THE following are among the lecture arrangements at the Royal Institution, before Easter :--Prof. C. V. Boys, a course of six experimentally illustrated lectures, adapted to juvenile auditory, on science in the home; Prof. W. J. Pope, two lectures on colour photography; Sir J. G. Frazer, two lectures on the belief in immortality among the Polynesians; Dr. H. G. Plimmer, three lectures on modern theories and methods in medicine; Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, three lectures on zoological studies: war and evolution; Dr. Aubrey Strahan, two lectures on London geology; Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, two lectures on aerial navigation-scientific principles; Sir J. J. Thomson, six lectures on recent researches on atoms and ions. The Friday evening meetings will commence on January 22, when Sir James Dewar will deliver a discourse on problems of hydrogen and the rare gases. Succeeding discourses will probably be given by Dr. Dugald Clerk, Prof. A. W. Crossley, Dr. W. S. Bruce, Prof. E. B. Poulton, Rev. A. L. Cortie, Sir Rickman John Godlee, Prof. G. H. Bryan, Sir J. J. Thomson, and other gentlemen.

THE death is announced, at fifty-seven years of age, of Dr. A. Celli, professor of hygiene in the University of Rome. The British Medical Journal gives the following account of his career and scientific work:When still quite young Prof. Celli was appointed to the chair of hygiene at Palermo, from which, twelve months later, he was transferred to Rome. There he continued to work-teaching, investigating, and promoting social legislation-till last May. To his persevering efforts were largely due the sanitary improvements that have been made in the Campagna, and the organised campaign for the suppression of malaria. His scientific work covered a vast extent of ground, including research on the parasites which cause malaria, on cholera, on pellagra, on cerebro-spinal meningitis, on dysentery, on flies as transmitters of disease, on rabies, and many other subjects. He was an untiring worker in the cause of social reform through the spread of scientific knowledge.

THE death is reported, in his sixty-second year, of Dr. John Nisbet, Forestry Adviser to the Scottish Board of Agriculture. Dr. Nisbet was educated at the Edinburgh Institution and University, passing into the Indian Forest Service in 1875. He studied forestry at Munich, taking the degree of Doctor in National Economy. In Burma Nisbet proved himself a sound forester and a brilliant writer. He rose to the grade of Conservator of Forests, retiring in 1900. In 1903 he was decorated with the Kaiser-i-Hind gold medal for public service. His "Burma under British Rule," published in 1901, received high commendation. Dr. Nisbet spent his periods of furlough in studying British forestry and in making extensive tours in Continental woods. He thus proved a valuable coadjutor in the early 'nineties to Sir William Schlich in the campaign the latter inaugurated to arouse in these islands an interest in the forestry problem. Among the most important of Dr. Nisbet's publications of this period are British Forest Trees " (1893), "Protection of Woodlands" (1893), “Essays on Sylviculture" (1893), "Studies in Forestry" (1894).

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After retiring from India Dr. Nisbet was appointed lecturer in forestry at the West of Scotland Agricul tural College, relinquishing this post in 1912 when he was appointed to the Board of Agriculture. In these posts he devoted himself and his whole energies with an ardour which has not improbably shortened his life. He proved himself, with his wide and ripe experience, gained in many countries, a most valuable adviser and interesting lecturer, and his loss will be severely felt in Scotland by his Department, by the Scottish Arboricultural Society, the Transactions of which he | edited at one time, and by many who sought his advice. His later publications included "The Forester" (1905), “Our Forests and Woodlands" (1908), and "The Elements of British Forestry" (1911).

THE death of Emeritus Prof. Campbell Fraser, of the University of Edinburgh, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, removes one who knew the city almost as Scott knew it. Dr. Fraser became professor of logic in the New College, Edinburgh, in 1846, and ten years later he succeeded Sir William Hamilton in the chair of logic and metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh. To the active duties of his chair he added very soon those of the dean of the faculty of arts, and continued to act as dean until his retirement from academic labours in 1891. In the early fifties he also edited the North British Review, and came into touch with many of the most distinguished essayists and philosophers of the day. He lectured in a simple, clear, unimpassioned style, which did not appeal strongly to the ordinary student, but to those who had philosophical tastes he proved an admirable guide, and retained their affection to the end. Some twenty of his students have occupied chairs of philosophy in Great Britain and the Colonies, and if we include professors in theological colleges the number may be substantially increased. His literary output was considerable, the editions of Locke and Berkeley being of especial value; and no scientific man aiming at a philosophic understanding of the principles of science can afford to neglect Berkeley. As Gifford lecturer in Edinburgh in 1894-5 Campbell Fraser developed a philosophy of theism, based on traditional Scottish lines, but worked out in the broad spirit of the nineteenth century. His interest in science was shown by his becoming, early in his professorial career, a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, serving as a member of council for a term of years. Long after his retirement he appeared with great regularity at the annual graduation functions of the University, a tall though slightly stooping figure, with lofty head and flowing beard, the typical calm philosopher.

WE regret to learn of the death of Dr. G. B. Guccia, whose work will always be regarded as one of the outstanding elements in the development of recent Italian mathematical science. Living in Palermo, where he was connected with the business of a printer and publisher, it occurred to Guccia in 1884 to start a local mathematical society, and to publish printed accounts of its proceedings. Thus sprang into existence the Circolo matematico di Palermo, with twenty-seven original members, which number

steadily increased; the total in 1908 was 570. By that time the Circolo had completely lost its local character, 319 of the members being nonItalian in nationality. These included 68 from Germany, 41 from France, 14 British, 25 Austro-Hungarians, and 92 from the United States. In 1894 Dr. Guccia was elected professor of geometry at the University of Palermo, and he was also a member of the International Council on the bibliography of mathematics, besides being president of the Italian section. When the International Congress of Mathematicians met in Rome in 1908 a "Guccia medal" was offered for the best essay on the theory of algebraic gauche curves, or, failing that, for some contribution to our knowledge of algebraic surfaces or other varieties. The commissioners, consisting of M. Noether (Erlangen), H. Poincaré (Paris), and C. Segre, recorder (Turin), awarded this medal to Prof. Francesco Severi. While the Palermo Society differs from any similar English institution in the fact of having received frequent grants from the Minister of Public Instruction and from the municipality of Palermothese grants amounting in many cases to nearly 30l. and 20l. per annum respectively, still larger subsidies have been given by the founder himself. That the local society initiated thirty years ago should have now risen to the status of an international mathematical society of the first rank is a fitting tribute to the energy and enterprise of Dr. Guccia.

THE editor and publisher of the Animals' Friend are to be heartily congratulated on the success of their efforts to provide pads for the withers of cavalry horses at the front. Testimony to the value of these pads is afforded in letters of thanks from four yeomanry officers at the front published in the December number. Equal credit is due to "Our Dumb Friends' League," as reported in the same issue, for their successful effort to raise a fund for the purpose of affording assistance to wounded horses on the field of battle.

ACCORDING to a report in the December number of British Birds, bird-marking, under the superintendence of the editor, has been attended with conspicuous success during the past season, one operator having distinguished himself by ringing no fewer than 2521 nestlings. It is true, indeed, that the total number of ringed birds was much more than a thousand short of that in 1913, but this is more than accounted for by the decision to discontinue marking black-headed gulls. The most noticeable case of the recapture of a marked bird is perhaps that of a Sandwich tern ringed in the Farne Islands in July, 1913, and taken on the Ivory Coast in February of the following year. ACCORDING to an article by Miss D. I. Griffin, the director, in the December number of the Museums Journal, the Children's Museum at Boston, U.S.A., has proved a complete success, the daily average of visitors being about two hundred, while on Sundays the attendance has sometimes reached a thousand. Temporary exhibits supplement week by week the permanent collections, and lectures (sometimes taking the shape of a stroll in the grounds) and lantern

slides form part of the programme. Labels are considered an essential feature of the museum, those devoted in the nesting season to temporary exhibits indicating the materials of which nests are composed, the adaptations of these structures to their surroundings, etc. The advisability of labels in children's museums is, however, by no means universally admitted, for in a discussion on a children's room at the Salford Museum, reported in the same issue, two museum officials declared them to be unnecessary, and liable to weary juvenile visitors. It was also questioned whether the chamber at Salford has any right to its title, a strong point being made by one speaker to the effect that the height of exhibition-cases could not possibly be made to suit both adults and children.

THE latest issue of the Bulletin of Entomological Research (vol. v., part 2, 1914) contains, in addition to several valuable systematic papers, a discussion by Mr. R. W. Jack, the Government entomologist in South Rhodesia, on the relation between tsetse-flies and "big game' in that part of Africa. Reviewing the evidence, Mr. Jack is inclined to support the opinion that the tsetse either increases or decreases in numbers, as the large ungulates are allowed either to increase under protective administration, or are freely shot or driven away. The restricted distribution of the species of Glossina suggests that these insects are very delicately poised in the balance of nature," so that a considerable reduction in the available food supply-such as would be brought about by the disappearance of "big game "-might retard the rate of multiplication; for there is a "great expenditure of substance of the female in the comparatively slow process of reproduction." Were this reduction carried far enough, the tsetse might be unable to maintain its racial survival.

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IN the last number of the Journal of Genetics (vol. iv., No. 2, 1914) Dr. C. Dobell publishes an interesting "Commentary on the Genetics of the Ciliate Protozoa." Students who are not specialists in the Infusoria can gather from this summary how far the results obtained by Woodruff and other recent investigators have modified the conclusions drawn from the famous researches of Maupas. Dr. Dobell's general conclusions at the end of his commentary will stimulate thought and provoke controversy. He objects strongly to the application of the term "cell" to an infusorian, which he insists should be compared with a whole metazoan, as it is "non-cellular " rather than "unicellular." Study of the Ciliates has convinced him of "the formidable complexity of all biological problems as presented by the Protozoa. . . . No new light has been thrown on the great problems of organic evolution. . . . The facts so far determined could indeed be used with far greater force to support the doctrine of the fixity of species." Biological thought just at present seems deeply shadowed by an oppressive scepticism.

IN a paper on the geology of Bermuda (Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. xxxviii., 1914, p. 189) Prof. L. V. Pirsson concludes that the island is an ancient lava-cone that has been converted into a platform by marine erosion,

the oxidised products of decay being washed seaward as an accumulation over the unaltered lavas. The calcareous deposits added later to the platform go back to Lower Oligocene times. The igneous rocks are described in the same volume, p. 331.

author states that a study of some of the details shows that storms may occur with a temperature as low as 13° C.; that it may rain hard or lightly; that the wind may come from any direction; and that the temperature may rise, fall, or remain stationary. Ice storms may be much more local than snowstorms, and their prediction in New England is very uncertain, and, at the same time, scarcely necessary.

THE latest volume of the Proceedings of the Edin

A SUMMARY of the weather has been given by the Meteorological Office for the autumn season as com

prised in the weekly weather reports for the period of thirteen weeks ending November 28. The mean temperature for the period was generally in excess of the average, but the difference was not more than 0.8° in any district of the United Kingdom, and there was a very slight deficiency in the south-east and southwest of England. The rainfall was deficient over the entire kingdom, the greatest deficiency being 460 in. in the north of Scotland, and the least 0.67 in. in the Channel Islands. The largest absolute measurement was 10-70 in. in the north of Scotland and the least 5:42 in. in the east of England. In the Channel Islands 93 per cent. of the average rain fell and the next highest percentage was 85 in the northwest of England and 82 in the midland counties, which was followed by 81 in the south of Ireland and 80 per cent. in the south-east of England. The west of Scotland had the lowest percentage of the average, 63, which was followed by 65 per cent. in the north of Ireland and 67 per cent. in the north of Scotland. The rainy days were everywhere below the normal, the least number being forty in the midland counties, and the greatest fifty-nine in the north of Scotland. The duration of bright sunshine was mostly in excess of the normal; the greatest excess occurred in the south-east of England, where it amounted to about one-fifth of the average.

UNDER the title, "The Ice Storms of New England," Mr. C. F. Brooks has contributed to the Annals of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College (vol. Ixxiii., 1914) a valuable paper on the theory and conditions of occurrence of the phenomenon known as "glazed frost," or coating of ice formed on trees and other objects by rain congealing as it falls, or by other causes. The data quoted refer more especially to occurrences at the Blue Hill Observatory, Mass. (formerly established by Prof. A. L. Rotch) during the years 1886-1914, together with records from a valley station at Readville and a few kite observations. The conditions which may produce ice storms are arranged in a tabular form; the combinations show that theoretically such storms are possible with the surface air temperature above o° C., although no considerable storm under that condition was noted at Blue Hill. Several of the cases are carefully discussed, and the

1913-14) contains a variety of interesting papers (sixteen in all), among which may be noted one on integral equations by M. Pierre Humbert; one on attractions of spherical and ellipsoidal shells by Prof. A. Gray; notes by Messrs. Taylor and Marr upon an elegant geometrical theorem, apparently first discovered by Prof. F. Morley; and papers by Prof. Whittaker and Mr. A. W. Young on Mathieu's differential equation. Prof. Gibson contributes an appreciative

notice of that brilliant geometrician, J. S. Mackay.

IN illustration of a paper on the uses of mathematics by Dr. Samuel G. Barton, in Science for November 13, the author has worked through the eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica," and has compiled a list of the subjects which have required the use of the symbols of the infinitesimal calculus in their treatment. The result of this inquiry is remarkable. The list contains 104 headings, of which perhaps a quarter refer to pure mathematics. The remainder deal with almost every branch of physics, chemistry, engineering, and meteorology, and as the author remarks, the appearance of "clock" and "sky" and many other entries may surprise even mathematicians. The author invites notice of omissions. Curiously none of the entries quoted appear to cover the important applications of the calculus to modern aeronautical problems. Is this Dr. Barton's oversight, or is the encyclopædia itself defective? Had the author selected a lower branch of mathematics than the calculus, such as trigonometry, the list would have been far greater. It would be interesting to estimate the percentage of articles containing some algebraic formula or equation.

Science for November 20 reproduces the address delivered by Prof. Carl Barus to the American Mathematical Society on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Brown University. Under the title, "The Mathematician in Modern Physics," it deals with the changes in the fundamental ideas of physics which have taken place since the author's student days, when Weber's theory of electromagnetic action at a distance was still regarded as a wonderful achievement, although Maxwell's ideas were slowly displacing it. Attempts to extend Maxwell's equations to moving electrical systems started a new epoch, and Michelson's light observations led in turn to the Lorentz-FitzGerald hypothesis of the contraction of a body along its line of motion, and to Einstein's theory of relativity, to which the late Minkowski gave so elegant a mathematical form. In another field Boltzmann shed new light by his definition of entropy, Wien then discovered the "displacement

law," and we now have Planck's atom of energy, which seems destined to play an important part in all future advance, while matter itself-the indestructible matter of Lavoisier-recedes into the background to consort with such shades as velocity and acceleration.

IN a "Sketch of a Generalised Theory of Relativity and a Theory of Gravitation" (B. G. Teubner, 1913; pp. 38) Prof. Einstein, in collaboration with Dr. Grossmann, gives a preliminary account of their attempts to base the whole structure of theoretical physics upon the assumption of an exact proportionality between heavy and inert mass, and consequently upon what Einstein calls "the hypothesis of equivalence." The meaning of the latter is: an observer enclosed in a box cannot decide whether the box rests in a statical gravitational field or is endowed with accelerated motion in a space free of gravitation. This leads to the requirement of universal invariance of a quadratic form in dx, dy, dz, dt with variable coefficients (which determine the gravitational field), instead of the very simple Lorentz-invariant of the "ordinary theory of relativity." Electromagnetic phenomena become entangled with gravitation; constancy of light-velocity is given up, of course; the Maxwell-Lorentz equations for a vacuum assume a generalised and more complicated form. Similar investigations are to be found in Kottler's paper of 1912 (Wien. Berichte, vol. cxxi.). There are many other striking consequences of the new theory, which obviously cannot be entered upon here. The "physical part" of the paper is written by Einstein, the "mathematical" part by Grossmann. Their theory, apart from undesirable complications, is far from being complete, since, as the authors themselves confess, they have not been able to find the general group of substitutions for their gravitational equations. We may remark here that, fortunately, there is thus far no urgent need of such generalisations, especially as Nordström's theory of gravitation based upon the "old" principle of relativity satisfies all reasonable requirements.

THE Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers for December I contains an account of some interesting experiments made at the National Physical Laboratory by Messrs. S. W. Melsom and H. C. Booth on the temperature rise in twin flexible wires such as are employed in ordinary electric light installations for pendant lamps with shades. It was found that, with lamps consuming 55 watts and upwards the temperature rise at the cord grip was in many cases 24° C. or more, that is to say, twice that allowed by the wiring rules of the institution, and high enough to destroy gradually the rubber insulation on the wire and to weaken the silk covering. This was due to heat from the lamp, and was irrespective of any heating of the wire itself due to the current passing. Similar observations were made in the case of flexible wires leading to electric irons, hot plates, etc. The temperature observations were in all cases made by means of minute thermo-junctions placed at the points tested. The results of the investigation emphasise the desirability of periodically renewing these flexible wires without waiting for them to show outward signs of deterioration.

OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. DISTRIBUTION OF ELEMENTS IN THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE. No. 88 of the Contributions from the Mount Wilson Observatory contains the results of an investigation on the distribution of the elements in the solar atmosphere as given by flash spectra, contributed by Mr. Charles E. St. John. The spectrum used in this research was that which was obtained by Prof. Mitchell during the 1905 eclipse, and the results of the reduction of this spectrum, which have already been published, are here employed as the basis of the statistical discussion here described. The general scheme in this research has been to form numerous groups of lines on a simple plan, each element being considered by itself, and the lines of like solar intensity assigned to it forming the ultimate group. The results of the investigation are considered in relation to the author's previous conclusions regarding the distribution of the elements as deduced from the radial motion in sunspots, and he draws a series of general conclusions founded on the salient facts shown by flash spectra and displacements in the penumbræ of sun-spots based upon mean values. These are too numerous to be given here, but the author points out that facts are all harmonised by the consideration that the vapours of the elements ascend in detectable amounts to different heights, that the lines of any one element originate at depths increasing with decrease of solar intensity, that the enhanced lines are higher than unenhanced lines of equal solar intensity, and that we see into the sun to greater depth at the red end of the spectrum than at the violet.' A general summary states that "the resulting distribution shows that H3 and K3 lines of calcium are the lines of highest level, followed by the Ha line of hydrogen, and that, in the main, the heavy and rare elements occur in detectable amounts only in the lower portions of the solar atmosphere."

these

PHOTOGRAPHS OF HALLEY'S COMET AND COMETS OF THE YEAR 1911.-In the Annalen der k.k. UniversitätsSternwarte in Wien (vol. xxiii., No. 1) Dr. Joseph Rheden publishes a valuable memoir containing details about the photographs which he secured of Halley's comet in 1910 and other comets in 1911. Several instruments (on one equatorial mounting) were employed, such as an objective of 325 mm. aperture and 3-4 m. focal length, a Voigtländer portrait anastigmat of f/4.5, with focal lengths of 450 or 225 mm., and, lastly, a Zeiss-Planar ƒ/3.6 of 110 mm. focal length, and another of ƒ/3.5 of 100 mm. focal length. The memoir contains a brief description of the details of each of the photographs taken and numerous excellently reproduced plates illustrate the general forms of the various comets photographed. Besides Halley's comet, those of Kiess (b), Brooks (c), Quénisset (f) and Beljawsky (g), are discussed. It is interesting to note that attempts were made with two different instruments to record the transit of Halley's comet across the solar disc on May 19, but the weather was not very favourable, and the results not of a satisfactory nature.

STRANGE OBJECTS TRANSITING THE SUN'S DISC.-In scanning the solar surface observers have often remarked that they have seen bright objects passing across the sun's surface, and have concluded that they were meteors in the absence of any other plausible explanation. Attention may be directed to two interesting letters dealing with this subject which are communicated to the Observatory for November by Prof. Barnard and Mr. Denning. They put before the reader a large number of instances when such objects were observed, and decide conclusively that these daytime showers are not meteors. Mr Denning

in a series of conclusions, sums up the reasons why the objects seen were nothing like telescopic meteors, and these are as follows:-They require a longer focus than the sun; they did not move in parallel directions; their general direction agreed with the direction of the prevailing wind; they were objects of irregular shape and light filamentous material; their vagaries of motion while in sight were greatly dissimilar to that of true telescopic meteors seen at night; and, finally, on one occasion Mr. Denning followed them on several successive days and a change occurred in the directions. These showers, they state, are purely local terrestrial events. In most cases they are seeds or the down of various plants carried by the wind at high elevations. In some cases snowflakes are the cause of the phenomenon, whilst insect-swarms, gossamer-threads, etc., are sometimes observed. Prof. Barnard states that at certain seasons of the year they can be seen in abundance when the telescope is pointed within a few degrees of the sun, giving the greatest angle of reflection, and if moving slowly appear like minute stars.

STARS HAVING PECULIAR SPECTRA.-In Circular No. 184 of the Harvard College Observatory Prof. E. C. Pickering publishes an additional list of stars having spectra with bright lines or other peculiarities found by Miss Cannon since the publication of Circular 178, which contained a list of peculiar objects in the course of the work on the new Draper Catalogue. The first table in the new circular gives a list of fourteen stars, six of which are described as variables.

new

London has diminished since the outbreak of the war owing to the non-receipt of French and German journals; for the bureau exists primarily for the collection of information, chiefly from medical journals, on the diseases of tropical and subtropical climates, and its collation and dissemination within the pages of a journal, the Tropical Diseases Bulletin. There is little doubt that such investigations are being hampered in Africa by operations of war, and that they will be seriously interfered with in the future owing to lack of funds now derived both from the home Government and the tropical dependencies of Great Britain.

As to the future of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, the report of the council of the Royal Society states that the responsibilities of the society in relation to this undertaking have been a source of anxious consideration since the outbreak of the war. Apart from the question of continuance, the society is faced with serious liabilities in respect of this undertaking as it stands at the present moment. Should the annual amount of the subscriptions from Germany, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, and Poland not be available, as seems certain, at any rate until after the close of the war, this would mean an annual loss of about 1060l. in income in respect of each issue, or a total loss of about 4000l. on the issues of 1911, 1912, and 1913, after taking into account reduction of expenditure and in sales of trade copies and back numbers. This loss will fall, at any rate in the first instance, on the Royal Society.

EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON SCIENTIFIC UNDERTAKINGS.

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EVERAL international or otherwise co-operative investigations of a scientific kind which were in progress at the opening of the war have necessarily been affected by the naval and military operations and the limitation of usual channels of communication. It is not opportune to state the position of some of these undertakings at the present moment, but various negotiations are proceeding, and it is hoped that a means will be found of carrying on work already well begun. The incalculable loss which scientific research must bear in the suspension of the international fishery investigations was referred to in an article in NATURE of October 22 (p. 201). Reference has also been made (NATURE, October 15, p. 183) to the need for a central bureau for the distribution of astronomical telegrams, as was done before the war by the Zentralstelle at Kiel. A few weeks after that note appeared Prof. Elis Strömgren, director of the University Observatory at Copenhagen, announced that by an agreement made between Prof. Kobold, of Kiel, as publisher of the Astronomische Nachrichten, and himself, the management of the Zentralstelle für astronomische Telegramme during the present war has been passed over to Prof. Strömgren. Consequently, all communications for the Zentralstelle should be addressed to him until further notice at the Observatory, Copenhagen. The work of the Tropical Diseases Bureau in

Daily Weather Maps.-The Quarterly Journal of Meteorological Society (October, 1914) prints the subjoined note on the effect of the war on the issue of daily weather maps :-The sudden outbreak of war has a very marked effect upon the compilation and publication of the various daily weather maps. The Daily Weather Report issued by the Meteorological Office contained the usual information until July 31, but after that date some of the observations began to be missing, while from August 6 no data have been received from central Europe, and the wireless reports from the Atlantic were altogether discontinued. For several weeks the reports from Scandinavia and Spitsbergen were missing, but these were resumed in September, though reports from Iceland are still absent. The difficulties of preparing the usual forecasts and storm-warnings have consequently been much increased. The publication of the daily synoptic weather maps of Europe, the North Atlantic, and a large portion of North America, which has formed part of the Weekly Weather Report, has been suspended from August 2, until the necessary data have been received.

It has been the practice of the Times newspaper since 1876 to print each day the previous 6 p.m. weather map. This was continued until August 4, but after that date no further map appeared-no doubt owing to all the available space in the newspaper being urgently required for war information. For the same reason the table of observations from health resorts was discontinued from August 3.

On August 6 the Chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau announced that "owing to the state of war involving the great nations of Europe, the meteorological observations from regions in Europe and Asia, heretofore employed by the Weather Bureau in the construction of its weather map of the northern hemisphere, are no longer received, and the issue of this map will be suspended from this date until such time as the reports can be resumed."

Investigations of the Upper Air.-The effect of the war upon investigations of the upper air so far has only been indirect in the British Isles, but several independent causes have led to the fact that the present year has not been as fruitful of resulfs as