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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 793 



tive, and the experiments carried on in this 

 field by its scientific institutions continue to 

 be an example for other nations to follow. Not 

 only are daily kite flights made and pilot and 

 sounding balloons sent up from a number of 

 well-scattered stations in Germany, but expe- 

 ditions to carry on similar work have fre- 

 quently been sent to far distant lands. One 

 such expedition only recently returned from a 

 long and successful visit to equatorial Africa. 

 During the recent international series of 

 simultaneous upper air investigations, five 

 such expeditions carried on these experiments 

 in foreign countries. One of the latter, sta- 

 tioned in the Danish West Indies, carried on 

 its work under the personal supervision of Pro- 

 fessor H. Hergesell, one of the founders of, 

 and still a leader in, aerial investigation. Fre- 

 quently on these expeditions the sounding 

 balloons are sent up from a ship out in a 

 large body of water. The balloons are fol- 

 lowed by the ship until they burst, and when 

 the parachute brings the apparatus back to 

 the water surface the instrument and records 

 are immediately recovered. 



While polar exploration generally is not 

 primarily for meteorological purposes, the 

 data obtained often contribute greatly to our 

 knowledge of atmospheric conditions in these 

 parts of the earth. It might be said that next 

 to the accounts of previously unvisited lands 

 the meteorological data obtained on these ex- 

 peditions probably form the most valuable in- 

 formation. Especially important are these data 

 when they contribute information concerning 

 the planetary winds and pressures. Tempera- 

 ture data, while very interesting, are not so 

 important. That the polar regions offer ex- 

 ceptional opportunities for meteorological re- 

 search is recognized by Count Zeppelin, who 

 is making plans to explore the entire north 

 polar region by means of an airship. In this 

 formidable plan the idea of reaching the pole 

 is only incidental, the enterprise in this case 

 being primarily meteorological. A new Brit- 

 ish Antarctic expedition is also being organ- 

 ized by Captain E. Scott, the leader of the 

 expedition in the Discovery. The meteorolog- 

 ical observatons obtained in this expedition, 



which is to begin the coming summer, will 

 undoubtedly add greatly to our knowledge of 

 Antarctic conditions. 



The relation between meteorology and 

 aeronautics is so close that one does not ad- 

 vance without having a similar effect upon 

 the other. While it is true that the former 

 science has not advanced so rapidly during 

 the last two years as has the latter, its ad- 

 vancement has undoubtedly been accelerated 

 by the great progress made in the science of 

 navigating the air. The close union of the 

 two is seen in the following list of names of 

 men prominent in both fields: Hergesell, Zep- 

 pelin, Siiring, Berson, Roteh, Clayton and 

 Hersey. The men who are really the cause of 

 the recent progress in aeronautics have fre- 

 quently found it profitable to consult meteoro- 

 logical authorities as to the atmospheric con- 

 ditions with which an airship has to contend. 

 Moreover, Wilbur Wright, in a recent inter- 

 view is reported to have said that the progress 

 of the next two years in the art of flying will 

 be largely progress in manipulation and navi- 

 gation, not in construction, as the past two 

 years have been. In other words, it was his 

 opinion that progress in the immediate future 

 would be in the controlling of the air craft in 

 various atmospheric conditions, rather than in 

 the details of construction — a prophecy which 

 clearly shows the cause of the close relation 

 between the two sciences. Again, Hubert 

 Latham, the well-known foreign aviator, who 

 for a time held the record for height attained 

 by an aeroplane, is quoted as saying that it is 

 easier to navigate the air at moderately great 

 heights than at low heights, because of the 

 steadier, though stronger winds aloft, the 

 varying winds near the surface being as dan- 

 gerous for an aeroplane as the waves and 

 eddies in the water near a coast are for a ship. 

 A knowledge of such characteristics of the 

 atmosphere is thus of importance in both sci- 

 ences. 



During the past year the United States' 

 Weather Bureau has, from time to time, issued 

 a long-range forecast of the weather for the 

 whole of the United States — one forecasting 

 the weather conditions expected for the follow- 



