286 



NA JURE 



[July 23, 1908 



Another recent addition to meteorological science appears 

 as a Harvard publication,' and deals with the observations 

 made at Arequipa during the years 1892-5. Earlier 

 observations were made at Arequipa during 1888-90, and 

 the results appeared in vol. x.xxi.x. of the Annals. The 

 work was resumed in 1891, but as the records thereof are 

 incomplete none earlier than those of 1892 has been in- 

 cluded in the present publication. 



The area dealt with in this volume differs, of course, 

 in most respects from that treated by Dr. Mohn, the 

 latitude of Arequipa being 16° 22' 28" S., but the same 

 careful observation and full discussion are common to the 

 two volumes. The Arequipa station is a rather peculiar 

 one, inasmuch as it is situated at an altitude of 8040 feet 

 above sea-level, although only 350 feet above the plaza 

 of Arequipa city, some two miles distant. Several peaks 

 some 20,000 feet in height lie within ten to twenty 

 miles of the station, and have been usefully employed in 

 the estimation of the heights and extents of clouds.' The 

 results and summaries are given in a series of twenty-four 

 tables, and are too comprehensive in detail and sugges- 

 tion to be dealt with at length here, but one or two side 

 issues may be noted. 



In taking pressure observations, both mercurial baro- 

 meters and a barograph were employed, and it was noticed 

 that the latter gave a diurnal range consistently smaller 

 than that given by the mercurial barometer ; these differ- 

 ences are to be discussed, at length, in a subsequent 

 publication. Barometer readings were taken at 8 a.m., 

 2 p.m., and 8 p.m. 



Similarly, a smaller daily range was indicated by the 

 thermograph than by the thermometer, and the former 

 shows a distinct lag, particularly noticeable at the 8 a.m. 

 readings. 



The records of cloudiness were obtained with a sunshine 

 recorder between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the period 

 January, 1892, to June, 1893, but for dates after that the 

 hourly means for sunshine recorder and pole-star recorder 

 are given, thus including the twenty-four hours of each 

 day. The results with the latter instrument agree with 

 eye-observations, but, owing to the sensitiveness of the 

 blue paper employed, the sunshine recorder gives 

 exaggerated values for the clearness of the sky ; the 

 character of the cloud was indicated by the numbers i to 

 5, I representing thin and 5 representing dense cloud, and 

 it seems probable that only clouds of characters 3 to 5 

 were registered by this instrument. 



W. E. ROLSTON. 



THE AMERICAX ASSOCIATION OF 



MUSEUMS.- 

 ■pOLLOWING the example of the museums of the 

 United Kingdom, the officials of similar institutions 

 in the United States have inaugurated a movement which 

 is to be known as " The American Association of 

 Museums." It has been organised with that attention to 

 detail and breadth of view which specially belong to our 

 American cousins, giving full promise of successful" develop- 

 ment. The pioneer work was carried out by Dr. W. J. 

 Holland, director of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburg, 

 Pa, who issued invitations to the heads of a number of 

 the leading museums of America, and others likely to be 

 interested in the formation of such an association, to 

 attend a preliminary meeting to be held at the American 

 Museum of Natural History, Central Park, New York, on 

 May 15, 1906. A cordial response was made to this in- 

 vitation, more than seventy delegates attending, while 

 nearly fifty others signified by letter their adhesion to the 

 scheme. Practically all phases of museum work were re- 

 presented from every State in the Union. Dr. Hermon C. 

 Bumpus was elected president, with Dr. George A. Dorsey, 

 Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, as secretarv. 

 Officers were appointed, and a committee of organisation 

 was authorised to draw up a constitution. This is mainly 



^ *' Harvard College Observatory Anmls," vol. xli.v., part i. Peruvian 

 Meteorology, by Solon I. Bailey. Observations made at the Arequipa 

 station, 1892-5. 



- Proceedings of the .American Association of Museums, vol. i. (Pitts- 

 burg, Pa, 190S.) 



based on tliat of the Museums Association established in 

 England nineteen years ago, with one essential difference, 

 for while the English association is primarily one of 

 institutions, the full members being museums, with 

 associate meinbers to include individuals interested in 

 museums, the American association consists of active, 

 associate, sustaining, and honorary members. The active 

 inembers consist of persons actively engaged in the work 

 of museums, and they alone are eligible to hold office. 

 Sustaining members are museums, with the right to vote 

 through the chief executive ofificer. Associate members 

 need not be engaged in the work of museums, and they 

 have no vote. 



Various papers on practical museum subjects were read 

 at this meeting, but they are not published in this volume, 

 which only gives the general proceedings and titles of the 

 papers submitted. Six life members, 135 active members, 

 and twenty-six sustaining members were enrolled, which 

 shows how heartily the scheme has been accepted, while 

 a strong financial position was at once assured, the suD- 

 scriptions amounting to 592 dollars, and after deducting 

 the necessary expenses the substantial balance of 472 

 dollars remained. 



By invitation of the trustees of the Carnegie Museum 

 the second annual meeting was held at the Carnegie Insti- 

 tute, Pittsburg, Pa, on June 4-6, 1907, and the present 

 volume is chiefly occupied with the papers read at that 

 meeting. Dr. Holland gave a concise but amply descrip- 

 tive account of the purpose of the Carnegie Institute, which 

 shows that in .'\merica Mr. Carnegie realises the equal 

 importance of museums with libraries in the scheme of 

 general knowledge and human progression, and docs not 

 there restrict his generous impulses to the latter institu- 

 tions as he does in our country. About sixty members 

 were present at this second conference, when various resolu- 

 tions affecting the status and future work of the associa- 

 tion were discussed, the principal one relating to the form 

 in which the proceedings should be published. There 

 were three suggestions made ; — (i) that the papers should 

 be published in one of the American scientific journals ; 

 (2) the issue of a separate annual volume ; (3) a periodical 

 of their own at more frequent intervals dealing with 

 museum subjects generally. The latter suggestion 

 appeared to find most favour, though there were two 

 important difliculties raised, viz. the cost and the selection 

 of an editor willing to undertake the work. The question 

 of cost showed great divergence of view, from less than 

 1000 dollars to many thousands. The same difference of 

 opinion prevailed in the English Museums Association 

 when ihey started their Mtisciims Journal seven years ago 

 with only about 100/. in hand, but experience has shown 

 that the increased income from it has more than covered 

 the cost. Speaking from an intimate personal acquaint- 

 ance with the editorial work of that journal, we would 

 strongly advise no American curator to undertake similar 

 work lightly. 



The titles of the papers will show the wide scope of 

 museum work, and how wisely the association has con- 

 fined itself to the subjects within its legitimate province. 

 We suggest that a table of contents at the beginning of 

 future volumes would greatly facilitate reference and add 

 to the use of the volume. Mr. Henry L. Ward submitted 

 papers on " The Labelling in Museums," " The Aims of 

 Museums," with special reference to his own museum at 

 Milwaukee, and " The Exhibition of Large Groups in 

 Museums." Dr. Benjamin Ives Gilman, of the Museum 

 of Fine Arts, Boston, dealt with " The Triple Aim of 

 Museums of Fine Art " in his customary comprehensive 

 manner. The other papers published include : — *' Some 

 Instructive Methods of I5ird Installation," by Frank C. 

 Baker ; " .\ New Method of Mounting Ethnographical 

 Objects," by Dr. E. S. Morse; "Installation of Swinging 

 Frames," by W. M. R. French; "Museum Records," by 

 Paul M. Rea ; "The Evolution of Museums," by F. A. 

 Lucas; "The Work of a Children's Museum," by Miss 

 .Anna B. Gallup, and other contributions on museum 

 administration and management, many of the papers being 

 well illustrated. There is also an interesting plate of the 

 Diplodocus, with the members of the association g.Tthered 

 about it. E. Howartm. 



NO. 2021, VOL. 7S] 



