16 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 183. 



systematic order, the common weather 

 types and the succeeding clianges which 

 occur over Europe. After finding in the 

 book a weather map which represents ex- 

 actly or nearly the same conditions as pre- 

 V vail on any particular day, one can form a 

 judgment as to the kind of weather that 

 will probably obtain on the next day or 

 two, by noting what weather changes 

 took place under similar conditions before. 

 In the chapter on forecasts for some days 

 in advance. Van Bebber defines five com- 

 mon and easily recognized weather types, 

 dependent upon the distribution of atmos- 

 pheric pressure over Europe. The weather 

 conditions which distinguish these five 

 types may last for various lengths of time, 

 according to circumstances, but they may 

 often be counted on for three days and a 

 half. When, therefore, one of these types 

 is recognized as occurring, a fairly reliable 

 forecast for three days ahead can frequently 

 be made. 



THE CLIMATE OF CUBA. 



Bulletin ISTo. 22 of the Weather Bureau, 

 entitled Climate of Cuba; also a Note on the 

 Weather of Manila, by W. F. R. Phillips, has 

 evidently, as is stated in the pamphlet, 

 ' been somewhat hastily prepared.' The 

 Havana Observatory has given us most of 

 what is definitely known about Cuban me- 

 teorology, in its series of annual volumes of 

 observations. Apart from these, there are 

 only fragmentary data. In the present 

 bulletin reference is made to meteorological 

 observations at Key West, Nassau, Port an 

 Prince, San Juan, Porto Rico, and other 

 neighboring places, in order to throw fur- 

 ther light on the climatic conditions of 

 ■Cuba. At Havana the mean annual tem- 

 perature is 77° F., in round numbers. July 

 has a mean of 82.4° ; January has 70.3°. 

 Santiago apparently has a higher mean an- 

 nual temperature, viz., about 80°. From 

 very fragmentarj^, and probably also rather 



unreliable, records made at Ubajay and the 

 San Fernando mines, in the interior, the 

 mean annual temperature appears to be con- 

 siderably lower there than on the coast. The 

 relative humidity is fairly constant at 

 Havana, the average being 75%. The 

 mean annual rainfall at Havana is 51.73 

 inches (based on records for 30 years). The 

 rainy season begins late in May or early in 

 June, and ends in October. 68% of the 

 annual rainfall comes during these months, 

 but in 30 years it has happened five times 

 that the rainfall in the so-called dry season 

 has equalled or exceeded that of the rainy 

 season. The northeast trades are the pre- 

 vailing winds, but these are occasionally 

 interfered with by cyclonic winds. In 

 winter, northers are felt along the northern 

 coast of Cuba, these being due to the pas- 

 sage of cyclonic centers over the southern 

 portion of the United States. 



A few paragraphs at the end of the re- 

 port, concerning the Weather of Manila, were 

 compiled by Professor H. A. Hazen. The 

 data relate to the observations made at the 

 Manila Observatory. The mean annual 

 temperature at Manila is 80° F. May, the 

 hottest month, has 8-1°, and December and 

 January, the coldest months, have 77°. 

 September has 85% of relative humidity, 

 and April, 70%. The mean annual rain- 

 fall is 75.43 inches, of which 50.74 inches 

 fall in June-October. It is to be regretted 

 that this bulletin was not made more com- 

 plete, as the information it gives, especially 

 concerning Manila, is very fragmentary 

 indeed. R. DeC. Waed. 



Harvard University. 



CORRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. 

 THE BUILDING SACRIFICE. 



On all continents and in all ages when 

 an important building is commenced or 

 finished some kind of celebi'ation takes 

 place. Very generally it used to be a sacri- 

 fice, human, or of some lower animal. This 



