May 28, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



837 



of right ascension, with assignment to group 

 and reference to the numbers of the plates. 



The tabular form of statement of results, 

 which has become rather characteristic of 

 the Harvard Annals, is followed in this 

 volume. It is sometimes doubtful whether 

 the compactness thus gained compensates 

 for the difSculty of understanding the tables 

 without minute study of them — a difi&culty 

 especially felt by foreigners. The notes on 

 individual stars would be more convenient 

 if the name of the star had been used, be- 

 sides the reference number. 



Although the quantitative accuracy of 

 the spectrograph cannot be expected of the 

 objective- prism, yet it seems adequate for 

 the purposes of the volume under review. 

 The objective-prism alone could collect such 

 treasures of information as are included in 

 the vast number of photographs stored in 

 the Harvard Observatory and drawn upon 

 in successive annals. 



The Atlas der Hmimelshunde, of which the 

 first of its thirty parts is at hand, is chiefly 

 devoted to the reproduction of recent as- 

 tronomical photographs. The author, A. 

 von Schweiger-Lerchenfeld, has had the as- 

 sistance of numerous astronomers and in- 

 strument makers in preparing this work, 

 which promises to fully represent — espe- 

 cially by its five hundred excellent engrav- 

 ings and half-tones — the instruments and 

 results of modern astro-photographic re- 

 search. (Wien und Leipzig, A. Hartleben's 

 Verlag.) 



E. B. F. 



GUBBENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 

 EEOENT ARTICLES ON KITE-FLYING. 



The rapidly increasing interest that is 

 being taken in kite-flying is shown by the 

 fact that the May number of the Century 

 Magazine contains three articles on the sub- 

 ject. The flrst, by J. B. Millet, the only 

 one which deals more particularly with the 

 meteorologic aspect of the matter, is en- 



titled Scientific Kite-Flying and presents the 

 general facts regarding the different forms 

 of kites and the methods of work and the 

 results obtained at Blue Hill Observatory. 

 The second article, Experiments luith Kites, is 

 by Lieut. Wise, of the U. S. Armj^, and de- 

 scribes the experiments made by him at 

 Governor's Island, New York Harbor, with 

 an account of the ascent of January 22, 

 1897, on which day Lieut. Wise was lifted 

 42 feet from the ground by means of four 

 kites. The last article, by W. A. Eddy, on 

 Photographing from Kites, concerns the ex- 

 periments made with a camera carried up 

 by kites and also gives an account of the 

 first telephoning and telegraphing through 

 a line held by kites. All the articles are 

 illustrated and will undoubtedly attract 

 considerable attention. Although kites can 

 be used for many purposes, the interest that 

 meteorologists have in kite- flying is limited 

 chiefly to the possibility of elevating self-re- 

 cording instruments to considerable heights 

 above sea level by this means. It is this 

 exploration of the free air by means of 

 meteorographs sent up on kite lines which 

 has been so actively and so successfully 

 carried on at Blue Hill Observatory, as al- 

 ready stated in these Notes. 



defokestation and climate. 

 Climatic descriptions contain frequent 

 allusions to the supposed influence of de- 

 forestation on climate, although we have 

 not as yet enough reliable meteorological 

 data to warrant our holding any definite 

 opinion as to this influence one way or the 

 other. In a lecture on the diamond mines 

 of Kimberley, delivered at the Imperial In- 

 stitute, London, on November 16th last, and 

 reported in a recent number of Nature 

 (April 1), Dr. Wm. Crookes, F. E. S., re- 

 ferred to the deforestation which has been 

 going on around Kimberley and to the 

 change in climate which is believed to have 

 resulted from this deforestation. It is reck- 



