February 9, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



223 



After the death of General Hazen and dur- 

 ing the administration of General Greely, 

 the computers of the Study Room became 

 junior professors at a higher salary and 

 were assigned to ofiBicial duties of a broader 

 aspect. In the course of such duties, Pro- 

 fessor Hazen frequently took his turn as 

 forecast oflflcial (beginning with October, 

 1887), and as editor of the Monthly Weather 

 Review (beginning with December, 1888), 

 while also acting as assistant in the Records 

 Division. In Julj', 1891, in accordance 

 with the terms of the transfer to the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, he was appointed one 

 of the professors of meteorology in the 

 Weather Bureau, where he was at once as- 

 signed to regular and congenial duties in 

 the Forecast Division. 



Having shown that ' the Hazen ther- 

 mometer shelter' was much better than the 

 large close double louver formerly used, his 

 form was adopted by the Bureau in 1885 

 and still remains in use. His experimental 

 work with the sling psychrometer and dew- 

 point apparatus was executed with great 

 care and refinement, but the resulting psy- 

 chrometer formula differs from those in cur- 

 rent use in that it rejects the important 

 term depending on the barometric pressure. 

 Among his larger publications were : The 

 Reduction of Air Pressure to Sea-level and The 

 Climate of Chicago. 



In addition to his oflQcial work in the 

 Weather Bureau, Professor Hazen was a 

 frequent contributor to meteorological and 

 other scientific journals. He was one of 

 the supporters of Science during the years 

 1882-89 and of The American Meteorological 

 Journal, 1884-96. He also, published in- 

 dependently his ' Meteorological Tables,' 

 and ' The Tornado,' and possibly other 

 works. A complete list of his published 

 writings would include several hundred 

 titles. 



It must be confessed that a peculiar tem- 

 perament sometime led him to beliefs and 



statements in scientific matters unaccept- 

 able to his colleagues, but to which he ad- 

 hered and on which he acted with such 

 pertinacity that to some he occasionally ap- 

 peared obstinate and headstrong ; this was 

 simply a result of the intense earnestness 

 of his own convictions, which so completely 

 absorbed his mind that there was no place 

 for further considerations. However, the 

 amiability of his character always prevented 

 any enduring unpleasant feeling between 

 himself and his associates. 



C. A. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 

 Annual Beport of the Bureau of Steam Engineer- 

 ing of the Navy Department ; 1899. Washing- 

 ton, Government Printing OflBce. 1899. Pp. 

 89. Many illustrations and working draw- 

 ings. 



The annual report of the Chief of the Bureau 

 of Steam Engineering of the Navy Department, 

 made up in advance of the compilation of the 

 annual message of the President and reports of 

 the heads of department for the information of 

 Congress and the people of the United States, 

 always contains intei-esting matter bearing up- 

 on applied science, although mainly devoted to 

 the purely technical side of the work of that 

 bureau. Admiral Melville is equally positive, 

 direct and effective, whether at the Lena Delta 

 seeking lost heroes, or in his office at Washing- 

 ton, and his report illustrates his character as 

 well as his work. Passing over the purely 

 technical accounts of the condition of the me- 

 chanisms of the naval war-engine, and of the 

 fleets, the first subject of general interest is that 

 of the recent consolidation of the two great 

 coi'ps, the engineer and the line officers, as 

 effected by the 'personnel bill' of last year. 

 Without explicit assertion of the fact, it may 

 fairly be inferred, we think, that the Chief of 

 Bureau is apprehensive lest the terms of the 

 bill and its purpose may fail of complete accom- 

 plishment, the Department lacking that firm- 

 ness and determination to obey and to make 

 successful the conclusions of Congress regard- 

 ing this important experiment. It is obviously 

 an experiment and is no less obvious that it 



