122 



SCIENCE. 



[KS. Vol. XXII. No. 552. 



only a small per cent, affected. Most of the 

 galls on grafted trees occur at the lower end 

 of the scion at the point of union of the root 

 and scion. Much of the work of the previous 

 two years is being repeated this year, field 

 plots in eight different localities having been 

 planted with 120,000 apple seedlings and root- 

 grafts. 



George Grant Hedgoock. 



mt. tsukuba meteorological observatory, 

 founded by h. i. h. prince yamashina. 

 Singe the time of Pascal it appears to have 

 been recognized that the exploration of the 

 upper atmosphere is one of the most impor- 

 tant for the advancement of cosmical physics. 

 So long as this ocean remains unexplored, 

 modern meteorology will remain at a stand- 

 still, since the thermal, electrical, and dy- 

 namic conditions of this ocean are in great 

 measure responsible for the meteorological 

 conditions at the earth's surface. Many bal- 

 loon ascents and kite experiments have, there- 

 fore, been undertaken from time to time, and 

 many mountain observatories have been estab- 

 lished in Europe and elsewhere by men who 

 determined to capture the secrets of the upper 

 air. 



In Japan, too, the importance of the ex- 

 ploration of the upper atmosphere has been 

 recognized ever since the organization of the 

 meteorological service in 1875. Many meteor- 

 ological expeditions to high mountains have 

 been undertaken by the officials of the Central 

 Meteorological Observatory at Tokio, and by 

 those of the provincial stations, to investigate 

 the phenomena and processes in the high 

 strata of the atmospheric ocean. For instance, 

 to Mt. Fuji (3,T20 meters above sea level) 

 during every summer since 1889; to Mt. 

 Gosaishodake (1,200 meters) in 1888; to Mt. 

 Ontake (3,060 meters) in 1891; to Mt. Ishi- 

 zuchi (1,980 meters) in 1894; and to several 

 other mountains whose heights range from 

 3,000 meters to 740 meters. But all these 

 expeditions have been undertaken only in the 

 warmest season of the year, on account of the 

 impracticability of long residence on the sum- 

 mits in winter time. For the establishment 

 of a first permanent mountain observatory. 



we owe thanks to the illustrious Prince Yama- 

 shina. His Imperial Highness has selected 

 for his observatory Mt. Tsukuba, a remark- 

 able mountain, which stands lonely on a most 

 extensive plain, isolated from all mountain 

 ranges, and which is, moreover, on that part 

 of the Island Empire where cyclones of a very 

 intense character frequently pass by. 



Mt. Tsukuba is situated on the eastern coast 

 of Japan, forty miles north-northeast of 

 Tokio. The shape of the mountain is quite 

 conical and its summit splits into two peaks, 

 the western and the eastern. These peaks are 

 one half mile distant from each other, the 

 west peak being the higher of the two. 

 Though only 2,925 feet, or 870 meters, in 

 height. Mount Tsukuba has a commanding 

 view over Musashino, the most extensive plain 

 in Japan. Still grander is the view south- 

 westward from the top of the mountain. The 

 city of Tokio and innumerable towns are 

 dimly visible on the plain. Many miles be- 

 yond, the snow-capped summit of Mt. Fuji, 

 the volcanic peak of the Asama, and the holy 

 mountains of Nikko form a magnificent pano- 

 rama. Toward the south there is nothing 

 visible but the vast Pacific Ocean fading away 

 into infinite space. The whole mountain is 

 covered with pines and cryptomerias, and its 

 summits are dotted with legendary curiosities 

 and shrines, the largest of which latter are 

 sacred to Izanagi and Izanami, the first god 

 and goddess of the mythological Japan. The 

 legend is that Izanagi and Izanami con- 

 structed this mountain as a bulwark against 

 the waves of the Pacific, which they had 

 forced to retire to the other side of Kashima, 

 formerly an island in the sea. This tradition 

 is in accordance with the fact, recently veri- 

 fied by Japanese geologists, that the east coast 

 of Japan has been gradually rising during 

 many centuries past. In the midst of this 

 region of poetry and legend our prince-scien- 

 tist has established his meteorological observa- 

 tory on the top of the west peak, which, with 

 its two base stations, has been in active opera- 

 tion since the first of January, 1902. The 

 geographical coordinates of the observatory 



