660 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVIII. No. 464. 



t01"ial calms there eisists throughout the 

 year a current from the east; (2) above 

 the trades an anti-trade blows from the 

 southwest in the northern hemisphere and 

 from the northwest in the southern; (3) 

 this anti-trade does not pass the polar 

 limits of the trades, but deviates more and 

 more to the right in the northern hemi- 

 sphere and to the left in the southern, so as 

 to become a current from the west over the 

 barometric maximum of the tropics where 

 it descends to increase the trade; (4) the 

 regions situated at the equatorial limit 

 of the trade join sometimes that of the 

 trade, sometimes that of the equatorial 

 calms, according to the season; (5) the 

 pressure of the air diminishes gradually 

 towards the poles, at least beyond the 

 polar circles; (6) the upper layer of air 

 in the temperate zones flows over the high 

 pressures of the tropics and descends there ; 

 (7) the irregularities found at the surface 

 of the earth, especially in the regions of the 

 Asiatic monsoons, generally disappear at 

 the height of the lower or intermediate 

 clouds; (8) it is necessary to abandon com- 

 pletely the idea of a vertical circulation 

 between tropics and poles, hitherto as- 

 sumed, according to James Thomson and 

 Ferrel. 



In the report of the Seismological Com- 

 mission, presented by Mr. J. Milne, it was 

 inferred from the data collected that the 

 crust of the earth was not more than forty 

 miles thick, the interior having a very high 

 effective rigidity and the nucleus being 

 probably more uniform in its chemical and 

 physical conditions than was usually sup- 

 posed. The report of the Ben Nevis 

 Observatory Committee, drawn up and 

 read by Dr. A. Buchan, stated that funds 

 privately ' subscribed would maintain the 

 high- and low-level stations for another 

 year, after which time the permanent sup- 

 port of the government was desired. It 

 was claimed that no pair of stations in the 



world are so advantageously situated for 

 meteorological investigation and forecast- 

 ing. Additional papers were by Dr. 

 Buehan on the diurnal variation of tem- 

 perature in the Levant and its relation to 

 radiation; by Dr. Paulsen on a comparison 

 of the sjDectrum of nitrogen with that of 

 the aurora ; by Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer on the 

 spectra of lightning; by Dr. H. R. Mill 

 on some rainfall problems; by Dr. L. A. 

 Bauer on the magnetic survey of the 

 United States and the earth's total mag- 

 netic energy, and by the writer on audi- 

 bility at Blue Hill as affected by weather 

 conditions. 



Upon the recommendation of the council 

 of the Physical Section, the General Com- 

 mittee of the Association passed a resolu- 

 tion that it is desirable to adopt a uni- 

 form sj'stem of units in meteorology, and 

 another resolution to the effect that the 

 systematic investigation of the upper at- 

 mosphere by means of kites and balloons 

 is of great importance. A further ap- 

 propriation of £50 was voted to Mr. Dines 

 for the continuation of this work with 

 kites. 



In con.junction with the meeting of the 

 International Committee, an exhibition of 

 meteorological apparatus, charts and photo- 

 graphs was organized by the Meteorological 

 Office and Society. Many pieces of new 

 apparatus, as well as articles of historic 

 interest, were shown and their study was 

 facilitated by a carefully-prepared descrip- 

 tive catalogue. The meteorological tele- 

 grams received each morning at the London 

 office were repeated to Southport, where 

 they were charted and forecasts made by a 

 member of the staff. These were incor- 

 porated in a weather map that was printed 

 and distributed during the afternoon and 

 its close agreement with the map prepared 

 in London from the same data was surpris- 

 ing. It had been announced that Mr. Dines 

 would fly his kites from a steamer at South- 



