November 23, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



191 



it was open to all meteorologists, and al- 

 though the countries participating ia the 

 Exposition were invited to send delegates, 

 yet these had no power to pledge their re- 

 spective countries to any action. More 

 than thirty countries were i-epresented this 

 year at the Congress and about one hun- 

 dred persons of various nationalities at- 

 tended its sittings, which, consequently, 

 were more truly international than was 

 the case with any preceding congress. The 

 absence of the Chief of the United States 

 Weather Bureau was much regretted and 

 the United States was represented solely 

 by the officials in charge of the Weather 

 Bureau exhibit at the Exposition and by 

 the writer, who had also been the delegate 

 of the United States in 1889. The place of 

 meeting was again at the rooms of the So- 

 ciete d'Encouragement, outside the Exposi- 

 tion grounds. 



M.Mascart, the director of the French Me- 

 teorological Office, was chosen president of 

 the Congress, which he directed with his 

 usual ability, being ably seconded by M. 

 Angot as general secretary. Three vice- 

 presidents represented England, Russia and 

 Norway, respectively. At least half of the 

 hundred papers presented were discussed 

 by five standing committees whose sittings 

 were open to any persons interested in the 

 subjects. The most important work of 

 the Congress was performed by these com- 

 mittees, foremost among them being the 

 Aeronautical Commission, presided over by 

 Professor Hergesell, that discussed the re- 

 sults obtained in the exploration of the 

 atmosphere by the international use of 

 balloons and kites, and the improvements 

 that could be effected in instruments and 

 methods. Professor Violle, as president of 

 the Commission on Solar Radiation, sum- 

 med up the state of the subject and heard 

 several papers. Professor Riicker left the 

 meeting of the British Association to pre- 

 side over the Commission on Terrestrial 



Magnetism which had presented to it the 

 work being done by magnetic observa- 

 tories and surveys throughout the world. 

 The Cloud Commission, the oldest of these 

 committees, has always had at its head 

 the indefatigable Professor Hildebrandsson, 

 who was now able to summarize the results 

 of the cloud measurements that through 

 his efforts had been executed in various 

 parts of the world during the so-called 

 'international cloud-year.' It was resolved 

 to invite the meteorological observatories 

 to undertake special observations of clouds 

 each month on the days that the interna- 

 tional ascents of balloons and kites were 

 made in Europe. Eminently practical was 

 the Commission for Weather Telegraphy, 

 which proposed to accelerate the weather 

 despatches in Europe by introducing the 

 ' circuit system ' of the United States, but 

 found it necessary to refer the matter to the 

 International Telegraphic Bureau at Berne. 

 From the scope of these committees it will 

 be seen that comparatively few subjects 

 were left for discussion in the general ses- 

 sions, which, consequently, had less interest 

 than usual and served mainly to confirm 

 the resolutions of the commissions. 



Among the institutions visited, the most 

 interesting was the observatory for dynamic 

 meteorology at Trappes, near Versailles, 

 where M. Teisserenc de Bort maintains an 

 admirably equipped observatory, especially 

 engaged at the present time in investiga- 

 tions of the upper atmosphere. This ob- 

 servatory, designed in general after that at 

 Blue Hill, possesses, besides, means of ob- 

 taining temperature data at very high alti- 

 tudes by the ' ballons-sondes ' which are 

 sent up twice a week and carry self-re- 

 cording instruments to the height of ten 

 miles or more. Owing to the many dis- 

 tractions of Paris, the only general enter- 

 tainment was the banquet on the Eiffel 

 Tower, and this was notable for the eloquent 

 discourse of M. Leygues, Minister of Public 



