The "Meteorology of the Bombay Presidency," by Charles Chambers, Superintendent of the Colaba Observatory, has been received during the year. In this great work there is given a very brief sketch of the history of the observatory, and a full discussion of its meteorological records for twentysix years; and similarly for four small observatories at the military stations. Part III. gives the principal results of observations, and especially rainfall, at civil and military hospitals and revenue stations. Part IV. gives some principal points in the general character of the climate, which are elucidated by a reference to known physical laws. The volume is accompanied by a collection of elaborately prepared systems of graphic presentation of the meteorological observations. A barometric variation, having a period of one eighth of a year, is deduced. The thermometers for temperature were during part of the time protected from radiation on all sides, but were exposed on the ordinary English stands during the greater part of the period. The vapor pressure is calculated by Apjohn's formula, and the dryness of the air is expressed by figures, which give the capacity of the air to contain more vapor. The temperature of the ground is given for the depth of 1 inch, 6 inches, etc., down to 12 feet. The temperature is also given for a thermometer laid on the ground, with the bulb in contact with it. The thermal coefficients of the soil for each pair of thermometers have been computed according to Professor Everett's method. It should be noted, however, that the soil at Bombay, for a large part of the year, is permeated by rain-water. The rainfall for 282 stations is discussed with especial thoroughness. He shows that the rains accumulate in the stratum of air just above the earth's surface, and the light rains accumulate more than the heavy rains do, to the extent of nearly 7 per cent. The wind velocity is recorded by Robinson's anemometer. The wind directions are subjected to elaborate computations, showing the components of the winds, their annual mean motions, their persistency, their systematic oscillations of short period, etc., etc.

A peculiar interest attaches to his chapter on the physical explanation of the meteorology of the Bombay Presidency. With this chapter goes the best map on the topography and drainage of the Bombay Presidency that has as yet been published.

In the chapter on topsy-turvy movements, he develops those views and formula which have been elucidated by Espy, Thomson, Raye, Hann, Peslin, etc., in which work he appears as an entirely independent investigator. In the succeeding chapter, on lateral currents, he gives the formula for the elucidation of the monsoon-winds and trade-winds, aud concludes with some suggestions as to the origin of Indian storms. He points out the fact that the condensation of atmospheric vapor cannot possibly of itself give rise to any low barometric pressure; for the latent heat liberated by such condensation expands the air to a greater volume than before.

Wagner, Chief of Section I. of the Deutsche Seewarte, communicates to the Annalen der Hydrographie an excellent summary of Our Knowledge of the Monsoons and Typhoons of the Chinese, Japanese, and Indian seas.

The climate of Japan is elucidated in a memoir by Dr. J. J. Rein, read before the Asiatic Society of Yokohama, and published preliminarily in the Japan Weekly Mail during August and September, 1878. He acknowledges that he has to deal with a great many untrustworthy observations. Those of which he makes the most use are by G. Hostetter, three years at Tokio; E. Knipping, two years at Tokio; Mourier, Hepburn, and Sandwith, in all eight years at Yokohama; Leysner, five years at Niigati; Blackiston, six years, and Albrecht, five years at Hakodate; Gratama, one year at Osaka, and ten years at Deshima. For all the preceding stations. monthly extremes and means are given, and the whole paper is rich in description of interesting phenomena. Especial description is given of several typhoons. This paper appears to have been originally presented in German, and is translated by E. Satow. A large portion of it is devoted to the distribution of plants and trees, and their relation to the climate. The Dutch Meteorological Institute has issued wind-charts of the North Atlantic, showing the frequency of the winds for each 10 square, and for each month.

Captain Hoffmeyer communicates to the Vienna Zeitschrift a paper, read before the Meteorological Convention at Paris, in August, 1878, on the Distribution of Atmospheric Pressure over the North Atlantic Ocean during the Winter, and its Influence on the Climate of Europe. After reviewing the G

results of investigations by Ley, Ferrel, Mohn, Guldberg, Loomis, and Broun, as to the accuracy of Buys-Ballot's law, he proceeds to review our knowledge of the distribution of pressure over the Atlantic, as given in the works of Buchan, Brault, and Woeikoff, and then states the modifications of their views to which he has been led by his own investigations. He publishes charts of the isobars for January, 1874 and 1875, and the average of many years. He carefully avoids conclusions as to the ultimate cause of the distribution of barometric pressure and its variations, and regrets that, in the absence of observations over the Pacific Ocean, we cannot yet take a general survey of the phenomena of the atmosphere.

The Hydrographic Office of the United States Navy has published an imposing volume of charts, giving information regarding winds, calms, fogs, rain-squalls, weather, barometer, temperature of the air, of sea-water, and of evaporation—all for every 5° square, and for each month. This volume is the first of the series, and covers the Pacific Ocean between the equator and the 45th parallel of north latitude, and between the American coast and the 180th meridian. The next volume, for the North and South Atlantic Ocean, is well advanced, and the whole series, when finished, will cover the whole navigated ocean-surface of the globe. This important work was begun in September, 1876, by Lieutenant T. A. Lyons, and other officers of the United States Navy, and will by them be continued until completed. The data are supplied by log-books of the United States vessels of war, and the journals kept by merchant vessels on forms supplied by the Hydrographic Office.

In a comparison of the weather in Europe and America during May, 1878, the Annalen der Hydrographie says: "The notable cold epoch in the second week of May was in this year strongly marked both in Central Europe and in North America. The almost perfect simultaneity of these may be considered as a confirmation of the oft-expressed view that this cold epoch owes its origin to some cosmic cause; but in this, as in all preceding cases, the pressure was high, and the winds northerly for both continents, which conditions are those that always produce cool weather." The present writer must demur to the conclusion that a cosmic cause is indi

cated by the simultaneity of the phenomena in Europe and America, since a study of the daily map for the whole northern hemisphere renders it probable that such simultaneity is ultimately due to peculiarities in the distribution of land and water on the earth's surface- such, for instance, as the fact that the west coast of America and the east coast of Asia, or Japan, lie in one and the same great circle, on the south side of which is the Pacific Ocean, and on the north side only land.

Among the collections of memoirs published during the past year, we note "Scientific Memoirs," by John W. Draper, containing, among other things, full accounts of studies into the radiation of heat, the refraction of light, and especially the absorption of light and heat by the atmosphere, as shown by the spectroscope.

A valuable volume of miscellaneous papers connected with physical science is found in the collected memoirs of Humphrey Lloyd, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin. Besides his numerous papers on magnetism, optics, etc., we have here a reprint of his classical Notes on the Meteorology of Ireland, which was read in December, 1853, and contains a determination of the inclination of winds to isobars, and to the bearing of storm-centres, which, in chronological order, is second only to the paper of J. H. Coffin (Amer. Assoc. for the Adv. of Sci. 1853).

Another valuable volume of collected memoirs is the "Recueil des Travaux Scientifiques," of Léon Foucault.

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Those who have been unable to obtain copies of Fourier's Analytical Theory of Heat" will perhaps be glad to have their attention called to a translation of this work, by Mr. A. Freeman, of Cambridge, England, although, judging from a review by Maxwell, of Freeman's translation, we should think that a second, corrected, edition would be an improvement.

The Royal Observatory at Brussels has published a catalogue of the works relating to astronomy and meteorology that are to be found in the principal libraries of Belgium. Such bibliographical works are of special value to those who wade through the increasing literature of meteorology.

A collection of translations of memoirs on meteorological subjects is published by the Smithsonian Institution in its annual report for 1877. By this method, Mr. Abbe has sought to introduce to American students the results of Hann's in

vestigations on the distribution of moisture in the atmosphere, the influence of rainfall upon the barometer, the laws of the variation of temperature in ascending currents of air, and the relation between barometric changes and the velocity of the wind. On this latter subject he also appends the views of Colding and Peslin.

APPARATUS AND METHODS.

In a paper on the Application of Harmonic Analysis to the Reduction of Meteorological Observations, the Hon. Ralph Abercromby traces the physical and geometrical meaning of every step from the barographic record, until the tabulated results are exhibited in harmonic series; and in consideration of the failure of this series to give any clue to the physical cause of the barometric variations, and the failure in general of statistical methods to raise meteorology to the rank of an exact science, he concludes that it will be absolutely necessary to construct synoptic weather - charts for the whole northern and southern hemispheres.

In the statistical methods, phenomena are classed together that really have, perhaps, only one common property. He concludes with the sentence, "Averages, though so useful, can never make meteorology a science." In a subsequent note, he explains the method of averaging used by Bloxam in reducing his sixteen years' observations at Newport. This method, however, is not a new one, as many illustrations of its use, by Schott and others, have been published.

Angot gives in La Nature (p. 372) a full description of Mascart's ingenious self-recording electrometer for continuous observation of atmospheric electricity. This is essentially a Thomson collector and electrometer, combined with Mascart's self-recording apparatus. The instrument has performed satisfactorily during the Exposition at Paris, and it is understood that a number of them will be established in France, whereby the first step will be taken in the proper study of atmospheric electricity. Mascart's recording apparatus can be also applied to the registration of magnets or vibrating needles (the pendulum ?), etc., and will, doubtless, find further uses.

In connection with the observation of atmospheric electricity, we notice in Nature the description of a very efficient and