6b 



SCIENCE. 



due to my unwillingness to adopt even unpublished views 

 of others without at least giving- formal credit. If my good 

 intentions have in this instance had rather the effect of 

 doing an injustice, that was not a matter of intent, but of 

 error, and one I may claim an excuse for under the 

 circumstances above explained. 



Dr. Wilder refers to the absence of literary references in 

 my short paper. This is in accordance with the fact that 

 the paper was a provisional communication of results 

 purely my own, and that quotations of the views of others 

 were limited to such relating to collateral details or of 

 works like those of Luys and Meynert, which are so much 

 household words among cerebral anatomists that I thought 

 a mention of their exact titles a useless affectation. 



On reviewing the matter, I find that the relations are in 

 every respect as Dr. Wilder gives them, viz.: ist. That the 

 lateral and third ventricles only communicate through the 

 Foramen of Monro. 2d. That the medial aspect of the 

 Thalamus only is in the third ventricle. 3d. That no part 

 of the Thalamusis in the lateral ventricles. 4th. That the 

 dorsal aspect of the Thalamus is neither in the third nor in 

 the lateral, nor in any other ventricle. 



My description of the third ventricle as a T shaped slit, 

 requires this modification, that the vertical branch alone is 

 ventricular, the horizontal being neither a part of the lateral 

 nor of the third ventricle, but a fissure extending between 

 the thalamus and the cerebral hemispheres. 



While thus embryologically and morphologically the 

 thalamus must be looked on as a distinct cerebral seg- 

 ment, yet in the higher mammalia (as I claimed some 

 years ago) it has become practically a subsidiary ganglionic 

 depot of the cerebral hemispheres, and thus assumes a 

 position not without its analogies to that of the Corpus 

 striatum; a view in full accord with that of Meynert. 



In conclusion I would offer a formal apology for the 

 erroneous interpretation I made of Dr. Wilder's views, and 

 state that the communication I made was merely provis- 

 ional, and intended to be followed up by more full essays 

 on the different subjects mentioned therein, in which the 

 necessary literary references will not be wanting. 



I also trust that Dr. Wilder will, in his publication, en- 

 lighten us on the anterior termination of the " extraventri- 

 cular " slit which extends over the thalamus and under the 

 Fornix. I am unable to determine this question from my 

 sections, which are chiefly made in the transverse direc- 

 tion, and in which the ependymal roof of the third ventri- 

 cle was either absent or removed by the knife. This 

 "feature was in part responsible for my misapprehension of 

 the shape of the third ventricle. Respectfully, 



New York, February 3d, 1881. E. C. Spitzka. 



RECURRING PERIODS IN THE WEATHER. 



To the Editor of " Science : " 



Last year I published in the New York Tribune ata.b\e 

 for the month of February showing the dates of rain and 

 snow in that month for twenty years. I also pointed out 

 that there seemed to be two well marked storm periods, 

 about the 3rd and 20th of that month, when a storm 

 might be expected. Since then I have made some cor- 

 rections in the dates as then published and have extended 

 my investigation to all the rest of the months. The re- 

 sult will be found in the table below ; the table gives the 

 dates of rain or snow as observed at Newburgh, N. Y. 

 In all cases the blanks indicate that I had no observations 

 for those dates. I would be very much obliged to any of 

 the readers of "Science" who may have observations 

 for these missing dates if they would publish them in 

 "Science." For example, did it rain about 3rd of 

 August 1862, May 1877, August 1873, August 1874, 

 August 1876 and 1877, or about September 3, 1869? 

 The missing dates from the 20th I would also be very 

 much pleased to have supplied. An examination of the 

 table will show that there seems to be two well marked 

 storm periods in each month, and that a storm may be 

 expected about the 3rd and 20th of every month. The 

 crucial test for any theory concerning the weather is to 

 see how accurately it predicts for any one place. It will 

 readily be comprehended that the larger the area we pre- 

 dict for, greater is the probability of our predictions com- 

 ing true, for if it does not storm at one place it may at 

 another. Had I felt justified in using observations made 

 in the vicinity of Newburgh, the table would have agreed 

 much closer with theory, but I have only used the dates 

 on which storms occurred at Newburgh. Besides, when 

 the storm was very light near the 3rd or 20th, I have in 

 some cases omitted it and recorded the date of the next 

 storm. Thus, for example, it snowed at Newburgh De- 

 cember 21, 1880, but it did not last long, and I have re- 

 corded the heavier storm of December 25th ; and in 

 September, 1864, it rained before the 3oth,but as it was very 

 light, I omitted it and recorded the first rain of any 

 amount after the 20th. However, my object will be ac- 

 complished if this article should direct the attention of 

 observers to the importance of paying more attention to 

 the recurring periods in the weather, on which Vennor 

 has founded his predictions which have proved so true in 

 many instances. 



James H. Gardiner. 



Newburgh, N. Y. 



Year. 



i860. 

 1861. 

 1862. 

 1863. 

 1864. 

 1865. 

 1865. 

 1867. 

 1868. 

 1869. 

 1870. 

 1871. 

 1872. 

 i873- 

 1874. 

 1875- 

 1876. 

 1877. 

 1878. 

 1879. 

 1880. 

 x88x. 



Jan. 



Feb. 



March. 



April. 



M 



ay. 



June. 



July. 



August. 



Sept. 



Oct. 



N 



ov. 



Dec. 



3 



26 



3 



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20 



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21 



3 



19 



I 



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4 



