860 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 76. 



out-of-tlie-way couutry. Successive chap- 

 ters treat the previous studies, geological 

 structure, surface form, landscape, springs 

 and rivers, lakes, climate and plants. Spe- 

 cial attention is given to the karst district 

 of limestone understructu.re and subterra- 

 nean drainage ; the peculiar topography 

 thus controlled being so fully developed 

 that a considerable series of special terms 

 is required to name its vai-ious features. 

 Although having a plentiful rainfall, the 

 karst surface suggests aridity by reason of 

 the scantiness of soil and the frequent ex- 

 posure of bare rock ; and the loose-lying 

 limestone blocks have not been without in- 

 fluence on the course of local history in 

 furnishing ammunition for the ' stone bat- 

 teries ' with which Montenegrins on the 

 valley sides have harrassed the Turkish in- 

 vaders in the defiles below. The uplands 

 are frequently dissected by deep canyons, 

 which greatly impede travel and trade ; but 

 the people have by long practice become 

 expert in shouting across the chasms, thus 

 sending both public and private messages. 



Scutari lake, seldom over twenty feet 

 deep, is explained as a limestone lowland, or 

 polje, whose outward drainage is obstructed 

 by the alluvial deposits of the river Drin. 



As is often the case, the treatment of the 

 different chapters is uneven. Careful dis- 

 cussion of origin is given to the forms of 

 the limestone region ; much less attention 

 is given to such problems as the location of 

 stream courses and the attitude of divides ; 

 an inward migration of the latter is strongly 

 suggested by the short course of the Bojana 

 system to the Adriatic and the long course 

 of the Danube branches to the Black sea. 

 W. M. Davis. 



Haevabd Univeesity. 



CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 

 INTERNATIONAL CLOUD STATIONS. 



The following is a complete list of the 

 stations which are now taking cloud obser- 



vations with photogrammeters, and theod- 

 olites, in connection with the scheme to 

 be followed throughout the International 

 Cloud Year, which has been extended until 

 August 1, 1897. Paris; Upsala; Potsdam; 

 Braunschweig; Danzig; St. Petersburg; 

 Nijni- Novgorod (in summer); Batavia, 

 Manila, and Sydney, N. S. W. The follow- 

 ing stations are taking observations with 

 theodolites: Washington, D. C. ; Blue Hill 

 Observatory, Eeadville, Mass.; Bossekop 

 (in summer); Doi'pat; Tiflis; Ekatherinen- 

 burg; Irkutsk. There will probably also 

 be a second station in Australia, one in In- 

 dia and one at Lisbon. 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF CLOUD TYPES. 



In connection with its work on clouds 

 alreadj' referred to in Science, the Weather 

 Bureau has issued a sheet giving illustra- 

 tions of the tj'pical cloud forms. The ac- 

 companying text contains descriptions of 

 the clouds, and also data as to their mean 

 heights and velocities. The sheet was pre- 

 pared as an aid to observers in their cloud 

 work. Most of the types selected are good, 

 and the reproductions excellent as a whole. 

 The alto-stratus and stratus are, however, 

 unsatisfactory. The International Cloud 

 Atlas, which has just been issued, gives us 

 the cloud types selected by the Interna- 

 tional Cloud Committee, and these will, of 

 course, now be the standard for the world. 



THE ST. LOUIS, MO., TORNADO OF MAY 27. 



With commendable promptness the 

 Weather Bureau issued on May 29, a, 

 special Storm Bulletin (No. 4 of 1896), 

 showing the weather conditions over the 

 United States on May 26-28, in connection 

 with which the severe tornado of May 27th 

 occurred at St. Louis. The Chicago 8 A. M. 

 forecast on Maj^ 27th predicted severe thun- 

 der storms for Illinois, Indiana and Mis- 

 souri during the afternoon and night, and a. 

 special warning was sent out from Wash- 

 ington at 10:10 A. M. 



