810 
The international form of publication, and 
metric units, were first used in the United 
States in the publications of the Blue Hill 
Observatory. 
Tt was one of Professor Rotch’s most strik- 
ing characteristics that he never neglected 
any opportunity which might help him to 
keep his observatory not only abreast of the 
times but ahead of the times. He thought 
nothing of the time and the expense of taking 
a trip to Europe in order to attend some sci- 
entific meeting, meteorological or aeronaut- 
ical, if he believed, as he most firmly did, that 
he might by so doing gain inspiration and 
new ideas. Few scientific men are so reg- 
ular in their attendance at congresses and 
meetings; few contribute so much that is new 
or gain as much inspiration as he did at such 
gatherings. It was not the blind following 
of the dictates of his New England con- 
science that prompted him to be so regular in 
his meetings with his scientific colleagues. 
His motive was a higher one than that. It 
was his absorbing desire to advance his sci- 
ence by every means within his power. The 
list of scientific bodies of which he was a 
member was a long one, but every one of them 
gained much from his membership and from 
his presence at its meetings. He was regular 
in his attendance; always ready to contribute 
papers; always modest in his estimate of the 
importance of his own work; always generous 
in his appreciation of the work of others; al- 
ways ready with a word of sympathy, or en- 
couragement, or fellowship. 
The productivity of Blue Hill Observatory 
has been remarkable, especially when it is re- 
membered that this activity was the result of 
the support and inspiration of one man. 
The study of cloud heights, velocities, move- 
ments and methods of formation at Blue Hill 
was one of the most complete investigations 
of the kind ever undertaken. The first series 
of measurements in America of the height 
and velocity of clouds, by trigonometrical and 
other methods, was made at Blue Hill in 
1890-91. These measurements were repeated 
in 1896-97, as a part of an international 
system. 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXKV. No. 908 
It was at Blue Hill that the modern meth- 
ods of sounding the air by means of self-re- 
cording instruments lifted by kites were first 
developed and effectively put into practise 
(1894), methods which have now been 
adopted by meteorological services and scien- 
tific expeditions in all parts of the world. The 
use of cellular kites flown with steel wire and 
controlled by a power windlass originated at 
Blue Hill. Grants for earrying on this kite 
work were obtained from the Hodgkins Fund. 
It was Rotch who, in 1901, during a voy- 
age across the Atlantic, first obtained meteoro- 
logical observations by means of kites flown 
from the deck of a moving steamer, thus indi- 
eating the feasibility of a new way of secur- 
ing information concerning the conditions of 
the free air over oceans and lakes. It was 
Rotch who, in 1904, secured the first meteoro- 
logical observations by means of sounding 
balloons from heights of 5 to 10 miles over the 
American continent, and who, in 1909, made 
the first trigonometrical measurements of the 
flight of pilot balloons in the United States. 
In 1905-06 he joined his colleague, Teisserene 
de Bort, in fitting out and taking part in an 
expedition to explore the tropical atmosphere 
over the Atlantic Ocean by means of kites and 
pilot balloons, an undertaking which resulted 
in the collection of important data regarding 
the temperatures and movements of the upper 
air. But Rotch was not content with merely 
sending up kites and balloons. His enthusi- 
asm in the study of the free air, and his desire 
to visit the mountain observatories of the 
world, led him to become a mountain climber 
of no mean ability. He ascended to the sum- 
mit of Mont Blane at least five times, and in 
South America and elsewhere he himself made 
meteorological observations at considerable 
altitudes on mountains, and carefully ob- 
served the physiological effects of the dimin- 
ished pressure. He also took part in several 
balloon ascents, and was a member of more 
than one solar eclipse expedition. His studies 
of eclipse meteorology are among the most 
complete which have been made. Among his 
many contributions to the advancement of 
meteorology must also be mentioned his in- 
