152 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XII. No. 291. 



MOSSES OF THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS. 



Under this title the Cambridge Botanical 

 Supply Company is publishing sets of mosses 

 collected by J. A. Allen, in 1898, in the Cas- 

 cade Mountains of Washington. Each set con- 

 tains 147 numbers, one of which (56. Pohlia 

 porosa) is new to science, and another (46. Zy- 

 godon rupestris) is new to North America. The 

 determinations have been made by Mrs. E. G. 

 Britton, with the aid of Geo. N. Best, J. Car- 

 dot, Harold Lindberg, F. Eenauld and others. 

 An examination of the specimens shows them 

 to be ample and well preserved. The collec- 

 tion is a notable addition to the exsiccati of 

 Western North American Mosses. 



Charles E. Besset. 



The University of Nebraska. 



ACTIVITY IN MAGNETIC WOMK.'^ 

 Magnetic Survey of Wurtemburg. — Work on 

 this survey, under the direction of Professor 

 August Schmidt, will be begun during present 

 summer. 



Magnetic Survey of the Azores. — Captain F. A. 

 Chaves writes, that the magnetic survey of the 

 Azores was begun last year, and that he has 

 established at Ponta Delgada a declinometer 

 for eye-readings, with the aid of which he will 

 reduce the field observations to the same 

 moment of time. 



Magnetic Work in Japan. — In Japan, complete 

 photographic registrations of the variations of 

 magnetic elements are now being continuously 

 made at the Central Meteorological Observa- 

 tory, and the four stations belonging to the 

 Earthquake Investigation Committee, viz : 



Lat. Long. 

 (North) (E. ofGr.) 



The Meteorological Station, Nemuro 43° 20' 145° 35 



The Second Higher School, Sendai 38 15 140 52 



Central Meteorological Observatory, Tokio. 35 41 139 45 



The Meteorological Station, Nagoya 35 10 136 65 



The Fifth Higher School, Kumamoto 32 48 130 42 



All these stations are provided with a set of 

 Mascart's self-registering magnetograph, and 

 the instruments for direct measurements. The 

 daily records are all dispatched without delay 

 to the Central Meteorological Observatory for 

 comparative investigations. 



* From advance proofs of Terrestrial Magnetism and 

 Atmospheric Electricity. 



Since 1897, at the Central Meteorological 

 Observatory, the absolute measurements of 

 magnetic elements are being taken once a 

 month. The instruments with which the 

 measurements are carried out are the decli- 

 nometer, vibration and deflection apparatus 

 constructed by Professor Tanakadate, of the 

 Tokio Imperial University, and a dip circle of 

 Kew pattern. 



The buildings at all the stations are con- 

 structed of wood, with exclusion of iron, and 

 the supports for instruments are made of gran- 

 ite, or marble, placed on the masonry work of 

 white bricks which are free from magnetic in- 

 gredients. 



The extreme dampness of the soil in this coun- 

 try renders it difficult to use underground rooms, 

 which are very desirable for constancy of tem- 

 perature. On this account the buildings at the 

 four stations, except at Tokio, are made above 

 the surface of the ground, and great care is taken 

 to keep off the sudden changes in temperature. 



At Tokio, besides the underground rooms for 

 the variation instruments there is also a build- 

 ing for absolute measurements, constructed 

 with proper precautions against any disturbing 

 influence. 



The first annual report on the observations 

 of terrestrial magnetism and atmospheric elec- 

 tricity made at the Central Meteorological Ob- 

 servatory is now passing through the press. 



The precise account of the recent magnetic 

 survey in Japan carried out under Professor 

 Tanakadate, we understand, is to appear shortly 

 in the Journal of the College of Science, Tokio. 

 The first and second papers of the magnetic 

 survey made in this country several years ago 

 have already been published in the same Jour- 

 nal. 



Magnetic Survey of the United States and 

 Countries under its Jurisdiction. — The Congress 

 of the United States has appropriated for field 

 expenses, and purchase of magnetic instru- 

 ments during fiscal year, July 1, 1900, to July 

 1, 1901, the sum of $25,000 ; this is exclusive 

 of ofBce expenses and salaries of permanent em- 

 ployees. The field work is fairly well under way. 

 Ten complete magnetic outfits are now in use 

 by observers in various parts of the United 

 States and Alaska. A site for the standard 



