316 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 634 



MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW 



The October, 1906, number of the Monthly 

 Weather Review (dated Jan. 4, 1907) contains 

 the following papers of general interest : ' A 

 Rare Cumulus Cloud of Lenticular Shape,' by 

 H. H. Clayton; illustrated by three half-tone 

 views, and accompanied by comments on simi- 

 lar clouds by Professor Abbe. ' Monthly Re- 

 view of the Progress of Climatology through- 

 out the World,' by C. F. Talman; notes on 

 meteorological stations in Iceland, and on the 

 climates of British East Africa, the Solomon 

 Islands and of Sistan. ' Sonora Storms and 

 Sonora Clouds of California,' by Archibald 

 Campbell, with a weather map showing the 

 conditions which prevail during a Sonora 

 cloud period, and a half-tone picture of one 

 of these clouds. ' Has the Gulf Stream any 

 Influence on the Weather of New York 

 City ? ' by James Page, of the Weather Bureau. 

 This is a brief discussion which we hope may 

 find its way very generally into the daily 

 press, and set right the many erroneous ideas 

 which are prevalent on this question. Pro- 

 fessor F. H. Bigelow continues his study of 

 the meteorological conditions of the Cottage 

 City waterspout of 1896 with a highly mathe- 

 matical paper. 



altitude and pneumonia 

 Dr. Isaac W. Brewer, of Fort Huachuea, 

 Ariz., after studying the medical statistics of 

 the army concludes (1) that altitude has noth- 

 ing to do with the mortality from lobar pneu- 

 monia; (2) that latitude within the range 

 afforded by the territory of the United States 

 has nothing to do with the mortality; (3) that 

 the mortality among the colored troops is 

 about twice as great as among the white 

 soldiers {So. Oal. Practitioner, Dec, 1906). 



THE FRENCH SAHARA 



The meteorological observations made in the 

 French Sahara by the Mission Saharienne 

 (Mission Foureau-Lamy d' Alger au Congo par 

 le Tchad, Pts. I. and 11., pp. 551, Paris, Mas- 

 son) are welcome as throwing light on the 

 climate of a region concerning which but little 

 is known. The temperature fell below freezing 

 twenty-five times. The maximum was 119°. 



The minimum temperature was recorded 

 about 5 A.M.; the maximum between 1 and 2 

 P.M. Dew was observed on fourteen occa- 

 sions. There was rain on 116 days (out of 

 645). In the Air highlands thunder and 

 lightning were noted almost every afternoon. 

 E. DeO. Ward 

 Hakvakd University 



WILLIAM WELLS 'NEWELL 

 William Wells Newell, the founder of the 

 American FoUs-Lore Society, died at his sum- 

 mer home in Wayland on January 21st, 1907, 

 at the age of sixty-eight. 



The broad culture of Mr. Newell and his 

 extended interest in many branches of litera- 

 ture and science made his name known 

 throughout the country. Those best ac- 

 quainted with him were often amazed at the 

 accurate knowledge and the sincere appre- 

 ciation of subjects widely diverse in interest. 

 He was especially gifted as a student of folk- 

 lore and comparative literature and as a 

 classical scholar, a linguist and a craftsman. 

 Mr. Newell made a special study of the 

 Arthurian myth and his collection of tales, 

 ' King Arthur and the Round Table,' pub- 

 lished in 1897, showed deep research and an 

 intimate knowledge of the literature of the 

 time. His translation of Sophocles's ' (Edipus 

 Tyrannus ' reveal him as a student of the 

 classics. 'Words for Music,' a little volume 

 of verse, most of which was original, contains 

 charming bits of a more or less personal nature 

 which show Mr. Newell as his intimate friends 

 knew him, lovable, kindly and appreciative of 

 all that was good. The book itself is an 

 example of Mr. NewelFs abilities as a crafts- 

 man. It was printed upon his private press 

 at Hazelbrook, Wayland, and is an example of 

 typographical excellency. 



It is, however, the cause of American Folk- 

 Lore that has suffered most in the death of 

 Mr. Newell. It has lost its most enthusiastic 

 worker and devoted friend. The American 

 Folk-Lore Society was his from the very be- 

 ginning, and it was owing to his untiring 

 energies that the Journal of American Folk- 

 Lore was started and has since been success- 

 fully carried on. 



