892 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1147 



The writer has many times noticed the large 

 amount of oil which covers the flat, killing 

 vegetation and sending out a disagreeable 

 bituminous odor. I had always supposed that 

 the oil must represent the concentration from 

 cotton waste, etc., collected there year after 

 year, especially as large ear shops are nearby. 

 The true explanation, bringing out as it does 

 the retention of the oil by the clay and the 

 response to ground water conditions, seemed 

 to make a note of the facts worth placing on 

 record. 



Homer P. Little 

 Waterville, Maine 



the recognition of achievement 

 There are probably a good many successful 

 scientific men in America who will echo in 

 some measure the sentiments expressed by 

 W. E. Allen in a recent issue of Science. 

 There certainly should be some method of dis- 

 tinguishing individuals who have attained 

 eminence in their respective lines irrespective 

 of whether they hold a doctor's degree or not. 

 Even the holder of such degrees may well join 

 in a movement to distinguish the real workers 

 from those who have merely secured degrees. 

 It is clear that the doctor's degree does not 

 necessarily indicate exceptional merit; in fact 

 the degree itself has varying shades of impor- 

 tance. A man who has been educated in a 

 prominent institution is much more inclined 

 to write the name of the university after the 

 degree than he is if his university is less 

 prominent. 



To the man with a degree, it may seem ab- 

 surd for others who are not doctors to suggest 

 a distinguishing mark for meritorious work 

 but if such marks are not desirable, why attach 

 college and university degrees to an individ- 

 ual at all ? Is the mere fact that he has gone 

 through a prescribed course in a university to 

 be forever remembered regardless of the quality 

 of his work in after years, or shall we demand 

 that he measure up to his promises when the 

 degree was conferred; in short, is it schooling 

 or achievement that shall count? 



As time goes on and doctors continue to 

 increase in numbers, some such distinction as 



has been suggested will become increasingly 

 desirable. This seems a good time to do some- 

 thing about it. Willard IST. Clute 

 Joliet, III. 



CLOUDS 



Since the many forms of fog and cloud re- 

 veal, as obviously nothing else can, the motions 

 and conditions of the atmosphere, it would 

 seem that their every type must have been the 

 object of innumerable photographic records, 

 and that nothing could be easier than to make 

 a reasonably complete collection of such photo- 

 graphs. 



This, however, at least so far as making the 

 collection is concerned, is not the case. Some 

 clouds, such as the mammato-cumuli, the scarf- 

 like wisps that form above thunder heads, the 

 tornado's funnel and several others of some- 

 what infrequent occurrence appear rarely to be 

 photographed — I have never seen a good photo- 

 graph of any one of them — while even the more 

 common clouds seem generally to be photo- 

 graphed with inadequate equipment. 



To obtain the best photographs of cirri, for 

 instance, that is, to secure such contrast that 

 the finer details may be seen, it is absolutely 

 necessary to use some sort of device by which 

 the maximum amount of polarized sky light 

 may be cut out. Needless to say this is seldom 

 done. Similarly, if one would accentuate the 

 beauty of his cloud picture by including an 

 interesting landscape it is obvious that he must 

 use a suitable ray filter. Finally, as the clouds 

 are drifting, often with considerable velocity, 

 the exposures must be practically instantane- 

 ous. 



But difficult as photographing clouds may be 

 surely some enthusiasts must have accumu- 

 lated many fine pictures of them, and I am 

 taking this opportunity of asking if those who 

 have exceptionally fine cloud and fog pictures 

 will not kindly write to me of them, as I am 

 anxious to obtain good examples of every type 

 for the purpose of study and comparison. Of 

 course none would be reproduced without per- 

 mission and proper acknowledgment. 



W. J. Humphreys 



U. S. Weather Bureau, 

 Washington, D. C. 



