198 



SCIENCE 



N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 763 



Bemmelen, of Batavia, to establish a kite 

 station there, and of Mr. Davis, a director 

 of the Argentine Meteorological Office, to 

 do the same in this country. M. de Mas- 

 sany gave an account of an aerological sta- 

 tion about to be established at Kecskemet 

 on the plains of Hungary, which plan re- 

 ceived the approval of the commission. 



Professor Hergesell spoke of the nevi^ 

 observatory on the flank of the Peak of 

 Teneriffe at a height of 2,400 meters, which 

 he had just inaugurated in portable build- 

 ings furnished by the German emperor. 

 Aerological stations in Spitzbergen and 

 Teneriffe are of particular value and the 

 desirability of the latter was expressed at 

 the Milan Conference. Col. Vives y Vich, 

 the Spanish military representative, took 

 exception to some of Professor Hergesell 's 

 statements, and the following facts were 

 agreed upon: The Aeronautical Commis- 

 sion was ready to establish an observatory 

 on the peak with the aid of the Prussian 

 government. The Spanish government ob- 

 jected, but recognizing the scientific value 

 of the enterprise, it provisionally accepts 

 the use of the temporary buildings offered 

 by the Prussian government, through Pro- 

 fessor Hergesell, until permanent buildings 

 can be erected. Until such time the build- 

 ings will be considered Spanish property, 

 and while the observatory will be open to 

 savants of all countries, no preference can 

 be given to Germans. The conference ex- 

 pressed its thanks to both the German and 

 Spanish governments, and especially to the 

 Spanish military aeronauts, for creating 

 this observatory. 



Professor Assmann read a suggestive 

 paper on the application of aerological 

 observations in aerial navigation. He cited 

 the observations which were being made in 

 the free air at various observatories and by 

 expeditions on the oceans. Eventually it 

 will be possible to construct synoptic charts 



of the upper air which will enable predic- 

 tions to be made of great value for aerial 

 navigation. Even now, before a dirigible 

 balloon ascends from Berlin, the observa- 

 tions in the free air from four stations are 

 consulted. These views were approved by 

 several members and Dr. Bamler thought it 

 possible to obtain continuous registration 

 in a captive-balloon maintained at a con- 

 stant height. In this connection the atten- 

 tion of the aero clubs was called to the 

 importance of making meteorological ob- 

 servations in all manned balloon ascensions 

 and the assistance rendered in this respect 

 by the Vienna Aero Club and the Austrian 

 Minister of War was acknowledged. 



It was voted to exchange copies of the 

 traces of the automatic records between 

 members on their request, and to send titles 

 of new aerological publications to the Fort- 

 schritte der Physik in Germany and to the 

 Monthly Weather Review in the United' 

 States. The next meeting of the Commis- 

 sion will be held at Vienna in the autumn 

 of 1912. 



Three sessions of the Commission on the 

 System of World-stations were held with 

 M. Teisserenc de Bort as president and Pro- 

 fessor Hildebrandsson as secretary. The 

 former made a report on his project for 

 telegraphic meteorological stations and the 

 latter explained his proposition to the In- 

 ternational Committee in 1899 to establish 

 meteorological stations around the great 

 centers of action on the globe and showed 

 the compensating types of weather occur- 

 ring simultaneously in different regions. 

 Thirty-eight stations, at important points 

 aroimd the globe between 70° N. latitude 

 and 50° S. latitude, were selected, at which, 

 besides the ordinary elements, the direction 

 of the upper clouds, the temperature of the 

 sea and the insolation at fixed altitudes of 

 the sun are to be observed at the hour of 

 the usual morning observation, except the 



