Relation of rainfall to the grazing capacity of ranges. J. Warren Smith. (Presented in abstract.) Mo. Weather Rev., May (?), 1920. [Wherever grazing is carried on throughout the year, as in Australia, and in the southern part of the United States, it seems possible to establish a close ratio between the annual rainfall and the number of head of stock that can be grazed per square mile. In New South Wales, for example, where the rainfall is between 20 and 30 inches, 250 sheep are grazed to the square mile; where it is between 10 and 20 inches, 100 sheep; and where under 10 inches, only 40 sheep to the square mile. In the southwestern part of the United States, the average of a large number of reports shows that where the annual precipitation is below 5 inches, grazing is not practicable; where from 5 to 10 inches, 9 head of cattle can be grazed per square mile; 10 to 15 inches, 15 head; 15 to 20 inches, 24 head; and from 20 to 25 inches, 32 head. In the mountain and central and upper Plains districts, the grazing capacity depends upon the seasonal rainfall, character of soil, types of vegetation, and the length of the season grazed; hence, no well-defined ratio can be established.] FROM THE COMMITTEES. Although there seems to be little doing from week to week, slow but sure progress is being made by the various committees. In the February BULLETIN pages 15 to 26, covered the personnel and plans of the committees, and included some interesting material submitted by them. In the March BULLETIN pages. 29 to 33 contained further contributions from some of the committees. MEMBERSHIP. Committee: C. F. Brooks, Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C., Chairman. Thanks to the activity of members in various parts of the United States and Canada, applications for membership are still coming in at a rate of about 100 per month. Favorable notices concerning the Society and its Bulletin have appeared recently in a number of newspapers, and in the Geographical Review, Journal of Education, and some medical journals. Elections made up to the middle of May made the total number carried on the lists of the Society 900, of which 51 are fellows. Balloting is in progress for 25 additional fellows. Through the generosity of Mr. Cola W. Shepard, of Colony, Wyo., the Society has been presented with printed nomination blanks for fellows. Several of these blanks have been sent to each fellow; so, in the near future it is expected that the number of fellows will represent better the number of people in the Society who have made important contributions to Meteorology.-C. F. Brooks, Chairman. Maxwell Hall, M.A., F.R.A.S., F.R. Met. Soc. [Elected F. Am. Met'l. Soc. in Jan, 1920], Barrister-at-Law. Government Meteorologist of Jamaica. Born at Cheltenham, England, in 1845. Educated at private school, King's College, London; Pembroke College, Cambridge. Graduated as Wrangler 1871. Settled in Jamaica, 1872. Erected an Astronomical Observatory at Kempshot and took up private scientific work. Appointed Gov't Meteorologist in 1880. Endeavored to bring the various West Indian Islands and the United States together in a system of storm-warnings, but with very small success. Observed the opposition of Mars in 1877; the transit of Venus 1882 and determined the distance of the earth from the sun. Wrote "Report of Great Earthquake in Jamaica" in 1907; "Jamaica rainfall for 40 years" in 1911; "West Indies Hurricanes" in 1913. Published various articles on hurricanes, earthquakes and other scientific subjects in Jamaica, England and the United States. Died Feb. 20, 1920.-W. H. Pickering. (See longer obituary to be published in the (?) issue of the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.) Prof. Frank Waldo, widely known on account of his excellent books, "Elementary Meteorology" (Boston, 1896) and “Modern Meteorology" (New York, 1893), died at his home in Cambridge, Mass., on May 7, 1920. "Professor Waldo was connected with the Signal Corps as computer and professor from July 1, 1881, to June 25, 1887, and during that period was lecturer on mathematics for the meteorological students at Fort Meyer. He was the author of a number of scientific works, most of them on meteorological subjects, although he was widely known as an expert in industrial education. At the time of his death he was a member of the National Industrial Conference Board."-Weather Bureau Topics and Personnel. Professor Waldo was elected a fellow of the American Meteorological Society in January, 1920. (See longer note and bibliography in Mo. Weather Rev., Apr., 1920.) PERSONAL NOTES. [Fellows and members are invited to keep the Secretary (address, Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C.) informed as to changes in occupation involving their meteorological work, or of other personal matters of probable interest to their meteorological friends.] Mr. ALFRED H. THIESSEN, formerly Captain, Signal Corps Meteorological Service, A. E. F., has been transferred from the Baltimore office of the Weather Bureau to the Denver office, where he is District Forecaster, and Section Director of the Colorado climatological service. Mr. J. F. BRENNAN, U. S. Weather Bureau observer at Kingston, Jamaica, has succeeded Maxwell Hall as Government Meteorologist. He writes that Miss Charlotte Maxwell Hall, daughter of the late Maxwell Hall, has been appointed Asst. Meteorologist, at Montego Bay, northwest of the island, where her chief work will be in the rainfall section. Mr. A. R. Magnus is Mr. Brennan's assistant at Kingston. Mr. Roy W. WADE, observer and code translator at the central office of the U. S. Weather Bureau, resigned on May 15 to become expert accountant for the Capital Traction Company. Lieutenants A. R. TILBURNE, U.S. N., G. A. OTT, U. S. N. R. F., T. E. RENAKER, U. S. N. R. F., B. B. DOWELL, U. S. N. R. F., and G. D. HAMILTON, U. S. M. C., completed their 2 months' "post-graduate" course in meteorology at the central office of the Weather Bureau, and have been assigned as aerological officers to active duty as follows: Lieut. Telburne, Naval Air Sta., Coco Solo, C. Z.; Lieut. Ott, U. S. Naval Air Detachment, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Lieut. Renaker, Naval Air Sta., San Diego; and Lieut. Hamilton, Marine Corps aviation detachment, Santo Domingo City, Haiti. Lieut. Dowell resigned. These stations are equipped not only for double-theodolite observations of pilot balloons, but also there will be ample opportunity for the aerological officers to explore the air personally from air craft. METEOROLOGICAL INSTRUCTION. Committee: W. M. Wilson, Dept. of Meteorology, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N. Y., Chairman. In the March BULLETIN, p. 30, the question of meteorology as a life work was raised. It has not been very encouraging for a student interested in meteorology to be told that if he would make meteorology his field he must either give up all hope of financial independence and not be surprised if it proves impossible for him to raise a family, or learn how to do something else by which he can earn a living, and carry on meteorology as a side line. During the war the demand for meteorologists in the U. S. Army exceeded the available supply by several hundred per cent. The civic demand at present far exceeds the supply available at salaries now paid. The Weather Bureau is losing men faster than it can replace them: those in the lower grades are becoming accountants, patent attorneys, real estate agents, automobile salesmen, etc., at considerable increase in annual salary; some meteorologists are becoming consulting meteorologists (see pp. 45-47, above) at salaries two or three times what they received in the Weather Bureau. This is a hopeful sign because it shows that the value of Weather Bureau men is appreciated, and because it points to the necessity for prompt action by Congress on the report of the Reclassification Commission, for the only alternatives are more salaries or less weather service. Another favorable sign is that there are more calls for meteorological instruction in colleges than there are teachers qualified to give it. The time when a meteorologist can earn a living is upon us: he who has a meteorological bent, a thorough meteorological training, and courage, can succeed.-C. F. Brooks. PUBLIC INFORMATION. Committee: C. Fitzhugh Talman, Librarian, Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. Paul Brockett, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. The most hopeful means of discouraging magazines and newspapers from publishing nonsense on scientific subjects is to supply such journals with accurate and readable items of information along the same lines. The Chief of the United States Weather Bureau has officially invited station officials to prepare notes on meteorological subjects for their local newspapers, particularly to abstract interesting articles published in the Monthly Weather Review, and in this way to keep the reading public abreast of the developments of meteorology. A score of leading newspapers of the United States have been sent sample copies of the Monthly Weather Review and have been invited to place themselves on the complimentary mailing list of this magazine. Several newspapers already receive the Review. PHYSIOLOGICAL METEOROLOGY. Committee: Ellsworth Huntington, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., ChairMembers: man. Guy Hinsdale, G. T. Palmer, J. W. Redway, H. G. Cornthwaite. Individually, rather than collectively, the members of the committee have been putting into operation the plans outlined in the February BULLETIN, PP 18-19. NEW BOOK NEEDED. There is need of a new book which might appropriately be called "Climate and Health." The field to be covered by the book should include information concerning the relation of climate to health in the United States. In propor tion to its importance, studies of the relation of climate to health in this country have been comparatively neglected. There are several books which cover the field in a broad way, and general principles concerning the relation of types of climate to human health are stated by various well-known authorities. Among such books are Solly's "Medical Climatology," Ward's "Climate," Huntington's "Civilization and Climate," and Dexter's "Weather Influences." What is needed now is a detailed discussion of the climates of the United States in relation to human health, and particularly in relation to various diseases and their cures. Of necessity, the book must be based upon the principles enumerated in the books mentioned above, but it must also be specific and to the point in its presentation of the facts relating to the various climates of the United States from the viewpoint of health and disease. An adequate presentation would involve a broad knowledge of both medicine and meteorology, and there are few individuals so equipped. It would appear that the authorship might be assumed by a physician and a meteorologist working in coöperation. A government agency like the Public Health Service or the Weather Bureau could not prepare such a book because a truthful presentation of the facts would involve invidious comparisons of different portions of the United States, and such comparisons would not be tolerated in a government institution To be of real value, therefore, the book should be prepared by some independent institution like the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Experts from such an institution would be unbiased in their comparisons, and their statements would also carry the weight of authority. It is a remarkable fact that up to the present time more attention has been paid to the relation of climate to agriculture than the relation of climate to human comfort. A tardy recognition of the importance of the latter relation has been apparent within the last decade. Much has recently been learned concerning the relation of climate to the proper treatment of tuberculosis, rheumatism and other common ailments. The importance of heliotherapy seems to have been recognized in Europe before it has been seriously considered in the United States. (See "The Sun, Health and Heliotherapy," by Dr. Guy Hinsdale, in The Scientific Monthly, September, 1919, pages 253–262.) The universal confidence of the American people in the physician suffered a severe blow in the recurrence of the "Spanish influenza" and the pneumonia epidemics during the past three years. The periodicity and other features of these recurrences suggest a relation to meteorological conditions. Problems like these should be investigated by qualified experts, and their conclusions made available for use by the general public. In his official capacity the writer every week answers letters or sends requested climatic data to prospective settlers who expect to come to California in the hope of regaining lost health. He has found that while exhaustive climatic data are available, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to correlate the climate with the conditions required by each individual health-seeker. Only a physician can do that. One cannot recommend a certain place of residence with the object of health improvement unless he has medical authority to show that a given pathological condition requires a well-defined climatic treatment. A book covering the field is demanded by laymen and physicians alike. Judging from the writer's official experience, such a book would have a large sale, and he believes that the author or authors would render a valuable service to a suffering humanityA. H. Palmer. American Climatological and Clinical Association.—The 37th annual meeting of the American Climatological and Clinical Association will be held in the Hall of the College of Physicians, Philadelphia, June 17, 18 and 19, 1920. Dr. Lawrason Brown, of Saranac Lake, will preside. The membership consists of 150 active members besides an honorary and corresponding list.-Dr. Guy Hinsdale. AERONAUTICAL METEOROLOGY. Committee: Major General C. T. Menoher, Air Service, Washington, D. C., Chairman. Major C. C. Culver, Air Service, Washington, D. C., Vice-Chairman. Members: W. R. Blair, J. G. Coffin, F. A. Carpenter, J. C. Edgerton, W. R. Gregg, C. N. Keyser, and A. McAdie. The committee has collected a number of notes on unusual weather experiences of flyers, which will be published together in an early issue of the Monthly Weather Review. AIR-CHARTING JOURNEY BY SEA-PLANE, LOS ANGELES TO SAN DIEGO AND RETURN. Under authorization of the Chief of Staff, U. S. Pacific Fleet, dated April 20, the Manager of the Department of Meteorology and Aeronautics of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, made a professional journey by naval seaplane from Los Angeles Harbor (San Pedro) to San Diego on May 5, and by seaplane from San Diego to San Pedro on May 6. The object of this journey was to study meteorological conditions as affecting seaplane flight along the coast of southern California; to determine by personal observation the environment of the naval seaplanes under stress of actual flight; to secure automatic registration of pressure, temperature, and relative humidity, and to familiarize one with the extent to which this department might place itself to aid seaplane navigation. The two journeys were made from differing levels and under dissimilar weather conditions, and continuous automatic registration of the various meteorological elements was secured for each minute of these journeys. The self-registering apparatus worked admirably, leaving nothing to be desired. The traces of the barograph, the balloon barograph, the thermohygrograph were the first ever made along this coast. The automatic data were supplemented by eye observations at 5-minute intervals of the wind deflection and relative force, the course of the seaplane, and other incidental data. * * * * Many photographs were made during these journeys: From a preliminary study of the record sheets from such instruments which have been already calibrated, the following summary is prepared: [On the direct journey from Los Angeles to San Diego the average altitude maintained was 1016 feet, maximum 2130 feet. The temperature was between 50° and 55° F.; the relative humidity ranged from 50 to 98 per cent.; the wind was S. W. at 10 m. p. h. The return trip was taken by coast-line, at an average elevation of 295 feet, maximum 650 feet. On this trip the temperature ranged from 64° to 55° F. and the humidity from 64 to 98 per cent. The wind was W. 8 m. p. h. "The seaplane used was Seaplane No. 4 (F 4 L), Ensign W. D. Lawrence, U.S. N., pilot. It had 104 ft. wing spread; 34 ft. fuselage; twin 12-cyl. 400 H. P. Liberty Motors; and carried 6 people going and 12 returning.]"-Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Dept. of Meteorology and Aeronautics, Ford A. Carpenter, Mgr. U. S. AIR SERVICE TOURNAMENT. The Air Service held their First Annual Air Tournament at Bolling Field on May 14-16, 1920. A blustery N. W. wind and low cumulus clouds, with a shower of rain in the early afternoon handicapped the tournament on the 14th, but the following days were fair and excellent for flying. By popular demand, the tournament, which was originally scheduled for the 14th and 15th only, was |