This typed autobiography, covering the period from Barus' birth to 1930, includes reports concerning the United States Geological Survey, the United States Weather Bureau, and Barus' work in cloud condensation.

The collection is primarily professional letters written to Russell, but there are also a few letters from his wife and a few by him. There is also an autobiographical letter written by Russell. Most of the correspondence pertains to the Royal Meteorological Society, snow crystals, dew, frost, hail, fog, etc. Russell had wide-ranging interests, however, and some of his non-scientific concerns appear in the letters.