Januaby 12, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



75 



notes. The disregard of the cyclonic ele- 

 ment in climatological summaries is believed 

 by R. DeC. Ward to be a distinct disadvantage, 

 in his ' Suggestions concerning a more 

 Rational Treatment of Climatology.' Annual, 

 monthly and daily summaries, being concerned 

 with final and definite periods, do not bring 

 out the variations of the climatic elements 

 under cyclonic control, and yet the irregular 

 cyclonic changes are the very ones which most 

 closely affect man. In a rather striking way, 

 a paper by Dr. H. E. Mill, ' On the Unsson- 

 metrical Distribution of Rainfall about the 

 Path of a Barometric Depression crossing the 

 British Isles,' emphasizes the value of a dis- 

 cussion of one element of climate — in this 

 case rainfall — on the basis of the cyclonic, not 

 the diurnal or weekly, unit. Dr.' Mill's study 

 of the distribution of rainfalls in relation to 

 the individual cyclones which produce these 

 rains is a distinct advance on the usual sum- 

 maries of the conventional kind. Papers on 

 climate are contributed as follows : Canada, 

 by R. F. Stupart, director of the Canadian 

 Meteorological Service; Kimberley, by J. R. 

 Sutton, meteorologist of the De Beers Mines; 

 Natal, by F. W. D'Evelyn; Pamplemousses, 

 Mauritius, by T. F. Claxton, director of the 

 Royal Alfred Observatory, Mauritius; Ts' 

 Aidam, Tibet, by A. Kaminski; Western 

 Australia, by W. Ernest Cooke, government 

 astronomer of Western Australia. Two papers 

 on meteorological exploration are contributed, 

 one (abstract) by A. Lawrence Rotch, ' A Pro- 

 ject for the Exploration of the Atmosphere 

 over the Tropical Oceans,' a plan which Mr. 

 Rotch was able to carry into effect during the 

 past summer; and one by IT. Arctowski, on 

 ' Antarctic Meteorology and International Co- 

 operation in Polar Work.' Mr. Wm. Mar- 

 riott, assistant secretary of the Royal Meteoro- 

 logical Society, contributes a paper on ' Rain- 

 fall with Altitude in England and Wales,' in 

 which the data for 1881-1890 are dealt with. 

 The increase of rainfall with altitude; the 

 greater rainfall in the west than in the east, 

 and the greater range of the monthly rainfall 

 in the west are the more important points 

 brought out. 



REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE WEATHER BUREAU. 



The annual report of the chief of the 

 Weather Bureau (for the year ending June 

 30, 1904) has recently been published. The 

 forecasts of hurricanes, gales, snow, cold 

 waves, etc., were successful, and their economic 

 value was generally recognized. The River 

 and Flood Service is to be extended. Long- 

 range forecasts, issued by various persons for 

 a month or so in advance, continue to give 

 Weather Bureau officials much trouble, and 

 the matter is given some attention in the 

 present volume. The conclusions reached by 

 the bureau (p. xvii) are the logical ones, but 

 we are inclined to believe that it is a mis- 

 take for our Weather Bureau to pay too much 

 attention to these ' fake ' forecasts. Advertis- 

 ing is what some persons most desire, and we 

 should suppose that the ' weather prophet ' 

 might increase the number of subscribers to 

 his publications as a result of the "notoriety 

 gained in this way. It is encouraging to 

 note the cooperation of several universities 

 and colleges with the Weather Bureau. Some 

 of these institutions have given the govern- 

 ment land for the erection of meteorological 

 stations, and others (Brown and the Uni- 

 versity of Wisconsin) have provided, without 

 cost, office quarters for recently established 

 stations. A considerable series of investiga- 

 tions to be carried on at Mount Weather is 

 enumerated. 



HEALTH, DISEASE, DEATHS AND THE WEATHER. 



From the earliest times, the relations be- 

 tween weather conditions and health have at- 

 tracted attention. In recent years, with the 

 discovery of the micro-organisms which cause 

 many diseases, our notions regarding the 

 effects of weather and climate have undergone 

 considerable change. Nevertheless, there are 

 many direct and indirect relations between 

 meteorological conditions and the prevalence 

 of, a,nd deaths from, certain diseases which 

 can not fail to impress any one who studies 

 vital statistics. For the United States some 

 interesting material along these lines may be 

 found in the ' Vital Statistics ' section of the 

 Statistical Atlas of the Twelfth Census, re- 

 cently issued. Charts and diagrams show the 



