January 28, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



113 



miscellaneous stars and 2,832 American 

 Ephemeris stars were observed ; that ' in 

 declination the interpolation of the re- 

 fractions has been finished,' etc. 



A curious impression conveyed by the re- 

 port is that, excepting the Astronomical 

 Director, who has the most important part 

 of all, the professors seem to have less im- 

 portant work assigned to them than the as- 

 sistant astronomers have. The perfunctory 

 flavor which permeates the whole report is 

 especially strong in the statements of the 

 work of the telescopes : " The positions of 

 two stars were measured for the use of the 

 twenty-six-inch telescope. Eight occulta- 

 tions of stars by the moon and five eclipses 

 of Jupiter's satellites were observed. The 

 diameter of Venus was measured on seven 

 different days, and the sun was examined 

 for spots on four days." Why on four days 

 and no more ? The report of the work of 

 one professor js condensed into a single line 

 with the remark that he assists Lieut. 

 Charles E. Fox, U. S. N. 



We must injustice state that the Observa- 

 tory does other than astronomical work. 

 It prepares and publishes the ' Ifautical 

 Almanac ;' but this is done at the expense 

 of a separate appropriation which we have 

 not included in our statement of estimated 

 expenditures. There is a department of 

 meteorology and magnetism. Why pursue 

 meteorology in the presence of the Weather 

 Bureau and the Hydrographic Office ? Sad 

 havoc has been made with the magnetic 

 observations by the building of an electric 

 railway in the neighborhood. There are 

 also departments of time service and nau- 

 tical instruments, the value of which to the 

 naval service, it is declared, ' cannot be 

 overestimated.' Is not this statement a 

 little strained ? It is true that a very im- 

 pressive list of scientific instruments issued 

 to ships of the navy is given. But the 

 careful reader who makes inquiry will find 

 that the greater number of them can be 



purchased at prices ranging from 50 cents 

 to $10 each. Do the inspection, care and 

 issue of these instruments really form an 

 important part of the work of the establish- 

 ment ? If they do, it will be well to reflect 

 that the great ocean liners, obliged to make 

 their time in all states of the weather, must 

 be navigated as carefully as a ship of war, 

 and that it costs their owners nothing to 

 inspect and issue the necessary instru- 

 ments. Every captain is assumed to be 

 .competent for this duty, and we can find 

 no record of a case in which the loss of a 

 ship was traced to the imperfection of a 

 sextant, spy-glass or chronometer. 



What was the Observatory built for? 

 What do the scientific men of the country 

 and of the world think of its work ? What 

 credit does it do the officers of the navy 

 concerned in its management? What re- 

 lation has its work to the wants of the 

 naval or any other branch of the public 

 service? What measures are taken by the 

 Navy Department to insure its scientific 

 output being of real value ? We are un- 

 able to find an answer to these questions in 

 any official publication. 



CLBIATOLOaY AS DISTINGUISHED FROM 

 METEOROLOOY. 



The term Climatology is very frequently 

 treated as synonymous with Meteorology. 

 There is an important distinction, however, 

 which should be generally recognized. 

 Climatology is a distinct branch of meteor- 

 ology, an application which should not be 

 confounded with the broader subject. 



Meteorology includes, in the broadest 

 sense, the various atmospheric phenomena. 

 The subject may be conveniently divided 

 into two parts : The study of the laws and 

 principles involved in the movements of 

 the wind ; the formation of clouds ; the for- 

 mation and precipitation of rain, snow and 

 hail ; the absorption and radiation of heat 

 and the like. The second part consists of 



