OCTOBKE 14, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



507 



element discovered by Professor Crookes 

 among the rare earths. To this the name 

 monium is given; it was discovered by 

 spectro-photography, its lines standing 

 almost at the extreme end of the ultra- 

 violet rays, and hence only visible on the 

 photographic plate. Its atomic weight is 

 apparently about 118. The address con- 

 cluded with a short reference to the work 

 of the Society of Psychical Eesearch of 

 which also Professor Crookes is President. 

 J. L. H. 



CUBBENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 



THE MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL OP THE 



GLOBE. 



In the American Journal of Science for Jan- 

 uary, 1882, Loomis published the first chart 

 of the mean annual rainfall of the globe, 

 which has, since then, remained the ac- 

 cepted standard of the world. The annual 

 amounts of rainfall were divided into five 

 groups, and the chart was colored in five 

 shades of blue to indicate rainfalls of (I) 

 less than 10 inches, (II) 10 to 25 inches, 

 (III) 25 to 50 inches, (IV) 50 to 75 inches, 

 and (V) over 75 inches. The data at 

 Loomis' disposal were far from complete. 

 A revised edition of the map was published 

 in 1889, the classification of the rainfalls 

 remaining the same, but five different colors 

 being used to indicate these classes, instead 

 of the five shades of blue employed on the 

 original map. During the years that have 

 elapsed since Loomis' map was published, 

 there has been a large increase in the num- 

 ber of rainfall observations from all parts of 

 the world, and the vast body of material 

 now available has been utilized by Supan 

 in the construction of new rainfall maps. 

 Supan's first publication, ' Die Vertheilung 

 des Niederschlages auf der festen Erdober- 

 flache,' appeared a few months since (Er- 

 ganzungsheft N'o. 124, Petermann's Mitthei- 

 lungen), and his second, 'Die jahrlichen 

 Niederschlagsmengen auf den Meeren,' has 



just appeared in the same journal (VIII, 

 1898, pp, 179-182). These articles are of 

 great value. They give us revised charts 

 of the mean annual and the seasonal rain- 

 fall over the lands, and also the first chart 

 that has ever been published of the mean 

 annual rainfall over the oceans. These are 

 all based on the latest and best data obtain- 

 able, and will doubtless remain the stand- 

 ards for many years. The varying amounts 

 of rainfall, grouped into six classes, are 

 indicated by different colors, the heaviest 

 rainfall being shown in blue, and the 

 lightest in yellow. 



SYMONS' BRITISH RAINFALL. 



Mr. Symons' annual volume on 'British 

 Eainfall ' 'for 1897 contains a noteworthy 

 article on the ' Mean Annual Rainfall in 

 the English Lake District,' which is a con- 

 tinuation of articles on the rainfall of parts 

 of the same region, published in the vol- 

 umes for 1895 and 1896. The area under 

 discussion in the present paper embraces 

 about 650 square miles. Records from 147 

 stations have been utilized, and the aggre- 

 gate number of yearly records dealt with is 

 1,612. Two maps accompany the article, 

 an excellent orographical map of the Lake 

 district, and a map showing the mean an- 

 nual rainfall of the district. Mr. Symons 

 now has 3,318 rainfall observers, truly an 

 imposing number in the little territory of 

 the British Isles, and a body of workers 

 which, under able leadership, is gathering 

 a most valuable store of material. And this 

 material, be it said, is being constantly put 

 to use. 



NOTES. 



The annual report on the ' Rainfall in 

 South Australia and the Northern Territory 

 in 1896,' by Sir Charles Todd, Government 

 Astronomer of South Australia, contains an 

 account of the great ' heat wave ' of Janu- 

 ary, 1896. This ' heat wave ' was one of 

 exceptional severity. At Gundabooka Sta- 



