other words it has apparently a greater inertia mass, than the same body without charge, and the electrical part of the mass is greater and greater the smaller the size of the body. The idea, which is fast gaining strength, that atoms are aggregates of extremely small charged particles, corpuscles as J. J. Thomson calls them, has given credit to the hypothesis that inertia is wholly electrical in character, inasmuch as an atom is known not to be small enough, assuming it to be homogeneous, to permit of its inertia being attributed wholly to its electric charge. The word electron seems to be most acceptable as a name for these ultimate corpuscles of disembodied electric charge.

The mass of an electron is not fixed in value but it increases with velocity. In fact the very rapidly moving electrons (95 per cent. of the velocity of light) in Becquerel rays have greater mass than the more slowly moving ions in cathode rays, and measurements of mass and velocity of the electrons in cathrode rays and in Becquerel rays are in accord with the theoretical law of increase of mass with velocity. When an electron is accelerated in the direction of its motion its mass is different (longitudinal mass) from when it is accelerated at right angles to its direction of motion (transversal mass). The difference between longitudinal and transversal mass is sufficiently great numerically, when the velocity is great, to be an essential element in the established correspondence between theory and observation above mentioned.

The inertia or mass of the electron is purely electromagnetic in character; and if atoms and molecules are mere aggregates of electrons it follows that all mass and inertia are electromagnetic in character.

Some very curious laws of motion arise from the electron theory. When velocities and accelerations are very small Newton's laws of motion apply as very close approximations. When velocities or accelerations are large Newton's laws of motion fail utterly. One point of failure is the above-mentioned distinction between longitudinal and transverse mass-mass is not a scalar quantity

but a so-called linear vector function; other curious points in the motion of electrons are the following:

Uniform motion in a straight line once established is steady or permanent. Uniform motion of an electron in a circular orbit, on the other hand, is accompanied by continuous radiation of energy, so that such motion must eventually cease if it is not maintained by some external agent. Thus two electrons rotating about each other after the manner of planet and satellite slowly radiate energy, and their motion is affected very much as if they were in a resisting medium. This motion of electrons as satellites is the fundamental hypothesis in the theory of the Zeeman effect.

A continuously accelerated electron stores an increasing amount of kinetic energy which can be regained by stopping the electron, and in addition it radiates energy continuously, which energy is lost. If the acceleration is very great this radiation may be considerable. Therefore, there is a drag upon the electron which is something like viscous friction but which depends upon acceleration and not on velocity.

An electron under way will, if quickly stopped and released, start up again of itself and move with diminished velocity in the original direction.

When an electron gains a certain velocity under the action of an accelerating force and the force suddenly ceases to act, then the electron loses some of its velocity and settles down to a slightly decreased uniform velocity.

An electron started quickly and kept moving at uniform speed must be acted upon, of course, by a great force to produce the quick start, and also by a lasting force which slowly drops to zero.

The kinetic energy of an electron is not proportional to the square of its velocity. This is another way of stating the fact which lies at the foundation of the variation of mass with velocity, and of the distinction between longitudinal and transverse mass. Thus, the only case in which an added velocity Y in the direction of the y-axis of reference means the same amount of work done whether

the moving particle has or has not already a velocity X in the direction of the x-axis, is the case in which the kinetic energy is simply dependent upon X + Y2.

Not directly connected with this matter of the dynamics of the electron, but of great interest, is the question of the amount of electrical energy stored in the electric field which surrounds an electron. Taking the data which have been obtained from experiments on cathode rays, it appears that a number of electrons sufficient to weigh a gram have associated with them about 6.10 joules (or 40 million million foot-pounds) of energy when stationary. That is, estimating that a hot gas radiates 5 watts per gram, the total electron energy associated with an atom would last for a hundred million million million oscillations of full intensity before it were all exhausted by radiation, or rather the energy associated with a pair of rotating electrons would last for a hundred million million million periods before it were all radiated. This gives us some insight into the matter mentioned in the foregoing note on the interference of light with great path difference. It is probable that the limit of path difference which will produce interference is determined by frequency of molecular collisions rather than by diminished amplitude of atomic oscillations between collisions.

Another matter of interest, growing out of the excessively small size of the electron, vastly smaller than the atom, is that the electrons are always at great distances apart in comparison with their size, so that the variations of total energy due to different forms of electron aggregation are but a small fraction of the total energy. Thus the diminution of energy accompanying the formation of a gram of water is only about 16,000 joules or one four-thousand-millionth part of the total electron energy.

Another matter of interest is that the volume integral of ether stress-which may be the fundamental cause of gravitation-is independent of states of electron aggregation to about the same degree of approximation as above pointed out for electron energy.

W. S. F.

CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY.

MARCH WEATHER PROVERBS.

6

MR. B. C. WEBBER, acting director of the Meteorological Service of Canada, contributes a paper on March Winds' to a recent number of the Monthly Weather Review (Vol. XXXI., No. 3). On the basis of thirty years' records for Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, it appears that there is a considerable decrease in the number of days with high winds in March, as compared with the three preceding months; that the month of March has fewer cold winds than February; that the snowfall of March is very much less than during the preceding winter months, and that there is nothing in the records for the past thirty years to justify the assumption that 'if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb.' Thus do many of the 'popular' sayings about the weather often prove to be without foundation in fact when they are confronted with the results of meteorological observations. The results of the investigation along somewhat similar lines, by W. B. Stockman, of the U. S. Weather Bureau, are discussed in the May Review.

HEIGHT OF THE SEA BREEZE.

OBSERVATIONS as to the height of the diurnal sea breeze are few in number, albeit of considerable importance. By means of a captive balloon, sent up from Coney Island a number of years ago, it was found that the average height at which the cool inflow from the ocean was replaced by the upper warm outflow from the land was from 500 to 600 feet. At Toulon, in 1893, the height of the sea breeze was found to be about 1,300 feet, and a distinct off-shore current was found between 1,900 and 2,000 feet. More recently (1902), on the west coast of Scotland, Dines, using kites, has noted that the kites would not rise above 1,500 feet on sunny afternoons, when the on-shore breeze was blowing (Quart. Journ. Roy. Met. Soc., April, 1903).

STORMS OF THE GREAT LAKES.

FOR some years the Weather Bureau has been giving special attention to the storms which occur over the Great Lakes, with a view

to making navigation on the lakes safer. Bulletin K of the Weather Bureau, by Professor E. B. Garriott, entitled 'Storms of the Great Lakes' (4to, 1903, pp. 9, charts 968), includes 768 charts illustrating the more important storms of the lakes which have been described in the Monthly Weather Review during the twenty-five-year period 1876–1900. Each storm is illustrated by four charts, covering thirty-two to forty-eight hours of its history, the object being to present typical lake storms which have occurred in the different months of sufficient intensity to be dangerous to shipping. The month of November, with forty-five severe storms in twenty-five years, stands first. October and December rank in the same group, and then come September and March. The storms are classified as 'southwest storms (the most destructive)'; 'storms from the middle west,' 'northwest storms,' and 'storms of tropical origin.' This Bulletin will be useful first of all to the forecasters of the Weather Bureau whose districts embrace part of the Great Lake region, and to navigators on those Lakes, but teachers of meteorology in schools and colleges will find in this very large number of selected charts abundant material for illustration in connection with the study of weather maps and of cyclones.

NOTES.

The Annuaire météorologique pour 1903, of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, contains, in addition to the usual meteorological data and tables, the following special contributions: A. Lancaster, 'La Force du Vent en Belgique' (pp. 220-352); E. Vanderlinden, 'Étude sur la Marche des Cirrus dans les Cyclones et les Anticyclones d'après les Observations faites à Uccle'; J. Vincent, Aperçu de l'Histoire de la Météorologie en Belgique, III. Partie.'

Beginning with May 6 last, the meteorological records obtained by means of kites at Hamburg have, together with those obtained at the Berlin Aeronautical Observatory, been published in the daily weather reports of the German Seewarte.

R. DEC. WARD.

BOTANICAL NOTES.

RECENT BOTANICAL PAPERS.

AMONG the recent botanical papers may be mentioned the following:

'The Wood Lot,' by Professor H. S. Graves, of the Yale Forest School, and R. T. Fisher, of the United States Bureau of Forestry. It is published by the United States Bureau of Forestry, and discusses the woodland problems, especially in New England, and makes suggestions in regard to the use and perpetuation of the small bodies of woodland which still persist in that portion of the country. It should prove very valuable to the New England farmer.

'The Seasoning of Timber,' is an interesting paper by Doctor von Schrenk, of the United States Bureau of Forestry. In it he discusses the problems which face the practical man in the seasoning of timber. The distribution of water in the timber, its relation to decay, what seasoning is, something as to preservative treatments, etc., make up the first part of the book, and this is followed by a discussion of experiments made in the west in the endeavor to secure greater durability by treatment of one kind and another. The paper is certainly one of the most helpful of any published by the bureau.

MR. J. N. ROSE, of the United States National Museum, publishes in the Contributions from the United States National Museum, a continuation of his Studies of Mexican and Central American Plants.' This contribution covers nearly sixty pages, and is filled with descriptions of new and littleknown plants from this very interesting region. Several good colored illustrations accompany the paper.

In a recent number of Rhodora, Professor C. S. Sargent continues his descriptions of 'Recently Recognized Species of Crataegus in Eastern Canada and New England.' He adds a number of new species to the already very long list of recently separated forms.

ANOTHER PHYTOBEZOAR.

SOME time ago there came into my possession a ball about ten centimeters in diameter,

which was taken from the stomach of a hog in October, 1899. This was one of several similar balls. When it came into my possession it had been somewhat compressed, so that it was somewhat cuboidal in form. Evidently, however, its form originally was pretty nearly spherical. From a preliminary study of the substance of the ball, I find that it consists entirely of vegetable fibers, and as far as the examination has gone these fibers appear to be those of alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Externally, the ball is grayish in color with darker brown spots over the surface. The interior is buff color, and the whole is quite hard. It resembles in a general way the hair balls which are so frequently found in the stomachs of cattle, but is considerably heavier. This preliminary notice is made in order to call the attention of botanists who are situated near packing-houses where swine are killed to the possibility of finding more of these curious formations. A careful examination will be made of the fibrous material composing the ball, and a full report then published. Photographs have been taken of the ball, and these will be reproduced when the investigation has been completed.

CHARLES E. BESSEY.

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA,

MEMORIAL OF THE LATE WALTER REED. ON the fifteenth of August a meeting was held in Bar Harbor of friends of the late Major Reed, M.D., U.S.A., to whom in a large degree is due both the discovery of the mode by which yellow fever has been spread, and also the consequent suppression of that dire disease. Representative men were present from different parts of the country and letters were received from various members of committees already appointed to promote the collection of a memorial fund in grateful commemoration of Dr. Reed's services. Important suggestions were presented from President Eliot, Dr. W. W. Keen, Professor J. W. Mallet and others. Dr. Daniel C. Gilman, chairman of a committee appointed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, presided, and Dr. Stuart Paton

acted as secretary. Among those who took part in the conference were Dr. W. H. Welch, of Baltimore; Dr. Janeway, of New York; Dr. Abbott, of Philadelphia; Dr. Herter, of New York; Dr. Barker, of Chicago; Dr. Putnam, of Buffalo; Dr. Fremont Smith, of Bar Harbor; and Dr. Sajous, of Philadelphia; and besides these medical gentlemen, Bishop Lawrence, of Massachusetts, and Messrs. Morris K. Jesup, president of the New York Chamber of Commerce; John S. Kennedy, president of the Presbyterian Hospital of New York, and William J. Schieffelin, of New York. The following conclusions were reached: that an effort should be made to raise a memorial fund of $25,000 or more, the income to be given to the widow and daughter of Dr. Reed, and after their decease the principal to be appropriated either to the promotion of researches in Dr. Reed's special field, or to the erection of a memorial in his honor at Washington. Arrangements were made for the publication of circulars explaining this movement, and asking cooperation not only from the medical profession, but from all liberally disposed individuals who appreciate the value I of Dr. Reed's services to mankind.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS.

THE American Chemical Society will hold its next meeting in Convocation Week in conjunction with the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

DR. EMIL TIETZE, director of the Imperial Geological Institute of Austria, was chosen president of the Ninth International Geological Congress, which opened at Vienna on August 20.

DR. E. VON LEYDEN, professor of pathology at the University of Berlin, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his doctorate on August 11.

DR. R. LYDEKKER, F.R.S., has been elected a foreign member of the Accademia dei Lincei of Rome.

The Botanical Gazette states that Mr. C. G. Lloyd, of Cincinnati, has been elected a member of the German Botanical Society and of the Botanical Society of France.

MR. CHARLES J. BRAND has been appointed to an assistant curatorship in the Department of Botany of the Field Columbian Museum.

DR. NICOLAS LEON, archeologist and ethnologist of the National Museum of Mexico, has returned to the City of Mexico after a visit to the state of Coahuila, where important excavations are being conducted.

THE daily papers state that Dr. Nathan A. Cobb, pathologist of the department of agriculture of New South Wales, has declined the position of chief of the Philippine Agricultural Bureau, giving as his reason his intention of shortly returning to the United States.

We learn from the Botanical Gazette that Homer H. Foster, professor of botany in the University of Washington, has resigned in order to take up commercial work in connection with a hardwood lumber firm in Chicago.

Nature states that Mr. A. S. le Souef has been appointed director of the Zoological Garden at Sydney in succession to the late Mr. Catlett. Mr. Dudley le Souef, his elder brother, has been director of the Zoological and Acclimatization Society at Melbourne for several years, and a younger brother is director of the newly established garden at Perth, in Western Australia.

THE Commission of Inquiry into the educational systems of the United States in their bearing upon commerce and industry, projected last year by Mr. Alfred Mosely, C.M.G., but postponed owing to the unsettlement over the education bill, will start from Southampton on October 3, Mr. Mosely himself preceding it by two or three weeks to make arrangements for its reception. The commission consists of about thirty members including Professor W. E. Ayrton, Professor Magnus Maclean and Dr. W. H. Gaskell.

DR. GUSTAV STEINMANN, professor of geology at Freiburg, accompanied by Baron Bistram and Dr. Hoek, have started on an expedition to the Bolivian Andes.

IT is stated in Nature that for the study of bird migration, Mr. W. Eagle Clarke, assistant keeper in the Natural History Department of the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, has obtained permission from the Elder Breth

ren of Trinity House to spend a month upon the Kentish Knock Lightship, situated off the mouth of the Thames, and about twenty-one miles from the nearest point of land. The position of the vessel affords exceptional opportunities for observing the east and west autumnal movements of birds across the southern waters of the North Sea.

DR. MARTIN KELLOGG, president of the University of California from 1890 to 1899 and previously professor of Latin, has died at the age of seventy-five years.

DR. FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, the eminent landscape architect, has died at the age of eighty-one years.

THE death is announced of M. Meunier Chalmers, the French geologist and paleontologist, professor at the Sorbonne.

NEWS has recently been received of the death, in Paraguay, of Signor Guido Boggiana, a young Italian explorer and man of science. He was murdered by the Chamacoco Indians, and his notes and photographs were destroyed.

THERE will be a civil service examination on October 21 and 22 to fill fourteen vacancies in the position of civil engineer in the Philippine service with salaries ranging from $1,400 to $1,800 a year.

THE French Association for the Advancement of Science held its annual meeting at Angers last month under the presidency of M. Emil Levasseur, the eminent economist.

THE International Geodetic Association met from August 4 to 14 under the presidency of General Bassot, of the Institute of France.

M. Roux has given the Osiris prize of $20,000, and M. Metchnikoff a prize of $1,000 that he has recently received, to the Pasteur Institute, to be used for their experiments.

PIETRO CARTONI has given $200,000 to found a sanatorium for tuberculous patients at Rome, in memory of his two sons, who died of tuberculosis.

A NATIONAL Sanitary congress is to be held at Milan in 1905, on the occasion of the exhibition which we have already mentioned. The work of the congress will be divided