ear as we always furnish instructions for the use of the gauge supplied, all which are easily followed.

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In the matter of certificate of rainfall, we fully understand the position ged of the department at Washington with respect to regular stations, and t owing to the long established and respected integrity of bureau officials, hai are content to accept a simple signed statement of rainfall on the cusstomary department blank for the same. But in the case of co-operative observers, not necessarily fortified by the high bureau standards, we reri quire an affidavit. There is not the slightest personal reflection on them thin this position, as of course, we, in the company offices, do not know them ce individually. There has been no difficulty, however, on the part of the claimants, in obtaining affidavits from them and almost without excepept! tion their statements have reflected intelligent understanding of their tem work.

In discussing this letter Professor C. F. Marvin remarked that if the sinsurance companies should turn over to the Weather Bureau the summaries of their compilations of past records, the Bureau would plan to continue the compilation of current date without charge.

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After two hours of very profitable discussion, the group went to the great Union Central Building, through which they were conducted from the bottom to the high observation tower, by Mr. John L. Shuff, Manpager, Home Office, Union Central Life Insurance Company, and Mr. John D. Sage, President. Afterward, Mr. Shuff generously gave the group a is complimentary luncheon at Hotel Sinton.

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After lunch, a few went to see The Rockwood Potteries, while most attended the joint meeting of the Association of American Geographers and Section E of the A. A. A. S., and listened to Dr. Ellsworth Huntington's presidential, and Dr. H. W. Shimer's vice-presidential addresses, and a paper by Dr. T. A. Jaggar, Jr.

Climate and Human Evolution

By ELLSWORTH HUNTINGTON

(To be published in Science)

In attempts to explain racial or group characteristics, or to account for differences in death rates found in different climates, the process of natural selection as a factor has not been sufficiently fully considered. For example, Queensland, one of the hottest and most humid regions of the world, is inhabited by white people whose death rate is practically the lowest in the world. This is explicable as the result of strong selection, first only the families in which all members are robust are likely to migrate to Australia, and second only the most robust of these will migrate into the climatically trying Queensland. Furthermore, those families in which sickness develops will return south.

Similarly, the remarkable character of the people of Iceland is ascribable to the very exacting selection exercised by the difficulties of reaching Iceland and the hard life on that island. The Pilgrims and Puritans coming to New England were similarly selected groups, and the FortyNiners who went to California were a further rigorous selection.

One of the most striking contrasts of peoples is found between the brighter south Chinese and the duller north Chinese. Generation after

generation floods and famine have driven the most enterprising south, while the surviving remnants tend to be those who are most frugal and most selfish and the descendants of the dullest, least saleable girls. Thus, although the weather of the north is directly the most stimulating physiologically, the occasional terrible adversities of flood and famine dominate the situation and by forcing the better people to emigrate south, render the remnant northerners in general far inferior to the southerners.-C. F. B.

Dr. Jaggar's paper on the Japanese earthquake was of meteorological interest on account of the typhoon which was nearby when the earthquake occurred and the winds of which made the fires so destructive to life and property. Refugees fleeing to windward found themselves to leeward of the flames as the wind shifted while the typhoon passed. The storm center did not come close enough to give rain. One portion of the motion picture film presented showed an enormous cumulus cloud capping a great smoke column over Tokio.

Following this meeting 18 attended a subscription dinner arranged by Mr. Devereaux at the Business Men's Club. At one end of the table the conversation centered on flood forecasting and some aspects of the psychology of it. In spite of the fact that the Weather Bureau's flood forecasts at Cincinnati never fail, many of the people living in threatened districts refuse to heed the warnings. So it has become an established practice for the police department to send extra forces and patrol wagons and forcibly remove heedless inhabitants of the lowlands soon to be covered with water. Such is the state of mind of river town people during floods that forecasts of rain are usually more dangerous than rain itself! Dr. Jaggar told of his forecasting tidal waves at Hilo, from teleseisms recorded at Kilawaea.

MEETING OF COUNCIL

At the close of the dinner, the first session of the 17th meeting of the Council was held from 7:30 to 8:15 p. m. President Stupart presided and eight other members of the Council were present: Brooks, Cox, Gregg, Henry, Huntington, Marvin, Meisinger, and Milham.

1. The minutes of the 16th meeting were approved as circulated. 2. The Secretary summarized the actions of the Council during the year, including mail votes taken since the 16th meeting. These votes were: (a) The approval of the Los Angeles meeting for Sept., 1923, and the appointment of Mr. E. A. Beals as Chairman; (b) the nomination of officers and councilors for 1924, and (c) the sending of the mailing list of the Society to the U. S. Chamber of Commerce.

3. After some discussion the Council voted to leave to the discretion of the Secretary what action should be taken on future requests for the use of the Society's mailing list, and directed that if it were supplied to any organization other than the A. A. A. S. a charge of $5 should be made.

4. On financial matters the following motions were adopted:

a.

That the report of Treasurer and Auditing Committee be accepted.

b. That the Secretary be authorized to employ on part time an assistant and a stenographer at $15 a month each; it being understood that & Mr. G. H. Burnham and Miss L. J. Maher were already acting satisfactorily in these capacities.

ne C. That $500 be appropriated to cover the cost of the January, February, March, and April Bulletins in 1924.

d. That miscellaneous expenses, mostly miscellaneous printing, stationery, and postage be limited to $200 (about 25 cents per member) per fiscal year, except that a committee of the President, Treasurer, and SecTo retary may in case of need raise this limit to $250.

Mr. W. A. Bentley Given Society's First Research Award

In appreciation of his wonderful results in snow and frost crystal microphotography obtained during 40 years of extremely patient work, the Council voted to Mr. W. A. Bentley of Jericho, Vt., the first research grant of the American Meteorological Society, $25, approximately the income balance from the Life Membership fund for 1923. It is hoped that from time to time Mr. Bentley will provide the Society with a report of his continued progress.

The meeting of the Council was continued at 8:35 the following morning (Dec. 29) in Room 22, McMicken Hall. Present: Brooks, Gregg, Henry, Marvin, Meisinger, Milham, Stupart, Ward.

5. Concerning coming meetings it was voted:

a.

That there be the usual April meeting in Washington in 1924.

b. That Dr. C. LeRoy Meisinger be appointed Secretary pro tem for the April meeting in charge of arrangements.

C. That our annual meeting in 1924 be held in connection with the A. A. A. S. at Washington, D. C.

The Council favored an additional meeting in the far west during the summer, and especially the attendance of members at the British Association meeting in Toronto in August, 1924.

Relative to the suggestion from Mr. Horton that copies of the papers read before the Society be filed with the Secretary, the Council felt it best not to require this, but that anyone wishing to read special ones, could correspond with the particular authors relative thereto.

6. Committees. A committee to recommend revisions of the constitution with respect to nominations and tenure of office, was appointed to report at the April meeting: C. F. Marvin, Chairman; W. I. Milham, and C. F. Brooks.

The committees on Engineering Meteorology and Hydrology, and Aeronautical Meteorology were continued for 1924. It was voted that the names of committees and their chairmen should no longer appear on the Society's letterhead. A committee to consider the proposed World Meteorological Foundation was moved but there was no disposition as yet to appoint one.

Saturday Morning Session, Dec. 29.

The Saturday morning session opened at 9:10 with Sir Frederic Stupart in the chair, and about 20 others present. In the absence of Dean Schneider Dr. S. S. Visher was first called upon:

Weather Changes in Fiji

By STEPHEN S. VISHER, Indiana University.

An analysis of the daily meteorological records taken at Suva during four years (1896, 1918, 1919, 1920) reveal that this tropical insular station (lat. 18°S, long. 178°E) experiences frequent slight changes of weather. On the average there are about 40 distinct barometric depressions a year of which about 24 are .1 inch, 12 are of .2 in., 4 are of .3 in., 2 are of .4 in., and 1 is greater than .4 in. The variation among the years studied in the frequency and depth of depressions is small. Among the months, the distribution is rather regular, each month having an average of two of the .1 in. depressions, and no month having over three, on the average. Of the .2 in. depressions, six months have a total of four, while March, April, October and November have one each, August has two and July one and one-half.

On the average, the days of relatively high pressure are nearly 2°F. cooler at maximum than the days of relatively low pressure, and about 1⁄2° cooler at minimum. Their relative humidity averages 7% less than in the lows at 9 a. m. in spite of the lower average temperatures. Hence the sensible temperatures are notably less. Highs are slightly less cloudy than lows (5%), having 6.1 vs. 6.4% of cover. In respect to rainfall, from three times as much is received in the low than in the high, on the average. (The annual rainfall at Suva averages 113 inches). In wind direction, there is an appreciable difference. Southeast winds are two and one-half times as frequent in days of high than in days of low, but northwest winds are only one-ninth as frequent, north winds, one-third, and west and southwest winds one-half as frequent in days of highs as in days of lows.

During the hurricane season, pressures are taken twice daily at several widely separated stations in the group. Comparisons indicate that the minor depressions and highs occur at all the stations, either on the same day or, in about one-third of the cases, affecting the northern stations (latitude 16%) the day before they do the southern. Very rarely (in one-twentieth of the cases studied) do they affect the southern station first.

It appears that the minor barometric disturbances are partly due to (1) weak depressions, faint tropical cyclones, which move southward or westward, (2) surges of air moving southward from the doldrums in the antitrades and (3) to the effects of distant cyclonic storms. The fact that the frequency of first decrease in pressure is much greater at the north than at the south suggests that cyclones in southern mid-latitudes rarely affect Fiji notably.

After completing this study of Fiji weather, the writer discussed it with E. T. Quayle of the Australian Weather Bureau and was informed that there are frequent evidences of surges of pressure from the tropics across Australia and many depressions suggesting faint tropical cyclones, and likewise that mid-latitude cyclones seemingly have little effect on the weather of tropical Australia, except occasionally near the Tropic, in winter.-Author's summary.

Discussion: Sir Frederic asked whether Suva, Fiji, is at the northern limit of the southern trade belt. Dr. Visher replied that it was so only

in summer, while in winter Suva was in the midst of the trades. The depressions affecting Fiji are mostly tropical, not extra-tropical.

Professor R. DeC. Ward commented that Hann made some statement about weak tropical disturbances making rainfall, and Dr. C. F. Brooks lar added that C. E. P. Brooks and Brady had described rainy equatorial (Quarterly Jour. Roy. Met'l. Soc., Jan., 1921.)

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Dean Schneider having come in during the discussion he was next fcalled upon:

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Meteorology in Engineering

By HERMAN SCHNEIDER, Dean of Engineering College,

University of Cincinnati

The factors in industry are demand, fluid capital, raw material, transportation, labor, equipment, and power. Industry fails in part, according to the degree to which one or more of these factors are not up to the general level of the rest. The United States is a great factory and the railroads the aisles. At present the aisles are inadequate. There is 10 per cent. more factory space than transportation can now supply. Railroads cannot grow quickly enough: waterways must be used. As long as water runs it is a meteorological problem. What will be the effect of deforestation?

Meteorology is involved in engineering and industry in manifold ways. Hot winds in California can in two hours make leather so dry it cannot be worked. If you throw it on the floor it will break. By proper forecasts such a hot wind will not come unawares (by night.) The weather is a very important factor in the manufacture of leather.

The U. S. Playing Card Co., and the U. S. Printing & Lithograph Co., are immensely affected by changes in weather. Material printed one color one day may not register for another color the next notwithstanding air driers and moisteners being kept in operation night and day. Anyone who can make a paper independent of weather conditions can save 1 millions of dollars. There is a relation of high monetary value between meteorology and engineering. The determination of the elements that go into the solution of waterways questions is very important.-C. F. B.

Because of the fine relationships between Meteorology and Engineering, Dean Schneider had been designated by the President of Cincinnati University to convey his welcome to the American Meteorological Society.

Sir Frederic Stupart thanked Dean Schneider on behalf of the Society for the cordial welcome and fine accommodations provided.

Rainfall Intensities and City Sewerage in Cincinnati
By W. E. SULLIVAN

(To be published in Monthly Weather Review)

A thorough study of rainfall records must be made for a given loeality in order successfully to design sewers, drains, closed conduits, or open channels for the conveyance of rainfall run-off to proper outlets, such as rivers, creeks, etc.

The best obtainable information for this purpose is a rainfall record with accumulated and maximum accumulated precipitation for 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 minutes and usually there are also available records of the 2-hour and 24-hour periods.