NOVEMBBE 22, 1901.] 



SCIENCE. 



817 



which she would remove with her front feet 

 every specimen that made an attempt to ascend 

 the wall of her enclosure ; but these bugs were 

 not eaten. The toad was then transferred to 

 another jar of the same size and construction 

 and eight bugs were suddenly introduced from 

 the squash leaf so that the toad would get the 

 first and fullest effects of the odor ; the result 

 was that the animal went through a series of 

 contortions followed by a short period of stupor 

 similar to that mentioned before. Upon re- 

 covery the toad was again removed to the vi- 

 varium where it now lives in partial hibernation . 



A young red spotted salamander was affected 

 and killed as easily as the half-grown toad, 

 while for the common field frog a greater num- 

 ber of bugs were required to bring about simi- 

 lar effects, the frogs also being killed. Many 

 experiments with snakes were tried, but no ill 

 effects from the secretion of the bugs were 

 apparent. 



The odor that the bug gives off emanates from 

 a clear, slightly greenish liquid expelled from 

 the extremity of the alimentary canal ; when 

 it comes in contact with the air the odor is 

 given off almost instantaneously while the 

 liquid remains to evaporate. 



These experiments are still in progress and 

 when completed will be published in detail. 

 They seem to open up an interesting field for 

 investigation as to the protective value of the 

 odoriferous secretions of many of the Heterop- 

 tera. 



Albert F. Conradi. 

 Nbw Hampshire College Agricultural 

 Experiment Station, Durham, 

 October 29, 1901. 



CUBRENl NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. 



THE WEATHER BUREAU. 



The address presented at the Convention of 

 Weather Bureau officials, held at Milwaukee 

 last August, by Professor Willis L. Moore, Chief 

 of the Weather Bureau, is printed in the Oc- 

 tober number of the National Geographic Maga- 

 zine. The salient facts in the history of the 

 weather service are given, and special emphasis 

 is laid on the tangible results of the Weather 

 Bureau's work. It is a pleasure to see the 

 name of Professor Cleveland Abbe, the fore- 



most living American meteorologist, linked 

 with the names of Eedfield, Espy, Maury and 

 Loomis in this article. Some of the statistics 

 given by Professor Moore are worthy of note 

 here. Thus, in the case of cold-wave warn- 

 ings, the statement is made that 100,000 tele- 

 grams and messages are frequently distributed 

 within a few hours. During one cold wave 

 $3,400,000 worth of property is estimated to have 

 been saved as a result of the information issued 

 by the Weather Bureau. The system of distrib- 

 uting warnings of gales dangerous to naviga- 

 tion is so perfect that ' ' the Chief of the Weather 

 Bureau, or the forecaster on duty at the Cen- 

 tral Office, can dictate a storm warning and 

 feel certain that inside of one hour a copy of 

 the warning will be in the hands of every ves- 

 sel master in every port of material size in the 

 United States, provided that it is his desire 

 that a complete distribution of the warning be 

 made." 



Eeference is made to the important work of 

 the Bureau in connection with measurements 

 of snowfall in the high mountains of Montana, 

 Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and New 

 Mexico, which make it possible to estimate the 

 probable supply of water to be expected for 

 irrigating purposes, and also to the recently 

 inaugurated forecasts of wind direction and 

 velocity for a period of three days after steam- 

 ers sail from European or North American 

 ports. At the conclusion of his article, the 

 Chief of the Weather Bureau rightly criticizes 

 the press for the attention it gives to the long- 

 range forecast frauds, which deceive so many 

 persons. Last year's appropriation of $1,058,- 

 320 for the Weather Bureau was certainly 

 small, considering the value of the work done. 



MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW. 



The Monthly Weather Review for July (issued 

 in October) contains the usual number of inter- 

 esting articles. In ' The Thunder-storm: A New 

 Explanation of one of its Phenomena,' Byron 

 McFarland gives his reasons for not accepting 

 the common explanation of the origin of the 

 squall wind in thunder-storms, viz., that this 

 squall is due to the ' kick ' of the rapidly as- 

 cending air, and advocates the theory that the 

 cool air within the thunder-storm accounts for 



