July 29, 1909J 



NA TURE 



143 



utilise the results of Dr. Grierson's linguistic survey, 

 wliich now supplies ample glossaries and grammars by 

 which the problem may bo solved. Pischel's view is 

 accepted by Dr. Grierson in his chapter on the languages 

 of India in the first volume of the Report on the Census 

 of India for 1901. He regards the Indian origin of the 

 Gypsies as fully established, and while it is doubtful from 

 which Indian tribe they really sprung, he believes that 

 they spoke one of the non-Sanskrilic Indo-Aryan tongues, 

 which are by him grouped under the heads of Shfna- 

 Khowar, Kafir, and Kalasha-Pashai. The work of Sir 

 G. Robertson on the Kafirs of the Hindu-Kush also sup- 

 plies materials which might have been utilised in re-editing 

 Prof. Pischel's paper. 



Mr. E. O. Winstedt contributes to the same number of 

 the journal an interesting paper on the Gypsy rites con- 

 nected with birth, marriage, and death. It is a good 

 collection of material, much of which has been gathered 

 from comparatively obscure sources, but it is to be re- 

 gretted that before publication it did not pass through 

 the hands of a competent student of comparative ethno- 

 graphy. Among birth rites, he notes the customs of lay- 

 ing the child on the ground, the passing of the mother 

 and baby through fire into which, among some of the 

 subtribes, drops of the father's blood are allowed to fall. 

 In connection with marriage, we have references to the 

 customs of e.xchanging wives ; the use of the broomstick 

 and tongs as marriage symbols ; the lifting of the bride 

 over the doorstep ; the exchanging of vows over a dead 

 horse or hen ; the blood covenant ; the dance upon layers 

 of sweetmeats ; the custom of placing lighted candles, 

 eggs, and apples in a stream ; a custom, probably mis- 

 interpreted, of so-called marriage by capture; methods of 

 divorce ; and the curious custom, which has Indian 

 parallels, of the father-in-law cohabiting with his daughter- 

 in-law during the youth of his son. Among death rites, he 

 mentions that of burning the clothing and other property 

 of the dead man at the time of his burial, a custom of 

 which various interpretations are suggested ; interment 

 without a coffin ; disinterment of the dead ; and the pour- 

 ing of liquor on the grave. The variance of custom among 

 the different Gypsy groups points to the conclusion that 

 they have assimilated much from the races with whom 

 they successively came Into contact. It Is now probablv 

 too late to fix the exact provenience of customs such as 

 are described in this paper. If this could be done it might 

 furnish valuable material for the Investigation of the origin 

 of this mysterious people. 



CLIMATOLOGICAL REPORTS. 



'T'HE climate of the island of Norderney (lat. 53° 43' N.) 

 forms the subject of part ill., vol. xxxi., of Atis 

 detn Archiv der deiitschcn Sceivarte. The observations 

 were very carefully made several times a day for nearly 

 ten years (between 1880 and iSgo) by the late Mr. O. J. 

 Ommen ; the instruments and e.xposure were not all that 

 could be desired, but Dr. R. Assmann, of LIndenberg, 

 has taken great pains to correct these defects, as regards 

 temperature, by comparisons with hourly observations at 

 Hamburg, Bremen, &c., the result being that the paper 

 becomes a very useful contribution to the meteorology of 

 the coast of East Friesland. The moderating Influence of 

 the sea upon the air temperature is plainly shown ; the 

 autumn and winter months have higher, and the summer 

 months lower, temperatures than the Continental stations ; 

 the yearly variation at Norderney is only 17-1° C, while 

 at Berlin it is 19-2''. It is interesting to note that the 

 equinoctial gales maintain their old reputation at 

 Norderney, the stormiest months being March and 

 October. 



The year-book of the Austrian Meteorological Service 

 for 1907, which has recently been published, contains, as 

 in previous years, hourly (i) readings or means at observa- 

 tories possessing self-recording instruments ; (2) dally 

 observations and monthlv suminarles at a number of 

 selected places; and (3) temperature and rainfall tables 

 for all stations. Many of the stations are situated at 

 great elevations, and the data are consequently of especial 

 interest. The observations at purely rainfall stations are 

 not included In the year-book, but are published separately 

 NO. 2074, VOL. 81] 



by the hydrographic department. With the aid of the 

 Academy of Sciences, the Austrian Meteorological Society 

 and other bodies, the investigation of the upper air by 

 means of balloons has been regularly continued, and the 

 detailed observations are published in the Anzeiger of the 

 academy. The reports of earthquake phenomena at 

 various stations are also published in the Anzeiger, and, 

 in addition, a weekly report is issued. This special service 

 was taken over during the late Prof. Pernter's administra- 

 tion, and to it the office owes Its present name, " Zentral- 

 anstalt fiJr Meteorologie und Geodynamik." In connec- 

 tion with its system of weather telegraphy, forecasts are 

 sent by wire daily, free of charge, from April to November, 

 to all post and telegraph olTices in Austria ; to south Tyrol 

 they are sent all the year round. 



The report by Captain H. G. Lyons, director-general 

 of the Survey Department, Egypt, on the rains of the 

 Nile basin and the Nile flood of 1907, contains valuable 

 statistics of the monthly and mean rainfall at a large 

 number of stations in and near the Nile basin, with par- 

 ticulars of the lake- and river-levels of 1907 and previous 

 years. The rainfall at Lake Victoria was 20 per cent, 

 to 30 per cent, in defect, and caused famine in parts of 

 Uganda, while on the Bahr el Jebel, the White and Blue 

 Nile, the rains were mostly weak and Irregular ; the basin 

 of the Atbara alone had a fair amount. The Nile flood 

 was late in commencing, and very weak throughout the 

 year; the volume of water which passed Wadi Haifa and 

 .Aswan respectively, between July and October, was only 

 065 and o-6o of an average flood. That a flood which 

 was so complete a failure should not have had a disastrous 

 effect on Egyptian agriculture. Captain Lyons remarks, is 

 due to improvements in the Irrigation system of recent 

 years and to rains on the Abyssinian tableland in the 

 early part of the year. The Investigation of the rainfall 

 of .Abyssinia is of great importance in estimating the 

 supply of water, but there is at present an almost complete 

 absence of trustworthy observations. The stations estab- 

 lished by the Italian Government in Eritrea furnish most 

 valuable results for understanding the meteorological con- 

 ditions of the eastern Sudan ; telegraphic rainfall reports 

 sent dally from .Addl LIgri In August and September 

 rendered important assistance in connection with forecasts 

 of the flood. 



The year-book and rainfall report for 190S, Issued by 

 the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, have been received. 

 These volumes contain : — (i) Hourly readings and means 

 for Christiania, observations taken three times a day at 

 selected stations, and monthly and yearly summaries at 

 other places ; (2) daily rainfall values at 200 stations, with 

 monthlv and yearly summaries and other details at 449 

 stations, and yearly amounts and averages for each year 

 from 1S67. The charts showing the yearly distribution 

 of rainfall (Isohyets) for each 200 mm. clearly exhibit the 

 effect of the rugged land on the water-laden currents from 

 the Atlantic. The isohyets on the western coasts show 

 amounts of 2000-3000 mm. ; these amounts rapidly decrease 

 to 1000 and even to 400 mm. in the Interior of the country. 

 The weather forecasts issued by the Institute are generally 

 very accurate ; those for the Christiania district show an 

 average success of 88. 3 per cent. This result Is to some 

 extent due to daily telegrams from Iceland and Fserde 

 Islands, and to reports of weather at British stations, now 

 received through the medium of the Deutsche Seewarte. 



PROCESSES FOR THE FIXATION OF 

 ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN. 

 'TTHE fixation of atmospheric nitrogen on a commercial 

 -'■ scale has already been the subject of articles in 

 Nature (February 8, iqo6 ; .August 30, 1906; July 23, 

 1908). The method used by Birkeland and Eyde depends 

 upon the well-known fact that an electric arc may be 

 broadened out into a fan shape under the influence of a 

 magnetic field. Through the arc thus formed air is 

 driven. Since, however, only a small portion is raised to 

 the temperature necessary for the reaction, while the 

 greatest part serves for cooling, the gases escaping from 

 the Birkeland furnace at a temperature of from 600° C. 

 to 700° C. do not contain more than from i per cent, to 

 2 per cent, of nitric oxide. For further cooling, the gases 



