Febeuaey 28, 1896.] 



SGIENGE. 



325 



That the mathematics of mechanics is at 

 present inadequate to solve all the problems 

 offered is simply because, as Whewell pointed 

 out, the procedures of mathematicians do not 

 yet furnish the necessary apparatus. But to 

 say (as on p. 225) that ' the mechanical concep- 

 tion of heat has not been confirmed;' in the 

 face of the latest treatises on thermo-dynamics, 

 based throughout on the laws of motion, is an 

 inexplicable assertion. 



The ' way out ' of scientific materialism is not 

 by the assumption of an entity apart from at- 

 tributes; but by the indisputable truth that the 

 laws of mechanics and motion themselves are in 

 final analysis nothing else but laws of thought, 

 of the reasoning mind, and derive their first and 

 only warrant from the higher reality of that 

 mind itself. D. G. Beinton. 



THE EONTGEN BAYS. 



Prop. Eontgen concludes his paper On a 

 New Kind of Bays by showing that they behave 

 quite differently from the visible, the infra-red 

 and the hitherto known ultra-violet rays, and 

 by suggesting that they should be ascribed to 

 longitudinal waves in the ether. He does not, 

 however, indicate how longitudinal waves would 

 account for the phenomena, and probably most 

 readers of his paper have not seen any evident 

 connection between longitudinal vibrations and 

 the behavior of the Eontgen rays. Prof E. S. 

 Woodward has, however, called the writer's 

 attention to a fact which Prof. Eontgen does 

 not mention, but which may have been present 

 in his mind. If there be longitudinal waves in 

 the ether they must travel with much greater 

 velocity than the transverse waves. Would 

 not this greater velocity account for the absence 

 (partial or complete) of reflection and refrac- 

 tion, and for the penetration — even the fact 

 that this tends to be inversely proportional to 

 the density of the substance ? J. McK. C. 



CYCLONES AND ANTI-CYCLONES. 



To THE Editoe OF Science: In connection 

 with the diagrams published by Prof. Davis in 

 a recent issue of Science (N. S. Vol. III. , p. 

 197), showing the circulation of the wind and 

 cirrus clouds in cyclones and anti-cyclones, it 

 seems to me a few words should be added in 



regard to the method by which the results were 

 obtained. ^Lkerblom, following Hildebrands- 

 son, found the mean directions of the wind and 

 clouds for different directions and intensities of 

 the , barometric gradient as observed at the 

 earth's surface and then drawing concentric 

 circles plotted the results around a central 

 area. This method is not the same as finding 

 the relation of the wind and cloud movements 

 to the centers of cyclones and anti-cyclones. 

 A given gradient is sometimes very near the 

 center of a cyclone or anti-cyclone, at other 

 times far removed from it, and again there may 

 be no well-defined cyclone or anti-cyclone, but 

 merely what are called straight isobar gradi- 

 ents. 



At Blue Hill I have found considerable dif- 

 ferences between the directions and velocities 

 of the upper currents near to and at a distance 

 from the centers of cyclonic and anti-cyclonic 

 action, and it leads me to the conclusion that 

 mixing together observations made, at the two 

 points can only lead to confusing results. 



The results of Akerblom for central Germany 

 by no means agree with the results of Dr. Vet- 

 tin for Berlin as regards the movements of the 

 cirrus in anti-cyclones. Dr. Vettin found the 

 average movements of the cirrus in relation to 

 the direction of the center of the anti-cyclone, 

 and his results agree remarkably well with 

 those found at Blue Hill. (Amer. Meteor. 

 Jour., Vol. X, p. 172.) 



H. Helm Clayton. 



Blue Hill Met. Obseevatoey, Feb. 10, 1896. 



SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 

 A Handbook to the British Mammalia. By E. 

 Lydekkee. Allen's Naturalists' Library, 

 edited by E. Bowdler Sharpe. 8°, pp. 339, 

 col. pis. and text figs. London, 1895. 6 

 shillings. 



From early times the British Mammalia have 

 received a large share of attention. Beginning 

 with Thomas Pennant's British Quadrupeds, 

 in 1786, we have: Memoirs of British Quadru- 

 peds (including a Synopsis), by the Eev. W. 

 Bingley (1809); Natural History of British 

 Quadrupeds, by Edward Donovan (1810-1820); 

 Eecreations in Natural History, or Popular 

 Sketches of British Quadrupeds, by W. Clarke 



