560 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 825 



amount of lipase can hydrolyze a definite 

 amount of triolein, irrespective of the mass 

 of the latter; that reversion occurs in only 

 negligible amounts when water is present. It 

 is suggested that lipase may not be an impor- 

 tant factor in the synthesis and storage of fats 

 in the cell. " Behavior of Molds toward the 

 Stereo-isomers of Unsaturated Dibasic Acids," 

 by Arthur W. Dos. Comparisons of growth 

 of various molds in media containing fumaric, 

 maleic, mesaconic, citraconic and itaconic 

 acids. 



NOTES ON METEOROLOGY AND 

 CLIMATOLOGY 

 Owing to the fact that the horizontal com- 

 ponent of falling snow is frequently greater 

 than the vertical, the catchment of the true 

 amount of snow falling at any place has al- 

 ways been a problem of great practical diffi- 

 culty. The complex whirls and eddies set up 

 by the wind over the ordinary precipitation 

 gauge do not allow the proper amount of 

 snow to fall into the cylinder. For this reason 

 it has frequently been the practise to cut out 

 a cylinder of snow from an open place where 

 the snow lies at an average depth, and con- 

 vert this into the water equivalent. The in- 

 creased use of water for irrigation and power 

 purposes in the western part of the United 

 States has resulted in a demand for a more 

 thorough knowledge of the proper manner of 

 measuring rainfall. Some time ago the 

 United States Weather Bureau appointed Pro- 

 fessor F. H. Bigelow to supervise a study of 

 the problem. The first report of progress in 

 this investigation has just been published. It 

 consists largely of a summary of the results 

 obtained from a number of stations in thir- 

 teen western states, all of which were equipped 

 with similar apparatus. It contains the con- 

 clusion, " that it is not proper to give further 

 consideration to any plan of constructing a 

 seasonal snow or rain gauge that depends 

 upon a pipe having a small diameter, such as 

 the usual Weather Bureau rain gauge, the 

 ten-inch standpipe, and the numerous auto- 

 matic devices fitted with similar pipes for the 

 catchment. . . . We infer that all the stations 



of the Weather Bureau should be equipped 

 with snow bins, and that the rain gauges 

 should be placed inside, the open top being 

 within a few inches of the floor of the bin." 

 The bin giving the best results thus far con- 

 sists of a five-foot cubical bos, open at the 

 top, with its floor five feet above the ground. 

 It also has inside and outside louver screens 

 which prevent the formation of eddies. This 

 much of the problem having been solved, it is 

 probable that the esperiments will be continued 

 with the hope of constructing a seasonal res- 

 ervoir for remote places where access is only 

 occasionally possible. 



In the latest number of the Monthly 

 Weather Review, the June number, Professor 

 A. G. McAdie, section director of the United 

 States Weather Bureau at San Francisco, 

 calls attention to some interesting facts in 

 connection with the snowfall at Summit, 

 Cal., the elevation of which is 7,017 feet. A 

 table is published showing the seasonal snow- 

 fall for the past forty years, constituting 

 one .of the longest periods of snowfall 

 observations in the country. , The average 

 annual snowfall for this period is 422.6 

 inches (35.2 feet), and the maximum for any 

 one winter being that of 1879-80, when it was 

 783 inches (65.3 feet). Using a similar table 

 as a basis. Professor J. N. LeConte has drawn 

 a curve to show the average rate of melting 

 and the relation between this and travel possi- 

 bilities. The actual curve of melting for any 

 year may be compared with the mean curve, 

 and if it falls below the mean for the most 

 part, the season will probably be a dry one, 

 and travel in the mountains will be possible 

 at a much earlier date than during a year 

 when the actual curve of melting rises above 

 the mean. 



The British Meteorological Office has just 

 issued a volume called " The Trade Winds of 

 the Atlantic Ocean," consisting of three con- 

 tributions to the study of the northeast and 

 southeast trade winds. As stated in the pref- 

 ace, five years ago Dr. W. N. Shaw called at- 

 tention to " the analogy between the seasonal 

 variation of the trade wind and that of the 

 rainfall of the south of England," and " added 



