August 29, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



297 



Dr. von Bezold, director of the Prussian 

 Meteorological Institute, showed how, by 

 the use of balloons and kites, our knowl- 

 edge of the high atmosphere had been in- 

 creased through various nations working 

 with a single purpose, and Professor Her- 

 gesell explained further the results and ob- 

 jects of international cooperation in scien- 

 tific aeronatics. 



There were present of the International 

 Committee for Scientific Aeronautics, Pro- 

 fessor Hergesell, Dr. Assmann and Mr. 

 Person, representing Germany, General 

 Rykatchef and Colonel Kowanko, of Rus- 

 sia, Messrs. Cailletet and Teisserenc de 

 Port, of France, and the writer from the 

 United States. At the first meeting of 

 the Committee fifteen new members were 

 chosen, including representatives of the 

 Italian, Spanish and Pritish governments, 

 which had participated in this Congress 

 for the first time. It was decided that the 

 scientific discussions should be open to the 

 invited specialists who numbered about one 

 hundred, while the administrative ques- 

 tions should be considered by the Com- 

 mittee in closed session. One of these ques- 

 tions related to the protection of balloons 

 and apparatus that fall in a foreign coun- 

 try, cameras, in particular, having been re- 

 garded with suspicion by the military au- 

 thorities. Another topic of discussion was 

 the raising of funds from the various coun- 

 tries for the regular publication of the re- 

 sults obtained from the international 

 ascents of balloons and kites. The con- 

 sideration of some of these data was now 

 begun in the public meeting by General 

 Rykatchef, director of the Central Physical 

 Observatory at St. Petersburg, who de- 

 scribed the results of the observations with 

 kites and balloons at Pawlowsk and St. 

 Petersburg during the past five years. By 

 means of kites the details of the conditions 

 prevailing up to 3,000 meters were ascer- 

 tained, especially the infiuence of day and 



night on the vertical changes of tempera- 

 ture. The decrease is greatest during the 

 day and in summer, while during the even- 

 ing and in winter large inversions of tem- 

 perature occur. In the lower strata of anti- 

 cyclones these inversions are marked, while 

 in the upper regions the decrease of tem- 

 perature is rapid. It was announced that 

 the Tsar had given a considerable sum of 

 money for the prosecution of these experi- 

 ments. M. Teisserenc de Port, of Paris,, 

 discussed the temperature of the high at- 

 mosphere, ten or fifteen kilometers above the 

 earth, as deduced from the ascents of 258 

 hallons sondes at Trappes, and showed, con- 

 trary to the general belief that the decrease 

 approached the adiabatic rate at these great 

 heights, that there was a stratum eight to 

 ten kilometers thick, depending on the sea- 

 son and weather conditions, where, not only 

 does the temperature not diminish with 

 augmenting height, but rather tends to in- 

 crease. Dr. Assmann, director of the 

 Aeronautical Observatory of the Prussian 

 Meteorological Institute, stated that the 

 German observations had led him to the 

 same conclusion regarding this warm up- 

 per current. 



Professor Palazzo, director of the Italian 

 Meteorological Office, announced that in 

 consequence of a subvention from the Min- 

 isters of Agriculture and War the project 

 of his predecessor, M. Tacehini, to establish 

 kite-stations on mountains could be real- 

 ized. Professor Palazzo said that the ob- 

 servatory on Monte Rosa would be com- 

 pleted next year and that, besides the 

 routine observations, it would be available 

 for physical investigations. Dr. von 

 Schrotter, of Vienna, urged the importance 

 of the study in balloons of the chemical in- 

 tensity of light, especially of light reflected 

 from clouds. 



Dr. Assmann next described his rubber 

 or registration balloon, ballon sonde. The 

 usual paper or silk balloon, open at the bot- 



