Abstract
A HISTORY of the Royal Prussian Meteorological Institute from the time of its establishment in 1847 until its re-organisation in 1885, by Dr. G. Hellmann, has just been published in the year-book of the Institution, “Ergebnisse der Meteorologischen Beobachtungen im Jahre 1885” (Berlin, 1887, 246 pages, large 4to, with plates). Dr. Hellmann is well-known to students of meteorology by many very valuable articles, and especially by his laborious compilation of a “Repertorium der Deutschen Meteorologie,” containing a list of the articles, inventions, and observations in the domain of Meteorology and Terrestrial Magnetism in Germany from the earliest times down to the year 1881 (Leipzig, 1883, 995 pages, large 8vo). The kingdom of Prussia was relatively late in organising a regular system of observations, Baden and Bavaria in Southern Germany having established well-appointed services before the end of the last century; and Würtemberg followed with its system in 1821–2. The want of trustworthy data for Northern Germany was much felt by Baron A. von Humboldt at the time of the construction of his first isothermal charts in 1817, and the establishment of the service in Prussia was due to the urgent representations which he made to the present Emperor. In 1847 a system of 25–30 stations was established under Dr. Mahlmann,and observations were taken at the hours of 6,2, and 10; these hours have been generally adhered to both in Germany and Austria down to the present time. Before commencing operations, all the stations were duly inspected, and suitable observers selected, mostly from teachers in the upper schools. While neither instruments nor remuneration are provided for such observers in this country, in the Prussian system an annual allowance, varying from about £7 10s. upwards, according to circumstances, is made to many of the observers, together with an outfit of instruments. The result of these arrangements has been that probably in no other system upon the globe have so many useful works been published by the various observers, upon whom generally devolved the task of working up their own observations. Dr. Mahlmann having died suddenly on one of his tours of inspection, his work was taken up in April 1849 by the late eminent Prof. H. W. Dove, of the University of Berlin, and his first care was to revise the observations hitherto taken and to publish them in a first Report of the Observations taken in 1848–9. The publication of this Report induced several other states to join the Prussian system, many of the observers now taking up the work without remuneration, and this active cooperation enabled Dove to publish for 1855, and for subsequent years, a summary of observations for each month of the year for Northern Germany, and in 1858 a first sketch of the climatological conditions based upon ten years' observations. Prior to this publication these conditions were almost unknown for Prussia. Some of the stations were inspected yearly by Dove, but strange to say, it is stated that not a single Report of these inspections is to be found in the archives of the Institute. Among the numerous treatises by Prof. Dove, that best known is his work on the “Law of Storms,” which was translated and adopted in this country. After Dove's death, in 1879, the Institute introduced the French measures in its publications, and adopted generally the recommendations of the various International Congresses, to which innova tions Dove himself had always been averse, and instruments with new scales were necessarily supplied to the stations. In 1882 Dr. Hellmann was intrusted with the ad interim direction of the Institute, and many additional stations, especially for rainfall, were added to those which already existed, and finally (in 1885) the Institute was placed under the able superintendence of Dr. W. von Bezold, formerly director of the Bavarian system, with Drs. Hellmann, Assmann (also Director of the Magdeburg Observatory), Kremser, and Wagner, as principal assistants. The first volume of the new office has just appeared, and contains the observations at 271 stations during the year 1885 (246 pages, 410, and 6 litho. tables), and also lists of all observations made since 1847. The stations are still very unequally distributed over the Empire, and no doubt improvements will be made in this respect, from time to time. It is plainly, shown from the tables that while an open country position is most suitable meteorologically, yet for duration of the observations the large towns are preferable. These observations formerly appeared in the “Preussische Statistik,” and in the publication of the Deutsche Seewarte, but will henceforward form an inde pendent work. It is proposed in future to issue the tabular portion in quarterly volumes, and to publish pamphlets at irregular intervals under the title of “Abtheilungen,” containing papers and discussions of a general nature. The Deutsche Seewarte at Hamburg is an independent Institution, dealing chiefly with maritime meteorology and weather telegraphy.
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HARDING, J. The German Meteorological Office . Nature 36, 205–206 (1887). https://doi.org/10.1038/036205a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/036205a0