954 



SCIENCE 



[X. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 807 



cumstances. According to Harm's empirical 

 formula for the distribution of water vapor 

 in relation to altitude, 0.T9 of the terrestrial 

 water vapor is below 4,420 meters, the height 

 of the summit, making the latter an admir- 

 able location for the experiments. The 

 meteorological observations made by Pro- 

 fessor Alexander McAdie, of San Francisco, 

 who was detailed by the chief of the United 

 States Weather Bureau to accompany the ex- 

 pedition, include records of relative humidity 

 of but 1 per cent., or an absolute humidity of 

 0.06 gram per cubic meter. Professor TV. W. 

 Campbell, the director of the expedition, 

 says : " We may feel satisfied, however, that 

 an observer could scarcely hope for condi- 

 tions more favorable for the solution of the 

 problem before us, than those existing on the 

 nights of September 1 and 2 on Mount 

 Whitney; especially toward the middle of 

 these nights, when Mars and the moon were 

 near the meridian. Not only was the vapor 

 in the air strata lower than 4,420 meters com- 

 pletely eliminated from the problem, but the 

 vapor density at 4,420 meters was almost a 

 vanishingly small fraction of the densities at 

 all the observations where the Martian spec- 

 trum had previously been investigated." 



In the recently issued report of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution mention is made of a 

 Hodgkins grant for the erection of a small 

 stone shelter on the summit of Mount Whit- 

 ney, for the use of investigators during the 

 prosecution of researches on atmospheric air. 

 Mr. C. G. Abbot, the director of the Astro- 

 physical Observatory of the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution, began his observations there last 

 summer, and obtained important data in the 

 determination of the solar constant. 



There has recently been placed on perma- 

 nent exhibition in the Geological Museum of 

 Harvard University, a model, in plaster of 

 paris, of the mean hourly temperatures of 

 Boston, Mass., which is probably the first of 

 its kind. This model was made by the com- 

 piler of these notes as a part of the regular 

 work in the research course in climatology 

 given at Harvard by Professor E. DeC. 

 Ward. It is two feet long and one foot wide. 



and its three dimensions show months, hours 

 and temperatures. On one of the vertical 

 sides lines are drawn, at equal distances 

 apart, to show the twenty-four hours, and on 

 the next vertical side twelve lines represent 

 the months. The heights of the upper surface 

 of the model, above the base, represent the 

 mean hourly temperatures. This upper sur- 

 face is divided into twelve areas, representing 

 diilerent degrees of heat and cold, and each 

 area is colored, diilerent shades of red being 

 used for the higher temperatures, and dif- 

 ferent shades of blue for the lower. By 

 means of this model it is possible to ascertain, 

 easily and with great accuracy, the mean tem- 

 perature of any hour of any month of the 

 year. The data forming the basis of the 

 construction are those obtained at the Bos- 

 ton station of the United States Weather 

 Bureau during the period 1890-1905. The 

 total number of observations used was 131,- 

 472. The modelling of climatological data 

 in clay or plaster of paris is a new idea, and 

 such models are likely to be of value in the 

 climatological instruction of the future. 



Although the committee of scientists ap- 

 pointed to determine the cause of the Paris 

 flood with a view of preventing its future re- 

 occurrence has not yet made its report, many 

 authorities agree that the real cause was a 

 geological rather than a meteorological one. 

 The area drained by the Seine consists of a 

 light soil, which, because of the gentle slopes, 

 usually absorbs most precipitation, even 

 though it be heavy or sudden. At the time of 

 the recent heavy rains, however, the soil was 

 either frozen or was saturated by previous 

 rains, making its surface practically impen- 

 etrable to further moisture. The removal of 

 the forests in late years from the higher re- 

 gions of the river basin may or may not have 

 been a contributory cause of the flood. As it 

 occurred in the winter, vegetation could have 

 but its minimum influence in checking the 

 flow. The heavy and long-continued rains 

 preceding the flood were general throughout 

 the whole region, and because of the condi- 

 tion of the ground the run-off was rapid. 



Ix the international observations of upper 



