440 NATURE [DECEMBER 16, 1915

ment, the change in density being proportional to the \ mean annual rainfall of the whole State of Queensland
..:hange in temperature. The viscosities were deter- and its sub-divisions. An interesting chronological
mined in the Redwood I. and II. instruments, from history of remarkabJ.e atmospheric occurrences fills
which absolute values can be obtained by means of 96 pages of the report, the data being discussed back
the relationship 17/p=AT-BJT, where A and B are to the middle of last century. It is worthy of note
calibration constants of the viscometer. The most that only four displays of the Aurora Australis are on
marked observation in the viscosity results was the record, the cases observed occurring in the years 1869,
relatively enormous temperature coefficient exhibited 1870, 1894, and 1909.
by the Mexican fuel oils. Further, the results were For the twenty-six years, 1888 to 1913, the mean
shown to be dependent on the previous history of the annual rainfall for the whole State is 26-50 in., that
oil. For example, an oil kept at 32° F. for six days of 1894, the wettest year, 40·39 in., and of 1902, the
showed an increase in viscosity at 60° F. amounting driest year, 12-63 in. The wettest year was thus 52
to 20 per cent., while a similar specimen, heated to 93° per cent. above the average, while the driest year
F. for the same period, exhibited a decrease of 11 per showed a defect of the same amount. In the fourteen
cent. This hysteresis effect was shown to have con- years, 1892 to 1905, only four exceeded the average,
siderable practical importance in the handling and the disastrous effect of this long-continued drought
utilisation of such oils. The viscosity of mixtures of being well shown in Diagram A, giving the total
Mexican and shale oils was described; the viscosity- number of live stock, which fell from 27 millions in
concentration curves are not linear, but are sagged, 1895 to IO millions in 1902, the decline being checked
and thus it happens that a relatively small addition in 1903 by a rainfall in excess of the normal.
of shale oil to Mexican oil causes a considerable The large average rainfall map which accompanies
decrease in the viscosity. Careful tests were alsQ the report shows that the maximum rainfall, indicated
made respecting the flash points of the oils, and their by the isohyet of 160 in., is centred in the vicinity
mixtures. The observation was made that a bulk of Harvey Creek (lat. 17° S., long. 141>0 E.), and that
sample of oil flashed somewhat lower than the small for about So miles north and south of this point a
amount used in the Gray instrument. These experi- rainfall exceeding 70 in. falls on the coast and for
ments were carried out by Mr. W. F. Higgins. some distance inland. An annual rainfall of 70° in. is
Dr. Glazebrook concluded by pointing out that much also found on the coast in four small patches located
work remained to be done in connection with the in latitudes 15° S., 21° S., 27° S., and 28° S. The
physics and chemistry of the mixtures of complex smallest rainfall under 10 in. occurs in the west and
bodies which constitute fuel oils. south-west of the State south of 23° S.
It would have materially helped in the elucidation
of the problems pertaining to rainfall distribution had
QUEENSLAND RAINFALL. 1 the orographical features been indicated on this map.
MR. H. A. HUNT, the Commonwealth Meteor- Queensland being in the monsoon region, the heaviest
ologist, has in previous reports given concise rains occur in summer, while the winter is usually
histories of the rainfall for New South 'Wales and quite dry.
Victoria, the volume under notice being thus the The appearance in recent years of numerous memoirs
third of the series to be published. This report con- dealing with Australian climatology is a marked
tains all the available annual totals and number of tribute to the rapidly-growing activity and efficiency
days with rainfall recorded to the end of the year of the Commonwealth Service, the example of which
1913 for 1040 stations in Queensland, and in addition in this respect will, we hope, be followed by other
monthly values up to the end of 1912 are given for weather bureaux in the southern hemisphere.
137 stations, so distributed as to afford a good repre- R. C. M.
sentation over the area under consideration. Many of
the records go back to 1880, and even earlier, so that
a good working basis is provided for investigators CHEMISTRY OF FIRE AND
who require information in regard to local seasonal EXPLOSIVES.
rainfall, or who may wish to compare the annual
variations of rainfall in this part of Australia with I N a recent issue of the Revue Scientifique (Sep-
tember 25-October 9) Prof. A. Job bas an
those of the other States of the Commonwealth. Every interesting article upon the chemistry of fire and ex-
effort was made to obtain trustworthy data, and in plosives. After considering the conditions for, and
addition to the official records, all possible sources o+' reactions during, ordinary combustion, the connection
information, such as histories of Queensland and old of explosion with combustion is described. It is
newspaper files, were searched. Much labour was pointed out that, in addition to the volume of gas
involved in the elimination of discrepancies which so evolved, heat developed, temperature attained, and
often appear when the same record is published in pressure, another important factor remains, the
separate reports. A very useful appendix contl'[Link] rapidity of explosion. This leads to a distinction
tables showing the monthly and yearly values of the being drawn between explosives suitable for use as
meteorological elements (except wind direction and propellents, by reason of their progressive combus-
velocity) at Brisbane from 1887 to 1912. tion, and what are termed in this country "high ex-
The volume is copiously illustrated by maps and plosives," where the decomposition is initiated and
diagrams, among which may be mentioned twenty- propagated by shock (detonation). Mercury fulminate,
seven annual rainfall maps covering the period 1887 nitrogen iodide, and lead azide are discussed as types
to 1913, a map of mean annual rainfall, monthly of these sensitive detonating explosives. Fulminate
normal rainfall maps, an interim rainfall map for is employed in detonators in France, lead azide being
Papua, and a frost map of Australia. Among the preferred in Germany, it being less sensitive to the
diagrams are several showing the height reached by decomposing action of moist heat.
various floods at the stations belonging to the hydro- As bursting charges for shells picric acid and
metric branch of the service, and graph~ giving the trinitrotoluene are discussed, it being pointed out that
l Meteiorology of Australia. Commonwealth Bureau of Meteoro!o~y. whilst the former combines with metallic oxides, such
Results of Rainfall Observations made in Queensland, including all available as those of iron and lead, giving very sensitive com-
Annuat~Rairrfall Totals·frcnn rc40 Stations for :!II Years of Record up to TQt3,
together with Maps and Diagrams. Pp, 285. (Melbourne, 1914.).. Price pounds, and hence dangerous, the trinitrotoluene is
IOS. 6d. free from this disadvantage. The higher melting
NO. 2407, VOL. 96]

© 1915 Nature Publishing Group

point of picric acid (122°) than that of trinitrotoluene restricted, answers well for the preservation of all
(82°) is another disadvantage, but this may be over- important Plankton species, as is shown by the fact
come by the use of certain eutectic mixtures. One that, when comparing the living material from
such conta ins forty pa rts of picric acid with sixty Fl¢deveigen, Skager Rak, with the preserved, no
parts of trinitrometacresol (cresylite). The mixture species were found which were not present in the
melts at 85°, and, after solidification, on reheating preserved material. For examination, Lohmann's
becomes pla stic at 70°, which permits of compression centrifugal method is used, and the number of organ-
to high density in the shell. isms (cells) per litre given in a series of tables with
The various smokeless powders are dealt with, hydrographical data. Even delicate Peridiniales such
Vieille's work in the development of pure nitrocellu- as Gymnodinium, and lnfusoria, especially Labrea,
lose powders receiving special mention. It is pointed are well preserved, and are shown to form an im-
out that, in addition to control of the rate of burn- portant part in the economy of the sea.
ing by variation in the form and size of the pieces, a Part i. gives a descriptive account of the plankton
greater proportion of the more slowly burning from each area taken separately. Of these the Danish
"soluble" nitrocellulose affords a means of control; results from the Skager Rak, taken both in February
thus for sma ll arms the" soluble" may be 25 per cent., and in June, are of special interest. The colder sur-
for large marine g-uns 50 per cent., the remainder face water of the Skager Rak in February is found
being "insoluble" nitrocellulose. to contain an exceedingly rich Diatom plankton,
Nobel's invention of the use of nitroglycerine as a which the author attributes not t_o the low tempera-
non-volatile solvent is referred to as a great improve- ture, but probably to the fact that the surface water
ment, there being many disadvantages in the use of is specially rich in some nutritive substance necessary
volatile solvents. A more recent non-volatile to the development of the Diatoms. In June, this rich
gelatiniser is dinitrotoluol, the Italian Avigliani surface Diatom plankton has almost entirely dis-
powder being composed of "soluble" nitrocellulose appeared, different species of Ceratium taking their
fifty parts, "insoluble " N .C. twenty-five parts , place. The Danish water investigations also bring
dinitrotoluene twenty-five pa rts. out striking results with rega rd to the relations ex-
The use of stabilise1·s is next considered. It is isting between the assimila ting algre and oxygen
shown th a t nitrocelluloses, like other nitric ethers, tension in the different la yers.
are liable to slow hydrolysis, with the formation of In Part ii. new light is thrown upon the distribution
oxides and acids of nitrogen, these actions being I and biology of the separate species. Nitzschia deli-
catissima, Cleve, is found to be the commonest of all
promoted by moisture and rise of tempera ture, the
rate being g reatly increased by the catalytic action of species in the plankton from the ocean round the
the pr,:,ducts. These actions lea d to irregular Shetlands and the Faroes, having in places the large
ballistics, and even to spontaneous ignition . density of more than a million cells per litre. With
Stabilisers, of which diphenylamine is the most regard especially to the C era tium species, it is shown
generally used (in ballistite, BN powder, etc.), that passive sinking of the cells plays an important
absorb the liberated nitrogen compounds and pre- pa rt in their vertical distribution, and this statement
vent, or at least greatly retard, the decomposition . applies also to many of the other genera. The species
In conclusion, particulars are given of the cele- of Labrea a re true surface forms and are very
brated 75 mm. French gun. The projectile weighs abundant : "The whole of the ocean round Scotland
7-2 kilos. , and has a muzzle velocity of _r:.2q metres and the Faroes contains, a t the surface, on an
per second . The charg-e of powder B, in flake form, average, one for each cubic centimetre of sea-water."
1s 720 g rams. It is shown that the gun, as a heat In the extensive discussion on general conditions of
engine, gives an efficiency of 3.<:"I per cent. To an life and of plankton production, taking the many
increase in this efficien cy the author looks for further factors into account, the conclusion is arrived at that
progress in the future. with the assimilating algre the optimum production
is near the surface, although the maximum at certain
periods may be at a greater depth. Thus, in the case
THE MINUTE LIFE OF THE SEA. 1 of the Ceratium species, although in the present in-
vestigations the g-reater number were found to occur
THE quantitative examination of the microplankton at depths between 15-20 metres, it does not follow
of the North European waters is the sub- that this repres ents the depths of optimum production.
ject of the present important memoir, which In fact, other researches show it to be generally nearer
1s the outcome of a resolution of the International the surface. The author suggests that by far the
Council to take advanta g e of cruises in Denmark, greater number of the assimilating plankton algre have
England, Holland, Norway, and Sweden in the spring their maxima close to the surface, probably not as
of 1912 for the collection of plankton samples taken deep as IO metres.
by means of the water-bottle at depths ranging from The last portion of the work on the horizontal
o to 100 m etres and more. In this way a series of quantitative variations of the plan~to;1 ~hows the
accurately determined species is followed from sample 1 influence of the coastal waters on d1stnbutton. The
to sample, and the distribution of these species is entirely different conditions of the area round Scotland
used to illustrate the la ws of production and destruc- and the Faroes compared with the Skager Rak and
tion of organic substance in the ocean. Prof. Gran the north-eastern corner of the North Sea is thus
has exhaustivelv examined the whole of the material explained by their supply on the one hand from
collected with \he exception of the g-reater part of Scotland and the Faroes, and on the other through
the Scottish collections, for which Miss Ogilvie is the Baltic current from the Scandinavian coastal sea.
responsible; a special chapter being devoted to this Throughout th e investi~ation runs th~ • same i?ea
portion of the work. The samples were all preserved binding the whole together and emphasising the im-
by addin g- Flemmin~'s solution to the water directly portance of a permanent supply of nutritive substance
it was collected. This method, although admittedly from land. This nutritive substance taken up by the
1 H H . Gran: "The Plankton Production in the North European Water sea forms the means of subsistence of all plankton
in the Spring of 1ot2." Co'"Jseil Permanent lnter11ational pour }'explorations
rle la Mer. Bu1letin Planldonique pour l'annee 1912 (continuation du organisms which, orig-inating from the coastal waters,
Bulletin Trime!.trlel d es [Link] acqn; s pendant leot croisiC:res pc'tioriiques et spread out from thence into the n;tore distant waters
dans les pCriocic s int11-rme '1~rP.s, P ~rtic D). :f>uhlie par le Bureau <lu Conseil M. V. L
avec l'[Link].t:rnce de C. H. Q,_t~ nfeld, rh :p·.... e du ser vice pla nktonique. of the ocean.
NO. 2407, VOL. 96]
© 1915 Nature Publishing Group