August 25, 1905.] 



SCIENCE. 



251 



by Assmann and Teisserene de Bort at an 

 altitude of about 11 kms. Recent observa- 

 tions during a hallon-sonde flight from Strass- 

 burg (February 9, 1905) prove the existence 

 of an easterly current at great altitudes, which 

 is independent of the lower currents. The 

 temperature conditions of this upper air 

 stratum show that vertical currents are prac- 

 tically absent, and its high relative humidity 

 suggests some interesting speculations as to 

 its origin. 



METEOROLOGICAL ACTIVITY IX ENGLAND. 



The Council of the Royal Meteorological 

 Society of England is about to undertake an 

 extended campaign with a view to advancing 

 the general knowledge of meteorology. A 

 series of lectures is planned, to be of a i^rac- 

 tieal nature, usually illustrated by lantern 

 slides, and to be given by lecturers, appointed 

 by the council, at different places. Wlien pos- 

 sible, exhibits of meteorological instruments 

 are to be made, especially at the shows of the 

 various agricultural societies. The author- 

 ities in charge of the ' Agricultural Education 

 in Elementary Schools Bill,' now before 

 Parliament, hav^e been approached with a view 

 to the inclusion of meteorology among the 

 subjects taught in such schools. The scheme 

 as a whole provides for bringing meteorological 

 knowledge to the doors of societies and insti- 

 tutions all over Great Britain. It is also pro- 

 posed to hold conferences in London, at which 

 delegates from various societies shall be in- 

 vited to speak. The whole plan shows a 

 healthy activity on the part of the Royal 

 Meteorological Society. 



TROPICAL CYCLONES. 



The cyclones of the tropics are of universal 

 interest because of their violence; they are of 

 peculiar in'-evc'st to meteorologists because of 

 ihkir importance as phenomena having the 

 closest relations to human life and safety, and 

 because of the doubt as to their origin, which 

 gives them an added attraction in the mind 

 of the student. One of the noteworthy efforts 

 to come to a fuller understanding of the fre- 

 quency, tracks and wind movements in trop- 

 ical cyclones is a recent paper by A. Schiick, 



of Hamburg, entitled ' Zur Kenntniss der 

 Wirbelstiirme ' (Hamburg, 1905, 4to, pp. 48). 

 This account is accompanied by a large num- 

 ber of illustrations, including some most inter- 

 esting pressure curves, although the diagrams 

 are crudely drawn and rather difficult to make 

 out. 



CLIMATIC CHANGES IN CENTRAL AFRICA. 



A GOOD deal of evidence has been adduced 

 within the last two or three years regarding 

 a desiccation of the lakes of central Africa, 

 and the view has come to be somewhat gen- 

 erally held that a distinct change to a drier 

 climate is in progress. Now comes the report 

 (Globus, No. 5, 1905) that Lake Rukwa, to 

 the east of Lake Tanganyika, has risen within 

 two years. Such contradictory reports show 

 the need of great caution in jumping at con- 

 clusions of climatic change. Periodic changes 

 in the amount of annual rainfall are well 

 known, but they do not indicate permanent 

 climatic changes progressively in one direc- 

 tion. 



COTTON-GROWING IN TROPICAL AUSTRALIA. 



The evolution of a marketable type of cot- 

 ton which has been named, caravonica, adapted 

 for growth in the climate of Queensland, holds 

 oiit the hope of a large cultivation of cotton 

 not only in Queensland, but through the whole 

 of the tropical section of Australia north of 

 latitude 18° S. {Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc, 

 XXX VIL, No. 4, 1905). 



HURRICANES, COCOA TREES AND EXPORTS OF GUAM. 



A RECENT report, ' Contributions from the 

 United States National Herbarium,' Vol. IX., 

 by W. E. Safford, under the special title, ' The 

 Useful Plants of Guam,' notes the damage 

 done by hurricanes which pass near the island 

 of Guam. In 1900, the destruction caused by 

 two hurricanes resulted in a dearth of food, 

 and nearly $10,000 was spent by the govern- 

 ment for the relief of the natives. One of 

 the most serious results is the strii)ping of 

 cocoa trees of their leaves, which may cause 

 a failure of the trees to produce. In 1901, 

 after the hurricanes above noted, not an 

 ounce of copra was produced in Guam, this 

 being i^ractically the only export of the island. 



