740 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No.' 



such influence has accumulated for several 

 generations. If time would permit I might go 

 on and speak of tomatoes, cabbage and onion, 

 each of which in my experience seems to have 

 distinct habits in this respect, and considering 

 all these cases it seems to me that plants of 

 different natural orders difier in the degree to 

 which influences of soil and climate are trans- 

 mitted through the seed. 



Will W. Tracy, Sr. 



CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 

 CHANGES OF CLIMATE IN CENTRAL AFRICA. 



It is reported (Pet. Mitth., X., 1903) that 

 Lake Shirwa, southeast of Lake Nyassa, in 

 central Africa, has entirely disappeared. 

 Desiccation has been going on for many years, 

 but the last stages in the process were very 

 rapid. This lake used to be shown on the 

 maps as an oval-shaped body of water, about 

 thirty miles long and ten to fifteen miles wide. 

 It now consists of a few small ponds. Liv- 

 ingstone discovered the lake in 1859. Lake 

 Ngami, also discovered by Livingstone, has 

 since disappeared. These changes seem to be 

 a manifestation of a gradual desiccation which 

 is going on in central Africa, but it is impor- 

 tant that they should be more carefully studied 

 before any definite conclusions are drawn. 

 The recent reports to the effect that the Sea 

 of Azov is drying up are misleading, in that 

 the apparent desiccation seems actually to be 

 due to a silting up of the lake. 



A NEW DROSOMETER. 



The measurement of dew has always given 

 trouble, because no drosometer has ever com- 

 mended itself for universal use, and the re- 

 sults obtained by different methods have not 

 been accurate, satisfactory or comparable. In 

 Das Wetter for March, Ferle, of the Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station of Peterhof-Kur- 

 land, describes a new kind of drosometer, 

 which he has found very useful, viz., a piece 

 of specially prepared paper, soaked in a chem- 

 ical solution. This paper is exposed over a 

 box placed on the ground at night, and the 

 amount of dew is indicated by the discolora- 

 tion of the paper. A scale of discoloration. 



determined by experiment, is adopted, and the 

 entry in the observation record book, based on 

 the amount of discoloration, gives the amount 

 of dew which formed during the night. Three 

 kinds of paper are used, the first for the 

 smallest amounts, the second for larger, and 

 the third for the largest amounts. It is best 

 to expose two kinds of paper, selected accord- 

 ing to the season, so that, in case the amount 

 of dew is too great to be indicated by one 

 sheet, it may be recorded by the discoloration 

 of the other paper. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSEEVATOEY ON MONTE BOSA. 



At the instance of the Italian Alpine Club, 

 and with the support of Queen Margarita, the 

 Duke of the Abruzzi, and of the Italian Min- 

 istry of Agriculture, an observatory has been 

 erected on Monte Rosa, at an altitude of 4,560 

 meters (14,960 ft.) above sea level. Next to 

 the Vallot Observatory on Mont Blanc, this is 

 the highest meteorological station in Europe. 

 Observations are to be begun during the com- 

 ing summer. The observer is to live at the 

 summit throughout the summer months, and 

 during the winter when weather conditions are 

 favorable. The observatory is to be open to 

 scientific men of all nationalities who wish to 

 carry on investigations there. The observa- 

 tions made on Monte Eosa will be of special 

 value in connection with the international 

 balloon ascents. The Monte Rosa Observa- 

 tory will have, as companion Italian institu- 

 tions, the Etna and the Monte Cimone observa- 

 tories, at 2,942 (9,650 ft.) and 2,162 (7,095 ft.) 

 meters respectively. 



METEOROLOGICAL INSTTTUTE OF ROUMANIA. 



Amid the disturbed political conditions on 

 the Balkan Peninsula, the Meteorological In- 

 stitute of Roumania, under the able director- 

 ship of Dr. Hepites, continues its excellent 

 work. Vol. XVT. of the Annals of the insti- 

 tute is at hand, comprising over 700 quarto 

 pages, containing the annual report of the 

 director for the year 1900; memoirs on the 

 rainfall, earthquakes, climatology and mag- 

 netic observations of 1900; the regular hourly 

 observations of all the elements at Bucharest, 

 as well as the means for the 16 years 1885- 



