Mountain observations, for the purpose of studying astronomical, meteorological, and physiological questions at high levels, have been established in almost all civilized countries. It is a well-known fact that the ascent of high mountains is, in most instances, connected with many risks and disadvantages. It must also be borne in mind that observatories on high mountains must either be abandoned altogether during the winter season or, if occupied, the observer must be subjected to extremely trying conditions and to some danger from terrific storms of wind, snow, hail, from lightning, etc. The discomfort and monotony of such a life, subjected to very low temperatures and surrounded by clouds and snow for long periods, will unfit an ordinary individual for making the best use of the few clear days which an alpine winter presents. Telephone and telegraph lines cannot be maintained in working order under such conditions without taking extraordinary precautions, and there must be days and weeks together when travel between the summit and the valley is shut off. Even on Mt. Hamilton, explorers have been without any communication with the valley for a week, and without stage communication for three weeks, and Mt. Hamilton winters are a bagatelle to the summers of Mt. Blanc in Switzerland.

Some of the material hindrances in the case of mountain stations are:—

1. The great expense of erecting suitable and safe buildings at such sites. The cost building M. Vallot's observatory on the flanks of Mt. Blanc was $74 per cubic metre.

2. The cost of maintenance.

3. The immense difficulty in arranging for an adequate water supply.

4. The great expense of freight. Transportation to the summit of Mt. Blanc costs f2.50 per kilogramme, or about twenty-three cents per pound.

5. Forest fires.

So far back as 1760 the naturalist, De Saussure, offered a prize for the discovery of a practical route to the summit of Mt. Blanc (15,780 feet), but it was not until 1786 that such a route was found by Balmat, the guide, and the ancestor of a family of guides. In the next year De Saussure himself made the ascent, and spent several weeks on the flanks of the mountain. Since that time many ascents have been made, but none of them without difficulty and danger. Mountain sickness has been experienced on Mt. Blanc by the great majority of climbers from the time of De Saussure until now.

The establishment of a meteorological observatory on the Pic du Midi and of stations at the Theodule pass (13,300 feet), and on the Sonnblick (12,600 feet), of late years, suggested to M. J. Vallot of the French Alpine Club, that a station on Mt. Blanc might be practicable and useful. In 1887 a party of thirty guides transported to the summit a tent and sufficient material to allow M. Vallot and three other persons to remain three days. M. Vallot recognized the great difficulties to be overcome in establishing a station at the summit, and, therefore, determined to erect a permanent meteorological station at the Rochers des Bosses, 14,321 feet. It was erected in 1890. In the same year, M. Janssen proposed to build an observatory at the very summit, and as a preliminary step did erect an observatory station at the Grands-Mulets, 9,843 feet.

The observatory of M. Janssen at the summit of Mt. Blanc, 15,780 feet, was erected in 1893, under the greatest difficulties. M. Janssen (by the way a member of the French government physical observatory of Meudon, near Paris, an institution which paid the whole expenses), says that he is perhaps the only person who has stood on the summit of Mt. Blanc without having made severe exertions to reach it, and who, therefore, was completely possessed of his intellectual vigor, which is always diminished after bodily toil.

Before leaving Paris M. Janssen had a sled constructed which resembled in general pattern the reindeer sledge of the Laplanders. In front and behind this were double parallel cords, united by wooden rungs like ladders. A long line was attached to the front of the sled, and another to the rear. The ascent was made as follows: M. Janssen was seated in the sled and twelve selected guides managed its movements. Two guides, far in advance, sunk an ice axe in the snow as far as it would go and kept two turns of the forward line wound round its handle. The remaining guides pulled on the rope ladders front and back, or, when possible, supported the sled at the sides. In this way, foot by foot, the sled was moved. It was necessary for the guides to cut steps in the steep slopes for their feet to rest in. Two days and a half had to be spent in waiting at the station des Bosses during the prevalence of a hurricane, and at the end of the seventh day the summit was reached. The descent. M. Janssen says, was much more dangerous than the ascent.

The main work of M. Janssen's stations is to be in the fields of astronomy, physics, and meteorology. The cost of building the observatory was about sixty thousand dollars.

The Sonnblick meteorological station, in Austria, was built at a cost of $13,200, and is located at a height of 9,843 feet. The sunniest month yet experienced at the Sonnblick observatory was July, 1893, when there were 204 clear hours. There is eight times as much snowfall as rainfall. All meteorological phenomena are daily observed at the Sonnblick, and these observations are employed in daily weather predictions. The movements of the barometer, the wind pressures and velocities, the relative humidity, the formation and movements of clouds, the amount of atmospheric electricity, etc., are also daily observed.

The meteorological station on the Saentis was erected in 1887 at a first cost of f60,000 ($12,000), and its annual budget is f6,000 ($1,200). It serves especially for astronomical purposes. Dr. Muller of the Potsdam astrophysical observatory spent a considerable time on the summit of the Saentis, engaged in photometric and spectroscopic observations. The station is situated in a height of 8,200 feet (Switzerland). Very valuable astronomical observations are constantly being made there.

The meteorological observatory on Pike's Peak was for many years the highest meteorological station in the world. The station was continuously occupied, without accident, for fifteen years, from October, 1873, till September, 1888. A telegraph line from the summit to the town of Colorado Springs, some ten miles distant, and eight thousand feet lower, was maintained for a considerable portion of this time. A railway to the summit was completed in 1891, which is regularly operated for the benefit of tourists during the summer. The running time from Manitou (6,563 feet), to the summit (14,115 feet) is an hour and a half, and the fare is five dollars. The distance from Manitou by rail is eight miles. The maximum speed is eight miles, the minimum three miles per hour. This station can be constantly occupied, is very accessible, and only 1,646 feet lower than Mt. Blanc. The mean temperature of Pike's Peak is about 19 deg. Fahr. The highest observed temperature was sixty-four degrees, and the lowest minus thirty-nine degrees. Mountain sickness does not affect observers permanently stationed there. The electrical storms at the summit, however, are terrific. By taking proper precautions they are not dangerous to life, though most appalling. The lightning is nearly continuous for long periods, and the deep rolling thunder is shattering to the strongest nerves.

Among other leading mountain observatories in Europe and America are those on the summit of the Etna (Italy), 9,652 feet; at Nice (France), and Arequipa (Peru), 16,650 feet.—Boston Herald.