay 

 of Inhambane, 24° S. lat. Dr. Elias, who had remained 

 at Daressalam, made in the meantime simultaneous kite 

 and pilot-balloon ascents there and on the sea. 



In this whole series of experiments on or near the ocean, 

 forming the second part of our work, the kite and " pilot " 

 experiments prevailed, whereas ascents of self-registering 

 balloons, forming the chief feature of the investigations 

 on Lake Victoria, could only be carried out in two cases 

 in the months of October and November. The higher 

 reached 13,300 metres, = nearly 44,000 feet, the kite 

 ascents, as mentioned, reaching some 10,000 feet, =3200 

 metres ; but the highest pilot balloon soared up to an 

 elevation of about 21,000 metres, =nearly 70,000 feet, before 

 it burst, yielding most interesting data about the super- 

 position of the wind systems and the westerly air-drift in 

 the highest strata of the atmosphere in those regions. 



A. Berson. 



THE INSTITUTION OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS. 



T^HE annual meetings of the Institution of Naval 

 Architects opened on Wednesday, March 31, and were 

 continued on Thursday and Friday, the rooms of the Royal 

 Society of Arts being used, as on previous occasions. 

 Owing to a family bereavement. Lord Cawdor, the presi- 

 dent, was unable to be present, and the chair was taken 

 by Sir Wm. White, K.C.B. The institution, having 

 been founded in i860, will complete its fiftieth year in 

 1910, when it proposes to commemorate the occasion by 

 an international congress to be held in London. 



The programme comprised eighteen papers, together 

 with an additional paper by Sir Philip Watts on trials of 

 torpedo-boat destroyers in waters of various depths. 

 Limitations of space will permit of only a few of these to 

 be noticed here. 



Lord Brassey contributed the opening paper, on types 

 of warships omitted in recent programmes of naval con- 

 struction. Every maritime Power is now building Dread- 

 noughts ; the needs of different countries may differ, but 

 almost identical types are being produced, unanimity having 

 been attained by imitation of British design. Types other 

 than the Dreadnought, however, are of great value for 

 the line of battle. Armoured cruisers have disappeared 

 from the latest programmes, being too vulnerable to be 

 reckoned as fighting ships. It is a waste of public money 

 to keep such ships as the Powerful and the Terrible in 

 commission. The naval experience and professional skill 

 which we have available should now be directed to the . 

 creation of a type specially designed for the inshore 

 squadron. The Dreadnoughts are essentially ships for the 

 open sea, beyond the range of torpedoes and free from 

 the danger of floating mines. 



In closing the discussion on this paper. Sir Wm. White 

 pointed out that the responsible naval architect had to 

 produce designs to fulfil conditions laid down by the 

 .Admiralty. The Powerful and the Terrible had been 

 designed to deal with some large Russian cruisers which 

 had been built for the purpose of harrying our commerce, 

 and would certainly have done so satisfactorily had occasion 

 arisen. Although ships should be put out of service when 

 twenty years old, it did not follow that such ships then 

 disappeared for all practical purposes. In 1884 the speaker 

 had designed two cruisers for the Japanese, and these 

 ships destroyed Russian cruisers in 1905, when, of course, 

 thev ought to have been non-existent. Two matters had 

 to be specially considered in modern policy — power of con- 

 centration and power of distribution. 



