42 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VII., No. 153 



radiation through the clear, dry air above. It is 

 not at first apparent why the ground should cool 

 to an excessively low temperature, while the air 

 above it remains comparatively warm : it is 

 because solids can cool by radiation, just as they 

 can warm by absorption, much more quickly 

 than gases. For this reason, the upper air 

 changes its temperature but little from day to 

 night : while the ground, and to a certain extent 

 the air near it, have a large diurnal range. Now, 

 during an anticyclone, radiation from the ground 

 is rapid through the clear, dry air ; thus the tem- 

 perature falls very low, and the air on or near the 

 earth's surface is greatly cooled. If the descent 

 of the air were rapid, radiation would not have 

 time to overcome the warmth gained by compres- 

 sion : and it is known, that, when the surface 

 wind springs up in an anticyclonic centre, the 

 temperature rises with it. But generally the 

 descent is slow ; and, when near the ground, the 

 down-current turns aside as a slow horizontal out- 

 flow ; it becomes heavy as it is chilled, and tends 

 to collect and stagnate in depressions. Ground 

 fogs form when the dew-point is reached, and 

 then the contrast is complete between the clear, 

 pleasant weather on the peaks, and the cold, damp 

 air in the valleys. In the first and second types 

 the temperature is chiefly imported : in the third 

 it is essentially of local origin over the mountains. 

 December, 1879, gave a famous example of an 

 inversion on a large scale in Europe, and much 

 was written about it. An enterprising mountain- 

 climber ascended a peak in the Alps east of Lake 

 Geneva on Christmas day, and was rewarded by 

 rising above the dense clouds that covered the 

 lake and filled the cold valleys, and finding fine, 

 clear, relatively warm weather on the mountain- 

 top. A few examples of such inversions must 

 make our observers wish they were in a region of 

 permanent high pressure, instead of in one of the 

 stormiest countries of the world. W. M. D. 



JAPANESE HOUSES. 



THE opening of the empire of Japan to foreign 

 intercourse has furnished more subjects of inquiry 

 to the student of human development than any 

 event of recent times. Here is a nation which 

 has been secluded for centuries from all except 

 the most insignificant external influences. Dur- 

 ing this seclusion, modern European civilization, 

 with its science and arts, its comforts and refine- 

 ments, has virtually come into existence. In the 

 i ii» an time, the secluded nation, mainly without 



J(j l )iin> < homes "ml linn surrov udinffs. My Edward 

 s. VtoitHE. with illustrations by the author. Boston, Tick- 

 KOT, 1h*g[1885]. 8°. 



help or hindrance from its neighbors, has been 

 engaged in working out the problem of its na- 

 tional life in its own way. Suddenly the curtain 

 is raised, and we are permitted to look in upon 

 the spectacle so long in preparation. For a quarter 

 of a century we have been studying the scenes 

 thus revealed to us, and have not yet fully suc- 

 ceeded in making out their meaning. 



That the Japanese race is one possessed of native 

 vigor and resources is shown by the outcome of 

 this long experiment of isolation. With all the 

 disadvantages arising from the want of free for- 

 eign intercourse, they have made such progress in 

 the arts of civilization as to challenge our admi- 

 ration. In intellectual activity, in warlike and 

 chivalric achievement, in gentle and amiable 

 manners, in the refinements and amenities of life, 

 they may certainly bear favorable comparison 

 with the most cultured races. They present to us 

 a strange mixture of excellences and defects. 

 While as a nation they are conspicuously brave 

 and warlike, they have devised and developed few 

 formidable implements of war. They have built 

 great cities, and conduct a vast system of trade ; 

 and yet their ships and warehouses, and public 

 and private buildings, seem, by the side of ours, 

 fragile and temporary. They manufacture the 

 most exquisite and tasteful fabrics and wares, and 

 yet the mechanical appliances of their arts are 

 rudimentary. 



We are thankful to any one who will help us to 

 gain some insight into the character and life of 

 such an interesting people. It was a most happy 

 thought of Professor Morse to make a careful 

 study of the Japanese house. Nothing can aid us 

 more in understanding the life of the occupant 

 than to describe his dwelling-place and the imple- 

 ments and furniture which he gathers into it. 

 Fortunately for us, the author of this book com- 

 bined in himself the faculty of the scientific ob- 

 server and the skill of the artist. We may safely 

 say that here, for the first time, we have intelligi- 

 ble sketches of the Japanese dwelling-house, and 

 intelligible explanations of the uses and arrange- 

 ment of its furniture. Heretofore we have had 

 chiefly photographs of exteriors and gateways 

 and street scenes, or. instead of that, we have 

 been treated to reproductions of native Japanese 

 drawings by engravers who did not understand 

 the drawings. It is the experience of every 

 stranger visiting this country, that, notwithstand- 

 ing all that he has tried to learn from books al>out 

 Japan, he is as much amazed at the real Japanese 

 house and surroundings as if he had never seen 

 an illustration of them. Professor Morse, on the 

 contrary, has gone about with eyes in his head 

 and a pencil in his hand. The minuteness and 



