Geography of the Air. 151 



REPORT— GEOGRAPHY OF THE AIR. 



By a. W. Gkeely. 



In presenting to the National Geographic Society a summary 

 of geographic advance as regards the domain of the air, the Vice- 

 president finds a task somewhat difficult. The traveler passes 

 from the east to the west coast of Africa, and his very efforts 

 to struggle across that great continent, impress in his memory 

 an abiding picture of the physical features of the country over 

 which he has passed, and of the distribution of plants and animal 

 life. So, too, a vessel sails from one coast to another, cast- 

 ing here and there a sounding lead, from which measurements it 

 is possible to give quite a definite idea of the relief features of 

 the bottom of the sea. 



Small as are the traces which serve to indicate the character of 

 the sea bottom, yet they are infinitely greater than those which 

 enable us to give a description of the air. Atmospheric disturb- 

 ances are so vast, and their action is so rapid, that it requires the 

 attentive care of thousands of observers before one can well hope 

 to draw the roughest figure of a passing storm. To note 

 changes in the force and direction of the wind, to note the 

 depth of the rain, the increase and decrease of temperature 

 and the varying changes of aqueous vapor, either in visible or 

 invisible form, requires millions of careful, systematic observa- 

 tions, and then when these are made, the task of collating, elabo- 

 rating and discussing them seems almost too great for any man. 

 Fortunately the value of meteorological work has impressed itself 

 not only upon governments, which have assisted liberally by 

 appropriations and organization, but yet more upon the isolated 

 observer, thousands of whom over the face of the earth give of 

 their time and labor, and add their mite to the wealth of universal 

 knowledge. 



In connection with all great physical questions, there is at 

 times a tendency to application to special phases somewhat to 

 the exclusion of others. While it can hardly be said that scien- 

 tific and theoretical discussion of meteorology has been unduly 

 neglected during the past year, yet it is evident that the great- 

 est activity of meteorologists has been devoted to climatological 

 investigation, and compilations of this character have been par- 



