JUNE 28, 1901.] 
precipitation. The smallest crops of beets and 
cabbages are usually obtained in dry, warm 
years. The largest crops of clover and grass 
come in years with excessive precipitation and 
high temperatures. 
RAINFALL AND FORESTS IN INDIA. 
AN important publication on Indian forestry 
has recently been issued, in which certain con- 
clusions as to the climatic influence of forests 
are set forth. The book is entitled ‘ Forestry in 
British India,’ and is by Berthold Ribbentrop, 
late Inspector-General of Forests to the Goy- 
ernment of India (Calcutta, 1900). From a 
recent review of this volume (Nature, April 18, 
pp. 597-601) it appears that while the author 
does not distinctly maintain that by afforestation 
the climate might be improved as far as to stop 
the recurrence of droughts, it is evident that he 
is rather inclined to that opinion. He does say 
that ‘‘in a warm climate the denudation of a 
country diminishes its moisture and conse- 
quently its fertility.”’ The regulation of surface 
drainage by forests is clearly pointed out. 
PERIODICITY OF SEVERE WINTERS IN ENGLAND. 
In the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorolog- 
ical Society for April is a paper by A. E. Wat- 
son, entitled ‘A Review of Past Severe Winters 
in England, with Deductions therefrom.’ 
From an examination of the records of the 
severe winters of the last 300 years, the writer 
comes to the conclusion that such winters are 
most frequent in the years with the numbers 
0-1 and 4-5. He is also of opinion that the 
severe winter in the middle of each decade is 
generally a late one (Jan.—Mar.), while that at 
the beginning or end of each decade is gener- 
ally an early one (Nov.—Jan.). 
NOTES. 
In ‘Hints to Travelers, Scientific and Gen- 
eral,’ edited for the Council of the Royal 
Geographical Society by John Coles (8th edi- 
tion, London, 1901), there is an article by Dr. 
H. R. Mill on ‘Meteorology and Climate,’ the 
object of which is to supply the traveler with 
instructions to enable him to make use of 
meteorological instruments, ‘and to obtain 
evidences of the climate of the region which he 
SCIENCE. 
1035 
is passing through by noticing the effects pro- 
duced on the land, vegetation, ete.’ 
McApts, of San Francisco, contributes a 
fourth paper on ‘ Fog Studies on Mount Tamal- 
pais’ to the March number of the Monthly 
Weather Review. In this he considers the re- 
fraction of sound waves by fog surfaces and 
the dissipation of fog. Two excellent half-tones 
accompany the paper. 
BEGINNING with 1901 the Royal Observatory 
of Belgium will issue an Annuaire météorologique. 
Hitherto the Annuaire has been concerned with 
both astronomical and meteorological matters, 
but in the future the astronomical and meteoro- 
logical divisions of the Observatory will have 
separate annual publications. The Annuaire 
météorologique for 1901 contains, among other 
matters, a sketch of the history of meteorology 
in Belgium and a review of two old meteorolog- 
ical journals, by J. Vincent; tables of monthly 
and annual means of the principal meteorolog- 
ical elements at Brussels and at Uccle, based at 
the former station on observations from 1838 to 
1890, and at the latter from 1891 to 1899; and 
a paper on ‘Le Climat de l’Ardenne,’ by Lan- 
caster. 
R. DEC. WARD. 
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY BIOLOGICAL LEC- 
TURES. 
For some years it has been the custom in 
Columbia University to have an annual course 
of public lectures on some biological topic. 
This year’s series, recently completed, consisted 
of seven lectures on the Protozoa by Dr. Gary 
N. Calkins, of Columbia University. 
The Protozoa, on account of their unicellular 
character, are of great importance in relation 
to many questions of general biology and espe- 
cially physiology. The seven lectures by Dr. 
Calkins treated not merely the structure of the 
Protozoa, but their physiology, relations to 
more complex forms and the economic im- 
portance of certain types. The first lecture 
was a general sketch of the various discoveries 
which have gradually led to the recognition of 
the true relationship of Protozoa to Metazoa. 
This was followed by lectures on the four main 
types of Protozoa, in which physiology and 
