72 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



Investigation of the Upper Atmosphere in co-operation with a Com- 

 mittee of the Royal Meteorological Society. — Ninth Report of the 

 Committee, consisting of Dr. W. N. Shaw (Chairman), Mr. E. Gold 

 (Secretary), Messrs. D. Archibald, C. Vernon Boys, C. J. P. 

 Cave, and W. H. Dines, Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, Sir J. Larmor, 

 Professor J. E. Petavel, Dr. A. Schuster, and Dr. W. Watson. 



Meetings of the Joint Committee were held in the rooms of the Eoyal 

 Meteorological Society on October 20, November 2, 1909, March 8, 1910. 

 The Committee arranged to take part in the wide scheme of international 

 ascent for the week December 6 to 11, 1909. During that period 

 registering balloons were sent up at twelve or more stations distributed 

 over the continent of Europe besides those in this country, where 

 arrangements were made for ascents at Crinan, N.B., and Pyrton Hill 

 by Mr. Dines for the Meteorological Office, at Manchester by the Uni- 

 versity, and at Ditcham Park, Petersfield, by Mr. C. J. P. Cave. 



In addition to observations at land stations, registering balloons were 

 to be sent up from the German cruiser ' Victoria Louise ' near the West 

 Indies, and Professor Palazzo arranged to make observations off the 

 coast of Somaliland in an Italian vessel at the same time as a German 

 boat, the ' Planet, ' was co-operating in the Indian Ocean. Observations 

 of pilot-balloons were to be made from three vessels of the German 

 Lloyd line, crossing the regions of the trade winds, and special observa- 

 tions were to be made simultaneously on the Peak of Teneriffe. Regis- 

 tering balloons were to be sent up in the United States and India also, 

 and cloud observations were made at observatories all over the world. It 

 will be seen, therefore, how extensive a field of operations was included 

 in the scheme. 



The plan of the Joint Committee was to fill up a gap in the observa- 

 tions in the British Isles by sending up registering balloons from a place 

 in the West of Ireland and to secure pilot-balloon observations from Bar- 

 bados, which had already been the scene of very successful kite ascents 

 by Mr. Cave. The British Association grant was specially allocated for 

 the former purpose. 



The Committee secured the services of Captain C. H. Ley, who had 

 in 1908 been successful both with pilot and registering balloons in 

 Ireland, and he decided, with the approval of the Committee, to make 

 Dhulough, a place in the extreme west of Galway, his base. 



Special arrangements were made in this country on account of the 

 risk of losing the balloons in the sea if they were sent up in decidedly 

 unfavourable conditions. The Meteorological Office sent telegraphic 

 forecasts to the observers from Tuesday to Friday of the week of the 

 ascents in order that they might send up two balloons on a single day 

 near the middle of the week if favourable conditions prevailed rather 

 than risk losing the balloons owing to unfavourable conditions later on 

 by rigid adherence to the general plan of one ascent at 7 a.m. each day. 



