May 22, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



769 



THE CLIMATE OF VENEZUELA. 



Some notes on the Venezuelan climate are 

 quite in place at the present time. Three 

 climatic zones are recognized: The tierra 

 ■caliente, eztending from sea level to about 

 1,800 feet, with a mean temperature of 

 77° to 86° F.; the tierra templada, reaching 

 up to about 7,200 feet, with a mean tem- 

 perature of 60° to 77° F., and the tierra fria, 

 above 7,200 feet, with a mean temperature 

 below 60° F. The heat on the northern 

 coast is excessive, owing to the trade wind, 

 which blows on shore there after crossing 

 the hot Caribbean Sea. Maracaibo, which 

 has the reputation of being the hottest 

 place in the world, is on this northern coast, 

 while Caracas, at an elevation of 3,000 feet 

 above sea level, is in the tierra templada and 

 enjoys a cooler and more agreeable climate. 

 The maximum temperature is between 68° 

 and 82° in the hot months, and 52° and 71° 

 in the cool months. In Acarigua, south of 

 the Portuguesa range, a temperature of 

 125.5° has been reached in the sun and 

 89.5° in the shade. The climate is, as a 

 whole, healthy. Yellow fever prevails near 

 the coast and in the Llanos and forests of 

 the lowlands, and sometimes visits towns 

 in the tierra templada. The higher moun- 

 tains are free from it and have a very 

 healthy climate. The foregoing facts are 

 taken from a paper on Venezuela in the 

 Scottish Geographical Magazine for April, 

 1896. 



A QUICK VOYAGE ACROSS THE PACIFIC. 



The May Pilot Chart of the North Pacific 

 Ocean contains mention of a remarkable 

 passage recently made from Shanghai to 

 Port Townsend by the American schooner 

 'Aida,' the time from port to port being 

 only 27 days. During the greater part of 

 the voyage the wind was between north and 

 west, and on three days blew with the 

 force of a whole gale. The 'Aida ' started 



in the western half of a cyclonic depression 

 central over Japan, and hence experienced 

 northwesterly winds for several days. 

 These were followed by southerly winds of 

 considerable force, due to the approach 

 from the west of another cyclonic storm. 

 The last few days she had southwesterly 

 winds from an anti-cyclone central in Lat. 

 40° N"., Long. 135° W., this high pressure 

 area diverting the preceding cyclone to the 

 northward and thus preventing the 'Aida ' 

 from experiencing the northwest gales on 

 its rear. This passage of the 'Aida ' may 

 be regarded as an excellent example of 

 what may be accomplished by a well-found 

 sailing vessel whose master makes the most 

 of the meteorological conditions prevailing 

 over the ocean, and of the information now 

 available concerning them. 



A TORNADO IN NEW JERSEY. 



Tornadoes are of such infrequent oc- 

 currence in the eastern United States that 

 accounts of them, when they do occur, are 

 of special interest. On July 13, 1895, a 

 distinct tornado developed near Cherry 

 Hill, N". J., causing the death of three per- 

 sons, injuring about twenty others and en- 

 tailing a loss to property, livestock, etc., of 

 about S60,000 (6th Annual Report, New 

 Jersey weather service, 1895, 203-208) . It 

 appears that while the general character- 

 istics of tornado action were present, such 

 as the funnel cloud, the whirling, the roar 

 and the thunderstorm, the usual atmos- 

 pheric conditions which precede such storms 

 were lacking. A number of curious tricks 

 were performed by the tornado, after the 

 usual fashion of these disturbances. In 

 the Dutch Reformed Church, whose sides 

 and windows were punctured with holes, 

 a large beam was found lying across the 

 pews, it having been blown there from out- 

 side. A splinter of wood, 15 inches long, 

 2 inches square at one end, and tapering to 

 a point at the other, was found firmly stuck 



