May 11, 1900.] 



SCIENGE. 



753 



The many reports which were collected about 

 the 'eclipse-wind,' so-called by the late Mr. 

 Banyard {Memoirs Roy. Astr. Soc, Vol. XLI., 

 Chap. XXXV.), show that some change in the 

 direction and velocity of the wind usually oc- 

 curs. Theoretically, the passage of the moon's 

 shadow, by suddenly chilling the atmosphere, 

 ought to increase the barometric pressure along 

 its path and so cause an outflow of air in all 

 directions. Investigations to determine the 

 amount of this change of pressure were made 

 by Professor Upton and the writer during the 

 eclipses previously mentioned with the result 

 that the changes which could be attributed to 

 the eclipses were found to be too small to meas- 

 ure directly, even with most sensitive barom- 

 eters. But a very slight gradient suffices to 

 deflect the wind or to alter its velocity and this 

 effect was detected by us (see Amer. Meteorolog- 

 ical Journal, Vol. IV., and Annals Harvard Ob- 

 servatory, previously cited). At a station tra- 

 versed by the shadow there should be a deflection 

 of the wind conti-ary to clock-hands before 

 totality and a movement in the opposite direc- 

 tion after the shadow has passed, if the wind 

 blows from the northern side of the eclipse 

 track, or vice versa if the wind blows from the 

 southern side. A wind having the same general 

 direction as the shadow should be accelerated 

 when the shadow advances and retarded when 

 it recedes, and a wind blowing into the advanc- 

 ing shadow should be diminished before this 

 arrives and increased afterwards. During to- 

 tality a lull in the wind might be expected, 

 analogous to the calm experienced in the center 

 of an anti-cyclone. 



Although some of these eflfects have been 

 perceived, observations in various parts of the 

 shadow-belt are desired in order to confirm or 

 disprove the theory. Therefore, I shall be 

 glad to receive any information about the 

 changes of the wind near the surface of the 

 ground and high up in the atmosphere during 

 the coming eclipse. To determine the direc- 

 tion and strength of the surface- wind a light 

 streamer, or pennant, attached to a freely ex- 

 posed pole, may be observed several times just 

 before and just after totality, while, if high 

 clouds are visible, a single observation of their 

 drift belore and after totality will give the 



direction of the upper wind with sufficient 

 accuracy. A. Lawrence Eotch. 



Blue Hill Meteoeological 



Obseevatory, Hyde Park, Mass. 



THE university OP CINCINNATI. 



To the Editor of Science : In my state- 

 ment regarding the situation at the University 

 of Cincinnati, as published in your issue of 

 April 27th, the omission of four words, in a 

 short paragraph on page 669, results in an 

 erroneous statement. 



The sentence should read: "During the 

 greater part of the twenty- five years which 

 have elapsed since the organization of the uni- 

 versity, the institution has been without a presi- 

 dent." Thomas French, Jr. 



'OO or 1900. 



The use of the year of publication in its full or 

 in its abbreviated form is coming into very gen- 

 eral use as a 'catch title' in bibliographic lists and 

 citations. The abbreviated form, e.g., '97, for 

 1897, cannot be used for more than one century 

 without ambiguity. There are two possibilities 

 concerning the usuage of the abbreviation '00; 

 it may stand for either 1900 or for 1800. It is 

 desirable that usuage should be uniform. Since 

 the use of the abbreviated form began in the 

 present century, — about 1880, if I am not mis- 

 taken, — the omitted figures have always been 

 18. It seems to me that that is reason enough 

 why we should use '00 always to mean 1800, 

 not 1900, even though the current year belongs 

 to the twentieth century. Thus the apostrophe 

 would without exception stand for the same 

 omitted figures, 18. E. L. Mark. 



Haevaed University, 

 April 20, 1900. 



CUSBENT NOTES ON PHYSIOGBAPHY. 



the MEXICAN BOUNDARY. 



The 'Report of the Boundary Commission 

 upon the survey and re-marking of the bound- 

 ary between the United States and Mexico, 

 west of the Rio Grande, 1891-1896 ' (Washing- 

 ton, 1899) includes a chapter devoted to a gen- 

 eral description of the country adjacent to the 

 international boundary line, of which the most 

 notable features, in addition to the marked 



