540 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 512. 



ducive to ideal research, and the records made 

 are not entirely satisfactory for purposes of 

 comparative anthropometry. ITor example, 

 among those measured by Du Chaillu there 

 was only one adult male, and he was mentioned 

 only as a ' young man,' a term somewhat in- 

 definite. Other observers did not specify the 

 approximate age, while others did not mention 

 the number given. This list has been com- 

 piled from the writings of the authors them- 

 selves. 



In the writer's first description of these peo- 

 ple in 1897, there occurs a mistake made in the 

 conversion of the metric system to English 

 measure. The average of all the observations 

 is four feet eight and two ninths inches, about 

 one foot shorter than the height of the average 

 normal man. S. P. Veener. 



St. Louis, 



September 12, 1904. 



GVBRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 



THE TEACHING OF METEOROLOGY. 



In connection with the third convention of 

 weather bureau officials, held at Peoria, 111., 

 September 20-22, a circular was sent out in 

 June to all persons who were believed to be 

 engaged or interested in the teaching of me- 

 teorology in universities and other institu- 

 tions of learning. The object of this inquiry 

 was to obtain information regarding the num- 

 ber and character of courses that are now 

 given; the demand for such courses; the di- 

 dactic value of meteorology as a course of 

 mental training, and the commercial or pecu- 

 niary value of meteorology as a professional 

 career. The replies to this circular have been 

 printed by the weather bureau, and are not 

 encouraging. The state of things as evidenced 

 by the replies received from teachers and others 

 in all parts of the country may be briefly sum- 

 marized as follows: At several of the univer- 

 sities and colleges courses in elementary me- 

 teorology are given, usually by instructors 

 whose main business is along other lines of 

 work. In some cases such courses have been 

 given and then discontinued. "Weather bureau 

 officials in many places are doing their best, 

 in a most praiseworthy manner, to stimulate 

 interest in the study. Scattering schools, here 



and there, where the physiography teachers 

 have a special interest in meteorology, pay 

 some attention to systematic work in the sub- 

 ject. But as a whole, there is a very evident 

 lack of proper instruction in meteorology in 

 the country as a whole, from schools to uni- 

 versities. There is but one university (Har- 

 vard) where meteorology may be taken as a 

 subject for admission. 



WEATHER FORECASTS FROM THE HUMMING OF 

 WIRES. 



P. BoCK, of Babenhausen (Hesse), has for 

 some time been carrying on observations of the 

 humming of telegraph and telephone wires. 

 As a result of this study, he has been able to 

 lay down certain rules for forecasting coming 

 weather conditions. These rules, set forth in 

 Das Wetter for August, make it possible to 

 forecast the local weather conditions for the 

 current and the succeeding days. The obser- 

 vations of the humming should be made two 

 or three times daily, preferably at about 11 

 A.M. and 6 p.m., and if the official forecast for 

 the general district in which the station is sit- 

 uated is taken as an additional help, the local 

 forecasts based on the humming have been 

 found to be very successful. 



MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 



In the Monthly Weather Review for June 

 (dated August 19) Professor P. H. Bigelow 

 continues his ' Studies on the General Circula- 

 tion of the Atmosphere of the Sun and of the 

 Earth ' in a contribution (No. VII.) entitled 

 ' The Average Monthly Vectors of the General 

 Circulation in the United States.' Dr. W. 

 N. Shaw's paper ' On the General Circulation 

 of the Atmosphere in Middle and Higher Lati- 

 tudes,' read June 2 before the Royal Society, 

 is reprinted. Gen. H. L. Abbot, U. S. A., dis- 

 cusses ' Hourly Climatic Records on the 

 Isthmus of Panama.' Father Algue, in 

 charge of the Philippine Weather Bureau sta- 

 tion at the World's Pair, describes ' The First 

 Electric Storm Recorded Automatically in St. 

 Louis, Mo.' Professor Abbe considers ' Tem- 

 peratures in the Upper Atmosphere,' ' Auroras 

 and Thunderstorms,' ' Meteorology in Austria ' 



