Maech 24, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



459 



prevents mention of many of the striking facts 

 set forth in this Bulletin. The flights of Sep- 

 tember 21st-24th brought down records from 

 altitudes of 2,000 to 3,400 meters, in a well- 

 marked anticyclone, and in a succeeding cy- 

 clone which followed the same track. The 

 temperature near the center of the anticyclone 

 was the same at 2,100 meters as at 1,200 meters, 

 and the humidity at the greater altitudes was 

 excessively low. These results agree with those 

 previously found in similar conditions. The 

 axis of the anticyclone was inclined backwards, 

 the high pressure occurring later at high than 

 at low levels. Up to 3,000 meters the temper- 

 ature of the air was higher on the day of the 

 cyclone than on the day of the anticyclone — a 

 normal condition at Blue Hill, as previous kite 

 ascents have shown. A further notable discovery 

 is that cyclonic and anticyclonic circulations 

 observed at the earth's surface in this latitude 

 do not seem to embrace any air movement at 

 greater altitudes than 2,000 meters, except in 

 front of cyclones. Above 2,000 meters there 

 seem to be other poorly developed cyclones and 

 anticyclones, with their centers at entirely dif- 

 ferent places from those on the earth's surface, 

 and with different wind circulations. 



On November 24th-25th the kite meteoro- 

 graph was sent up near the center of a cyclone 

 and in a succeeding anticyclone. From sea- 

 level to 2,300 meters the temperature was 

 13°-24° F. higher on the day of the cyclone 

 (November 24th) than on the following day. 

 The results of the observations on November 

 24th-25th also go to show that when the cold 

 in the rear of a surface cyclone is exceptionally 

 severe, the axis of the cyclone is inclined back- 

 ward so sharply that the circulation breaks 

 into two or more systems. Thus there come 

 to exist a surface cyclone, a mid-air cyclone and 

 an upper -air cyclone. On November 25th, 

 at 3,000 meters, there existed a cold-center cy- 

 clone, in which the air had a descending com- 

 ponent of motion, as indicated by the low 

 humidity. 



The results of the careful study made by Mr. 

 Clayton lead him to the view that the convec- 

 tional theory of cyclones is the true one. This 

 Bulletin again bears evidence to the admirable 

 work which is being done by the staff of the 



Blue Hill Observatory, and to the important 

 contributions which Mr. Clayton and his assist- 

 ants, with Mr. Botch's liberal support, have 

 made to meteorology. 



CARBONIC ACID IN DEATH GULCH. 



The amount of carbonic acid in the atmos- 

 phere, which, under ordinary conditions, aver- 

 ages about Q.QZ'/o, may, in exceptional circum- 

 stances, attain a considerably higlier percentage. 

 In certain volcanic districts the amoimt of car- 

 bonic acid may be large enough to cause the 

 death of animals which stray into the hollows 

 where, owing to its density, the gas collects. 

 The Grotto del Cane, near Naples, is a region 

 of this sort. Another is Death Gulch, in the 

 Yellowstone National Park. In an account of 

 a recent trip in the Park, in Appleton's Popular 

 Science Monthly for February, Jaggar reports 

 his discovery, in Death Gulch, of the carcasses 

 of eight bears, all of which had doubtless been 

 asphyxiated by the excessive amount of car- 

 bonic acid in the air. 



E. Dec. Ward. 



Harvaed University. 



ZOOLOGICAL NOTES. 



NEOMYLODON LISTAI. 



Dr. Einar Lonnbeeg describes at length^ 

 some portions of skin found in a cave at Eber- 

 hardt, near Last Hope Inlet, 51° 35' S., 72° 88' 

 W., in the Territorio de Magallanes, Chile, and 

 obtained by the Swedish expedition which vis- 

 ited Tierra del Fuego in 1896. The cave, lo- 

 cated a few kilometers from the coast and about 

 500 feet above sea-level, was about 600 feet deep 

 and 150 feet wide at the entrance. It was dis- 

 covered by some farm laborers, who promptly de- 

 stroyed the human skeletons found in the cave, 

 although they fortunately preserved some pieces 

 of thick, strange-looking skin, and the sheath 

 of a claw found partly imbedded in the stalag- 

 mitic deposit of the floor. The claw and two 

 pieces of skin were secured by Nordenskjold ; 

 the smaller piece measured about 7X15 cm.; 

 the larger, irregular in shape, 50 X 76 cm., is be- 

 lieved to be from the left fore leg. The small 



* Reprint from Wissenschafil. Ergeinisse Schwedischen 

 Expedition nach den MageUaiisldndern unier leiiung von 

 Otto Nordenskjold. 



