HA RD IVICKE' S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



upon. Many countries are re-planting or replacing 

 wickedly-destroyed forests and woods. A tree is a 

 sacred thing. No wonder it entered so largely into 

 the mythology of our Norse ancestors. Time can 

 make a tree, man cannot. Hence the cutting down 

 of any tree ought not to be a matter of sport or 

 pastime (pace Mr. Gladstone), but of thought and 

 deliberation, for the absence of a living tree has by 

 so much affected the atmosphere, even if it has been 

 for only a few hundred feet raeius. A landowner 

 possessed of ancient trees is as such a responsible 

 steward of them as if he owned rare ancient manu- 

 scripts. There is a higher authority than even 

 ownership, and that is public opinion. 



Modern scientific research is always springing new 

 surprises upon us. One is now being much discussed 

 within inner circles which may have an important 

 bearing on the question as to whether our English 

 climate is changing. Thus, Mr. Angus Rankin has 

 pointed out 'that a new factor has been introduced 

 into the study of modern meteorology — that which 

 treats of the Just particles in the atmosphere, as well 

 as the number present at any given time, and their 

 effects on climate and weather changes. It would 

 seem as if the study of dust and its behaviour would 

 henceforth be the stepping-stone to the study of most 

 of the meteorological problems which deal with 

 clouds and precipitation, and solar and terrestrial 

 radiation, as well as the diurnal and annual variation, 

 in the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere. 

 In the famous Ben Nevis Meteorological Observatory 

 (founded and worked twelve years ago by my zealous 

 friend Mr. Clement L. Wragge and his wife) now the 

 most noted place of its kind in the whole world, Mr. 

 John Aitkin's ingenious dust-counting apparatus is 

 used for the purpose of constantly estimating and 

 recording the number of dust-particles present in the 

 atmosphere. One of the conclusions pointed out by 

 Mr. Rankin as being arrived at thereby, is that when 

 there is much wind there is little dust in the atmos- 

 phere, and when there is much dust there is little 

 wind. 



It will surely be evident to all intelligent people 

 now that the presence of dust in the atmosphere 

 affects its condition. Professor Lodge, nine years 

 ago, at the British Association meeting held in 

 Montreal, in his lecture on "Dust," showed that 

 without the presence of dust in the air we should 

 have no clouds. Perhaps we should have neither 

 rain nor snow. Clouds are only microscopical drops 

 of distilled moisture, condensed around millions of 

 dust particles. Consequently, we see that the more 

 dust particles there are thrown into the atmosphere 

 (all other things being equal) the more clouds are 

 likely to be formed. An increasing tendency to form 

 clouds means drawing a screen across the sky to shut 

 out both the sun's light and heat. Such a result 

 must produce a colder series of seasons — a less 

 vigorous and less meteorologically influential growth 



of vegetation. Clear skies exist where there is little 

 dust, except that produced by nature's own effects, 

 such as dust-storms, etc. It is where man congregates 

 in his millions, erects his manufactories, unconsumes 

 his smoke, pours uncountable millions of myriads of 

 coal-dust and other particles into the atmosphere, 

 that the blue sky and the bright warm sunshine get 

 shut out and the weather locally alters, becomes 

 chillier and more cheerless, until, among the toiling, 

 underfed classes, gin takes the place of the sun. 



Yes, physical geography is undoubtedly affected by 

 human action even more injuriously than by the 

 vastly slower changes ascribed to geology and 

 astronomy. Perhaps (who knows ?) even in this 

 newly disturbed region of fog, rain, and cloud, due to 

 increasing industries and ill-arranged furnaces, and 

 the fearfully increased volumes of minute particles of 

 unconsumed fuel thrown into the atmosphere, the 

 very fact that coals have become dearer may have a 

 redeeming effect. Manufacturers will not allow coals 

 at 3or. per ton to be consumed as lavishly as they 

 were at ten. The atmosphere will be the gainer. 

 The sun will get a chance of breaking through 

 artificially formed clouds, and every now and then of 

 reminding us of the Old Testament saying that "it is 

 a good thing for a man to look upon the sun ! " 

 Perhaps Professor Lodge's original scheme to disperse 

 the atmospheric dust by discharges of electricity, 

 given freely and generously to the world some years 

 ago, but'only recently practically and successfully tried 

 in Boston Harbour, may come to our help, and assist 

 us not only to forecast the weather, but help to make 

 it ! All things are possible to those who not only 

 believe, but work and wait ! 



WORM-HUNTING IN SUSSEX. 



By the Rev. Hilderic Friend, F.L.S., Author 

 of "Flowers and Flower Lore," etc. 



I WAS called away from home on business towards 

 the end of March, and found myself afterwards 

 in need of a little ruralizing. Being in town, I 

 determined to run down to the south of England for 

 a few days, and explore the country for worms. My 

 tour proved a great success. Travelling from 

 London to Hastings by the South-Eastern Railway 

 I availed myself of the opportunity of alighting at 

 Tunbridge Wells, for the purpose of examining the 

 outskirts of the town. I found here more than one 

 species of earth-worm which had not been recorded 

 for Kent before, and had an opportunity of noting 

 some peculiarities respecting the gregarious instincts 

 of this class of animals. Reaching Sussex, I devoted 

 my limited leisure to working the corner of the 

 county which is enclosed by the Channel on the 

 south, the railway from Robertsbridge to Hastings 

 on the north, and a line drawn by the main road 



