AND IN NORMAL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGE An examination of catalogues from 76 Normal Schools and Teach- ers' Colleges in the United States throws some interesting light on the meteorology and climatology offered in these schools. Under such titles as " of the World," "Meteorology," "The Changing ," " and Man," " or Climatology," 35 courses are listed. As catalogues from 36 states were included, this would seem to be a very small average, but considerably more climatology is taught than appears on the surface, for in 150 courses given on continents or countries, climate is a factor usually considered. Moreover in about 50 courses listed by some such title as "Principles of Geography," "Mathematical Geography," "Human Geography," "Agricultural Ge- ography," or "Elements of Geography," etc., climatology and meteor- ology are taught although the catalogues are not very lucid as to the extent. There is little or no indication of climatological material being included in courses listed under methods, but it is probable that it is not entirely omitted, particularly in the few Normal Schools where no purely contest work is given.—J. M. Shipman.

A HANDY BOOKLET ABOUT WEATHER The "Weather" manual in the Merit Badge Series issued by the Boy Scouts of America (200 Fifth Avenue, New York City), has recently appeared. It is a pamphlet of 73 pages, with plenty of instructive pic- tures. There are views of all the types of the International Cloud Classification, optical phenomena, lightning, St. Elmo's fire, aurora, meteorological instruments, etc. The first half of the text is devoted to an explanation, in simple language, of a number of weather phenomena. The second half, entitled "An Outline of Meteorology," is a miniature treatise on this science as a whole. The work of the United States Weather Bureau is briefly described and and weather signals are explained. As a handy short-cut to a knowledge of the principal facts about weather this booklet seems likely to be useful to many people besides the Boy Scouts for whom it is especially intended.—C. Fitzhugh Talman. hi "Why the Weather?" (Science Service.) The price of this excellent manual is only 20» cents.

TALL BUILDINGS PROTECT NEIGHBORS FROM LIGHTNING Tall buildings and lightning rods mounted on high towers protect neighboring structures from lightning, provided they are not so high as to extend out of the cone of protection. This protected area extends around the base of the high building for a distance of between two and four times its height. Imaginary lines drawn from the top of the build- ing to the edge of the protected area define the protected cone, says

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