on this continent only scattered stations at Quito, Lima, Rio Janeiro, Georgetown, Surinam, and Trinidad, whose observations are either not published at all, or are contributed to the scientific periodicals. A systematic organization is promised for stations in Brazil, and is much to be desired for Peru and Gui

ana.

Spain. The central meteorological office is in charge of A. Aguilar, Director of the Royal Observatory at Madrid. It receives reports from 30 home stations, including Portugal (26 telegraphic), all of which are published in an annual "Resumen." A daily telegraph bulletin is published, and storm-warnings are issued when sent from Paris and London. The marine observatory at San Fernando (Captain Pujazon, director) publishes its own observations in full. In the Spanish colonies the most important meteorological stations are at Manila and Porto Rico.

Sweden. About 30 stations (9 telegraphic), and several naval vessels report to the Central Meteorological Institute at Stockholm (R. Rubensson, director), which publishes a daily telegraphic bulletin and annual volumes. At Lund and Upsala the observatories of the universities publish their own observations separately.

Switzerland. The Central Institute for Swiss Meteorology has its seat at Zürich. Wolf, its President, and Director of the Observatory, publishes in full the observations at about 15 stations. The total number of reporting_stations is about 80. The observatories at Bern (under Foster) and Geneva (under Plantamour) also publish their own work in detail. The central meteorological office is understood to be maintained by the Swiss Association and not by the state.

Syria. Observations are maintained at the Syrian College (Protestant Mission) in Beyrout, and a more extended system is understood to have been recently organized under the British and American "Palestine Exploration " Societies.

Turkey. The central observatory at Constantinople (A. Coumbary, director) receives reports from about 30 stations, publishes a daily telegraphic bulletin of 17 stations, a monthly résumé, and its own observations in full, and issues storm-warnings.

United States.-The study of meteorology was especially advanced in this country by the establishment of a series of observations at military posts by Surgeon-General Lovell in 1818; these are still kept up, and constitute the oldest national series of uniform meteorological observations now extant. Similar systematic observations were maintained or ordered by the States of New York (1825-1863), Pennsylvania (1836-1842), Ohio (1842), and Illinois (1856), all which organizations are now obsolete. The State boards of health, of public works, of agriculture, etc., and the agricultural societies, the American Association for the

Advancement of Science, numerous geological surveys, and local societies, most prominent among which is the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, have also contributed in innumerable ways to meteorological observation and research. In 1847 the Smithsonian Institution at its very outset began the work of fostering meteorology. In 1849 it began to receive reports from various stations, and subsequently, in connection with the Patent-Office Department of Agriculture, its stations increased to several hundred, and its publications came to rank as among the most important that appeared anywhere.

In 1841 Espy published his "Philosophy of Storins," and in 1842 was appointed meteorologist in the Surgeon-General's office of the War Department. He here carried out his great work of mapping the weather day by day, which he had previously begun. In his first report on meteorology to the Surgeon-General, dated October 9, 1843, he states that over 50 barometric and over 60 non-barometric observers were already reporting to him. This, his first published "Report," contains 23 charts, illustrating the weather and progress of storms from January to June, 1843, and constitutes by far the most important contribution to our knowledge of storms that had then been made by any government in the world. After remaining for some years in the Surgeon-General's office, Mr. Espy was appointed to some similar position under the Secretary of the Navy, to whom he made his "Second" and "Third Report on Meteorology," dated respectively November 12, 1849, and January 24, 1851, and published together (in 1852?) with additional weather-maps of the storms in 1844 and 1845. His "Fourth Report on Meteorology" was addressed to the Senate in 1854, although containing many items added in 1856, and was printed in 1857. It contains many new maps of storms from 1845 to 1852, selected from the whole number of 1,800 that he had thus far compiled. In 1856 Mr. Espy removed to Cincinnati, where he delivered a course of lectures on the subject to which forty years of his life had been devoted, and where he died in 1857, at the age of seventy-two. We have been thus minute in specifying Mr. Espy's publications, because of his great services to meteorology. He may have dwelt too strongly on some points, or have gone to some extremes in other matters, but on the whole his enthusiasm and the conviction that he had made a great stride in the study of storms produced a quiet acquiescence in the minds of thousands throughout the world, that prepared the way for further progress. The daily weathermaps and predictions of the Smithsonian Institution (18501860) and of the Cincinnati Observatory (1869 and 1870), the theoretical work of Professor Ferrel, the work in ocean meteorology at the Hydrographic Office and Naval Observatory (Gilliss, 1838-'42; Maury, 1842-'61), all were more or less stimulated by the interest every

where excited by Professor Espy's views, and by the no less important works of Redfield.

The establishments prosecuting the study of meteorology in the United States are at present the following: 1. The independent observatories at Cambridge, Washington, Albany, and New York Central Park. 2. The State weather services of Iowa (G. Hinrichs, at Iowa City, receives reports from 80 observers), Missouri (F. Nipher, at St. Louis, receives reports from 100 observers), and Nebraska (Professor Bailey, at Lincoln). All these publish monthly reviews and annual reports. 3. The State Boards of Health for Michigan, New Jersey, etc. 4. The State Boards of Agriculture for Illinois, Ohio, etc. 5. The State Schools of Agriculture at Lansing, Mich., and Boston and Amherst, Mass. 6. The Central Pacific Railroad Company Land Office (receives reports from 120 stations). 7. The Army Engineer Bureau Lake Survey has maintained 8 or 10 important stations on the lakes. 8. The Geological and Geographical Surveys of Western Territories (Wheeler's, Hayden's, Powell's, etc.), and the United States Coast Survey. 9. The Hydrographic Office of the Navy Department which maintains an hourly series of observations on every vessel in commission, and at all naval stations, and publishes important charts relating to ocean meteorology. 10. The Army SurgeonGeneral's office, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Agricultural Department. Of these three the first continues its observations and the second its publications, although most of the data are transferred to the Army Signal Office. 11. The Army Signal Office, division of Reports and Telegrams for the Benefit of Commerce and Agriculture.

This last-named organization, whose meteorological work began by order of Congress in February, 1870, so far exceeds all other similar organizations in the world that it demands more than a brief notice; but here we can merely specify the extent of its work. It maintains 166 regular, 28 sunset, 30 river, and about 10 temporary West India stations. It also receives reports from 95 army-post surgeons, 300 voluntary civilian or Smithsonian observers, 120 railroad employees (mostly in California), about 150 observers through the State organizations in Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas, about 40 vessels and stations of the navy, about 20 merchant vessels through their respective owners, and about 390 foreign stations through the central offices of their respective countries. Rainfall reports are thus obtained from about 870 stations within the United States. It publishes a tri-daily weather bulletin and map, with predictions based on tri-daily telegraphic reports from about 185 stations, and daily reports from 35 additional stations; displays cautionary stormsignals at about 80 coast stations; bulletins the state of the rivers and coming floods; distributes farmers' bulletins or predictions to over 6,000 post-offices; furnishes special predictions to several hundred railroad telegraph offices;

and publishes a weekly weather chronicle, a monthly weather review with charts of American storms, temperature, rain, and ocean storms, and an annual report. It also prints for exchange a daily bulletin of international simultaneous observations, with daily chart of the winds, temperature, and pressure throughout the northern hemisphere. This is based on about 700 reports from land and sea contributed by all nations and made simultaneously with those that are made at 7h. 35m. A. M. at Washington, or 12 h.43m. P. M. at Greenwich. In the prosecution of its meteorological work and in order to carry out the system of frontier defenses, and in cooperation with the Life-Saving service on the United States coast, the Signal Service also builds and maintains lines of telegraph, of which it now controls about 3,000 miles on the Atlantic coast and in the Southwest and Northwest Territories. The Service employs the whole time of about 15 officers and 475 men, and a portion of the time of about 150 others.

West Indies.-Numerous stations are supported in these islands by the respective home governments. The United States Signal Service maintains about 10 stations during the hurricane season. The principal independent stations are: Cuba-Havana, Observatory of the "Collegio de Belen." Barbadoes-minutely detailed system of 235 rainfall stations established by Governor R. W. Rawson, maintained by the local government. Porto Rico

the Observatory of the Board of Public Works, with numerous rainfall stations. Jamaica-Kingston. A scheme is now being developed by Mr. Maxwell Hall, looking to the establishment of a central office at Kingston, with a general system of reports and stormwarnings for the whole West Indies.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.-The Brussels Maritime Conference of 1853, the Leipsic Conference of August, 1872, and the Bordeaux meeting of September, 1872, responded to the growing desire everywhere felt for a unity of plan in prosecuting meteorological investigations. The cordial unanimity shown to exist at these conferences gave assurance of the success of the First International Meteorological Congress, held at Vienna in September, 1873, the official members of which were heads of bureaus, or otherwise specially deputed by their respective governments. Eighteen governments were thus represented, and a "Permanent Committee " was appointed to represent the Congress until the next meeting should occur. This permanent committee has met annually and published its proceedings, and has been the means of further promoting the interests of meteorology in very many ways. The Second International Congress will be held at Rome, in April, 1879. To the reports of these congresses and committees, reference may be made for further information as to the instruments and methods now in use by observers throughout the world.

OCEAN METEOROLOGY.-The interest in Mari

time Meteorology was fully aroused by the labors of Redfield, Reid, and those who preceded them in their inquiry into the laws of storms. Humboldt, Dove, Ritter, Lenz, Herschel, Sabine, Kämtz, all contributed to urge the necessity of meteorological observations on the ocean. In fact, marine logs had for centuries contained the usual weather notes, and in the "Philo. sophical Transactions" for 1723, No. 379, p. 422, and in a subsequent number, "Mr. Isaac Greenwood, Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, New England, gives a form for marine observations, and recommends taking them regularly." But the charting and study of the data contained in these logs was an herculean task, that seems to have been performed in a fragmentary way by the compilers of ocean "Directories" and "Coast Pilots," and by the individual students of storms, etc., although the admiralty offices of European nations afforded abundant stores of materials, and although the British Admiralty began such work (1795-1807) under Secretary Marsden, who, for convenience, first divided the ocean into 5 degree squares. A considerable degree of uniformity was secured, as to the methods and instruments used by navigators, by the deliberations of the Maritime Conference at Brussels. The systematic collation of this material, and its reduction to useful charts, have been only recently undertaken on a comprehensive scale. M. F. Maury is generally recognized as the father of modern Marine Meteorology: his great activity as an individual from 1839 to 1844 is only surpassed by the still greater official work that he prosecuted from that date up to 1861, while in charge of the United States Naval Observatory. In the same rank, as being independent and equally important, we must mention Buys-Ballot, who commenced in 1849, and since 1854 has carried on a most extensive work as director of the Meteorological Institute of the Netherlands. In a similarly independent and indefatigable manner, Meldrum has since 1851 prosecuted the study of the storms and meteorology of the Indian Ocean, with some help from the local government and the Mauritius Meteorological Society. The result of the Brussels Conference of 1853 was to redouble national enterprise in this work, as shown by the following dates of organization: 1854— Maritime Meteorology officially added to Buys. Ballot's duties under the Minister of Interior; Fitz Roy appointed in charge of Meteorological Department of the London Board of Trade; the Portuguese Admiralty take up Ocean Meteorology in connection with the Observatory of Infante Dom Luiz. 1858-Organized in France under the Minister of the Marine. 1867-The Adria Commission under the Austrian Minister of Interior and Commerce; the Hamburg Seewarte. 1874-Russia. 1875-France reorganized; Germany, Hydrographic Office and Seewarte. 1876-United States Hydrographic Office reorganized after an interregnum of fifteen years. 1877-Sweden, under three commis

sioners; Spain, at the Marine Observatory San Fernando. 1878-Denmark, Minister of the Marine. Further details as to the present condition of Maritime Meteorology may be obtained from the Proceedings of the First International Meteorological Congress at Vienna, 1873; of the Conference on Maritime Meteorology held in London, 1874; the reports of the Permanent Committee of the Vienna Congress, 1874-78; and the Proceedings of the Second International Meteorological Congress to be held at Rome in April, 1879. It is only by the harmonious coöperation of all nations on land and sea that we can hope to accumulate materials for properly studying the normal and abnormal conditions of the atmosphere, and the laws that control storms, floods, droughts, etc.; and at the present time, such cooperation seems to be assured from every nation.

METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS.-The principal recent advances relative to methods and instruments may be briefly noticed as follows: Wild's memoir on the temperature of the air at Russian stations strongly urges the insufficiency and positive errors that have been introduced by too careless use of the Bessel or Fourier functions. These physicists had in the early part of this century shown that any series of observations of natural phenomena can be closely represented by a series of terms of the form sin. b; cos. b; sin. 2b; cos. 2 b, etc., or equivalent developments; whence it followed that a few observations at regular intervals could furnish the means of determining the coefficients for these terms in an equation that would then become the expression of a natural law. Strictly speaking, however, the equation is simply an empirical formula, presenting concretely the actual observations and no more; it is a convenient formula for computing approximate values of the observed quantities within the limits of the range of observations. But occasionally the mistake has been made of deducing from such formulæ conclusions to which the original observations of themselves would give no countenance; and in this way, from a few observations, erroneous views have obtained credence that would never have been promulgated had sufficiently numerous observations been made. Wild, therefore, urges with great force that in studying nature we must adhere to observations; that these can not be too frequent and minute, and that they can be safely and easily presented for study by many graphic methods, when the algebraic formula would be misleading and laborious. Graphic methods of presentation, followed by similar methods of analysis and study, promise to be of increasing usefulness in meteorology, especially because the complicated problems that are daily presented in systematic weather predictions demand expeditious methods of resolution, and involve the consideration of that irregular distribution of land, ocean, and aqueous vapor, which promises