Febeuaky 16, 1883.1 



SCIENCE. 



47 



the others. The jjaper contains a discussion of the 

 geological relations of the trachytes in general. 



The Tokay rocks are the following: 1. Augite- 

 trachyte. 2. Amphibole-tracliyte. Z. Micaceous- 

 quartz-trachyte. 4. Conglomerates and trachytic 

 tufas. 5. Red plastic clay. 6. Prehistoric and re- 

 cent alluvium. 



The microscopic, chemical, and geological charac- 

 ters of the rocks are given, with a discussion of their 

 former nomenclature. — (Assoc. fran<^. avanc. sc, 

 X. 532.) 



In this connection attention may be di'awn to two 

 other papers by the same author, I'elating to the 

 classification of the trachytes: Classification macro- 

 graphique des trachytes [Bull. soc. rjeol. France, 

 Dec. 7, 18S1); and Die makrographische eintheilung 

 der trachyte. — (Verhandl. k.-Jc. geol. reichsanst., 

 1882, 166. ) M. E. w. [116 



A ne-w basaltic rock. — The name pyroxenite is 

 given by Dr. C. Dolter to a rock from the Cape Verde 

 Islands, composed of augite, magnetite, and a glassy 

 base. — {Verhandl. k.-lc. r/eol. reichsanst., 1882, 140.) 



M. E. W. [117 



METEOEOLOGY. 



Ohio state ■vsreather service. — This service, re- 

 cently organized, has begun the publication of month- 

 ly reports. Tlie November issue contains returns 

 from nineteen stations, including five maintained 

 by the U. S. Signal Service, accompanied by a well- 

 arranged monthly summary. — w. tr. [118 



Observations at high stations. — The Austrian 

 meteorological service established in 1880 self-record- 

 ing instruments at Klagenfurt and Obirgipfel, sta- 

 tions situated near each other geographically, but 

 having altitudes of 4:38 and 2,044 met. respectively. 

 Hourly observations to the end of the year 1881 have 

 been recently published, embracing those of press- 

 ure at both stations and of temperature at Klagen- 

 furt only. — (Jalirb. k.-k. centr. anst. meleor., 1SS2.) 

 w. u. [119 



Rainfall statistics. — Systematic observations of 

 rainfall throughout Fi-ance are made by the Bureau 

 central meteorologique. The results for 1880, de- 

 duced from 1,291 stations, have been collected and 

 studied by M. Th. Moureaux, who publishes twenty- 

 •five charts in illustration: eight of these are designed 

 to exhibit the connection between rainfall and bar- 

 ometric depressions, and confirm the opinion ad- 

 vanced by Prof. Loomis from his studies of the U. S. 

 weather-maiDS, that rain is most abundant in advance 

 of a depression, and that therefore the direction in 

 whicli a storm will move can be foretold by the 

 distribution of the rain areas. {Sur le recjime des 

 pluies en France pendant I'annee ISSO. ) Mr. Symons, 

 through whose efforts more than 2,000 stations in 

 Great Britain have been establislTed, has published 

 valuable suggestions for securing uniformity of prac- 

 tice among rainfall observers. — (Symons' meteor, 

 macj., Dec, 1SS2.) ^v. u. [120 



Floods in France. — Camille Flammarion de- 

 scribes the year ending with November, 1882, as one 

 of very numerous rainy days, although of normal 

 rainfall, in France. In Paris the rainfall at the 

 Montsouris observatory was .54:3 mm., closely agree- 

 ing witli the average of other years: but the number 

 of rainy days was 208, and besides these, 100 more 

 were cloudy. As a result, summer evaporation, 

 which ordinarily disposes of much of the rainfall, 

 was this year very ineffective; the ground became 

 saturated, and when the November rains (113 mm.) 

 came, the rivers rose rapidly throughout the country. 

 — {Le Voltaire, Paris, Dec, 1882.) 



Th. Moureaux gives further account of the rising 

 of the Seine early in December. — {La Nature, Dec. 

 23,1882.) w. M. D. [121 



Auroras. — An extensive catalogue of auroras ob- 

 served in Sweden from ISOO to 1877 has been pub- 

 lished by E. Eubenson, director of the meteorological 

 institution of Sweden. It forms the second part of 

 the catalogue of auroras observed since the sixteenth 

 century. The appendix contains descriptions of the 

 auroras, and tables of the annual variation in fre- 

 quency, and the years of maxima and minima. — 

 {Cat. aurorts ior. observ. en Suede, 16th cent. — 1877, 

 part 2. ) 



Mr. J. Rand Capron calls attention to the fact, that 

 the auroral display in November was followed by first 

 a cold and then a warm wave. The doubt raised as 

 to the character of the supposed auroi'al beam, which 

 was observed in England, and from which the height 

 of the aurora has been calculated, is removed by the 

 statement that it gave the auroral spectrum. — Na- 

 ture, Dec. 2S, 18S2.} w. u. [122 

 GEOGRAPHY. 

 {Arctic.) 



Theory of an open polar sea. — Mr. George B. 

 Howell, of the New-York state library, read a paper 

 favoring this theory. He remarked that the field of 

 new exploration is rapidly narrowing to that of the 

 north polar region. Among the reasons for the open- 

 sea theory are : — 



1°. Water-fowl go regularly each spring northward 

 from Greenland for nes'tlng. As the ice-barrier from 

 73° to 82° is too cold for birds to raise their young, 

 their nesting-places must be north of this barrier, 

 and in a milder climate. 2°. The occurrence of warm 

 winds from the circumpolar regions, as verified by 

 explorers in high latitudes. 3°. The occurrence of 

 furious gales during the long arctic winter, which 

 would be unaccountable if the region for ten degrees 

 around the pole were as cold as the zone of the ice- 

 barrier, and therefore as calm as the equatorial belt. 

 4°. Morton and Hayes both saw open water in Ken- 

 nedy channel as far as the eye could reach north- 

 ward. 



Mr. Howell spoke of the agency of the gulf stream, 

 which is commonly regarded as limited to the latitude 

 of Spitzbergen. His own belief and theory is, that 

 the waters of the gulf stream have a greater specific 

 gravity than thos'e surroiniding the ice-barrier, for 

 two reasons : fir.«t, the immense rain and snow fall 

 of the arctic regions must freshen the water and 

 make it lighter; "and, second, water is lightest near 

 the freezing-point. The comparatively ivarm water 

 of the gulf stream dips and passes northward under 

 the ice-barrier, and emerges, with velocity reduced 

 by corresponding currents from the opposite side of 

 the pole, into the comparatively warm polar sea. 

 The same cause would produce an ascending current 

 of warm air, to exert a marked influence upon the 

 atmospheric currents of the whole northern hemis- 

 phere. Such in brief is the normal system of water 

 and air currents, according to the theory of the speak- 

 er, whose paper was listened to with special interest. 

 — {Albany inst. ; meeting Jan. 16.) [123 



Sea-otter hunting. — The sea-otter hunting in 

 the Kurile Islands, now Japanese territory, has been 

 chiefly farmed out to foreigners as a government 

 monopolj'. It is now proposed to form a Japanese 

 company for the purpose of carrying on the business 

 on a larger scale than hitherto. The pelts of Enhydra 

 marina are the most valuable furs known, and the 

 animal is found only in the Kuriles and Alaska in 

 any numbers. — w. H. D. [124 



