September 2, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



183 



portunity to acquaint himself with other in- 

 stitutions and their staffs, such advantages as 

 some of us on a larger scale have enjoyed 

 through membership in the Interurban Clinical 

 Clubs. From the local programs could be 

 selected the best material for presentation be- 

 fore the national society. From the local so- 

 ciety could be selected those most fit for full 

 membership in this organization. Thus, with- 

 out necessarily increasing the number of meet- 

 ings, through the organization of subsidiary, 

 local societies, the spirit of investigation could 

 be better cultivated among those whose need 

 is greatest. Since the aims are identical, the 

 advantages accruing to the members of the 

 local organization are obvious, but whether 

 their relation to us should be official or un- 

 ofB-cial is for us to decide. 



Dr. Meltzer, the founder of this society and 

 the prototype of the clinical investigator, rec- 

 ognized very clearly the need of encouraging 

 younger men in their investigative aspira- 

 tions. We could not do greater honor to his 

 memory than to follow his example and cre- 

 ate local centers fostering clinical investi- 

 gation. Leonard G. Eowntree 



The Mato Clinic 



OBSERVATIONS OF THE AURORA AT 



THE LOWELL OBSERVATORY 



MAY 14, 1921 



The very brilliant auroral display which 

 appeared on May 14 exhibited frequently the 

 Ijhenomenon of streamers diverging from a 

 definite point in the heavens, and it was often 

 possible to locate this radiant, with reference 

 to the stars, with considerable accuracy. The 

 resulting positions, with the times of observa- 

 tion, are as follows : 



9 20 



9 24 



10 49 



10 55 



11 02 



+ 37 

 + 31 



+ 21 

 + 31 



+ 26 



+ 2 .7 

 + 2 .2 



+ 2 .3 

 + 2 .8 

 + 3 .8 



Jupiter, Saturn and /3 Virginis served as com- 

 parison stars for the earlier observations and 

 ^ Virginis for the last three. The means of 

 the first eleven estimates and of the last three, 

 give : 



Mountain Hour Declina- Alti- 



Time Ang-le tion tude Azimuth 



9" 08™ +38"- +3°.4 57°.2 S 17°.4 W. 



10 55 +26 +3 .0 57 .4 S 12 .1 W. 



The average deviation of a single observation 

 from the mean is =i=0°.7 in declination and 

 ± 3'".5 in hour angle, so that the difference 

 between the two positions appears to be real. 



The mean of the two, giving the first double 

 weight, places the radiant in altitude 57°. 3, 

 azimuth S 15°. 6 W. The magnetic dip at 

 Flagstaff is 62° and the variation 15° E. so 

 that the radiant was very nearly on the mag- 

 netic meridian but about 5° south of the 

 " magnetic zenith." 



The aurora was not only very bright, in 

 spite of the light of the half moon, but ex- 

 tended surprisingly far south. About 9 p.m. 

 several bright patches were seen low in the 

 south, and at 11 the whole southern sky was 

 full of streamers and patches of light. 



At 10:57 a remarkable group of short curved 

 streamers appeared surrounding the radiant. 

 These were but a few degrees in length, but 

 very bright, and a distinct motion of the 

 luminosity along the streamers was visible, — 

 outward in all directions from the radiant, 

 and with a curvature in a counter-clockwise 

 direction. The motion was rapid, covering 

 the length of the visible streamers in less than 

 a second, and the impression was strong that 

 what was seen was the actual motion of the 

 particles which enter the atmosphere and 

 cause the luminescence. 



Henry ISTorris Eussell 



May 16, 1921 , 



