Makch 30, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



511 



Donax (sp. nov. ?). 



Corbula inaequalis Say. 



Divaricella dentata Wood. 



Mangilia sp. (cf. cerina K. & S.). 



Natica sp. fragni. 



Terebra [Oxymeris) var. indenta Ball — fragm. 



Anachis sp. fragm. 



Pecten sp. fragm. 



Spine of Cidaris? fragm. 



These are almost certainly upper Miocene sliells 

 of the same age as those of the Galveston well, 

 reported on by Professor Harris. 



As the bed from which, these shells were 

 gotten is between the upper and lower oil 

 sands, and as there is no appreciable difference 

 in the character of the sediments above and 

 below, including the lower oil horizon, it 

 would seem most probable that the age of this 

 oil pool is the Upper or Deep Well Miocene 

 of Harris. 



It is interesting to note that this is the 

 first locality in Texas outside Galveston Island 

 at which these fossils have been found. 



E. T. DUMBLE. 



CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 



TEMPERATURE IN CYCLONES AND ANTICYCLONES. 



It is known to readers of these ' Current 

 Notes on Meteorology ' that the temperatures 

 obtained by means of kites in cyclones and 

 anticyclones at Blue Hill Observatory do not 

 agree with the results obtained by Hann, 

 Teisserenc de Bort and others in Europe. In 

 the November number of the Meteorologische 

 Zeitschrift, Hann discusses a recent paper by 

 H. H. Clayton, which appeared in the Bei- 

 trage zur Physih der freien Atmosphdre, No. 

 3, and was recently briefly summarized in 

 these columns. Hann points out the differ- 

 ence in the method of treatment adopted by 

 Clayton on the one hand, and by Teisserenc 

 de Bort and himself on the other, and notes 

 that in general in dynamic meteorology baro- 

 metric maxima and minima do not mean the 

 crests and troughs of pressure waves at a 

 given place, but the regions from which the 

 pressure (at least as a whole) decreases in all 

 directions (maxima) or increases (minima). 

 Hann and Teisserenc de Bort, in their studies, 

 used the daily weather maps as the basis, and 



not the barogram at a single station, for they 

 are of opinion that the vertical distribution 

 of temperature above a single station at those 

 times when the trough or the crest of a pres- 

 sure wave passes over it has no clearly defined 

 physical significance. " This method has led 

 to the conclusion (observations on moimtains 

 and those obtained in the free air by means 

 of balloons are in agreement on this point) 

 that, at least in winter, the mass of air in 

 cyclones averages colder than that in anti- 

 cyclones (as Hann first pointed out in April, 

 1890). This does not imply that there may 

 not also be smaller cyclonic whirls, especially 

 in summer, which are relatively warm. The 

 thermal conditions of tropical cyclones are 

 still uncertain, and it would be a mistake to 

 attempt to refer all atmospheric whirls back 

 to the same cause." 



LIFTING POWER OF ASCENDING AIR CURRENTS. 



In the Monthly Weather Review for Sep- 

 tember, 1905 (issued November 29), H. H. 

 Clayton cites some cases of the lifting power 

 of ascending air currents in quiet summer 

 weather. On August 6, 1894, at Blue Hill 

 Observatory, a kite was caught in an ascend- 

 ing current about fifty feet above the top of 

 the hill, and rose rapidly toward the zenith, 

 circling as it rose. A large cumulus cloud 

 was passing at the time, and the kite followed 

 this cloud toward the east, until, being drawn 

 out of the ascending current, the kite fell 

 rapidly to the ground. On September 8 last, 

 as reported by John Ritchie, Jr., a piece of 

 parafEne paper was carried nearly vertically 

 upward from the top of Mt. Chocorua, N. H., 

 reaching a height of at least 1,000 feet. There 

 was very little wind stirring at the time, and 

 the paper rose steadily upward, not as if blown 

 by a gust of wind. Both kite and paper were 

 probably lifted by ordinary ascending cur- 

 rents of air such as commonly exist on sum- 

 mer days. 



CLOUDS AND HEALTH. 



Major Chas. E. Woodruff, U. S. A., who 

 has recently written a book on the effects of 

 tropical light on the white race, setting forth 

 the view that the sunlight is a very important 

 factor in the problem of acclimatization in 



