A VISITING SCIENTIST.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 82, 6 April 1914, Page 9

A VISITING SCIENTIST.

OH it. H. MIIX INTERVIEWED.

VALUE OF ANTARCTIC OBSERVATIONS.

The vilue of expeditions td thft Antafetic from a scientific point of fietfj u-ais touched itpon this morning by Dr. H. K. Mill, in course of conversation with a representative of the "Auckland Star" at the Grand Hotel. The inattfr 13 one upon wliich f)r. Mill is especially qualified to epeak, as he is a distinguished writer on meteorological nn<l geographical subjects. Dr. Mill is director of the British Rainfall Association, and was formerly librarian of the Royal Geographical Society, -also president of the Royal Society of England. As his eye.s required r. rest he came to Xew Zealand, acepmpanied by his wife. Arriving in Wellington early in Jd.ritefn\ Dr. and Mrs. Mill have been touring the Dominion, and propose going north to Russell before returning to the Old Land.

.lust after the reporter had made himisrH known to the visitor, a heavy downfall of rain caused Dr. Ufill to remark, "You have quite tropical sUoweT3 here." Upon being informed that the present was more like those of many years ago, Dr. Mill smiled, and remarked that from the very earliest times it had been the custom of people to state that the weather was very different from what Jit had heen in their voting days. At the same time there seemed to be some reason for such statements. The matter hae been gone into by an eminent German scientist, Professor Bruckner, who had came to the conclusion that there are periods averaging thirty-five years, in -which VAi weather lepeats itself, alternating from very dry warm seasons, to very wet cold ones. It should be understood clearly, however, that these periods, while they average thirty-five years, cannot bo used for prognosticating the weather, as they may vary from twenty to fifty years. So far the reasouts for these alternations has not been discovered. ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. Referring to Antrrcti: exploration Dr. Mill said it had been shown that the great ice barrier wae receding. The dietance was stated to have been as much as thirty miles in the sixty years between the cruise of Sir Jame3 Roes and that of Borehgreovinek. The captain of the veseel dn which the latter scientist travelled in 1898 was the first to state that this ice .barrier wa3 receding. This was afterwards confirmed by Scott in 1902. This receding of the ice barrier ■had been claimed as an indication of rapid change in the climate of the Antarctic region. Dr. Mill, itoweyer, pointed out that it was just possible that the position assigned by Rose to the edge of the barrier was not quite correct, aa it must not be forgotten he was in a sailing ship, and, therefore, never close up to the barrier. Scott held that what Ross charted *S the slope of Mt. Efebue wae sailed over by the Discovery. The theory, therefore, was that Ross pot his position too far uorth. Still there was no doubt the Antarctic exploration, and Dr. David the great glacier had been reduced. These reasons would perhaps be ex- j plained later, wlien the observations of the recent expedition, and those in pro-; grc6.«, had been fully worked out. There was a good deal of talk of the value of the Antarctic exploration, and David referred to possible coalfields and goldfields, but the true <rain of all Antarctic observations was the increased knowledge of meteorology in those regions. '"It should not be forgotten," said Dr. Mill, "that the heterology of the Antarctic dominated the meteorology of the ■whole, globe. All round the Antarctic conditions exist which affect the atmospheric circulation of the world." PLEASED WITH XEW ZEALAND. Dr. Mill expressed his appreciation ot the kindly treatment his wife and himself had received during their sojourn ■in New Zealand. He ie much impressed , with the fine scenery, end had found it most pleasant to travel in the Dominion. He considered the cloud effects especially the white wispy cirrus, were finer here than any he had seen elsewhere. It was interesting to learn that the Government Meteorologist took notice of the appearance of clouda in making his forecasts. Dγ Mill, however; considered this could only be done aa a sort of interim suggestion to the forecast of the observations taken by the barometer. ]n his opinion, it would be well to have a meteorological station as far north of Auckland as was possible, the .same as the one was south of lnvercargill. The weather forecasts in 2sew Zealand seemed to him to 'have been remarkably efficient, and that was evidently recognised by seafaring men and farmers. Dr. Mill ie surprised to find at the Antipodes a country which he describes as more English than other English-speaking States and Dominions. He compared this country very faVotir 1 1 ably with others he had visited, and expressed admiration of the parks of Auck-1 land, and the eleauliuees of the streets; of the city, lie holds to the idea that the physical geography of Xew Zealand is likrly in time to create a distinctive people who would evolve a literature of their own. which might perhaps be affected to some extent by the pqetic ', spirit of the Maori. He had heen surprised at thn cultured speech of some Maoris with whom he had conversed. It was not only their pronunciation, but also the grammatical construction of their sentences, which astonished him, . The domestic servant problem has not escaped the notice of Dr. Mill; and he expressed the opinion that wives of professional men had a harder time in New Zealand than had those with similar incomes in the Old Land.