UC-NRLF 
 
 735 
 
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A CONCISE 
 ANALYTICAL AND LOGICAL DEVELOPMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM, 
 
 AND OF THE 
 
 ELEMENTS OF PROGNOSTICATION, 
 
 BY WHICH THE WEATHER MAY BE FORECASTED, 
 
 ADAPTED TO THE PRACTICAL MIND OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 "Trxitli is iriiglity and. will prevail." 
 
 By THOMAS B. BUTLER, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE "PHILOSOPHY OF THE WEATHER." 
 
 (Ebiiiorc. 
 
 PUBLISHED AT NORWALK, CONNECTICUT, 
 BY ANDREW SELLECK. 
 
 1870 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, bj 
 THOMAS B. BUTLER, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 
 District of Connecticut. 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 CASE, LOCKWOOD & BRAINARD, 
 
 HARTFORD, CONN. 
 
IATTKODUCT1OIT. 
 
 THIS BOOK is the result of habitual personal observation and 
 continued investigation and reflection for half a century. It will 
 be found, on critical and thorough examination, to be substantially 
 what its title page imports. 
 
 It was no light matter to undertake to brush away the mystery 
 and superstition which have enveloped the subject, and make 
 it comprehensible by practical men ; and a much more serious 
 thing to attempt to meet, expose, and refute the prevalent false 
 theories by which the subject is persistently obscured ; and the 
 reader should understand and appreciate my motives. He will 
 find them stated in several places in the volume ; and particularly 
 on pages 367, 8, and 9, but a brief explanation is proper here. 
 
 My early days were spent at Wethersfield, near the banks of 
 the Connecticut. At that point on the river there are two large 
 coves, and extensive meadows containing many creeks, and it is a 
 favorite stopping place for water-fowl in their spring and fall mi- 
 grations up and down the river. They were then much more 
 numerous than now. At the age of 121 had access to a small 
 fowling piece, and became passionately fond of hunting them. I 
 was permitted to indulge my passion within certain limits, and 
 at prescribed hours of certain days, and I soon began to feel inter- 
 ested to know what the weather would then be, and to watch it, and 
 enquire respecting it of some retired and weatherwise sea cap- 
 tains who lived in the neighborhood. I soon discovered also that 
 the fowl seemed to forecast the weather, and change their haunts in 
 advance of the atmospheric changes, and I directed my attention to 
 that also, in order to know where to find them without wasting 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 my limited time in fruitless search. And thus I went on observ- 
 ing and studying the matter, and reading every book I could find 
 relating to it, until I became imbued with a love of it, and con- 
 tinued the habit after I left home to acquire and practice the pro- 
 fession of medicine to which it was germain, and after I changed 
 my profession in consequence of feeble health. In 1856, I was 
 pursuaded to publish a small volume, entitled the " Philosophy 
 of the Weather." It was prepared hastily while engaged in the 
 full practice of the law, and was not as logical and full as I might 
 have made it. But it contained the germs of this development, 
 and had a considerable sale, doing much good. In 1859 I lis- 
 tened to a lecture by Prof. Henry, at Springfield, which rehashed 
 the Halley fallacies with the Espyan improvement, and which 
 was endorsed by Prof. Loomis and others. That lecture, and the 
 endorsements and the debate which "followed, in connection with 
 other facts which will appear, convinced me, irrepressibly, that 
 material progress in the development of the science by the present 
 generation of meteorologists, while holding to those fundamental 
 fallacies, was IMPOSSIBLE, and that as they were in a position to 
 control in a great measure the scientist mind, it was my duty to 
 develop it to the comprehension of the practical mind of the 
 country before I should pass away. 
 
 The preparation of the work was commenced the following 
 year, and has been deliberately and carefully pursued, during 
 periods which could be honestly devoted to it without interfering 
 with the performance of my judicial duties. And, being thus the 
 result of long-continued personal observation and investigation, 
 and deliberately prepared, and I may truly add, without any view 
 to pecuniary advantage or scientific reputation, I think I may 
 assure the journalists and professional and practical men of the 
 country, and that they may accept the assurance, that it is, so far as 
 it professes to go, a truthful development, and opens out the only 
 true way to a perfect development of the science, and is worthy of 
 a careful study and a candid appreciation. Much labor and con- 
 siderable money have been bestowed and expended in the prepar- 
 ation of the work. I do not expect compensation for one, or a 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 full return of the other. But it would be a satisfaction to know 
 that it is appreciated by those for whose benefit it has been pre- 
 pared. 
 
 The book is necessarily aggressive. Error must be exposed 
 that truth may prevail. The new arid fundamental fact, that all 
 the atmospheric phenomena result from the operation of a SYSTEM 
 of organizations created and controlled by ascertainable and intel- 
 ligible laws could not be demonstrated without conflict with fun- 
 damental errors in Meteorology, and the men who make it a 
 specialty. That conflict involves the accuracy of their public 
 teachings, and the worthiness of their reputations as meteorologists, 
 and will excite their pride of opinion and opposition. But with 
 such opposition disinterested scientists, who love and seek truth, 
 and the community should not sympathize. The subject is of 
 great general and practical interest to all, and all should sympa- 
 thize with, and sustain every honest and disinterested effort to de- 
 velop it. New facts and deductions should be promptly and can- 
 didly examined and tested, by whomsoever discovered, and how- 
 ever boldly and forcibly presented ; the truth should be received, 
 and error, when fully exposed, abandoned. By such a course, 
 honestly and perseveringly pursued, this subject can be speedily 
 and fully developed, and take a place among the sciences. 
 
 Meteorology, as now taught in lecture, essay, and treatise, is 
 not a science. It is not "a knowledge of laws, principles, and re- 
 lations, deductively or inductively" attained. It consists of one 
 fundamental assumption, made by Halley in 1686, before there 
 were facts known from which it could be deduced, and independent 
 descriptions of the varied atmospherical phenomena, with some 
 special theoretic assumption to explain each of them. It recog- 
 nizes no organization of the atmosphere, or system, and no laws 
 or principles but those which belong to temperature, evaporation, 
 condensation, and the ascent of heated air, and the mechanical 
 effects which they are assumed to produce. It is substantially all 
 theory and assumption uncertain and conflicting with little or 
 nothing of deduction or logic ; and the inquiry is never made 
 
VI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 whether there is an atmospheric system, and what are its laws, 
 but what is your theory ? and meteorological progress is limited 
 to the discovery and description of new facts, and the invention 
 of some plausible explanatory theory to reconcile each fact with 
 the fundamental assumption of Halley. 
 
 That fundamental theory of Halley, on which the almost in- 
 numerable and conflicting theories since invented hinge, assumes 
 that the atmosphere is an aerial ocean resting upon the earth, and 
 that all the phenomena which occur in it are produced, here and 
 there, casually, by the rays of the sun heating the earth beneath 
 it, and thereby a part of the air, causing the heated portion to 
 rise, whereby "commotions ' and their accompanying phenomena 
 are mechanically produced, as boys raise bubbles of carburetted 
 hydrogen in ponds and streams by thrusting in sticks and stirring 
 the mud at the bottom. This theory suggests the idea of an 
 aerial Puddleology, but it suggests, and admits of no organization, 
 general or special, of the atmosphere, nor any system, principles, 
 or laws ; it suggests only a difference of result from differences 
 in the nature of the surfaces to be heated, or their relative ex- 
 posure to the heat of the sun. In aquatic Puddleology, the bub- 
 bles and the "commotion" they produce, are in proportion to the 
 quantity of gas that is disengaged. In aerial Puddleology accord- 
 ing to the theory, the "commotion"' and its effects are propor- 
 tionate to the quantity of air heated, and the extent of the heat- 
 ing. 
 
 Reader, that fundamental theory and all its associated and 
 special theories are baseless and untrue. The atmosphere is 
 systematically ORGANIZED, with general and special organizations, 
 and from their operation and laws all the phenomena result. Mete- 
 orology is a science, but not the science you are taught. 
 
 To show that this is so, and also the truth and justice of all the 
 preceding statements of this introduction, I will anticipate, and 
 allude to a few facts taken from the mass of like tenor to be found 
 in the text. I ask for them your candid attention. 
 
 I. The ascensive force of confined heated air, when raised to a 
 temperature of 100 above the surrounding atmosphere, is but 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 about ^ of an ounce to the cubic foot. This, as shown at page 
 150, was the ascertained result of the experiments of the Mont- 
 golfiers in their ascensions with balloons containing heated air. 
 It is the rule given by Mr. Wise in his " History and Practice of 
 Aeronautics," and substantially the result of my own experiments 
 with an upright tin box, seven feet long and one foot square, open 
 at the bottom and raised on legs, with an angular thermometer in- 
 serted into it through an aperture, and the box, covered alternately 
 by thin pieces of pasteboard of different weights, the contained 
 air being heated by kerosene lamps placed beneath and in it. If 
 there be not that contrast of temperature between the confined 
 and surrounding air, there will not be that extent of force for 
 the force is proportionate to the contrast. It is obvious at a 
 glance, that ihis force is utterly inadequate to produce any of the 
 claimed effects, and this is the ascensive force of confined air. Un- 
 confined air is subject to the laws of diffusion and expansion, and 
 its force is very much less and comparatively innnitessimal. It 
 will not lift a /evolving paper toy, which is suspended above the 
 hot stove, from the pivot on which it revolves. In view of these 
 facts, there cannot be a grosser absurdity than to attribute the 
 gale, the storm, or the hurricane, or any of the atmospheric phe- 
 nomena to such an infinitesimal force. 
 
 II. Over and upon an area of about one thousand miles in ex- 
 tent, either way, in the tropics to the eastward of the Windward 
 Islands of the West Indies, the temperature of the air ranges dur- 
 ing the summer and early fall at about 82, and the water from 80 
 to 82 ; and over and upon that area, and generally near the 
 center of it, east of the Windward Islands, nearly all the violent 
 hurricanes which devastate the north Atlantic, and our own coast, 
 originate. (See the chart of Mr. Redfield on page 66.) When 
 they commence they are small, never probably exceeding fifty 
 miles in diameter, and they widen and enlarge as they progress to 
 the Northwest and curve to the Northeast. (See figure 19 on 
 page 67.) Between the temperature of the air where they origi- 
 nate, and that which adjoins them when they commence, there 
 cannot be any appreciable contrast, or any a^censive force in 
 
VIII INTRODUCTION. 
 
 operation. The same fact is observable in our own country. In 
 May, 1860, a destructive hurricane, forty miles wide, formed in 
 and sped up the valley of the Ohio at the rate of seventy miles 
 an hour, destroying a great amount of property, and where it 
 commenced, and along by the side of its path, there was no con- 
 trast of temperature absolutely none, and the temperature of the 
 air nowhere exceeded 76, or that of the earth 60. (The record 
 of that hurricane will be found on pages 69-77.) It is incontro- 
 vertibly true, therefore, that the most violent storms and hurri- 
 canes commence and progress where there is no contrast of tem- 
 perature to create an ascensive force, and no such force can pos- 
 sibly be in operation. 
 
 III. "Winter storms, precisely like our winter snow storms in 
 every element and characteristic, are found high up within the 
 Arctic circle, in mid-winter, where the earth and sea are locked 
 up by frost and covered with snow, where the sun has not shone 
 at all for weeks and the thermometer ranges in fair weather at 
 from 30 to 40 below zero, and is not above zero^ (except when 
 it moderates to storm,) within 1,000 miles of the locality. (The 
 record of two such storms will be found on page 195.) No pos- 
 sible ascensive force of heated air could create such a storm or 
 continue it till it arrived there. 
 
 IV. The trade winds of the tropics on the summer side of the 
 central belt of rains, all around the earth, do not always blow, as 
 assumed by Halley and taught by Meteorologists, from colder to 
 warmer surfaces, but on the contrary, on the summer side of the 
 belt of rains, from warmer, and in many places very hot ones, 
 toward and over those which are much cooler. In our summer 
 the Northeast trades blow from the range of deserts which extend 
 from Northwestern India to the Atlantic Ocean, and 011 which 
 the temperature of the earth at mid-day ranges from 130 to 160, 
 and the air, in the shade, from 112 to 115, toward and over sur- 
 faces where neither the earth, the air, or the water, rise above 
 84. This fact is also incontrovertibly shown in the text, and is 
 utterly inconsistent with the persistently taught Halley theory. 
 
 V. The tornado is the most violent of the " commotions," as 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 Meteorologists term them. The force exerted by one described 
 by Professor Stoddard, was estimated by him to be equal to the 
 force of a body of air moving with a velocity of 340 miles per 
 hour ; and that of another, described by Professor Loomis, was 
 estimated by him to be equal to a body of air moving at the rate 
 of 682 miles per hour. Professor Henry, in his Patent Report 
 Essays, and his Springfield lecture, attributed this " commotion," 
 as he termed it, to an unstable or tottering equilibrium of the sur- ' 
 face atmosphere, caused by an abnormal contrast of temperature 
 between the tipper and lower strata of the atmosphere, the for- 
 mer being colder, and the latter warmer than usual which un- 
 stable equilibrium causes a narrow portion, coming in, contact 
 "with a heated spot or slight elevation," to rise, the ascent caus- 
 ing condensation, and the liberation of heat and the further heat- 
 ing of the air, whereby the ascent of the mass is continued. He 
 made no attempt to support the assumption by evidence, and its 
 absurdity is apparent. The extraordinary and awful violence at 
 the surface of .the earth, he attributed to the momentum caused 
 by the "continued action of the impelling force," which he at- 
 tempted to illustrate by the effect of a continued blast upon the 
 arrow in an air-gun The assumed impelling force is compounded 
 of "tottering equilibrium" and the heat of a heated spot, or the 
 trip of a slight elevation, and as they must act from instant to in- 
 stant upon different and successive portions of air, the parallel 
 between their action and that of the continuing blast upon the 
 same confined arrow utterly fails. The same want of parallelism 
 would exist if the acquisition of momentum was attributed to the 
 ascent of the air heated by condensation, for the action of the 
 force must be constantly changed to new portions of air. More- 
 over, the tornado of the land and the water-spout of the sea are 
 confessedly identical in their nature and cause, and there is no 
 heatea spot or slight elevation at sea. I understood Professor 
 Loomis to endorse this theory at Springfield, but in his recent 
 treatise he attributes the tornado to the formation of an eddy in 
 the inblowing wind of a storm. How the wind, blowing in at the 
 rate of 30 or 40 miles an hour, can create an eddy in which the 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 air will move at the rate of 682 miles an hour, he does not and 
 cannot say. These theories agree in assuming that the tornado 
 commences at the surface of the earth, but are alike absurd on 
 their face and demonstrably untrue. 
 
 The tornado and water-spout do not commence at the surface of 
 the earth, but at the base of an overlying cloud, and extend thence 
 doivnward to the earth, and withdraw upward again when spent 
 ending at the cloud, which is never perforated. This also is in- 
 controvertible/ true, and disposes of " tottering equilibrium " and 
 " eddy." The reader will find the evidence of its truth in cases 
 cited on pages 309 to 337 of the text. Every reliable statement 
 relative to the inception of a tornado which I have seen, has been 
 of a similar tenor to those there copied. This fundamental fact 
 is not only fatal to their theories respecting the tornado, but to 
 the calorific theory. 
 
 VI. The only other fact to which I will allude in this introduc- 
 tion, is of the most conclusive nature possible. It is that obser- 
 vation shows, and every one may see for himself, that no such 
 ascent ever takes place. Nothing could be more readily seen if it 
 in fact occurred. 
 
 The atmosphere is divided into strata, or stories, by the upper 
 or counter trade current, and each of the strata has its particular 
 kind of clouds, which are peculiar in appearance and function. 
 This the reader will find fully developed in the second Chapter. 
 The scud or peculiar clouds of the surface story never rise under 
 any circumstances into the other stories. Of this truth any per- 
 son who will may satisfy himself by a half dozen glances upward 
 every day for a few months. I have watched their course for 
 fifty years, often getting up several times in a night to watch a 
 storm, and I KNOW the fact to be so. In the i Philosophy of the 
 Wea her" it was stated that no such ascent had been discovered 
 during an observation of thirty years, and I could fill pages with 
 affidavits of intelligent men who, since that publication, have 
 watched with like result, but it cannot be necessary. No man, 
 not even "Mr. Espy, pretends to have ever seen such an ascent during 
 a storm, and every man may see, if he will, that it never exists. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 Mr. Espy says that in some instances he has pointed out to 
 others an inblovving wind beneath an approaching storm, and an 
 outspreading of the cirrus in a different direction above, but he 
 does not pretend to have seen such inblowing wind ascend, arid 
 the blowing of the wind, and the spreading out of the cirrus, are 
 perfectly distinct and independent operations. 
 
 Now reader, making every reasonable allowance for pride of 
 opinion and prejudice, I must believe that no man, who is honest 
 with himself, can resist the logic of these facts ; whether considered 
 separately, or collectively, or in connection with other facts, of 
 like tenor and equal force, which may be found in the text, or 
 with the mass of facts which show the falsity of the theories, by 
 showing that the atmosphere is organized, and that all the phe- 
 nomena result from the operation of its general and special orga- 
 nizations and their laws. 
 
 The table of contents discloses the plan of the work, but a 
 concise statement of it, and the purpose and connection of the 
 different chapters, in this place, will assist the reader to compre- 
 hend them. 
 
 Assuming the received view of meteorologists, that all the at- 
 mospheric phenomena are the result of mechanical "commotions" 
 in an aerial ocean, produced at the bottom by the action of the 
 sun's rays in heating the earth and atmosphere and causing the 
 latter to rise, to be demonstrably incorrect ; and that the atmos- 
 phere is systematically organized, with general and special organ- 
 izations, which produce the various states and phenomena, I pro- 
 ceed to state, in anticipation, three propositions, as the result of 
 rigid induction from the facts which will be' presented. 
 
 First, That the normal state of the atmosphere in the tem- 
 perate zones, is calm, fair weather. 
 
 Second, That the changes from that state, and all the states and 
 changes constituting the weather, are produced by the passage 
 of successive organizations commonly called storms, but which, 
 for reasons stated in the text, I term " CONDITIONS." 
 
 Third, That the CONDITIONS result from the operation of a 
 great, central, permanent organization, and originate in it, or in 
 
Xll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 an atmospheric current called the counter, or upper trade, which 
 is produced by and sent forth from that central organization, out 
 over the temperate zones. 
 
 I then proceed to show that there are seven alternating and 
 changing states of the atmosphere, and to describe them, and illus- 
 trate the manner in which they are produced, by a history and 
 description of two passing CONDITIONS, one, a summer belt of 
 showers, the other, an autumn southeast storm. 
 
 The plan of the work then, as developed in the first chapter, is : 
 first, to examine and fully understand the states of the atmosphere 
 and their changes, constituting the weather ; second, to trace those 
 states and changes to the passing CONDITIONS, and show the man- 
 ner in which those conditions produce them ; third, to analyze and 
 examine the passing conditions, and ascertain their elements, mode 
 of operation, and effects ; and fourth, to ascertain the place and 
 manner in which those conditions are formed and organized in, 01 
 by the influence of the permanent, central, organized condition, 
 and the paths they pursue ; finally, to analyze and examine that 
 central condition, its organization, mode of operation and effects, 
 and thus, step by step, commencing with the simple states, and 
 ascending to the great, central, fundamental condition, develop 
 the atmospheric system, and the modes of operation by which the 
 states and phenomena constituting the weather, are produced. 
 
 The second chapter is digressive, in order to develop the fact 
 that the atmosphere consists of strata or stories; that they are 
 constituted by the interposition of the equatorial current, or upper 
 trade, proceeding from the central condition ; that the clouds of 
 the different stories differ in function as well as inform; and to 
 give a clear and explicit description of the clouds of the different 
 stories, and their distinguishing characteristics and functions, with 
 a view to a correct analysis and understanding of the various 
 conditions. 
 
 In the third chapter I return from the digression to an analyti- 
 cal examination of the conditions and a. classification of them, so 
 far as such classification is possible, and a description of their dis- 
 tinctive characteristics, and the localities where one or the other 
 are generally to be found. 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 The fourth chapter, in continuation, is mainly devoted to an 
 examination of the paths which the conditions pursue in passing 
 over this continent, and to show that there are three distinct and 
 diverse systems ; that each system has its focal path ; that those 
 focal paths change their location with the seasons, and that the 
 climatology of the country, m all its varying characteristics, re- 
 sults from these diverse systems and the changes of their paths. 
 In that chapter I have further examined, analytically and logical- 
 ly, the movements and mode of operation of the. passing condi- 
 tions, and the manner in which they produce the states of the 
 atmosphere, (including special and prevalent winds, and rainy 
 and dry seasons,) in different localities, at different seasons of the 
 year. That chapter contains a key for the explanation of every 
 climatological fact peculiar to any section of the continent. 
 
 Having thus fully analyzed and examined the conditions pecu- 
 liar to the temperate zones, their elements, organization, and mode 
 of operation in producing the states, I next proceed, in chapter 
 fifth, to a critical examination of the permanent, fundamental, 
 central condition, and its elements, organization, mode of opera- 
 tion, and effects. That examination is too extended to admit of 
 even a brief synopsis here. The chapter ends with a resume of 
 all the facts and inductions contained in it. 
 
 In the sixth chapter I return to the temperate zone, and to a 
 more critical examination of its climatological peculiarities, espe- 
 cially its irregularities, and the cycles of drouth and drench, and 
 of cold and hot seasons, and endeavor to trace them to their 
 cause. 
 
 After having thus developed, as matter of" fact, the atmos- 
 pheric system, and the manner in which the various phenomena 
 are produced, I proceed, in the seventh chapter, to deduce and 
 consider the elements of prognostication, by which an isolated 
 observer can forecast the weather. This chapter is also extended 
 and full, and a synopsis of it cannot be given. It is practical and 
 instructive, as well as logical beyond anything to be found in our 
 language, or any other. The reader should read carefully the 
 synopsis of the chapter in the table of contents, and at its head, 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and possess himself of the salient points. If he has fully com- 
 prehended the developments of the previous chapters, he will 
 have no difficulty in comprehending the means at our command 
 for prognosticating the weather, as fully described in that impor- 
 tant chapter. 
 
 In the eighth and last chapter, I have inquired, analytically, 
 into the laws of the conditions, and the motive force of the sys- 
 ti'in. This chapter, also, is too full and extended to admit of 
 synopsis here. 
 
 From this brief outline, and a careful reading of the table of 
 contents, the reader will learn the plan of the work, and the 
 analytical and logical character of the development, and be ena- 
 bled to understand and appreciate it as he proceeds. 
 
 I have not deemed it important to preface the work with any 
 of the minor details of the science. All that are of material con- 
 sequence will come in view, and be explained appropriately as 
 we proceed. 
 
 There is one matter, however, that should be fully understood, 
 and that is, that the winds are uniformly named according to the 
 points of the compass from or through which they blow. The 
 following figure represents the mariner's compass. If the reader 
 will imagine that he stands in the center of the card, that the 
 wind is blowing toward him, and observe ftorn or through what 
 point it passes to reach him, lie will know why the winds are 
 described as they are, and have no difficulty thereafter. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Definition of the weather Its normal state in the temperate zones, still, 
 clear, and dry All the other states result from organized conditions 
 The conditions the result of a general organization All together con- 
 stituting an atmospheric system. The conditions are organized Con- 
 stitute a series are successive varied within five miles of the earth, 
 and move or pass over it. The different states produced by the different 
 parts as they pass. Description of the particular states weight tem- 
 perature wind cloudiness humidity precipitation electrical state. 
 History and description of a belt of showers in August- Manner in 
 which it produced the changes of state. Description of an autumn S 
 E. condition. Manner in which it produced the states. Various other 
 facts bearing upon the subject. .... 9-29 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The stories of the Atmosphere. Clouds of the different stories different 
 character and function Three of those stories constituted by the inter- 
 position of the upper counter trade. Course of that trade it varies in 
 quantity and altitude constitutes the middle story rate of progress 
 open to observation. Three kinds of cloud in the first or surface story, 
 mist, scud and fog. Mist common to all the stories. Description of fog 
 low fog high fog Scud of great practical importance. Nomencla- 
 ture of Howard does not include scud. His description founded on 
 form and structure alone Location, function, and use not regarded. 
 Howard's descriptions for that reason imperfect. Nimbus not a dis- 
 tinct form and should be discarded. Scud form and float in the surface 
 winds. Characteristics of the N. W. scud characteristics of the N. E. 
 scud of the S. E. scud of the S. W. scud Clouds of the second story 
 All of the stratus forms. Three forms of stratus, viz : Cirro-stratus, 
 cumulo-stratus, and stratus. Descriptions of them constitute the rain- 
 bearing clouds. A single form of cloud known to the upper story, the 
 cirrus. Description of the cirrus. .... 30-49 
 
VII CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Recur to Springfield condition of Aug. 1859 Analysis of it was an or- 
 ganized condition composed of three strata of cloud and two lateral 
 winds, all connected and moving together extent of the several parts 
 manner in which they operated Did not contain any vortex south- 
 erly wind blew entirely across under the body of it Facts in relation 
 to the other conditions as a class Rain-bearing clouds lie in parallel 
 bands parallel with the axis sometimes the cirrus also sometimes the 
 scud Other facts in relation to this class of conditions wind the strong- 
 est which blows from the surface most moist. More common than any 
 other class of conditions. Their occurrence in Bermuda, the Gulf of 
 Mexico, the Mississippi Valley, the Southern Hemisphere. A succes- 
 sion of them met between the tropics and the Straits of Magellan. Have 
 all the characteristics in that hemisphere that they have in this. North- 
 east storms most common east of the Alleghanies in this country not 
 known on the Pacific coast rare in the Southern Hemisphere. De- 
 scription of them manner in which the winds change in them. Irregu- 
 lar conditions. Hurricanes description of them places where most 
 frequent most common in West Indies sometimes occur upon land 
 in this country. Description of one. Description of tornado. 50-84 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 OF THE SYSTEMS OF CONDITIONS ON THE CONTINENT OF 
 NORTH AMERICA AND IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Three distinct and diverse systems of conditions in the United States, 
 passing over the continent in three distinct and different paths. The 
 first, the Atlantic system. Its conditions originate upon the Atlantic or 
 its connected seas and gulfs, or in the counter trade they furnish move 
 N.W. and N. and enter upon the southwestern and southern states 
 curve thence and move to the northeast. The second originates upon the 
 Pacific, moves to the N.E. on to and over the coast and continent. 
 The third, a part of the tropical belt of rain which covers the Gulf 
 coast, Southern Mexico, and Central America in midsummer. Direc- 
 tion in which the different systems move. The supply of rain depends 
 upon these conditions Intermediate between these systems, an arid 
 area not all or entirely a desert all parts of it reached by one or the 
 other of the systems, but temporarily that area scantily supplied with 
 rain. These systems evidence of law, order, and organization. All 
 peculiarities in our climatology dependent upon them. Developed 
 thirteen years ago in the " Philosophy of the "Weather" Not since de- 
 nied, but ignored by scientists accepted and adopted by practical men 
 
CONTENTS. Viii 
 
 Focal paths of the conditions and what is meant by them. Their sit- 
 uation in winter in the Atlantic system. Rain-fall under and on either 
 side of the focal path Situation of the Atlantic focal path in February, 
 1854. Temperature under and on either side of it Winds under and 
 on either side of it. "Weather south of the focal path, warm. The 
 same thing true in respect to the single conditions. Situation of the 
 focal path in March, 1854. Extension N.W. and N. Situation of the 
 focal path in April Had extended still further W., N.W., and N. Sit- 
 uation in May and June Rapidly extending W., N.W., and N. con- 
 forming to its annual progress but more rapid and concentrated than 
 usual, leaving an unusual drought behind it. Situation in July and 
 August unusual extension and concentration W. and N.W. and N. 
 Area of the consequent remarkable drought Descent of the focal path 
 again in autumn and winter. Extension less regular on the Atlantic 
 coast than in the interior Annual rain-fall upon the eastern states, with 
 chart Effect of this annual ascent and descent of the focal path on our 
 climatology causes rainy and dry seasons at the different points. Af- 
 fects the temperature Produces sudden changes Explains the reason 
 why consumptives go to Minnesota Why storms appear at the south- 
 west in winter and showers at the northwest in summer Explains the 
 general winds. Prevalent winds in Florida Prevalent winds in east- 
 ern Arkansas in the Indian Territory in Tennessee in the N.W. 
 and northern states in New England Explains why the winds prevail 
 from the intermediate instead of cardinal points of the compass. Chart 
 of the isothermal lines for the winter their descent in the Mississippi 
 Valley in winter, below the 40th parallel. Their ascent at the same time 
 above the 40th parallel Explanation of anomalies Owing to the situa- 
 tion of the focal paths of the two systems at that time. Climatology 
 of the Pacific states more simple, but has the same elements. Its con- 
 ditions move from the Pacific in a northeasterly direction Have a focal 
 path like those of the Atlantic system that path has a similar transit 
 to the north in summer that transit produces a like effect upon the tern, 
 perature produces like rainy and dry seasons has similar attendant 
 and prevalent winds. The Pacific conditions are less intense the phe- 
 nomena less violent and more uniform Description of the third system 
 of conditions Reaches the Gulf coast and Central America in summer 
 only movement of the conditions in that system, and their character. 
 Summer rain-fall under that system. . . . 85-115 
 
IX CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE ATMOSPHERIC 
 
 SYSTEM. 
 
 Origin of a class of conditions in the central zone Central belt of precip- 
 itating cloud encircles the earth Mean Avidth about 500 miles chart 
 of it and its connections Situation in August, north of the equator 
 Polar zones of rain connected with it Situation of polar zones in Au- 
 gust On each side of the central belt an area covered by dry trade-wind 
 called N.E. and S.E. trades these areas also surround the earth. The 
 central belt of cloud and rain, the two areas of dry trade-wind and the 
 two polar zones of rain make five permanent and connected parts of a 
 general system. All as a connected whole have a northern and south- 
 ern annual transit All commeace their movement together to the south 
 about the first of August, and reach their southern position about the 
 first of February Chart showing the position in February of the five 
 parts, to wit : the central belt, the two trade-M'ind zones, and the two 
 polar zones The connected whole commences its northern transit early 
 in February, and reaches its northern position in August. This or- 
 ganized whole to be particularly examined. Some preliminiary facts to 
 be considered. Transit more extended north and south some years 
 than others Some sections which are not covered by either zone of rains 
 during the transit such sections constitute a class of deserts Such as 
 New Holland and Kalahari in the Southern Hemisphere Arabia, 
 Egypt, Sahara, Colorado, &c., in the Northern Hemisphere There 
 arc also arid areas in the polar zones Principal rivers of Africa and South 
 America rise under the central belt of rains. Central belt passes over 
 some places twice a year Monsoons. Examination of the great central 
 condition Constituted by or composed of a central belt of condensation 
 and two wings of winds, the trades Analagous in this respect to the 
 conditions of the polar zones Analagous also in all its essential elements. 
 Critical examination of its elements. Examination of the trade-winds 
 and their character. Examination of the central belt of condensation 
 and its character Contains no vortex Theory that it does, a mere 
 assumption originally made by Halley in 1686 never proved by any 
 direct evidence, nor capable of such proof Every fact in nature bear- 
 ing upon it, adverse to it earth, air, and water under the belt of rain 
 colder than in the trades everywhere fundamental base of the theory 
 therefore untrue. Review of evidence on the point. Fact undeniable, 
 undenied, yet not regarded. Coast wind of California, not an excep- 
 tion rthat wind does not reach the valleys which are assumed to cause it. 
 The air as heated in the atmosphere has not the ascensive force attrib- 
 uted to it review of the evidence on this point impossible therefore that 
 
CONTENTS. x 
 
 it should produce a vortex. Description of a West InJia hurricane 
 originated where the air and water were only 84 ascensive force of 
 unconfined air at that temperature does not exceed a quarter of an ounce 
 to the square foot utterly impossible that it should produce any storms. 
 All attempts to prove the existence of such a vortex, failures Review 
 of 'evidence on that point. Examination of the nature of the central 
 condition, as disclosed by active and positive observation Review of 
 evidence on that point. Observations of Squier in Nicaraugua Fend- 
 ler in Venezuela Herndon in the valley of the Amazon Gibbon upon 
 the Andes Livingston in South Africa Du Chaillu in Equatorial 
 Africa Barth in North Africa all concur to prove the theory of Halley 
 untrue. Critical examination of the belt continued has an upper layer 
 of cirrus a second layer of stratus or cumulo-stratus beneath them 
 the scud of the trade-winds These three elements with the squalls and 
 slant winds at the surface constitute the organized central belt Trades 
 pass each other in this belt Review of the evidence of it and of the ob- 
 jections made to it after passing, continue in the same general direction 
 facts pointing in a different direction are exceptions. Review of evi- 
 dence on this point Resume of the facts contained in the chapter. 
 
 117-192 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Re-statement of the fact that the normal or natural state of the polar zones 
 is dry, fair weather, and that they have no independent arrangement for 
 a supply of moisture Heat, as a mechanical agent, does not do it It is 
 effected by passing conditions which originate in, or result from, the fun- 
 damental, tropical condition Some conditions, which originate in the 
 central belt, and others which originate in the polar zones, reach the Arc- 
 tic Circles, retaining all their essential elements copy from Dr. Kane's 
 record during the absence of the sun, to prove it Analysis of two re- 
 corded storms. Halley's theory requires the belief that the sun creates 
 storms where there is no sunshine, and American Meteorologists hold 
 and teach the absurdity practical men, whose business trains them 
 in the logic of cause and effect, know better. Storms met with by 
 Dr. Kane probably originated upon the Pacific. Storms originate in 
 the polar zones, where there is a sufficient volume of upper trade 
 where there is not sufficient volume, stormy conditions do not occur. 
 Recapitulation of the proof furnished by the changes which occur in our 
 own country. The irregularities of the central condition produce irreg- 
 ularities in our zone One of the principal irregularities is drouth. Four 
 classes of drouth attributable to such irregular action. The first class 
 occur in spring, north of the focal path occasioned by the retarded 
 progress of that path to the north most common east of the Alleghany 
 
XI CONTENTS. 
 
 Mountains and upon the northeastern states. Second class produced 
 by the unusually extended transit and concentration of the focal path 
 this class are south of that path Such was the drouth of 1854. The 
 third class are meridianal occur in the interior of the country produced 
 by the concentration of the upper trade and a succession of conditions 
 upon the Atlantic coast such was the drouth of 1867. The fourth 
 class are found on the Atlantic coast only occasioned by an extension of 
 the outer limits of the N.E. trades occur in July and August only. 
 Limited and local drouths tendency to them in certain localities 
 northern part of the Gulf States south coast of New England Config- 
 uration sometimes produces them also the passage of successive belts 
 of showers in the morning Such belts, if of weak intensity, do not 
 precipitate where they are vertical in the morning Instances of irreg- 
 ular precipitation. Want of data for a thorough elucidation of drouths 
 a history of them by Mr. Flint, Secretary of Board of Agriculture, 
 Massachusetts. Examination of that history. Are there any facts 
 which will guide us to a knowledge of these irregularities ? Some of 
 them connected with spots upon the sun. Description of spots and 
 of Schwabe's investigation tables and observations given by him not 
 perfect or satisfactory nevertheless the connection with the irregular- 
 ities of the system apparent. Comparison of the table of spots with the 
 transits of the focal paths of the conditions Effect upon the mean fall 
 of rain effect upon temperature. Extended examination of the subject 
 in various localities and under various circumstances. Examination of 
 facts which seem to militate against the connection properly under- 
 stood, the facts not adverse, because consequent upon irregular transits. 
 Extended examination of the whole subject. Connection between the 
 spots and the irregular action of the whole system. Inquiry whether 
 there are any other forces or causes which affect the system. Volcanic 
 action its influence probable. Extended examination of the question. 
 Influence of the moon upon the weather popular opinion upon the sub- 
 ject such an opinion requiring careful examination no such influence 
 can be traced, upon such examination no facts from which it can be 
 analogically or philosophically presumed. . . 193-23: 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PROGNOSTICATION. 
 
 Consideration of the question how far, and by what means a local, isolated 
 observer can prognosticate or forecast the weather. Assuming the two 
 first fundamental propositions to be proved, the logical inquiry will be, 
 when will the normal state be disturbed by a condition and its changes, 
 and what its character and intensity. Certainty or regularity of inter- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 val not to be expected, although conditions of more or less intensity pass 
 frequently they sometimes pass on a given day of the week, for several 
 weeks with or without an intervening condition no certainty as to the 
 character and intensity of the next condition nor any reliance on plane- 
 tary influence, only reliance upon changes of state produced by passing 
 conditions. Signs, proverbs and maxims not founded on or connected 
 with those changes of state, empirical and worthless. The inquiry is for 
 prognostic inferences derivable from changes of state. Certain other 
 elements and contingencies to be considered, viz : location of observer, 
 season of the year, and situation of the year in the decade. Recapitu- 
 lation of the changes of state induced by the conditions from which prog- 
 nostic inferences are to be drawn. Weight of the atmosphere, how meas- 
 ured various instruments examined. Barometer the principal one to 
 be relied on its indications its mean elevation generally upon the 
 earth difference of elevation in different localities mean elevation least 
 where conditions are most frequent and intense. Examination of the 
 fact in relation to this country. Places and circumstances under which 
 it ranges highest and lowest. Allowance to be made for elevations above 
 the level of the sea rules for determining that allowance. No fair 
 weather standard for the barometer each observer must fix one for him- 
 self standard must vary with the transits of the focal path and deduc- 
 tion must be made for altitude. Rules for fixing such standard col- 
 lection of rules used in England, for forecasting weather by barometer 
 critical examination of these rules. Prognostic inferences to be drawn 
 from temperature before northeasters before belts of showers in re- 
 lation to the probability of snow or rain. Exceptional warm periods 
 in winter without passing conditions how produced thermometer to 
 be consulted in reference to the continuance of storms Sudden changes 
 of our climate their magnitude and how produced importance of 
 forecasting and regarding them. Prognostic inferences to be drawn 
 from the winds and their changes. Winds not felt at the surface discov- 
 erable by sounds and scud. All fresh, earnest winds created by condi- 
 tions Importance of this class of prognostic inferences. Prognostic in- 
 ferences drawn from clearness or cloudiness their character and impor- 
 tance. Examination of the maxims founded on them. Resume of the 
 appearances of the sky from which prognostic inferences maybe drawn. 
 Prognostic inferences from the existence of humidity Evaporation and 
 hygrometry Devices by which humidity is measured. Contrast between 
 the English climate and ours, in relation to humidity. Examination 
 of weather signs founded on humidity. Prognostic inferences from ram, 
 hail, and snow examination of weather proverbs in relation to them. 
 Rules for determining whether a storm will precipitate snow or rain. 
 Prognostic inferences from the seventh element or electric state of the at- 
 
Xlll CONTENTS. 
 
 mosphcrc. Dr. Jenner's signs of rain examination of those signs as 
 founded upon the electrical influence of an approaching condition, on 
 men, animals, and plants. Examination of signs and proverbs not found- 
 ed on any of the foregoing seven states all fallacies. Review of some of 
 the principal points. Importance and probability of the use of the tele- 
 graph in prognostication. Other material points reviewed. Examina- 
 tion of the question, what will be the character of the next condition, 
 and how to forecast that character also the question what will be its 
 intensity, and how that question can be answered. Prognostic inferences 
 in relation to the continuance of the conditions and how they " clear 
 off." 233-307 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The organization and motive force of the system invisible its existence 
 recognized in its effects a knowledge of it to be acquired by inference 
 from the nature of the organizations and their actions. Elements of the 
 tornado and their mode of operation place where it originates manner 
 of formation and form its appearance and substance its apparent man- 
 ner of action in the air its action and mode of operation in contact with 
 the earth estimates of the force employed various descriptions of the 
 power of that force operates in two lateral lines or currents. The right 
 hand current crosses the center in advance of the left hand, curves back- 
 wards and ascends over it. The left hand current curves behind the other 
 and rises over it, both together constituting the whirl in the air. These 
 currents thus existing and operating, constitute the law of the tornado. 
 This law of the small is also the law of the great, and is traceable through 
 all the varied atmospheric organizations Traced first in the belts of show- 
 ers and in elliptical storms of the Northern Hemisphere in those of the 
 Southern Hemisphere nearly all storms of that Hemisphere of this char- 
 acter. Critical examination of Col. Reid's chapter on the " Gales of 
 High Southern Latitudes " in every instance he purports to describe 
 the northern half of the gale southern half of a revolving gale not ex- 
 perienced all the gales described by him, were, with a single excep- 
 tion, elliptical that exception a straight line southeaster, corresponding 
 to our straight line northeasters. " Ojo " of the Spaniards, not an indi- 
 cation of the center of the storm constituted by a clear interval after 
 the storm clouds have all passed by, and before the scud of the fair 
 weather wind obscure the sky. The same kind of storm's eye visihle with 
 us, at least ten times a year, never seen in the center of the storm. All 
 the descriptions cited by Col. Reid, belonged to elliptical storms with lat- 
 eral winds described as such by Mr. Mildrum. Extended examination 
 of the theories of Redfield and Espy. Certain amount of truth in both 
 
CONTENTS. Xiv 
 
 of them. Some storms elliptical as claimed by Espy others semi-revolv- 
 ing as claimed by Redtield instances and illustrations of both. Hur- 
 ricane of 1821. Hurricane of 18G9. Examination of the views of Prof. 
 Henry as promulgated in the Patent Office Reports those views crude 
 and untruthful. Intolerance and persistency of meteorologists in rela- 
 tion to this matter. Return to the inquiry what is the force. Exam- 
 ination of the group of the diurnal changes instructive but not conclu- 
 sive. Must find a force that originates the conditions and prescribes 
 their paths unaffected by the rotation of the earth. That rotation does 
 not control or affect the circulation of the atmosphere current theories 
 on that subject all fallacies. But one such force known, and that is elec- 
 tricity. General view of that agent and its operations or phases. Vari- 
 ous propositions and illustrations, showing the manner in which it ope- 
 rates in organizing the system and producing the varied phenomena, 
 and in that connection an extended examination of the magnetism of the 
 earth, and how it is constituted. Its associated currents of electricity, and 
 their mode of operation. Particular examination of the manner in which 
 magnetism is diffused over the earth, affecting climate, disease, and the 
 activity and energy of its inhabitants. Appeal to the various classes of 
 practical men to aid in reforming the science and extending the truth. 
 
 308-403 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM AS GOD MADE IT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Definition of the weather Its normal state in the temperate zones, still, clear 
 and dr/ All the states which are a departure from it, result from organ- 
 ized conditions The conditions result from the laws of a general organiza- 
 tion The conditions are organized Constitute a series are successive 
 are varied within five miles of the earth, and move or pass over it the dif- 
 ferent states produced by the different parts as they pass Description of 
 the particular states weight temperature wind cloudiness humidity 
 precipitation electrical state History and description of a belt of showers 
 in Aug'ust manner in which it produced the changes of state Descrip- 
 tion of an autumn S. E. condition manner in which it produced the states 
 various other facts bearing upon the subject. 
 
 THE weather is defined to be "the state of the atmosphere with 
 respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clear- 
 ness or cloudiness, rain, snow, hail, fog, etc." Thus defined it 
 means the existing state of the atmosphere in the several partic- 
 ulars named in any particular locality, and the changes which are 
 there occurring, or which may occur, from one state to another. 
 A separate and particular description of these states is not impor- 
 tant in this stage of our inquiry, for we are all more or less familiar 
 with them, and they will be often under consideration. 
 
 The normal (regular) state of the weather in the temperate 
 zones, and of cour?e over most of our country, when undisturbed 
 by direct or indirect influence from the centre of the system in 
 the tropical zone, is still, clear, dry weather. There are no inde- 
 pendent atmospheric arrangements or influences originating in it, 
 and none exerted upon it, which can disturb that normal state, 
 except those which emanate from the basis of the atmospheric 
 system in the tropics. Meteorologists tell you that the sun, heating 
 the land of the temperate zone produces the various changes of 
 2 
 
10 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 state and all the other phenomena, but they are mistaken and 
 mislead you. The hottest sun heated lands are changeless and 
 arid. In the San Joachim Valley, of California, at Millerton, the 
 average summer mean temperature is about one hundred degrees 
 and that mean sometimes rise!, to 104 with unbroken fair weather 
 during the whole period. The influences emanating from the 
 tropical base of the system, then operate to the north of it. 
 In their absence the sun heats up the land, but in vain. Those 
 influences return in winter and bring changes and rain upon it 
 again. And this is true of nearly one-fourth of the continent. 
 Every fact in nature properly understood and comprehended, 
 tends to prove the proposition I am stating. I cannot allude to 
 others now without anticipating, but I can assure you that this 
 truth will appear as we proceed too clearly to be questioned by 
 any mind which is honest with itself. Accept as true then my first 
 fundamental proposition, that the normal state in the temperate 
 zones is still, clear, fair weather. 
 
 My second proposition is that every other one of the enumer- 
 ated or known states and changes of the weather, and all the 
 phenomena connected with them, result from, or are incident to, 
 and a part of some one of several distinct, peculiar, organized 
 atmospheric conditions, limited and circumscribed in character, 
 although frequently covering a considerable area, which are 
 formed in the atmosphere of the tropical zone, and pass from 
 thence on to and over our zone, or, are formed in our zone of 
 materials and by influences emanating from the base of the system 
 in the tropical zone. 
 
 My third proposition is, that all the conditions referred to, 
 result from the operation of fixed and intelligible laws, pertain- 
 ing tO a GENERAL AND INTELLIGIBLE ORGANIZATION Ol the 
 
 atmosphere, or ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM, which has its base in the 
 tropical zone. 
 
 These three propositions cover the whole ground Reversing 
 the order of description, we have an ORGANIZED ATMOSPHERIC 
 SYSTEM, created and controlled by laws which in their operation 
 produce limited, distinct and ORGANIZED CONDITIONS, and those 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 11 
 
 conditions in their operations and movements produce the simple 
 STATES and PHENOMENA which constitute "THE WEATHER." 
 
 And now reader, if you sincerely wish to understand the system 
 from the operation of which you cannot escape, and which influ- 
 ences in a hundred ways, for good or evil, your daily life and busi- 
 ness and happiness, discard, or hold in abeyance, all opinions and 
 impressions derived from the teachings of professed meteorologists, 
 or received theories, and give me a candid attention and reasona- 
 ble confidence, while I trace for you as matter of fact the manner 
 in which the STATES are produced by the CONDITIONS, the 
 elements and mode of operation of the conditions ; and then in- 
 vestigate and unfold to you the elements and laws of the GENERAL 
 SYSTEM by which the conditions are produced leaving theoretic 
 discussion for the close of our inquiry. 
 
 The various states and phenomena constituting the weather 
 then, for any considerable period, as a month, a season, or a year, 
 which are a departure from fair weather, result from or are pro- 
 duced by, a series of organized varied successive passing 
 atmospheric CONDITIONS. This is our second, fundamental prop- 
 osition. It is complex, and I wish all its elements to be fully 
 understood and perfectly impressed upon the memory. 
 
 In the first place that the conditions are organized portions or 
 "conditions" of the atmosphere. I use the term conditions for 
 the want of a better. Condition and state are sometimes used 
 synonymously, but you must not confound them. I ue the term 
 state to denote a part or element of a CONDITION and I use the 
 term condition to denote the entire, limited organization of which 
 the states are incidents or parts. And I say they are organized 
 because each distinct variety is a distinct, circumscribed body, and 
 has its distinct parts and elements, with their relative movements 
 and operations, producing specific actions and results, and that 
 constitutes an organization. 
 
 These atmospheric conditions occur f/equently though irregularly, 
 and therefore constitute during any considerable period, a SERIES. 
 
 They follow after one another at intervals, more or less regular 
 and are therefore SUCCESSIVE. 
 
12 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 There are several kinds of them, differing more or less from 
 each other in their elements, and in the states or phenomena 
 which they produce ,* and sometimes one succeeds, and sometimes 
 another, and therefore they are VARIED. 
 
 They embrace or involve a certain distinct part of the atmos- 
 phere, near the earth generally within five miles of it and that 
 part, so involved and organized into a distinct condition, moves or 
 passes over it. In the United States, north of lat. 35, these con- 
 ditions pass over the country from the westward to the eastward, 
 and produce the different states or phenomena and their changes, 
 as the different parts or elements of the organized condition pass 
 over or near us. Though many of them are storms, in the com- 
 mon acceptation of the word, that term is not sufficiently compre- 
 hensive to describe them, for they are not always or necessarily 
 stormy, or attended by the precipitation of snow or rain ; nor, 
 when they do precipitate, is there always rain or snow at all the 
 places where the changes of state occur. Thus they are PASSING 
 and produce the states as they pass ; and they frequently pass by, 
 at the south or north, but near enough nevertheless to affect the 
 states of the weather to some extent, according to circumstances 
 to be considered. 
 
 These are the general elements of our second proposition. Let 
 us now look specifically at the various particulars in which these 
 conditions severally affect or produce changes in the state of the 
 atmosphere at any particular place in the country, as they pass 
 over or near it. 
 
 FIRST, they affect the Atmosphere in respect to weight as meas- 
 ured by the Barometer ; 
 
 SECOND, in respect to temperature, as felt and as measured by 
 the Thermometer; 
 
 THIRD, in respect to the movements of that part which is in 
 contact with the surface of the earth, from calm to windy, or wind 
 from one direction to wind from another ; 
 
 FOURTH, as to clearness or cloudiness ; 
 
 FIFTH, in respect to humidity, as felt and as measured by the 
 various contrivances termed Hygrometers; 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 13 
 
 SIXTH, in respect to precipitation, producing rain, hail or snow. 
 
 SEVENTH, they affect the electrical state of the atmosphere, 
 thereby affecting the feelings of men and animals, and producing 
 lightning and thunder and other electrical phenomena. 
 
 But in order to a perfect and clear understanding of the char- 
 acter and scope of this second proposition, I must anticipate some- 
 what, and give you a history and description of one or two pass- 
 ing conditions, (in relation to which, my data are perfect and will 
 not be disputed) and the changes of state which they produced. 
 
 On the 3d day of August, 1859, I left home at evening, for 
 the purpose of attending the meeting of the American Associa- 
 tion for the advancement of Science, at Springfield, Mass., and 
 going from thence to Saratoga. The weather for several days 
 had been pleasant, and the enveloping state had been a normal 
 fair weather one ; but at evening there were indications of a 
 change, and that a disturbing condition was coming on. My 
 barometer, which hangs about 40 feet above the level of the sea, 
 and which had stood during the continuance of the fair weather 
 condition at about 30.1 inches, began to fall. There had been 
 during the afternoon, a fresh breeze from the southward. The 
 thermometer did not drop as rapidly at nightfall, as upon the 
 preceding fine days. The air seemed more humid and sultry 
 although the sky was entirely cloudless. These were indications, 
 though not then decisive, of the approach of a belt of showers 
 or a showery CONDITION from the westward, which as it ap- v 
 proached had begun to exert its influence upon the atmosphere 
 with which we were then in contact. 
 
 I staid that night with a friend, Col. Porter of Hartford. 
 Waking about three o'clock in the morning, I heard the rattling 
 of the shutters and the sound of the wind which had continued 
 through the night and freshened to a stiff breeze. As quick as 
 thought the entire programme of the weather for the next three days, 
 was as clearly understood by me as if it had all happened and be- 
 come history. At the breakfast table Col. Porter was felicitating 
 himself upon the quantity of hay he had cut and cured, during 
 the preceding fine days, and the prospect of cutting the last of it 
 
14 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 during that day. I inquired of him whether he had housed what 
 he had made ; He replied that he had not. Learning that he had 
 a considerable number of tons thus cured and in heaps, I advised 
 him to let his machines rest and set all hands to housing it, for it 
 was sure to rain within 24 hours. He was loth to believe me 
 for the sky was still cloudless, and the wind, he said, had blown 
 the same way the afternoon before. But I satisfied him that that 
 was a part of the indication and he did follow my advice, and 
 saved at least a hundred dollars in the quality of his hay, and the 
 expense he would have incurred in re-drying it. His letter ac- 
 knowledging these facts is before me. 
 
 Passing up the valley in the afternoon, I saw many fields of 
 hay, cured, unhoused and imperfectly cocked the owners still 
 engaged thoughtlessly, in cutting and curing, although the cloud- 
 bank of the approaching rain was becoming visible low down in 
 the northwest. The rain reached Springfield in the night, with 
 lightning and thunder and continued into the forenoon of the next 
 day. The following diagram exhibits approximately the charac- 
 ter of the condition which then passed over New England, and as 
 it was then approaching side foremost from the westward. 
 
 FIG. 1. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 15 
 
 In that condition, as generally happens in those of its class in 
 the summer months, the lightning and thunder and heavy wind 
 and rain were in, and under the eastern part of the belt, or, to be 
 more accurate the southeastern part or side, and were first experi- 
 enced. Probably the southeastern third of the belt, covering thirty 
 or forty miles of its width, was composed of clouds of that charac- 
 ter. After they had passed over to the east, another third or 
 more of the width, continued to precipitate rain as it passed, 
 without thunder or lightning or much wind like a continuous 
 and gradually diminishing rain. The remaining portion of the 
 belt of clouds was more or less broken, gradually thinning and 
 melting toward the western edge. 
 
 The following view taken by daguerreotype looking northwest 
 at a different time, but when a similar condition was approaching 
 and had become visible in the northwest, will show approximately 
 the appeal aiice of this at sundown on the 4th at Springfield. 
 
 FIG. 2. 
 
16 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 During the continuous rain in the morning of the 5th, and while 
 the Association was gathering for a general meeting, the late ven- 
 erable Prof. Sillimaii came to me in the hall, stating that the 
 Association was invited to go to Amherst the next day, and asked 
 me if I could tell him what the weather would be. I replied: 
 " Certainly ! It will be fair, with a stiff, cool, northwest wind." 
 He seemed interested and asked me how. I knew there would be 
 such a wind. I told him I knew from the character of the south- 
 erly wind of the preceding day, and I explained to him the nature 
 of the condition which was then passing over us, and the manner 
 in which it had produced the various phenomena and changes of 
 the preceding forty-eight hours, and that a corresponding north- 
 west wind on the western side was an essential part of the con- 
 dition, and must necessarily pass over us in turn. At the open- 
 ing of the general meeting, the question whether the Amherst 
 invitation should be accepted came up, and with it the inquiry 
 what the weather was likely to be. Prof. S. stated that he " had 
 inquired of a distinguished Meteorologist and was assured that it 
 would be pleasant, with a stiff, cool, northwest breeze." As such 
 winds are uncommon at that hottest season of the year, there 
 were some sneers and a few smiles of incredulity, but the predic- 
 tion was generally well received. That prediction was fulfilled 
 to the letter, and I have before me a letter from the venerable 
 Professor certifying to these facts. 
 
 During the day, the lecture of Prof. Henry, to which I have 
 heretofore alluded and shall again allude, was delivered. In the 
 afternoon I took the cars for Albany. A gentleman from New 
 York, Hon. Frederick Conklin, introduced himself to me and 
 also inquired for the grounds upon which I ba?ed the prediction, 
 and I explained them to him in like manner. I told him moreover 
 that we should run out from under the western portion of the 
 belt which then covered us, before we reached Albany, and meet 
 the northwest wind. We did so run out near the state line, and 
 we met that northwest wind though light, under a clear sky, as 
 we left the cars and stepped upon the ferry-boat at East Albany. 
 
 The following view taken also at a different time, by daguer- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC 
 
 SYSTEM. 
 
 17 
 
 reotype, but when a southwest condition of this class was clearing 
 off from the northwest, moving to the eastward, will give you a 
 sufficiently accurate idea of the appearance of the western edge 
 of the belt we are considering, as seen before the train ran out 
 from under it, at the state line between Massachusetts and New 
 York. The view was taken looking to the northwest. But you 
 will have opportunities to see the whole operation several times a 
 year if you will observe as you should do. 
 
 FIG. 3. 
 
 The occurrence and general character of that atmospheric 
 condition, being thus conclusively proved, let us go back and note 
 the changes and phenomena, which were produced by it in its 
 passage. 
 
 First, there was a precedent fall of the barometer for more 
 than thirty-six hours ; Second, there was a rise of the thermome- 
 ter, and increased sultriness, especially in the evening and night, 
 and through the day preceding the rain ; Third, there was a 
 fresh, snappish, earnest, southerly wind, gradually increasing for 
 more than twenty-four hours before Ihe belt of rain reached the 
 place. Fourth, the atmosphere grew humid and misty and close, 
 
18 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 and there were patches of cloud called scud floating in the south- 
 erly wind toward the approaching belt of showers ; and the 
 moisture stood upon the tumblers and gathered upon the stones, 
 and upon every cold object. Fifth, there was a change in the 
 electrical state of the atmosphere and doubtless (altho' I do 
 not know the fact) heads ached that were accustomed to ache 
 when thunder showers were approaching, and rheumatic joints, 
 and corns, and bones that had once been broken, were also cog- 
 nizant of its approach. And so when the belt of showers reached 
 the place, thunder and lightning and heavy rain were experienced, 
 and then as the belt passed, the quiet, continuous and diminishing 
 rain, and after that, the curtain of spent, melting and gradually 
 thinning clouds of the western portion of the belt continued to 
 pass over, and after all these had passed, there followed the cool, 
 dry, equally fresh, snappish and earnest northwest wind of its 
 western side. And when that had passed in turn, the place was 
 again enveloped in a still, clear, normal, fair-weather state and so 
 remained until the 1 3th, when another similar condition passed. 
 
 The condition described, moved slowly. It appeared and be- 
 gan to precipitate at Buffalo on the 3d, at 7.30 P. M. At Au- 
 burn, according to the Register of Dr. Taylor, the rain began to 
 fall between midnight and 4 A. M., of the 4th, distance about 115 
 miles. 
 
 At Amherst at 4 P. M. of the 4th. At Springfield on the 
 evening of the same day. At Cambridge, Mass., on the 5th, tht 
 time of day not ascertained, and at New Bedford, at 4.30 of 
 the same day. It M 7 as therefore about 48 hours moving from 
 Buffalo to Cambridge and New Bedford, a rate of progress east- 
 ward (varying in different localities and at different times of the 
 day) from 12 to 15 miles an hour. 
 
 There was a previous similar condition but of little intensity, 
 which was at Buffalo on the 1st, and Amherst on the 2d. It 
 passed Harvard on the 3d, as is shown by an overcast sky and 
 the other phenomena, although it was spent and did not precipi- 
 tate either at Harvard or New Bedford, and the northerly wind 
 was not produced. And there was still another of considerable 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 19 
 
 intensity during the first half of August, which reached Buffalo 
 at G.30 P.M. of the llth, and reached Amherst on the night of the 
 12th, and Harvard College and New Bedford on the 13th. All 
 this the records which follow this page will show. I have often 
 passed through such belts. The following is an instance: 
 
 On the 14th day of July, 1870, Rev. Dr. Thomas S. Childs, Dr. 
 Samuel Lynes, my wife and myself left Norwalk about 10 A.M. 
 for Saratoga, by the Housatonic route. The weather had been 
 unusually hot and dry, and some of the party being invalids, we 
 were anxious respecting the heat of the day. The early morning 
 was without sign of change. But as we ran along the shore to 
 Bridgeport we observed a south-southwest breeze, of more than 
 usual strength and humidity for that hour of the day, and saw 
 that the northern sky, low down, was paled by a misty cirrus. 
 From these indicia I inferred that we should meet and pass 
 through a belt of showers on our way, and have a comfortable 
 day, and so told my companions. As we ran north on the 
 Housatonic road the breeze freshened, and the sun began to 
 be obscured by the formless misty cirrus of the advancing belt. 
 When we reached New Milford, the southeastern edge of the ex- 
 pected belt, with its layer of distinct cirrus overhead, and its layer 
 of forming stratus beneath, became visible low down in the north- 
 west. As we passed on the sun became more and more obscured, 
 the breeze stronger, and the belt of clouds more visible, until we 
 passed beneath the southeastern edge of it at Barrington in Mas- 
 sachusetts. That belt was about fifty miles wide, and of moderate 
 intensity at that point, its bands ranging from S.W. to N.E., but 
 its northern part was very intense and destructive at Montreal on 
 the 13th, and in Maine on the 14th, as the newspapers stated. 
 The showers were not continuous, but scattered beneath it. 
 We passed between two of them in crossing the belt, receiving 
 a slight rain from the corner of one, and emerged from under the 
 belt between the State line and Albany, meeting the cool, re- 
 freshing northwest wind, with its scud, on the other side, which 
 we enjoyed till we arrived at Saratoga. That belt of showers, 
 with its wings of wind and its extended curtain of cloud, gave us 
 a comfortable day and an agreeable ride, and my companions 
 watched our progress toward and through it with great interest. 
 We subsequently found that it was over Saratoga in the forenoon, 
 and at Albany about noon. We passed through it between two 
 and four o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 The foregoing statement is correct. 
 
 T. S. GUILDS, 
 SAMUEL LYNES, M. D. 
 
20 
 
 METEOROL OGY 
 
 S. 
 
 H <1 
 
 -jj W 
 
 I- 
 
 *H < 
 
 I* 
 O 2 
 O W 
 
 c" ffl . 
 
 gg 
 
 tc ccta coaa 
 
 0305000COOOOOCOOOOO 
 
 ec N cq co <N i-i IM <M IM eo 
 
 auipno D '* 
 
 n'noray 
 
 B ^ 
 
 M.ons jo 
 
 urea jo Sutpua 
 
 jo aiaij, 
 
 OTBJ jo SnrauiSaq 
 jo araij, 
 
 CO CO OO 
 
 S S2 
 
 63 
 
 II 
 
 So 
 
 COCDCOCOtOCO 
 
 CD CD i- CO CO CD 1- 
 
 jo Aa 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 21 
 
 (Ml CO TH 
 
 W 
 
 -W .W 
 
 > .w . 
 
 02 XI 
 
 _co co'_ co 5 5 
 
 ~<N <N~<N TO r-l CO rH CO T-H rH 
 
 
 It 
 
 co coc/5 
 
 CO CO CO 
 
 > "* JS J3 
 
 'o 'o 
 
 841 
 
 - 
 
 unu jo Snipna 
 jo araii 
 
 RMOMETER IN 
 OI'EN AIR. 
 
 (M TO * 1-" CD tO t^iOOS COTOCDrH 
 
 J^ -H T-H * * ^ Oi CD 00 OS "* (M IM CD 
 
 10 lf ? fc^twOOW'fT^WiO'SQ 
 
 COCCCOt^CDCDlOiOlOCDCOCDCDCOCD 
 
22 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 w - 
 
 w w 
 
 |J CO 
 
 P H 
 
 8g 
 
 3 * 
 
 W p 
 
 H3 ^ 
 o o 
 
 i! 
 
 U S2 
 
 W ^ 
 
 SB 
 
 I H 
 
 > fcl 
 
 IS 
 
 O 
 
 jo",? 
 
 r-l*l J *OCDt.<OrHOO^..g 
 
 WINDS. 
 
 s 
 
 fli 
 
 01 
 
 aoaoj | -^OOCOrHOO ^HrHrHO^HOT-H 
 
 ,,,a 
 
 CO CO CO CO* ^ 
 
 2P.M. 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 * rfJ * i|^*^ 
 
 ; 
 
 90JOJ | Oi-lj-ICMOCOCQi-li-lr-HT-tOOi-Hi-H 
 
 UOl}03JI(I 
 
 ^ **'**^ ** 
 
 1 
 
 0> 
 
 s! 1^ 
 
 
 k i It 
 
 - 
 
 iJ 
 
 ^. JJ^ -S3? iss ? 
 *5 G c '3 '5 '3 
 
 sgsuipnoia 
 jo jonoray 
 
 oocoooocoooor-iioooroo 
 
 j 
 
 S li 
 
 
 I It 
 
 
 if 
 
 o 3 J '3 .S3 " o 'o '3 
 
 seonipnop 
 jo }nnoiuy 
 
 Or105^ <M ^H CD rtfOCOrH 
 
 s 
 
 11 II 
 
 
 3 1 It 
 
 
 il 
 
 Ifjfj l-sl | 
 
 seaaipnoio 
 jo 3 unoiuy 
 
 OOOCOOiOOOOOCDOOOOCO 
 
 RAIN AND SNOW. 
 
 Baqoui m 
 '*one jo qvfca 
 
 
 njw jo junorav 
 
 <N 05 -J 
 
 ma jo Snipu9 
 jo uux 
 
 
 MOUS JO 
 mni jo 3aram3q 
 jo amij, 
 
 
 THERMOMETER IN THE 
 Ol'EN AIR. 
 
 1 
 
 te 
 
 06 
 
 b 
 o 
 
 
 ftO-*cooO'-H CG ao to t~ to i- 1 o 
 
 s 
 
 gco^co g gggggS2 
 
 K 
 
 
 coS3SScDSS 
 
 
 rH(N)^^lCDt-a0030^H<MeC^.O 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 OOJOJJ ,_( "^^CO <N rH N "*" "*" 
 
 23 
 
 "*"& I M *-* -H 
 
 
 
 Tj< 0> 10 05 O 00 05 rH 
 
 ssaa.pnop I 
 jojnnomy | 
 
 rH 0505_; 
 
 upu jo auipus 
 
 utw jo 2aiuui2*i 
 jo srnix 
 
 
 
 
 ER 
 AIR. 
 
 00 t- (M U5 CO CO iO CO CO 
 
 ^ 10 _ 10 10 10 10 
 
 *OOOOrHrHiOeOTj5lOlOi-HO5rHOOO 
 
24 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Having thus taken a general view of that distinctive, passing 
 condition, and the states and changes of the weather, and the 
 other phenomena produced by it, it may be well to look at another 
 condition of the same class which occurred late in the Autumn in 
 a different part of the country, and passed over an extensive sur- 
 face, constituting an Autumn southeaster, in respect to which my 
 data are perfect, but too voluminous for insertion. 
 
 FIG. 4. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 25 
 
 The foregoing diagram exhibits the position of such a southeaster, 
 which entered upon the continent over Texas, and curving to the 
 northeastward had crossed the upper part and arrived at the lower 
 part of the Mississippi river, and was drifting to the eastward to 
 cover the entire territory of the United States and Canada, east 
 of that river, and pass off on to the Atlantic. It will be seen 
 that it had the same lateral winds as the one I have described, 
 but as the southeast wind was much stronger, (indeed, it blew 
 a gale,) its direction was more at right angles with the axis 
 of the storm. There will be noticed on this diagram, arrows in 
 the body of condensation or central portion of the storm, indicat- 
 ing that that portion was moving to the northeast and this was 
 true of it, and is true of all the various conditions, as a rule. 
 There are some exceptions which will be hereafter noted. It will 
 be further observed that the dotted lines on the northwest portion 
 of the storm, indicate that portions of it had moved up to the 
 northeast and left the surface uncovered, showing the manner in 
 which such stoims generally "clear off," from the northwest. It 
 should also be noticed that the shading, down at the Gulf, indicates 
 the accession of additional portions upon its eastern side, to which 
 we shall hereafter more particularly refer. 
 
 Let us now consider ourselves as having been at Springfield, 
 Ohio, over which this storm passed in its movement to the east- 
 ward and northeastward. There we should have noticed the same 
 order of events except that there was no thunder or light- 
 ing the lateral winds were much stronger the body of conden- 
 sation broader the rain longer continued and snow fell where- 
 ever, and to the extent, that the northwest wind blew in under the 
 western edge of the storm. In the showery condition which we 
 have described as passing over Springfield, Mass., the southerly 
 wind blew in under the belt of clouds, and obliquely across it, 
 nearly to its western edge, but the northwest wind did not blow 
 under the belt of cloud, or at least, not with any force. In the 
 condition we are now describing, the southeast wind also blew at 
 right angles under and across the belt of condensation, but the 
 
26 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 northwest wind blew In under that southeast wind, a small part of 
 the way, and turned the rain to snow. 
 
 The states and changes which then occurred at Springfield were 
 as follows: Anterior to the approach of the storm, within influ- 
 encing distance there was a fair, pleasant, still and normal day, 
 sometimes called a weather breeder, with a high barometer. As 
 soon as the influence of the storm reached the place and was felt, 
 the barometer began to fall, the air to move towards the storm, 
 and the wind to freshen from the southeast and fill with scud the 
 thermometer rose the air grew damp approaching cloud conden- 
 sation (cirrus) was seen in the west and northwest, and men arid 
 animals felt sensibly the approach of the storm. In the belt of 
 showers which we have described, the commencement of the fall 
 of rain was nearly coincident with the arrival of the eastern 
 abrupt edge of the cloudy portion of the condition over the place. 
 In the condition we are now describing, the cloudiness extended 
 from one to two hundred miles to the eastward of the rain, grad- 
 ually thickening from the eastern edge to the part where rain was 
 falling, and the western edge terminated abruptly with the fall of 
 snow. In all other respects and indeed in all their essential feat- 
 ures, the two conditions were alike, and belong to the same gen- 
 eral class. The August condition would have been wider and 
 like the autumn one if it had occurred later in the season ; and 
 so the autumn one would have been narrower, and a similar 
 belt of showers, if it had occurred in summer. 
 
 The number of this class of conditions (taking a period of ten 
 years) which occur in each year, at any given point east of the 
 95th meridian, will not vary, on an average, much from thirty, 
 and if anything exceed it. All, or nearly all of our thunder 
 showers, so called, are contained in and are a part of them. In 
 the course of nearly fifty years habitual and close observation in 
 different parts of the country, I have not seen a dozen, single, 
 isolated thunder showers. Such isolated showers may be frequent 
 in Europe, but .that most of them occur there also, as parts of 
 just such passing conditions, is demonstrable by their records. 
 Slight showers sometimes occur on the eastern or western edge 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 27 
 
 of the belt before the main body has arrived or after it has passed, 
 which seems to be isolated, but they are a part of the condition. 
 There was such an one at Amherst, August 2d, 1859, as appears 
 by the tables. 
 
 Of the thirty or more, at least one-fifth do not precipitate at 
 all over the eastern part of the continent. Whether because their 
 energy is spent before they reach us, or because they never were 
 sufficiently intense in their character, it is not always easy to de- 
 termine. Probably sometimes from one cause and sometimes the 
 other. That of August 1st, 1859, precipitated lightly at Buffalo 
 and Amherst, but not at Cambridge or New Bedford. These 
 feeble conditions are most common during summer droughts. 
 They are perfectly distinct have all the elements and go through 
 all the motions of the most intense conditions of their class, but 
 feebly and deceptively. They excite and disappoint hopes and 
 are the cause and foundation of the proverb that " all signs fail 
 in a dry time" But I shall refer to this class of conditions again 
 and note other occasional peculiarities. 
 
 Before leaving this branch of our enquiry I wish to put on 
 recor d two or three facts, mainly for reference hereafter. On my 
 way to Saratoga from Springfield, I saw frequently fields where 
 cured hay was lying in various conditions, imperfectly cocked, in 
 the windrow, and spread around, and in several instances partly 
 loaded and left when the owner was overtaken by the rain. Tens 
 of thousands of dollars were lost by farmers in New York and 
 New England by that single rain, in the value of their hay and 
 the cost of redrying it, which would have been saved if they had 
 understood the thirty-six hours perfectly intelligible warning which 
 preceded it. It was not my fault that they did not understand it. 
 In 1856 I published in the u Philosophy of the Weather," a full 
 account of the condition with a diagram and directions how to 
 understand and prepare for it. The following is a part and a 
 small part of that description, but it contains the gist of the matter: 
 
 " This class of storms, or belts of showers, present the follow- 
 ing succession of phenomena in summer : 
 1. Still warm weather, one or more days. 
 
28 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 2. Fresh southerly wind, one or more days ; if more than one, 
 dying away at the 8. W., at nightfall, but continuing into the 
 evening of the day before the belt of condensation arrives. 
 
 3. Belt of condensation, with or without rain or showers, with 
 the easterly wind blowing axially, if the condensation is heavy 
 and the belt wide ; westerly, if the condensation is feeble or the 
 belt narrow the clouds moving about E. N. E. 
 
 4. Cooler air, light N. W. in summer, heavy N. W. in autumn, 
 winter, and spring. 
 
 And, the next period 
 
 5. Still warm weather or light airs. 
 
 6. Souiherly wind, fresh. 
 
 7. Belt of condensation. 
 
 8. Cool northerly wind. 
 
 And so on, successively, unless broken in upon by some other 
 class. 
 
 Sometimes these periods are exceedingly regular, at other times 
 the other classes prevail. I have much reason to believe that 
 this is the normal, periodic provision for condensation of our por- 
 tion of the northern hemisphere, and probably of every other 
 where rain falls regularly in the summer season, and that the 
 other classes are exceptions, as the hurricanes are exceptions to 
 the normal condition of the weather every where. Perhaps in 
 some seasons, during the northern transit, the exceptions may 
 equal the rule, but I do not now remember such a season. In other 
 years nearly all the storms are of this character. Thus, Dr. Hil- 
 dreth (in Silliman's Journal for 1827,) speaking of the year 18*26, 
 in a note to his i egister of that year, says : ' There have been, 
 this year, an unusual number of winds from N. or N. W. Nearly 
 every rain the past summer has been followed with winds from 
 the northward, when in many previous summers, the wind 
 shifted to the southward after rain.' " 
 
 When preparing that book I took great pains to enlist some of 
 our college Professors in the observation of this class of condi- 
 tions. I succeeded to some extent by telegraphing and calling 
 personally, and pointing out the succession of phenomena as they 
 passed to the late respected Prof. D. Olmstead of Yale College. 
 But when apparently satisfied of the truth of the matter, he ad- 
 vised a publication through the Smithsonian, and said if not so pub- 
 lished, no matter what the facts might be, they would be ignored. 
 I replied that if such was the state of things, I should publish at 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 29 
 
 my own expense ; for if there was to be an Aristocracy of science, 
 or an Autocracy in any branch of it, in this country, it would have 
 no aid from me. To test the matter I sent one of the first copies 
 to Prof. Henry, and although it contained the full description 
 alluded to, and fifty other new facts of great practical interest to 
 farmers, and during the next three years he published several elab- 
 orate essays which were scattered broadcast, at government ex- 
 pense, in the agricultural part of the Patent office report, in which 
 he professed to give to the country all the facts then known bearing 
 upon the subject, there was no allusion to the book or the facts. 
 
 I also sent in August, 185G, one hundred and fifty copies of the 
 book, by express, to the Association for the advancement of Science 
 then in se-sion at Albany, a sufficient number to supply every 
 member then present with a copy. They were duly delivered, 
 three days before the adjournment, but were never acknowledged, 
 distributed or returned. The box was received and opened, but 
 closed again, and taken to the premises of the President of the 
 Association, and there remains, safely kept, so that the books can 
 do no mischief to theories, or reputations. On my enquiring after- 
 wards, a lame apology was given by the president for their non- 
 distribution then, but none has been gicen for their non-distribution 
 or non return since. Prof. Olmstead was a true prophet. 
 
 If tho-e books had been distributed, the body of the Associa- 
 tion, who are doubtless candid and honest enquirers for truth, 
 would have examined them, and anticipated and understood the 
 phenomena which occurred at Springfield, as I did. 
 
 With this general view of the states of the atmosphere and the 
 manner in which they are produced by one class of the passing 
 conditions, and the general view also of the character of that 
 class of conditions in their intensity and feebleness, and in sum- 
 mer and autumn, I will close this chapter. We have yet to 
 analyze and understand the organization of the long, central, 
 cloudy and precipitating body of the condition and its u wings of 
 wind" but before we can do so intelligently and understandingly 
 we must examine and understand the stories of the atmosphere and 
 their cloud furniture. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The stories of the Atmosphere clouds of the different stories different 
 character and function Three of those stories constituted by the inter- 
 position of the upper counter trade course of that trade varies in quan- 
 tity and altitude constitutes the middle story rate of progress open to 
 observation three kinds of cloud in the first or surface story, mist, scud 
 and fog mist common to all the stories Description of fog low fog 
 high fog Scud practically of great importance. Nomenclature of How- 
 ard does not include the scud Description of the clouds by Howard 
 Founded on form and structure alone Location, function, and use not re- 
 garded Howard's descriptions for that reason imperfect Nimbus not a 
 distinct form and should be discarded Return to consideration of scud 
 they form and float in the surface winds characteristics of the N. W. scud 
 characteristics of the N. E. scud of the S. E. scud of the S. W. scud 
 Clouds of the second story all of the stratus forms Three forms of stratus, 
 viz : Cirro-stratus, cumulo-stratus and stratus Description of them 
 constitute the rain-bearing clouds A single form of cloud known to the 
 upper story, the cirrus description of the cirrus. 
 
 ** The stories of the atmosphere f" And has the atmosphere 
 stories ? 
 
 It has ; and as distinct and peculiar as the stories of your 
 dwelling. 
 
 And are the clouds of the different stories peculiar and unlike ? 
 
 Yes, in character and function, and as much so as the furniture 
 of your parlor and bed-chamber and attic. 
 
 And are the stories constant and permanent? 
 
 Substantially so over the United States east of the meridian 
 of 100 ; and in some other portions of both hemispheres ; but that 
 is for our consideration when we come to examine the organization 
 of the General System. 
 
 There are three of these stories. They are constituted by the 
 interposition of a current of warm, rain-bearing air from the 
 tropics. It enters over the United States from the southward in 
 large volume, at different points, at different seasons of the year. 
 It moves to the northwest in the tropics and curves between 25 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 31 
 
 and 3."> lat., at different seasons of the year, moving afterwards 
 to the northeastward. It varies in quantity. Sometimes not 
 more than a thousand or two feet in depth, at others from 6 to 
 1 0,000 feet u a river in the air." Where it enters upon the 
 continent its inferior surface may generally be half a mile to a 
 mile above the earth. Gradually descending it will be nearer at 
 40 N. lat., and in the western states. It seems to be elevated 
 again somewhat in passing the Alleghanies, and the easterly wind 
 blows in under it in greater volume after it has passed than 
 elsewhere. 
 
 That current constitutes the middle story. All below it is the 
 surface story, all above it the upper story. Various names have 
 been given that middle story. In the " Philosophy of the weather" 
 I called it the " counter trade." Sir John Tyndal in a recent 
 work calls it the " upper trade." It is more generally knoAvn as 
 the " Equatorial current." For convenience I shall call it the 
 "trade current" or "trade story." It maybe seen in a large 
 proportion of the days of the year, and known by its elevation, 
 direction, and the character of the clouds which form and float 
 in it. At the latitude of 40, it moves when unexcited at the 
 rate of about twelve miles an hour, but its rate of motion is some- 
 times less and very often much more ; during intense storms, 24 
 miles or more an hour. Meteorologists attribute its change of 
 direction and easterly progression to the rotation of the earth on its 
 axis. If the reason assigned were not intrinsically absurd, the 
 fact that it moves slowly sometimes and at others very rapidly, 
 (as the motion of the earth is uniform,) would seem to be a con- 
 clusive refutation of the theory. But I am to waive all theoretic 
 discussion till all the facts have been passed in review. The dif- 
 ference in its rate of progress and that of the conditions also under 
 different circumstances, is open to the observation of all, and I 
 commend it to your constant attention. 
 
 There are three and but three kinds of condensation or cloud 
 furniture, found in the surface story ; mist, scud and fog. Of 
 these the scud and fog are peculiar to that story. The mists oc- 
 cur in all the stories by day and by night. They have been met 
 
32 TIliC ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 with by aeronauts when invisible from the earth, and they are 
 often sufficient to dim the light of the sun on a cloudless day. As 
 they are nearly transparent, that is their only effect. Fog and 
 cloud are of similar constitution. They have form, are not trans- 
 parent and reflect the light ; and since the time of De Saussure and 
 Kratzenstein who experimented and investigated the subject with 
 great care in the lowlands and upon the mountains, the opinion 
 generally received has been, that both clouds and fogs are alike 
 composed of vesicular vapor, and that the vesicles are hollow. 
 Those meteorologists and others measured them, and tabulated 
 their measurements (see Kaemtz's Meteorology, page 111.) 
 This has been recently questioned in this country, but not on re- 
 liable evidence or authority. I do not propose to discuss the 
 question. The fact that fog and cloud differ from rnist is unques- 
 tionable, and it is not material in this connection, whether owing 
 to the size of globu'es of water, or to hollow vesicles. Clouds 
 in one story and mist in another may be observed and contrasted 
 at least twenty times a year. Moreover, the fact that fogs are 
 sometimes vesicular is patent to the naked eye. I have myself 
 observed and you may observe it. After being out in a morning 
 fog which forms in the valleys in still, clear weather, I have ob- 
 served and you may observe the small vesicles adhering to the 
 nap of your hat or your coat, and you may see them rising from 
 the surface of rivers in white lines and wisps, like the fibro cirrus 
 of which I shall hereafter speak. 
 
 There are two kinds of fog peculiar to the surface story. Both 
 form in still, clear weather, and disappear in the early part of the 
 day. The first or low fogs rest on the surface. They form in 
 the valleys and over streams and rivers, rising to the height of 
 from one to two hundred feet, being very dense and obscuring the 
 vision of those whom they envelope. Their upper surface is often 
 irregular, presenting rounded elevations like those which are gen- 
 erally seen upon the upper surface of clouds. They are a splen- 
 did addition to the landscape when over looked from an elevation 
 like the Catskill Mountain House, just after sunrise, like so many 
 white ribbons stretched north and south over the valleys to the 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC -SYSTEM. . 33 
 
 eastward. The high fog is practically of more consequence. It 
 also forms in the night, generally towards morning, in the upper 
 part of the surface story, from 1500 to 2000 feet above the earth. 
 It obscures the sun as effectually as cloud, and induces those 
 who do not understand it to suppose that it is going to rain, but 
 intelligent, practical men who do understand it, will tell you that 
 it is nothing but high fog, and will clear away by 10 o'clock. It 
 is generally dissipated by that time or soon after, and I think if 
 you will reflect, most of you will remember the peculiar intensity 
 of the sun's rays, as, .upon some such occasion it first shone upon 
 you after the fog was dissipated. It is of practical importance to 
 distinguish this species of fog from cloud. It forms when the 
 surface story is still and there is no wind. It is nearer the earth 
 than the rain-bearing clouds. It is uniformly dense and regular, 
 without contrast of light and shade or diversity of form ; while- 
 even the rain-bearing stratus of the second story it more or lets 
 irregular in density with fragmentary variations of light and shade, 
 and in addition to these there will be an entire absence of such 
 changes in the state of the atmosphere in other respects, as usually 
 attend, and are produced by an approaching stormy condition. 
 These facts will enable you to distinguish it. 
 
 We come now to one of the most important and most strangely 
 neglected species of cloud, seen only in the surface story, the 
 scud. But before we enter upon the examination of them and 
 the other varieties of cloud, it will be well to look for a moment 
 at the received nomenclature of clouds. 
 
 In 1818, Mr. Luke Howard published that nomenclature, and 
 it has since been generally .received.. He classified the clouds by 
 the following names : Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus, Cirro-stratus 
 Cumulo-stratus, Cirro-cumulus and Nimbus. This nomenclature 
 was founded upon the peculiarities of structure alone, without ref- 
 erence to location, or any other characteristic or quality. It is 
 for that reason exceedingly imperfect, and was so considered by 
 Mr. Howard himself in the later years of his life. The annexed 
 diagrams show the different forms as originally published by Mr. 
 Howard, and copied in all our text-books from that time to this. 
 3 
 
34 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FIG. 5. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FIG. 6. 
 
 35 
 
 
 lllilll 
 
36 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Upon the first diagram, marked by a single bird, are attempted 
 representations of four forms of Cirrus. Three of them repre- 
 sent curls or wisps, sometimes call the " curled clouds " or " mares 
 tails." The fibres as represented on the diagram are very large, 
 and coarse, but as seen in nature they are Jine and thready. On 
 the upper right hand corner there is an attempted representation 
 of the linear cirrus, composed of long, straight, white threads or 
 lines. Howard describes this form of cirrus as sometimes extend- 
 ing from southwest to northeast in England, and from one horizon 
 to the other. It is not often so extensive in this country, but it is 
 very often seen as the outlying, advance condensation of a north- 
 easterly storm, approaching from the west and extending in the 
 same general direction. Another form of cirrus is attempted to 
 be represented on the upper part of the second diagram by one 
 bird, and consists of small irregular patches of delicate, thin, 
 white cloud. This also is a very common form in this country, 
 and it may be observed that the cirrus is generally seen taking 
 some one of these forms or some modification of them. 
 
 Remembering that the cirrus is always in the upper story 
 that it is always white and thin, and generally fibrous or thready, 
 with slender filaments contrasting with the azure of the sky 
 though sometimes misty and without observable form, and at others 
 in thin sheets or parallel bands, and is the highest form seen, you 
 will soon learn to distinguish it. 
 
 The second form, represented upon the first diagram only, by 
 two birds, is the cirro-cumulus. It is represented as having the 
 elevation of the cirrus, but consisting of small separated and 
 isolated masses, like a collection of fieeces of wool arranged for 
 exhibition without touching each other. Howard gave it the 
 name of Cirro-cumulus because it had the elevation of the cirrus 
 and was in small heaps. It is, in fact, cirrus broken into small 
 portions. This form of cloud is rarely seen in this country. It 
 does sometimes occur in the upper story during long continued 
 droughts or set fair weather perhaps half a dozen times a year. 
 
 The next form represented upon the first plate is the Cirro- 
 stratus, indicated by three birds, and of this he gives three forms. 
 
THK ATMOSPHERIC SYSTKM. 
 
 37 
 
 These, and modifications of them are very common in this country, 
 occurring in the upper part of the trade or second story, and are 
 especially visible in the advance condensation of approaching 
 storms, one modification (not represented,) being familiarly 
 known as the " mackerel sky." 
 
 The fourth cloud represented upon the first diagram is the 
 Cumulo-stratus, having a stratus base and a heaped-up elevation. 
 It is represented on the first plate by four birds. The same form 
 is Feen upon the second diagram as existing in a continuous belt 
 and not as an isolated cloud. This cumulo-stratus is also a com- 
 mon form with us, and usually makes up the eastern portion of 
 our showery conditions while the thunder and lightning prevail, 
 as in the condition whi< h we have described as having passed 
 over Springfield in August, 1859. The following diagram taken 
 from a daguerreotype view, represents the Cumulo-stratus of an 
 approaching belt of showers, which was taken in July of the same 
 year, and which had a stratum of linear-cirrus over it. 
 
 FIG. 7. 
 
38 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 The cirrus is a very difficult cloud to take by the daguerreotpye 
 or anibrotype process, and the artist has imperfectly represented 
 it upon the cut, but it will serve to guide your observation of the 
 cloud as it exists perfectly in nature and may very frequently be 
 seen. It is always white and I have represented it darker than 
 it is, to make it more observable. The stratus is represented at 
 the bottom of the 2d diagram. 
 
 As to the Cumulus, Mr. Howard must have applied the term 
 to all the various forms of scud, which exist in masses or heaps, 
 and to the cumulo-stratus when of moderate size. There is no 
 distinct cloud of that kind having a distinct character or use. The 
 last description of cloud mentioned by Howard is the Nimbus, 
 which is nothing but a Cumulo-stratus, dissolving in rain and 
 presenting a smooth appearance. The Fame appearance precisely, 
 
 FIG. 8. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 39 
 
 is presented by all our approaching thunder-showers, which have a 
 smooth appearance because the falling rain obscures the inequali- 
 ties of the cumulo-stratus clouds of which they are composed. 
 The preceding is Howard's representation of this form of cloud, 
 exhibited separately from the others. It is obvious that this is not 
 a distinct form of cloud, and I shall make no further reference to 
 it except to say that the continuous line of curnulo-stratus which 
 is presented to view by an approaching belt of showers in summer, 
 will have the appearance of Nimbu-. Above, you will ?ee the 
 irregular tops and front of the cloud, below, a smooth, lighter, 
 uniform surface from which the rain is falling, and it is not till 
 that smooth poriion gets over us, that the rain descends upon us. 
 That lighter, smoother, seeming surface of the cloud is a deception. 
 It is made by the falling rain, which obscures the irregularities of 
 the mass of cloud above and beyond. 
 
 Having thus referred in a general way to Mr. Howard's nomen- 
 clature of clouds and his illustrations of them founded on their 
 structure and form, let us return to a consideration of their quali- 
 ties and peculiarities, in connect r on with the stories of the atmos- 
 phere, commencing with the scud. 
 
 Scud, form and float in all the winds of the surface story, which 
 blow with any force. Light airs and breezes, are felt during the 
 fair weather state, but they are casual, feeble and without scud. 
 Scud form in all the winds which are parts or incidents of condi- 
 tions. The winds, strictly speaking, which are parts or incidents 
 of the stormy conditions, rarely blow from the south, north, east 
 or west, but from the Intermediate points of south east, south-west, 
 north-east or north-west. This results from the fact that the con- 
 ditions, after they curve in a low latitude, move in a north-east 
 direction. The lateral winds of a condition will therefore be 
 northwesterly and southeasterly. The northeasterly wind moves 
 in under the storm, in opposition to its line of progression. The 
 southwesterly follows after in the same line. The northeasterly 
 wind is very common east of the Alleghanies, and less common 
 west of them But we shall speak of all these winds more par- 
 ticularly hereafter. Our object now is to impress upon you the 
 
40 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 fact that they form the principal cardinal winds of the differing 
 conditions. 
 
 Such being the character of our winds, we may contemplate 
 the scud as they exist and are to be observed in different winds. 
 And first, of the northwest scud. 
 
 These scud are seen at different seasons of the year, in every 
 conceivable shape. In the summer season, they assume more or 
 less the cumulus form, in distinct, rounded masses, and are white 
 unless so dense as entirely to intercept the rays of the sun, when 
 their under surfaces will be dark. The following diagram shows 
 approximately the character of this description of scud, as they 
 appear in summer, and as they floated over the heads of The 
 American Association on their way to Amherst, in 1859. ' The 
 view was taken looking to the north. 
 
 FIG. 9. 
 
 In the fall of the year, a distinct, rounded form is less preva- 
 lent, and they assume more of the stratus form, and float in larger 
 and darker irregular masses. The following diagram is an im- 
 perfect copy of a daguerreotype view, taken at 8 o'clock in the 
 morning, looking to the northwest, when a heavy southeaster was 
 clearing off. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 41 
 
 FlG. 10. 
 
 The rain ceased towards morning, the body of the storm had 
 passed to the eastward, and was still visible, black and gloomy, in 
 the east and southeast. The retreating western edge of the storm, 
 thin and melting, is exhibited on the upper part of the diagram, 
 with an abrupt edge of stratus on its edge. That western por- 
 t'on with its edge, followed rapidly the body of the storm, and by 
 10 o'clock it was low down in the southeast. Between that wes- 
 tern edge of the storm and the horizon the sky was clear and 
 cloudless, except that near the horizon small masses of northwest 
 scud were forming, which are represented upon the cut. The air 
 was then still, but the northwest wind soon followed, and the scud 
 rose towards the zenith, pursuing the retreating edge of the storm. 
 At 10 o'clock the following view was taken, the wind having 
 freshened almost to a gale, and the scud in wild, irregular masses 
 covering all the northern part of the sky, and hurrying /HI to the 
 southeast. 
 
42 
 
 THE ATMOSPHEKIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 11. 
 
 The storm soon disappeared from sight, but the wind continued 
 to blow all day and until toward night in the same direction, 
 filled with the same wild, irregular scud. Later in the season and 
 early in the spring, these scud are frequently very large and dark 
 and gloomy, coalescing and covering the sky, and dropping for a 
 brief period flurries of snow, but they may always be known by 
 the direction and character of the wind they float in, and their 
 relation to some stormy condition which has passed by and cleared 
 off. I need not be more particular ; you will have fifty oppor- 
 tunities in the year to observe them, and a single glance for a 
 short period whenever the wind blows from that quarter, will 
 make their characteristics as familiar to you as those of the fur- 
 niture of your room. 
 
 The northeast and southeast scud are of a d'fferent character. 
 The northeast scud may be seen running under the outlying, ad- 
 vance condensation, towards the southwest, and the body of the 
 storm approaching from that quarter. They rarely assume a 
 cumulus form, but are almost always in irregular patches, never 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 43 
 
 white but always of an ashy grey. The following is a view of 
 these scud, as they were running from the northeast to the south- 
 west, twelve hours before the rain reached us, and while the pre- 
 cipitating portion of the storm was 150 miles to the west of us. 
 
 FIG. 12. 
 
 Over these scud, layers of cirrus and cirro-stratus in the second 
 and third stories were visible between the masses of scud, mov- 
 ing to the northeast, the advance condensation of the storm ; 
 but they could not be represented. As the storm approached 
 nearer these masses of scud became larger and denser, and be- 
 fore the rain set in they wholly filled the upper part of the sur- 
 face story, and obscured the storm clouds above from view. 
 The northeast wind and the scud continued to move to the south- 
 west, until after the body of the storm had passed to the east- 
 ward, the rain had ceased, and the layers of cirrus and stratus 
 were again visible through the dissolving scud. I have thus des- 
 cribed somewhat minutely these northeasterly storm scud. I have 
 watched their progress during the continuance of these storms, in 
 
44 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 hundreds of instances. Those of you who live east of the Alle- 
 ghanies, will have at least twenty opportunities for observing 
 them in the course of a year. I beg you to observe them care- 
 fully, for a knowledge of them and of their movement will be of 
 importance with reference to another branch of our inquiry. 
 
 The southeast scud do not differ materially from the northeast, 
 in color or form. Perhaps they are not so uniformly ashy-grey 
 as the northeast, but they are never black or white like the scud 
 which run from the westerly points. The following diagram rep- 
 resents a body of southeast scud, moving during a heavy blow, 
 towards a storm which was then at the northwest. They were 
 very low down, as their appearance indicates, not more than 1500 
 feet high. And they were very wild in appearance, but that wild- 
 ness could not be represented. 
 
 The view was taken looking northeast, the zenith and whole 
 western sky being obscured by them. 
 
 FIG. 13. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 45 
 
 Opportunities for observing the southeast scud are less frequent, 
 but they are sufficiently numerous. These southeast scud float in 
 the southeast wind, towards, under, and frequently quite across 
 the long, stormy conditions to which they are incident. I have 
 frequently seen the southeast wind, blowing under and entirely 
 across and beyond the body of a belt of showers or storm, and 
 gradually ceasing its movement, while the northwest wind was 
 blowing in under it and under the retreating edge of the storm. 
 
 The southeily and southwesterly scud are less distinct in char- 
 acter than any of the others. When they blow from the south- 
 southwest, towards and under a belt of showers, in the summer 
 season, they very much resemble in form and appearance the scud 
 of the easterly winds. The following cut represents a view of 
 them taken by the daguerreotype as floating in a south wind, 
 in the summer season, towards an approaching belt of showers. 
 
 FIG. 14. 
 
 But when, after a storm or belt of showers has passed by, and 
 the wind is hauling or veering through the west and southwest, 
 toward the northwest, the scud become whiter and more regular 
 in form. 
 
46 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 I have thus given you an outline of the character of the differ- 
 ent varieties of scud, and I wish to impress upon you the impor- 
 tance of observing and becoming familiar with them, that you 
 may better understand the organization of the various conditions 
 the rules for prognostication, and the motive-force of the system. 
 
 We come now to a consideration of the clouds of the second 
 or trade story. These are all of the stratus form. They are all 
 rain-beai ing clouds, and piecipitate the moisture which they bring 
 from the ti opics. There are three forms of the stratus. The 
 first is the cino-stiatus, seen in the imperfect condensation which 
 thins out in font and at the sides of the body of the storm. The 
 10! owing is a representation of cirro-stratus as taken by the 
 daguerreotype and seen in the advance condensation of a north- 
 easter. The scud had commenced running under it, but weie 
 small, and are omitted. There was a light stratum of cirrus in 
 the thiid story, which is imperfectly represented. 
 
 FIG. 15. 
 
 As the storm came on, the bands of cirro-stratus were seen to have 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 47 
 
 coalesced, and before the rain reached us, they had formed a dense, 
 unbioken stratus, that could be seen in spots between the scud, 
 until the latter had become so numeious that a view of the dense 
 mass of stratus could not be obtained. It is from the stratus of 
 the N. E. and S. E. sto. ms, that we obtain most of our rains in 
 the autumn, wintei, and spring. In the summer reason most of 
 our rain falls from the cumulo-stratus, the remaining form of 
 stratus, and the prevailing form in the eastern portion of our belts 
 of showers. It is among the masses of cumulo-stratus in such a 
 belt, that the lightning plays and the thunder is heard, and it is 
 from the base of some cumulo-stratus which settles down into the 
 surface story, that the lightning descends and strikes upon the 
 
 FIG. 16. 
 
48 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 earth ; and it is from the rounded thunder-head of the snme cloud, 
 that the lightning flashes up, to the layer of cirrus in the story 
 above ; and in the chamber between these two stories, that the 
 thunder reverberates and rolls, till it dies away in the distance. 
 The preceding diagram will give you some idea of the three strata, 
 when the stratus alone is forming in the middle story. It is made 
 up from observation, for a view of the three strata coexistent, 
 cannot be taken by daguerreotype. It represents, what I believe 
 is invariably true, that the dense layer of stratus has its irregular 
 rounded projections on the upper surface, though they do not tower 
 up like those of the cumulo-stratus. 
 
 In this connection I quote from Mr. Redfield as confirmatory, 
 his observation of the stratus and scud. 
 
 In a series of elaborate articles, substantially reviewing the 
 whole subject, published in the American Journal of Science, for 
 1846, he says: 
 
 "In nearly all great storms which are accompanied with ra'n, 
 there appear two distinct classes of clouds, one of which, com- 
 prising the storm scuds in the active portion of the gale, has 
 already been noticed. Above this is an extended stratum of 
 stratus cloud, which is found moving with the general or local 
 current of the lower atmosphere which overlies the storm. It 
 covers not only the area of rain, but often extends greatly beyond 
 this limit, over a part of the dry portion of the storm, partly in 
 a broken or detached state. This stratus cloud is often concealed 
 from view by the nimbus, and scud clouds in the rainy portion of 
 the storm, but by careful observation may be sufficiently noticed 
 to determine the general uniformity of its specific course, and ap- 
 proximately, its general elevation. 
 
 " The more usual course of this extended cloud stratum, in the 
 United States, is from some point in the horizon between S. S. W. 
 and W. S. W. Its course and velocity do not appear influenced 
 in any perceptible degree by the activity or direction of the storm- 
 wind which prevails beneath it. On the posterior or dry side of 
 the gale, it often disappears before the arrival of the newly con- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 49 
 
 densed cumuli and cumulo- stratus which not unfrequently float in 
 the colder winds, on this side of the gale." 
 
 " The general height of the great stratus cloud which covers a 
 storm, in those parts of the United IStates which are near the 
 Atlantic, can not differ greatly fom one mile; and perhaps is 
 oftener below than above this elevation." 
 
 The one great object of Mr. Redfield, in all his observations 
 and investigations, was to obtain evidence to establish his theory, 
 that the surface winds of all storms aie revolving winds ; and he 
 overlooked many of the important facts we have been consider- 
 ing. But with reference to the stratus and scud of storms his 
 conceptions were clear. Of the theory which he sustained with 
 great research and eminent ability, I shall speak in a more ap- 
 propriate place. 
 
 The remaining form of cloud, and the only form seen in the 
 upper story is the cirrus. I have never been able to get a good 
 daguerreotype or ambrotype view of it. It is uniformly white or 
 whitish, and for that rea-on exceedingly difficult to take. The de- 
 scription already given will be sufficient to guide you in your 
 observation of it, and I beg you carefully to observe it. It is 
 ordinarily the first seen as the advance condensation of a storm, 
 and bears an important part in the organization of all the con- 
 ditions. 
 
 I have thus given an outline of the stories of the atmosphere 
 and their cloud furniture. Much of it will be new to you. I 
 know of no author who seems to have had any distinct concep- 
 tion of the stories of the atmosphere and their peculiar clouds 
 except Mr. Ruskin, the author of Modern Painters, and his con- 
 ceptions were limited to the form and appearance, and d ; d not ex- 
 tend to their qualities and uses. We are now prepared to return 
 to the organization of the conditions in another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Recur to Springfield condition of Aug. 1859 Analysis of it was an organ- 
 ized condition composed of three strata of cloud and two lateral winds, 
 all connected and moving together extent of the several parts manner 
 in which they operated Did not contain any vortex southerly wind 
 blew entirely across under the body of it Facts in relation to the other 
 conditions as a class Rain-bearing clouds lie in parallel bands parallel 
 with the axis sometimes the cirrus also sometimes the scud Other facts 
 in relation to this class of condition wind the strongest which blows from 
 the surface which is most moist more common than any other class of 
 conditions Their occurrence in Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, the Missis- 
 sippi Valley the Southern Hemisphere a succession of them met be- 
 tween the tropics and the Straits of Magellan Have all the characteristics 
 in that hemisphere that they have in this Northeast storms most common 
 east of the Alleghanies in this country not known on the Pacific coast 
 rare in the Southern Hemisphere Description of them manner in which 
 the winds change in them Irregular conditions Hurricanes description 
 of them places where most frequent most common in West Indies 
 sometimes occur upon land in this country description of one Tornado 
 description of it. 
 
 I recur now in the first place, to the condition described as 
 havhig passed over Springfield in August, 1859. That this was 
 an organized condition is obvious. In the language of the dic- 
 tionaries, it was " composed of several individual parts, each of 
 which had its proper function and conduced to its existence." Of 
 its body and wings of \vind, we have already spoken in a general 
 way. Let us look now at the parts which composed its body, and 
 their motions and functions. That body was composed of three 
 strata of clouds. There was, in the first place, a layer of cirrus in 
 the upper story. There was, in the next place, a layer of cumulo- 
 stratus in the eastern portion of the trade story and of dense stratus 
 in the middle portion of that story, extending to the western edge, 
 gradually thinning, breaking up and dissolving. There was in 
 the lower story a stratum or layer of southerly surface wind, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 51 
 
 blowing in under the other strata, humid and moist, and filled 
 Avith patches and dense masses of scud ; and all these were in 
 some way, and had been for the days of its existence, and contin- 
 ued to be for at least one day longer, working or acting together, 
 and traveling, as relative parts, maintaining their relative positions, 
 to produce and deposit the rain. The thunder and lightning were 
 incidents, evidential of the intense action which produced the 
 strong wind and the rain in large quantities, but not essential to the 
 production of either. The layer of cirrus in the upper story, and 
 all the forms of stratus in the second story, were moving steadily 
 to the E. N. East, yet the whole body had a drift to tl e eastward. 
 I shall discuss hereafter the occasion of that drift. At present 
 I confine myself to the organization of the condition. 
 
 Now here we have the several parts which I have named, work- 
 ing harmoniously and continuously together, created and guided 
 by the Giver of all good, to distribute the blessing of needed 
 rain over the earih. The condition thus organized, existed and 
 drifted for several days, passing beyond our ken, out upon the 
 Atlantic. Some creative and vital force must have organized 
 and continued it. What was that force? While the condition 
 was passing over Springfield, Prof. Henry, in a lecture, was urg- 
 ing the theory that all such conditions, and all conditions and 
 winds were originated by the heating of the air at the surface of 
 the earth, and continued by the giving out of latent heat from the 
 condensing vapor, constituting a vortex which sucked up the sur- 
 face atmosphere, and produced the winds. I shall hereafter de- 
 monstrate to you that the theory is unsupported by a single fact 
 in nature. But I wish now to allude to some facts then existing. 
 The lateral winds of that condition were at least 200 miles in 
 breadth on the eastern side, and 150 on the west, and 2500 feet 
 in depth, moving at the rate of at least 20 miles an hour. The 
 whole width of the body of the condition from which rain was 
 falling, did not exceed at any time, 100 miles, and that space 
 could not have furnished a vortex sufficiently large to create or 
 receive the winds. Can any sane or honest minded man believe 
 it could ? 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 In the second place ihe N. W. wind did not blow at any time, 
 with any fo;-ce intooi* under the body of the condition, but fol- 
 lowed af'er it as it retreated to the east, vis.bly piling itself up 
 in the rear, and elevating the Barome er. In ihe third place, no 
 part of the condition reached above five miles from the earth, and 
 the vision could be extended a long distance over it as it approached 
 from the west, and so over it again as it receded to the east, and 
 no vortex which could have taken up both these winds, could have 
 existed without attaining great elevation and being seen, and 
 nothing of the kind was visible. And in the fourth place, a i'act 
 conclusive, after the intense and precipitating portion of the con- 
 dition, (where the vortex was assumed to be.) had passed by, 
 and the rain had ceased, the layer of ci rus in the upper story 
 and the layer of melting and dissolving stratus in the trade story, 
 were distinctly visible, occupying undisturbed and unperforated 
 their relative positions, and the southerly wind was moving with 
 its remnants of scud in its relative position under them, toward 
 the western edge of the condition far beyond the place where the 
 creating vortex was assumed to be. If that southerly wind had 
 been created by the suction of a vortex, it would have obeyed the 
 law of its creation and gone up the vortex. But there it was, 
 visible from the seat I occupied during the lecture, moving as I 
 have seen it a hundred times, AND WITHIN 2,000 FEET OF THE 
 LECTUHER'S HEAD, a conclusive refutation of the fundamental 
 doctrine of his lecture. In the debate which followed, I alluded 
 to it, and after the lecture was over, I pointed it out to several 
 gentlemen who were staying with me at the same hotel. In that 
 debate it was conceded, and the fact cannot be denied, that if there 
 was such a vortex, the wind and scud must ascend it and could 
 be seen to do so. And I offered Prof. Henry fifty dollars a scud 
 for every one he would prove to have been seen so ascending. 
 Prof. LoomL asked for a renewal of the proposition, saving he 
 was " up for a speculation" It was renewed AS A STANDING 
 OFFER and in good faith, although the discovery of a single vortex 
 would sweep away all I possess. It is now ten years since and 
 no vortex has been discovered, or money called for. Nor will 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 63 
 
 there be (although Prof. Henry has more than 100 observers at 
 his service) until the air of his parlor, by being heated, shall be 
 made to ascend through the floors, and carry the furniture with 
 it to his attic. 
 
 But it is not my purpose now to discuss the theory, or any 
 theory in relation to the organizing and vital force which creates 
 these conditions. I content myself with putting these facts on 
 the record for consideration hereafter. 
 
 There is another important fact in relation to all the conditions 
 of this class which should not be omitted. The edges of the body 
 when abrupt, extend from a southwesterly to a northeasterly 
 point, parallel with the axis of the condition and all the forms of 
 the stratus condensation in the trade-story, lie in distinct bands 
 parallel with that axis and conforming to their line of motion. 
 This is frequently the case a^o with the layer of cirrus in the 
 upper story. And the same fact may not unfrequently be 
 observed in respect to the northwest scud which follow it. They 
 are often arranged in lines, corresponding to the bands of stratus 
 and cirrus. This arrangement of the stratus in bands, is more 
 distinctly observable in the less intense conditions of this class, 
 like that which we have already described. They are also to be 
 seen in all the classes of conditions. In the storms which come 
 up the coast in the fall of the year and move more directly north, 
 the bands of condensation may be observed lying more northerly 
 and southerly, conforming to the line of motion. This fact has an 
 important bearing upon the question to be hereafter consideied, 
 relative to the organizing and continuing force of the conditions, 
 and I beg you to ob-erve it. It is visible in most of our conditions 
 when clearing off from the northwest, and in that direction. 
 
 There are some other peculiaiities attending these belts of 
 showers to which it may be well to refer. They are sometimes 
 composed of imperfectly connected showers or masses of cumulo- 
 stratus, and when the break between them passes over any given 
 point, a shower will pass to the north and another to the south of 
 it, and in such cases, people will say " the showers go round us. * 
 They sometimes move too, in the manner indicated in the follow- 
 ing diagram : 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 FlG 17. 
 
 And in such cases, the observer must look in the southwest, and 
 not at the west or northwest for the particular pot tion or cloud, 
 which is to precipitate rain upon his locality. 
 
 This is the general course and manner of progress of these belts 
 of showers, but there is one other peculiarity which should be 
 noticed. The lateral wind is always the strongest which blows 
 from the surface that is most moist. Thus when a belt is passing 
 south of the Great Lakes or south of a territory which is exten- 
 sively marshy, or over a dry portion of the country, when there 
 have been heavy rains to the north of it, the N. W. wind will 
 frequently supplant the S.wind and blow entirely across the boHy 
 of the condition and out upon the southerly side. In some sec- 
 tions of the country, and especially south of the Great Lakes, 
 this is not uncommon. 
 
 Before I leave this c T ass of conditions I wish to say that they 
 are the most common everywhere. In the following table taken 
 from Col. Reid's work on " Storms," there is a record of five of 
 them which passed over Bermuda in December, 1 839. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 55 
 
 Date. 
 
 Hour. 
 
 Direction of 
 Wind. 
 
 Wind's 
 Force. 
 
 Weather. 
 
 Bar. 
 
 Ther. 
 
 1839 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 Midnight. 
 
 S. S. E. 
 
 1 
 
 b. c. 
 
 30 06 
 
 C5 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 Noon. 
 
 S. 8. W. 
 
 3 
 
 b. c. 
 
 30 07 
 
 71 
 
 2 
 
 * 
 
 S. \V. 
 
 5 
 
 g. in. q. 
 
 29 86 
 
 70 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 S. S. W. 
 
 3 
 
 .g. c. 
 
 29 76 
 
 " 
 
 4 
 
 ' 
 
 S. W. 
 
 6 
 
 g. m. r. 
 
 29 62 
 
 68 
 
 5 
 
 ' 
 
 W. N. W. 
 
 5 
 
 p. q. 
 
 29 56 
 
 " 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 N. W. 
 
 6 
 
 p. q. 
 
 *29 55 
 
 M 
 
 7 
 
 i 
 
 N. N. W. 
 
 5 
 
 b. c. 
 
 29 78 
 
 70 
 
 ii 
 
 Midnight. 
 
 N. N. W. 
 
 3 
 
 b c. 
 
 29 89 
 
 68 
 
 8 
 
 Noon. 
 
 W. N. W. 
 
 a 
 
 b. c. 
 
 29 f-2 
 
 71 
 
 9 
 10 
 
 u 
 ii 
 
 S. S. W. 
 S. W. 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 p.q. 
 b. c. 
 
 29 84 
 29 96 
 
 70 
 
 u 
 
 11 
 
 u 
 
 W. N. W. 
 
 6 
 
 b c. m. 
 
 *29 88 
 
 68 
 
 12 
 
 t; 
 
 S. S. W. 
 
 " 
 
 b v. 
 
 29 99 
 
 69 
 
 13 
 
 u 
 
 N. N. bv W. 
 
 " 
 
 b.v. 
 
 30 01 
 
 66 
 
 14 
 
 M 
 
 N. N. 'W. 
 
 5 
 
 b. c. v. 
 
 30 06 
 
 64 
 
 u 
 
 Midnight. 
 
 N. W. 
 
 2 
 
 b. c. q. 
 
 30 05 
 
 63 
 
 15 
 
 Noon. 
 
 S. W. by S. 
 
 6 
 
 g. m. r. 
 
 29 72 
 
 65 
 
 it 
 
 P. M. 2 
 
 S. S. W. 
 
 7 
 
 in. q. r. 
 
 29 92 
 
 64 
 
 u 
 
 " 4 
 
 S. S. W. 
 
 u 
 
 g. m. q. r. 
 
 29 6) 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 " 6 
 
 W. S. W. 
 
 u 
 
 q. w. 
 
 *29 53 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 u 8 
 
 N. W. 
 
 6 
 
 b. c. q. 
 
 29 54 
 
 (( 
 
 14 
 
 " 10 
 
 N. N. W. 
 
 u 
 
 b.c. 
 
 29 55 
 
 ft 
 
 16 
 
 Noon. 
 
 N. W. 
 
 7 
 
 b. c. in. 
 
 29 53 
 
 62 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 u 
 
 N. W. by N. 
 N. W. 
 
 y 
 
 6 
 
 p.q. 
 c. q. 
 
 29 67 
 29 6 
 
 10 
 u 
 
 19 
 20 
 
 
 
 N. W. by N. 
 
 N. N. W. 
 
 7 
 
 u 
 
 m. q. r. 
 p. q c. 
 
 *29 73 
 29 89 
 
 59 
 
 58 
 
 21 
 
 (4 
 
 u 
 
 Midnight. 
 
 N. W. by N. 
 S. W. 
 
 6 
 1 
 
 C.q. 
 b. c. 
 
 29 96 
 29 95 
 
 56 
 55 
 
 22 
 
 Dawn. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 Noon. 
 
 S. S. W. 
 
 5 
 
 g. m. 
 
 29 83 
 
 C6 
 
 (( 
 
 P. M. 4 
 
 S. 
 
 7 
 
 g. in. 
 
 29 79 
 
 M 
 
 M 
 
 " 6 
 
 S. S. E. 
 
 a 
 
 g. m. r. 
 
 29 61 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 " 8 
 
 S. S. E. 
 
 M 
 
 w. r. 
 
 29 52 
 
 
 
 (i 
 
 " 10 
 
 S. E. 
 
 " 
 
 m. w. r. 
 
 29 48 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 Noon. 
 
 S. W. 
 
 6 
 
 b c. m. 
 
 *29 44 
 
 57 
 
 24 
 
 M 
 
 W. N. W. 
 
 M 
 
 b. m. 
 
 29 71 
 
 59 
 
 25 
 
 It, 
 
 W. N. W. 
 
 5 
 
 b.c. 
 
 29 88 
 
 56 
 
 26 
 
 " 
 
 N. 
 
 3 
 
 c. 
 
 30 09 
 
 62 
 
 27 
 
 
 
 S. E. 
 
 6 
 
 c. q. r. 
 
 30 07 
 
 61 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 S. W. 
 
 6 
 
 c q. 
 
 29 88 
 
 66 
 
 M 
 
 Midnight. 
 
 S. S. W. 
 
 " 
 
 b.c. 
 
 29 76 
 
 65 
 
 29 
 
 Noon. 
 
 S. W. 
 
 7 
 
 c. h. 
 
 *29 48 
 
 64 
 
 30 
 
 M 
 
 W. N. \V. 
 
 6 
 
 b. c. q. 
 
 29 *-3 
 
 55 
 
 31 
 
 || 
 
 N. W. 
 
 5 
 
 b.c 
 
 30 12 
 
 58 
 
 b. indicates blue sky c. detached clouds r. rain v. visibility of objects q. 
 squalls w. wet dew u. ugly threatening appearance g. gloomy weather m. 
 misty p. passing showers h. hail. 
 
 The foregoing table embraces the weather for a month, on an 
 island where no disturbing element of configuration could inter 
 fere. Examine it carefully, (it is from a standard work and re- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 liable) and answer it to your love of, or desire for truth and 
 knowledge, whether there are riot recorded there five successive, 
 passing conditions, with all the elements and changes I have 
 described as belonging to that class. The second one of those 
 five conditions, I beg you to observe, was (like some of those 
 which occur here as I have stated) feeb'e and short and did not 
 precipitate. It occurred on the 10th and llth. As it was late in 
 the season none of them were accompanied by lightning and thun- 
 der. The asterisks point to the several periods of low barometer. 
 
 So the northers of the Gulf of Mexico are the left hand, lateral 
 winds of this class of conditions as they come up over the Gulf 
 of Mexico in the fall ami win:er months and curve to the east- 
 ward over the United States. 
 
 The following description of two winter northers, copied from 
 Colonel Reid's valuable work, will illustrate what 'has been said. 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 1843. 
 
 Wind. 
 
 o 
 
 Jo 
 
 Weather 
 
 Bar. 
 
 _ 
 o> 
 j^ 
 
 
 Jan. 30. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A.M. 4. 
 
 s.s.w. 
 
 2 
 
 b. c. 
 
 29.90 
 
 77 
 
 Off Tamnico. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 South. 
 
 g 
 
 b. c. r. 
 
 29.86 
 
 76; l Lat. 23 41> N., Lons*. 94 
 
 P.M. 8. 
 
 South. 
 
 G 
 
 b. c. r. 
 
 29.84 
 
 76 
 
 \ 50' W. 
 
 Jan. 31. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A.M. 4. 
 
 S. Easterly. 
 
 3 
 
 b. c. 
 
 29.90 
 
 74 
 
 j Between 6 and 10 A.M., 
 
 1 wind was variable. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 N. bv W. 
 
 9 
 
 c. q. w. 
 
 29.96 
 
 76 Norther com'ced at 10 A M. 
 
 P.M. 8. 
 
 N.N.W. 
 
 9 
 
 c. 
 
 30.09 
 
 73 
 
 Lat. 22 36' N., Lg. 95 48/ W. 
 
 Feb. 1. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A.M. 4. 
 
 N.X.W. 
 
 7 
 
 c. g. 
 
 3C.29 
 
 63 
 
 Lat, 22 97 jj., Lg., 94 5i:' W. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 Westerly. 
 
 6 
 
 c. 
 
 30.30 
 
 67 
 
 
 P.M. 8. 
 
 Calm. 
 
 
 
 c. 
 
 30.26 
 
 67 
 
 
 Feb. 14. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A.M. 4. 
 
 S.E. 
 
 3 
 
 b. c. r. 
 
 2966 
 
 73 
 
 At Sacraficios. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 S.W. 
 
 4 
 
 b. c. 
 
 au;2 
 
 
 Norther comc'd at 5.30 P.M. 
 
 P.M. 8. 
 
 N.W. by N. 
 
 10 
 
 c. q. u. 
 
 20.72 
 
 65 
 
 
 Feb. 15. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A.M. 4. 
 
 N.W. by N 
 
 10 
 
 c. q u. 
 
 30.10 
 
 61 
 
 $ Gale moderated and again 
 f freshened about 8 A.M. 
 
 Noon. 
 
 N.W. bv N. 
 
 If 
 
 c. g. q. 
 
 30.19 
 
 61 
 
 
 P.M. 8. 
 
 N.W. - 
 
 4 
 
 c. g. 
 
 30.20 
 
 65 
 
 
 Feb. 16. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A.M. 4. 
 
 N.W. 
 
 f. 
 
 q. 
 
 30.18 
 
 62 
 
 
 P.M. 8. 
 
 N.N.W. 
 
 2 
 
 c. g. 
 
 30.21 
 
 66 
 
 
 b. indicates bine sky c. detached clouds r. rain v. visibility of objects q. 
 squalls w. wet dew u. ugly threatening appearance g. gloomy weather. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 57 
 
 Precisely such changes from S.E. rains to N. W. winds, with Hue 
 sky and detached dark clouds N. W. scud occur every autumn 
 in October and November, in the Eastern and Midd'e States, and 
 the falling of the thermometer and rising of the barometer, after 
 rain, and such a change of the wind, are perfectly characteristic. 
 Doubtless the northers are all of the same general character. 
 
 In both of these instances there was rain with the wind south 
 or southeast, and with a high thermometer and low barometer 
 preceding the northerly wind; and with the N.W. wind the ther- 
 mometer fell and the barometer rose. The westerly or left hand 
 lateral wind of the autumn southeaster, which I have mapped and 
 described to you, was a severe Norther on the western shore of 
 the Gulf of Mexico. If that storm revolved over the Gulf it 
 certainly ceased to do so before it arrived in the position where 
 it was investigated and I have represented it. With a few other 
 instances occurring elsewhere, I will leave this class of conditions. 
 
 Take now an instance from Mr. Bassnett's " Mechanical Theory 
 of Storms," as observed by him at Ottowa. The letters in paren- 
 theses refer to the wind. 
 
 "June <2lst. Fine clear morning, wind, (S. fresh :) noon very 
 warm, 88 ; 4 P.M., plumous cirri in south ; ends clear. 
 
 "22d. Hazy morning (S. very fresh), arch of cirrus in west ; 
 2 P.M., black in W.N.W. ; 3 P.M., overcast and rainy ; 4 P.M., a 
 heavy gust from south ; 4.30 P.M., blowing furiously (S. by W.) ; 
 
 5 P.M., tremendous squall, uprooting trees and scattering chimneys; 
 
 6 P.M., more moderate (W.). 
 
 "23d. Clearing up (N.W.) ; 8 A.M., quite clear; 11 A.M., 
 bands of mottled cirri pointed N.E. and S.W. ; ends cold (W.N.W. ); 
 the cirri seem to rotate from left to right, or with the sun. 
 
 " 24th. Fine clear, cool day, begins and ends (N.W.). 
 
 And another instance in August, less intense, of the same char- 
 acter. 
 
 " August ftth. Very fine and clear all day ; wind from S.W. ; 
 a light breeze ; 8 P.M., frequent flashes of lightning in the north- 
 ern sky ; 1 P.M., a low bank of dense clouds in north, fringed 
 with cirri, visible during the flash of the lightning ; 12 P.M., same 
 continues. 
 
58 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 " 7th. Very fine and clear morning ; wind S.W., moderate ; 
 noon, clouds accumulating in the northern half of the sky ; wind 
 fresher, S.W. ; 3 P.M., a clap of thunder over head, and black 
 cumuli in west, north, and east ; 4 P.M., much thunder and scat- 
 tered showers ; six miles west rained very heavily ; 6 P.M., the 
 heavy clouds passing over to the south ; 10 P.M., clear again in 
 north. 
 
 "8th. Clear all day; wind the same (S.W.), a hazy bank 
 visible all along on southern horizon" 
 
 The wind for the 9th is not given, but the belt moved very 
 slowly, keeping in sight all day on the 8th, and it was undoubtedly 
 round to N.W. after the belt had moved farther to the eastward 
 on the 9th. 
 
 Now follow me into the Southern Hemisphere. But here I 
 must premise that in the south temperate zone the winds vary in 
 direction from ours, but obedient to the same general law. The 
 conditions move there from Northwest to Southeast. Of course 
 the winds are reversed ; the storm-winds there, as here, are on 
 the tropical side of the condition. The N.E. wind, as a wind 
 lateral to the condition, corresponds to our S.E. wind, and the 
 N.W. wind bears the same relation to the condition that the S.W. 
 does to the conditions in this zone. So the S.W. wind bears the 
 same relation that the N.W. does here, and is their clearing off 
 wind as the N.W. is here. And the S.E. wind a'so corresponds 
 to our N.E. and the S. wind there corresponds to the N. wind here. 
 The west is the only wind that bears the same relation to the con- 
 ditions in both zones. 
 
 It is a notorious fact that the difficulties experienced in doub- 
 ling Cape Horn, arise from the frequency with which the con- 
 ditions pass at that point, and the almost constant alternation of 
 N.W. storm-winds with S.W. clearing. off winds of passing con- 
 ditions, drifting to the eastward, past the cape. I have had a 
 strong desire to pass around the Horn and observe the passing 
 conditions there and in both Oceans, but circumstances have pre- 
 vented it. An intelligent neighbor, Dr. Samuel Lynes, made the 
 trip from New York to Panama in Ihe Pacific Mail Co.'s Steamer, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 59 
 
 the " China," commanded by Capt. Geo. H. Bradbury. At my re- 
 quest, he kept a careful record of his observations, which he fur- 
 nished me, and which I shall hereafter use extensively. I now 
 copy from that record arid the log politely furnished me by Capt. 
 Bradbury, in order to show the conditions met with from lat. 2-1 
 S. to the Straits of Magellan, a distance of about 2100 miles. 
 
 Friday, July 26, 1867. Latitude then at noon was 24 S. 
 They had left the S.E. trades and were standing S.W. by west, 
 and in the afternoon entered the N.E. wind of a passing condi- 
 tion. The record is, " P.M., wind E.N.E. fresh, sent up head- 
 yards," and the record for the succeeding days till their arrival 
 at Possession Bay in the Straits of Magellan, is as follows : 
 
 "Saturday, July 27, 1867. Begins A.M. with strong wind from 
 N.E. to N.E. by N. Hazy and foggy. 7A.M. thermometer 6G. 
 Fresh breeze from N. East, nearly calm at noon. Saw a steam- 
 er probably bound for Rio Janeiro. Has been very pleasant 
 to-day ; sails set to-day. Lightning in S.E. and S. to-night 
 from dark to midnight, and likely to be a change. Thermome- 
 ter highest 67, Lat. 26 15 S., Long. 47 03' W. Miles run, 240. 
 
 Sunday, July 28. Begins A.M. with brisk N. to N.N.W. 
 winds and squally. 7 A.M., ther. 57, wind round in a light 
 breeze from S. W., sails down this morning, lightning all last night. 
 Fresh S.W. to S.S.W. wind through the day, and fine. Passed 
 St. Catherine's light about midnight. We begin to see many 
 birds now, gulls, etc. Heavy fog at 2 P.M. Saw a brig. Di- 
 vine service at 4 P.M. Saw " Magellan's Clouds" Lat. 29 38' 
 S., Long. 49 19' W. Miles run 240. 
 
 Monday, July 29. Began A.M. with light N.E. wind till 2 
 A.M. then fresh and strong from N.E. to N.N.E. 7 A.M. ther. 
 56. Fresh breeze from N.E. Thunder and lightning, and heavy 
 showers and hail. Lighted up in S.W. after a deluge of rain 
 with lightning and thunder ; at 10 A.M. set sail, saw a brig, wind 
 steady N.N.E. Clouded aga ; n at 1 1 A.M., wind hauled around 
 slowly and got to S.W. at 10 P.M.; heavy showers all day, and 
 heavy E.N.E. swell to midnight. Ther. highest 57, Lat. 33 
 10' S., Long. 52 40' W. Miles run, 250. 
 
GO TL1E ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Tuesday July 30. Began A.M. with fresh W.S.W. wind and 
 cloudy with sharp squalls. 7 A.M. ther. 47 cloudy. A S.VV. 
 gale (" Pampero ") blowing this morning, Capt. B. says not a 
 severe one. Let in steam to the saloon to warm us. Off the 
 river Plata to-day. Passing, sharp squalls with rain and hail in 
 afternoon and evening. Nearly over a vessel at 8J- P.M. 
 Stopped engines and backed her and she got by narrow escape. 
 Ther. 45, Lat. 35 30' S., Long. 54 37' W. Miles 197. 
 
 Wednesday July 31. Began A.M. with wind fresh from W. 
 S.W. and fine. 7 A.M. ther. 40, clear, wind and sea not quite 
 so high as yesterday, cloudy at 9 A.M. when the wind veered to 
 N.W., rainy at 11 A.M. and cold, windy and disagreeable ; set jib 
 and fore spencer, sea smoother. Off Cape Corientes at 4 P.M. 
 Cleared and wind moderated in P.M. Sun set most beautiful to- 
 night behind Cape Corientes. Ther. highest 48, Lat. 37 31' S., 
 Long. 56 40' W. Miles 163. 
 
 Thursday Aug 1. Began A.M. moderate to fresh from N. to 
 N.W. At 4 A.M. wind went to S.W". by W. and blew fresh a 
 strong wind from S.W. dead ahead, large sea. Wind and sea 
 moderated in the afternoon and at sundown, only a gentle breeze 
 from S.W. Has been very clear and bright to-day. Ther. high- 
 est 50, Lat. 39 48' S., Long. 59 37' W. Miles 190. 
 
 Friday Aug. 2. Began A.M. with wind N.W fresh with 
 strong intervals. 7 A.M. ther. 51, cloudy, cool and fresh breeze 
 from N.W. Sea moderately rough. Set jib and fore spencer at 
 8 A.M. At 9 A.M. clear arch to the W.S.W. and when over- 
 head wind came out S.W. by W., smart gale. Noon, blows a 
 gale a pampero more severe than any we have had yet. The 
 waves are very large ship is very steady. 7 P.M. gale increas- 
 ing and terrific. Ther. 48, Lat. 42 07 S., Long. 63 00' W. 
 Miles 208. 
 
 Saturday, Aug. 3. Began A.M. with strong S.W. to S.S.W. 
 gale, and very heavy sea. 7 A.M. ther. 49, cloudy, wind mod- 
 erating, heavy sea running. Passing rain squalls through the 
 night. The gale broke towards morning, ship behaved admirably. 
 P.M. moderated more and very pleasant, except rough sea and 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 61 
 
 occasional light passing snow-squalls. Ther. 44, Lat. 43 49' S., 
 Long. 63 44' W. Miles 107. 
 
 Sunday Aug. 4. Began A.M. with wind, light from S. by W. 
 till 6 A.M., then light N.N.W. 7 A.M. ther. 40, cloudy and 
 cool but pleasant, wind freshening from N.N.W., set all sail on 
 foremast, making 10 knots. Off Cape Blanco at noon, in sight ; a 
 strong breeze from N.E. continuing through the afternoon; eve- 
 ning rainy and dark. Ther. 41, Lat. 47 26' S., Long. 65 10' W. 
 Miles 226. 
 
 Monday Aug. 5. Begins A.M. fresh breeze from N.W. 7A.M. 
 ther. 38, clear, pleasant but cold. Fresh breeze from west and 
 rough sea. 1 P.M. snow-squall. 8 P.M. off Cape Virgins, entrance 
 to the Straits of Magellan. Passed in and anchored in Possession 
 Bay at midnight. Blowing fresh S.W. Lat. 51 3' S., Long. 67 
 41' W. Miles 240. 
 
 Tuesday, Aug. 6. At anchor in Possession Bay. Began A.M. 
 with fresh S.W. wind and very fine weather." 
 
 I have not only examined carefully the record of Dr. Lynes, 
 and the log of Capt. Bradbury, but have conversed with both of 
 them personally on the subject, and the record is entirely reliable. 
 And now remembering that the steamer was running to the S.W. 
 at right angles with and across the path of the conditions, from 8 
 to 10 miles an hour, and that the conditions which they met were 
 moving to the southeastward at as great and probably greater 
 speed, let us analyze the record and see what the number and 
 character of the conditions were which were met and passed 
 through by the steamer. 
 
 It will be observed that at lat. 24 S. they had entered and 
 were running with a fresh N.E. breeze, which was obviously the 
 left-hand lateral wind of a condition moving to the S.E., corres- 
 ponding to our southeasters. They continued to run in that wind 
 through that night and the next day. As they approached that 
 condition at night, the body of it had crossed their track, but they 
 saw its lightning in the S.E. and S. from dark till midnight. The 
 wind veered in the course of the night through the N.W. and W. 
 with some squalls, and the next morning they entered the S.W. 
 
62 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 right-hand, lateral wind of the condition, which continued through 
 the day with fine weather. Thus they entered this condition 
 July 26th, at noon, at lat. 24, and ran out of it on the 28th, at 
 evening, and the whole condition, body and wings, was about 450 
 miles wide. On the 29th they entered the N.E. lateral wind of 
 another condition, and in the forenoon had thunder and lightning, 
 and showers and hail. The showers continued through the day. 
 Passing through the condition they entered the S.W wind on the 
 other side of it, at 10 P.M. which freshened through the night 
 and was a S.W. gale or Pampero in the morning. The S.W. 
 wind continued through the 30th and into the morning of the 31st. 
 That condition was about 350 miles wide. At 9 A.M. of the 31st 
 they struck the N.W. wind of another condition, with rain. This 
 N.W. wind lasted until 4 A M. of August 1st, when " it went to 
 S.W. by W.," and so to S.W. and blew strong from that quarter 
 through the day, moderating at sundown to a gentle breeze from 
 the S.W- That condition was about 300 miles wide. On the 
 morning of the second of August, they entered the N.W. wind of 
 another condition, which they ran through in the course of the 
 day, and then encountered the S.W. wind of the condition, which 
 lasted them through the rest of that day and the next, and proved 
 to be a more severe pampero than any they had before had. 
 That too, body and wings, was about 300 miles wide. At 6 A.M. 
 of the 4th, they entered the N.W. wind of still another condition, 
 which veered to the N.E. and continued through the day. In the 
 evening they entered the body of the condition and had the rain 
 and northerly wind through the night. During the next day the 
 wind hauled through the west to the S W. and they anchored in 
 Possession Bay at midnight with a fresh S W. wind and fine 
 weather. That condition was at least 400 miles wide. 
 
 This is a most instructive record. It is made up of the usual 
 entries of an intelligent shipmaster and the diary of an intelligent 
 physician, a passenger, posted in regard to such matters, anc 
 watching for the changes, and is perfectly reliable. 
 
 The steamer was a powerful one, and held her way, night am 
 day, at right angles to the path of the conditions in that locality, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. G3 
 
 and through their lateral wings of wind, and bodies ; and taking 
 the speed of the vessel and time of passage through each condi- 
 tion, we could map them out severally and distinctly without the 
 least difficulty. In a run of less than 2100 miles she passed 
 through five of these conditions distinctly and clearly marked, and 
 resembling in every feature, except those incident to the hemis- 
 phere, the belts of showers and southeasters known to us. Ex- 
 cept in the direction of their progress, and the change of sides 
 for their storm and clearing off winds, they are identical. 
 
 There were five of them met with and passed through in the 
 run of less than 2100 miles. Doubtless they are a fair represen- 
 tation of the character of the conditions in that hemisphere. 
 Nothing like our northeasters was met with, nor are they often 
 found elsewhere than on the eastern part of our country and off 
 our coast. They are rare in the Mississippi Valley, and unknown 
 on the western coast. And so, as I have said, they are almost 
 unknown at the Horn, and there they rarely have any easterly winds. 
 
 There is olher and abundant evidence, derived from the records 
 of travellers and navigators, that the prevalent condition which 
 disturbs the normal, fair weather state of the south polar zone, is 
 of the same character. The Sailing Directions of Maury are full 
 of it. Dove collected a large amount of it, to prove his law of 
 Gyration. (See his Law of Storms, p. 107 and onward.) The 
 intelligent man who examines the subject will find it impossible 
 to doubt the fact, if his judgment is not demoralized by false 
 theory. And I leave this class of conditions with the assertion 
 that they are undoubted by the prevailing ones of the Atmospheric 
 System, in both the Polar Zones. 
 
 We come now to another atmospheric condition distinctly 
 marked on the east side of the Alleghanies, but not as prevalent 
 or distinctly marked on the west side, called the Northeaster. 
 The distinguishing feature of this atmospheric condition is a thin 
 stratum of N.E. wind which sometimes blows a day or two towards 
 the storm which is appoaching from the southwest before the storm 
 reaches us. From the best information I can obtain, I am satisfied 
 that in such cases, the storm is very wide and presents a wide 
 
04 THK ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 front to the eastward. The wind sometimes changes from the 
 South to the N. East, under a distinct belt of rains, where that 
 has very considerable width. I am inclined to think that the wind 
 is always Northeast, where the belts have a width of 500 miles 
 or more on the east side of the Alleghanies. This wind is very 
 frequent in the spring of the year, when the focus of the storm 
 is to the south of us, and its northern edge extended up over us, 
 and the condensation is not sufficiently dense to precipitate. In 
 such cases, though we may have N.E. wind for a day or two, while 
 the storm is passing by us to the south, we may get no rain in New 
 England, but have what is termed a " dry Northeaster." I think 
 it is generally true that the hurricanes of the West Indies, which, 
 when they first commence have the winds N.E., and have their heav- 
 iest blow from the S.W., become Northeasters in high latitudes, 
 where they widen out and lessen in intensity, as shown by Figures 
 18 and 20. 
 
 FIG. 18. 
 
 Most of our northeast storms, notwithstanding they have cur- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 65 
 
 rents from the N.E. and S.W. blowing under them in the direction 
 of the axis, have the lateral winds from the S.E. and N.W. de- 
 veloped on their sides. North of the latitude of 40, during the 
 winter and spring months, the principal path and focus of the 
 conditions, as we shall hereafter see, is at the southward. When 
 that is so, the N.E. wind backs into the N.W. as the condition 
 passes by, all the surface winds blowing toward the focus or pre- 
 cipitating portion of the storm. When, too, the focus of the storm 
 passes south of the observer, without rain in his locality, the wind 
 soon backs from the N.E. to the N.N.E. or N., a sure indication 
 that the focus is to the southward, and this is very common north 
 of 40 in the eastern part of the United States in the early spring 
 months. 
 
 When the principal path of the conditions is carried up by the 
 laws of the general system, as will be hereafter explained, the 
 wind hauls around from the N.E. by the South to the S.W., clear- 
 ing off warm, as it is termed, and then summer breaks upon us. 
 I have frequently seen the lateral southerly wind, with heavy 
 scud, blowing in under the body of a northeaster, while the thin 
 stratum of N.E. wind was running, next the earth, rapidly to the 
 S.W. Such double currents produce our continuous heavy rains. 
 I have seen, too, the northwester, in the rear of a N.E. storm, at- 
 tempting to wedge itself in between the N.E. current, near the 
 earth, and the S.E. current, in the upper part ol the surface story 
 which had blown clear across the storm. It is unnecessary to 
 pursue further the description of the Northeaster. Enough has 
 been said to point out its peculiarities, and guide you to an obser- 
 vation of it. 
 
 There are certain irregular conditions which occasionally oc- 
 cur. Thus the whole eastern part of the continent is sometimes 
 covered for days by cloudiness, with here and there irregular 
 patches of snow or rain in winter and spring, or showers and per- 
 haps tornadoes in summer. These long spells of extensive con- 
 densation and dampness or irregular rain, and irregular winds 
 are occasional and exceptional, and of course defy distinct de- 
 scription or classification. But it will be observed that they gener- 
 
GG 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ally begin with southerly or easterly wind and clear off from the 
 northwest. 
 
 The next condition to which we shall advert is the Hurricane, 
 This term is usually applied to violent gales at sea and particu- 
 larly those which originate in the tropics. They occur most fre- 
 quently in the Bay of Bengal and China Sea, and upon the 
 Atlantic Ocean, east of the Windward Islands of the West Indies. 
 They are most common in the warm season of the year. Those 
 which occurred in the West Indies between the years 1493 and 
 1855, of which there is record, comprising a list of about four 
 hundred, are divided between the months as follows : 
 
 January, - 
 February, 
 March, 
 April, - 
 May, 
 June, - 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 11 
 6 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 July, 
 
 August, 
 September, 
 October, 
 November, 
 December, - 
 
 24 
 
 - 9G 
 80 
 
 - 69 
 17 
 
 - 7 
 
 FIG. 19. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 67 
 
 Many of the Hurricanes of the West Indies were investigated 
 and charted by the late Wm. C. Redfield, and published in the 
 American Journal of Science. He considered them revolving 
 gales, and such is now the received opinion. The evidence has 
 never satisfied my mind, and I shall examine the theory hereafter. 
 But whatever my opinion in relation to the theory may be, I can 
 and do most cheerfully concur in the high appreciation generally 
 entertained of the abilily and utility of his investigations. The 
 preceding is a copy of a chart prepared by Mr. Redfield, indicat- 
 ing the tracks pursued by the various storms which he investigated. 
 
 The following is also a copy of a map of a hurricane, investigated 
 by Lieutenant Porter of the Navy and National Observatory, 
 from the Logs of vessels, received at that Institution, and pub- 
 lished in the " Sailing Directions " of Lieut. Maury. The chart 
 
 FIG. 20. 
 
68 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 of Mr. Redfield will give you a general idea of the place where 
 these hurricanes originate and the course which they pursue. 
 The map of Lieut. Porter will exhibit to you the course and 
 width of that particular condition, by its shading. The white line 
 in the centre is intended to indicate the line upon which the bar- 
 ometer stood the lowest. 
 
 In that storm the lateral winds were very distinct, and as it 
 widened out in the North Atlantic, the N.E. wind set in and blew 
 beneath the lateral winds, precisely as it does under the storms 
 which pass over the continent when they are widened out to the 
 same extent. There are many instances on record where others 
 have observed four currents in a storm, viz. : The N.E., next 
 the earth, the N. W. over that, the southerly wind over both, 
 each indicated by its scud and the trade current with its stratus 
 moving steadily to the N.E. over all. The vortex has never been 
 seen and never will be. 
 
 These hurricane conditions of the Atlantic, thus originating, 
 organized and progressive, were frequently traced by Mr. Red- 
 field, as by Lieut. Porter, maintaining their organization and vio- 
 lent action for many days, until they passed far into the North 
 Atlantic beyond the track of commerce, and all opportunity for 
 observation. Where their organization was broken up and their 
 action ceased, we canmot know. The presumption is by no means 
 a violent one (curving, as some of them evidently did, to the 
 westward again on the North Atlantic, in the face of the theory 
 of rotation and regardless of converging meridians) that they 
 entered the Arctic circle and attained a higher latitude than man 
 has ever attained. 
 
 These hurricane conditions of the Atlantic are of practical as 
 well as theoretic interest to us, as they generally hug our coast, in 
 their movement to the north, and extend more or less inland east 
 of the Alleghanies, and are sometimes destructive in their effects. 
 But a knowledge of their organizing and continuing force has 
 an important bearing in the investigation of the general atmos- 
 pheric system. That interest is increased by the events of the 
 last two years. During the summer of 1867, a wide belt of coun- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. G9 
 
 try in the interior of the United States from the Gulf to Canada 
 was afflicted with a destructive drought, while the whole coast- 
 region east of the Alleghanies was suffering with dampness and 
 drench. The extraordinary humidity and precipitation were pro- 
 duced by a succession of these hurricane conditions passing up 
 along the coast and extending inland. They were more numerous 
 and precipitated more than usual, but in other respects their ac- 
 tion was less violent. There was obviously a diversion to the 
 eastward of the conditions and trade current, which usually enter 
 over the Gulf of Mexico and upon the Southwestern States, and pass 
 up over the various parts of the country, in the summer months, 
 which diversion gave the coast-states an unusual quantity of rain 
 and left the inteiior states deficient. I shall allude to this matter 
 again, after we have examined the general organization of the 
 atmospheric system and come to the consideration of Droughts. 
 
 I have said that these Atlantic Hurricanes were generally con- 
 sidered revolving Cyclones. Much evidence has been accumula- 
 ted to prove this, and also with reference to the hurricanes of the 
 China Sea and Bay of Bengal. Whatever may be said or true 
 in relation to the wind blowing in them round a circle, it is con- 
 ceded and undoubtedly true that their strongest winds are lateral 
 to their line of progress. Their rotary charac'er will be consid- 
 ered when we come to the laws of the conditions. 
 
 There is another class of Hurricanes which have no discovera- 
 ble rotation, and which are the most violent of all. The. c e vary 
 in width from a mile to forty or fifty miles, and under the whole 
 width the lateral winds are masked by a most violent and des- 
 tructive wind which follows the body of cloud and its line of pro- 
 gress from the westward to the eastward. By the kindness of 
 Col. Lachlan, of Cincinnati, a British officer now resident in that 
 city, who has devoted much attention to Meteorology, and who 
 investigated it with much industry, I am enabled to describe fully 
 that particular condition. It was one of the most extraordinary 
 ones of the class which is known to have passed over the country, 
 
 It occurred on the 21st May, 1860. Commencing west of 
 Louisville, Kentucky, it followed the valley of the Ohio to Ports- 
 
70 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 mouth, Ohio, a distance by an air line of 1 00 miles. East of 
 Portsmouth it does not appear to have been violent. It was from 
 40 to 50 miles in width, and devastated the country over which it 
 passed. It passed over and injured the residence of Col. Lach- 
 lan, and he sent me a full account of it as witnessed by him, and 
 a large collection of other accounts, collected from newspapers 
 and other sources. I regret that my limits will not permit the 
 insertion of much of the material furnished me. I make, how- 
 ever, a few extracts. The following is from one of the Cincinnati 
 Journals published on the succeeding morning : 
 
 " About three o'clock yesterday afternoon, a tremendous tor- 
 nado burst upon the city. We had observed a few minutes be- 
 fore, that the storm rising in the southwest promised to be one of 
 unusual severity. Violent gusts of wind whirled the dust in fierce 
 eddies about the streets, and made the sand and gravel whiz and 
 spin over the boulders and sidewalks. The air suddenly grew 
 dark, and presently a craggy mass of black and ashen clouds were 
 seen, laced and bristling with streams of lightning, ru-hing up 
 the sky with amazing velocity. So vivid and incessant was the 
 play of electricity, that the storm-cloud seemed like a magazine 
 of rockets exploding and launching volleys of fiery darts in every 
 direction. While the lightnings were naming above, the tempest 
 was roaring below, and as it advanced, the city was lost to view 
 in the white and hissing spray of the rain. 
 
 "The force of the wind was for this latitude almost unexampled. 
 
 "In a few minutes immense damage was done. Steeples were 
 prostrated, dwellings overthrown, crushing the occupants in the 
 ruins ; roofs whirled on high, torn into shreds and scattered far 
 and wide ; shade trees uprooted, twisted and broken by hundreds ; 
 signs torn from their fastenings, and shivered into splinters ; chim- 
 neys beaten down ; windows burst in ; carriages overturned ; 
 persons hurled from their feet and bruised against the walls. We 
 have indeed a long and distressing catalogue of disaster to pre- 
 sent our readers. 
 
 "There was universal consternation throughout the city. Peo- 
 ple lost faith in the roofs over and the walls around them, and 
 ran into the streets, notwithstanding the rain, for safety. 
 
THK ATMOSPHERIC SYaTEM. 71 
 
 The sun set in a, sky of crimson and orange. The western sky 
 was illuminated i s if by a vast conflagration. A heavy rain set 
 in early in the evening and continued until after midnight, drench- 
 ing the habitations made roofless by the tornado, which is conced- 
 ed to have been the most disastrous known to the present gener- 
 ation." 
 
 The following account is from the " Louisville (Ky.) Courier," 
 of the next morning : 
 
 "A little after 2 o'clock yesterday the city was swept by one of 
 the most fearful and destructive tornadoes ever known. During 
 the morning it was pleasant, but towards noon it began to cloud 
 up, and about 1 o'clock the heat was oppressive in the extreme. 
 The threatening clouds were gathering in heavy masses in all di- 
 rections, with not a breath of air stirring in the streets, but that 
 a storm was brewing was apparent to the most casual observer of 
 the elements. The scene soon fearfully changed, with a most 
 singular change in the appearance of the clouds, which varied in 
 color from black to green, and then to straw color, followed by a 
 terrible tornado, which luckily lasted but a few minutes, or the 
 destruction would have been immense. The city in a twinkling 
 was completely enveloped in dust, houses unroofed and demolished, 
 trees uprooted, and the utmost confusion prevailed in the almost 
 Cimmerian darkness that encompassed the city. The wind shifted 
 from southwest to the northwest, and amid the clashing of the 
 elements, amid the lightning and loud peals of thunder, the rain 
 poured down in torrents a miniature deluge, intermixed with a 
 heavy storm of hail." 
 
 The following also is from the " Portsmouth Tribune." 
 
 "Last evening, about four o'clock, a terrible tornado swept over 
 this city and vicinity, surpassing in violence all storms ever expe- 
 rienced in Ohio, and most disastrous and fatal in its results. 
 
 "A dark cloud in the southwest, accompanied by muttering thun- 
 der, indicated the approach of a storm ; but nothing more than 
 an ordinary thundergust was anticipated, until the gale in all its 
 resistless fury burst upon us. Its approach was so sudden that 
 persons were hardly able to close doors and windows, before rain 
 
72 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 and wind had swept in, carrying all before them. In an instant, 
 buildings in all directions were unroofed chimneys, gables, fire- 
 walls, steeples, and spires began to fall. The air was filled and 
 literally darkened with timbers, rafters, shingles, bricks and mor- 
 tar, tin roofing, and all manner of wreck, whirling and eddying 
 above and around like feathers in a whirlwind. Crash upon crash 
 surpassed only by the terrific thunder followed in succession, 
 as steeples, furnace stacks, and buildings fell, involving men, 
 women, children, furniture, horses and cattle, in one common ruin. 
 
 "In its approach to the city it came with overwhelming violence 
 from a southwestern direction, sweeping all that remained of the 
 old New York Warehouse from the foundation." 
 
 Colonel, taen Major Lachlan, also wrote me a graphic account of 
 the effects of the hurricane, remarking that he was necessarily 
 engaged in attending to the preservation of his premises, so sud- 
 denly threatened with destruction, and could not notice partic- 
 ularly all the phenomena as they occurred. He sent me, however, 
 the following letter from Prof. Christy, who happened to be pres- 
 ent and who did notice them. It is an interesting letter, and I 
 insert it entire : 
 
 MY DEAR MAJOR You ask me to state my recollections of the 
 storm of the 21st May, which occurred about half past 2 P.M., 
 while I was visiting you at your residence. You will remember 
 that we had taken our seats in your room, and that I sat near the 
 window opening to the south. My attention was directed to the 
 appearance of the clouds on the Kentucky side of the river. I 
 remarked that I did not like their appearance. They were 
 flying very swiftly and had the peculiar color which characterizes 
 the advance clouds of a hurricane. 
 
 A moment later, on looking down upon the city, I found the 
 view obscured by a dense cloud of dust, and could distinctly hear 
 the roar of the storm, as it rushed onward in its devastating 
 course. In the next moment it was upon us, with all its force, 
 and we had to spring to doors and windows to prevent them from 
 being dashed inwards by the force of the wind. Taking my 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 73 
 
 stand by the front door which occupied the point of greatest ex- 
 posure, I expended my strength in keeping it secure. From that 
 point I could witness the movements of the wind, as indicated by 
 the motion of the objects which were driven along by its power. 
 It seemed to confine itself to a direct line in a S.W. and N.E. di- 
 rection and not to move in a curve like an ordinary whirlwind. 
 
 The hurricane was not a, continuous rush of wind, of equal 
 force during its duration, but swept along with much greater power 
 at some moments than at others ; nor was its greatest force exerted 
 at the commencement of the storm. The cut hay upon the lawn 
 in front of the dwelling, was partly removed during the first 
 blasts ; but it was not until near the middle of the period during 
 which the storm lasted, that the hay was all licked up so as not 
 to leave a stalk of it upon the stubble. It was at this period, 
 too, that portions of the porch were blown down, and the post and 
 rail fence, lifted from the ground, was partly precipitated against 
 the steps leading up to the front door. The roar of the storm 
 was so deafening that the falling of the chimneys upon the roof 
 was unnoticed, and I must confess that I expected every moment, 
 that the house and all its contents would be overturned and swept 
 away during the elemental commotions which so fiercely beset us. 
 
 In reference to the extension of the storm eastward, I can only 
 remark, that a few days since I passed over the Cincinnati, Chil- 
 licothe and Marietta Railroad, and had the opportunity of wit- 
 nessing its effects upon the forests. I learned from the conductor 
 of the freight train, that its force was maintained from Cincinnati 
 onwards to a point some fifteen miles east of Athens, after which 
 it seemed to lose its power, and at Marietta amounted only to an 
 ordinary gale. 
 
 The conductor pointed out the spot to me where the storm met 
 him, a few miles beyond Hamden. Hundreds of trees were pros- 
 trated, but as the wind was blowing in a line parallel to the road 
 say from west to east none of them fell across the track, and 
 thus his train escaped destruction. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 DAVID CHRISTY. 
 
74 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 I copy next an account of the hurricane as it struck the Cov- 
 ington and Lexington Railroad, 1 6 miles south of Cincinnati, in 
 Kentucky, where a band of it demolished a railroad train. 
 
 "We are indebted to Mr, A. F. Woodallfor the following news 
 of the tornado on the line of the C. '& L. Railroad : 
 
 At 2.25 P.M., the train entered a forest sixteen miles south of 
 Covington, and the hurricane struck. Trees fell like reeds. It 
 seemed safer to proceed than to stop, and either seemed destruc- 
 tive. When the train was within fifty yards of a clearing, twelve 
 trees fell within fifty feet of the cars. One of them, a soft pop- 
 lar, three feet eight inches in diameter, fell just in front of the 
 engine, which leaped it, leaving her trucks, cylinders and steam 
 chests behind. The tree is under the baggage car, and the car on 
 its side. The train stopped within a distance of forty feet, throw- 
 ing passengers in a heap at the front end. When the train 
 stopped limbs of trees were falling like flails, and two trees came 
 crashing like a thunderbolt, and filling the air with leaves and 
 boughs. The tops of several trees fell within a few feet of the 
 ladies' car. A scene of more utter terror could not be imagined. 
 Death seemed inevitable. The track of the tornado was about 
 one hundred yards wide, and the train was in the very center of it. 
 Tom Flood, the fireman, had both hands badly scalded, and was 
 otherwise injured. Isaac Barnet, engineer, stood at his post like 
 a man, and received only a small cut over one eye. He was cov- 
 ered with the branches of trees, and leaves. No passenger car 
 was thrown from the track. The screams of children, the shrieks 
 of terrified women, the pallor of stout men, was a scene to move 
 the soul It was awful. All the employees of the train were 
 more or less hurt, but the passengers escaped without injury. 
 The fireman was buried under the wood in the tender, and would 
 have been scalded to death but for Frank Lockwood, who worked 
 like a hero to save the poor fellow. The storm lasted perhaps 
 ten minutes" 
 
 It may perhaps be well to insert here a copy of the Meteoro- 
 logical Record, kept at College Hill, Cincinnati, for the 20th, 21st, 
 and 22d days of May, 1860. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 75 
 
 ABSTRACT OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT COLLEGE HILL, DURING 
 THE 20iH, 21sT, AND 22D OF MAY, 1860. 
 
 LATE. 
 
 BAROMETER. 
 
 THERMOMETER. 
 
 CLOUDS. 
 
 WIND & DIRECTION. 
 
 7 A M2 P M|9 PM 
 
 7AM 
 
 2 I'M 
 
 9PM 
 
 7 AM. 
 
 2 P.M. 
 
 9 P.M. 
 
 7 A.M. 2 P.M. 
 
 9 P.M. 
 
 w. 2 
 w. 3 
 
 May 20 28.7028.7028.60 
 " 21 28.57.28.7028.65 
 
 62 
 70 
 
 76 
 70 
 
 70 
 62 
 
 8 s.w. 4 
 
 10 w. 8 
 
 9w. 2 
 10 w. 2 
 
 w. 2 
 
 s.w. 4 
 
 s. 3 
 
 w. 8 
 
 " 2228.7528.7028.70 
 
 ll t i 
 
 64 
 
 70 
 
 62 
 
 10 N.W. 4 
 
 
 
 N.W. 2 
 
 N.W. 2 
 
 N.W. 2 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 " 21st. A thunder storm from the west, accompanied with driv- 
 ing rain, lightning and thunder, very violent. Violent gale or 
 hurricane ; blew down vigorous trees of large size by scores. Its 
 greatest violence at 3 P.M. By reports from the south and west, 
 it appears to be about 50 miles wide, direction S.W., W., and 
 N.W., making its bend near the Ohio river, at Cincinnati. Noth- 
 ing like it here for over 40 years." 
 
 Also the following from the Register at Woodward's High 
 School : 
 
 MEMORANDUM OF OBSERVATIONS AT WOODWARD HIGH SCHOOL. 
 
 DAT* 
 
 BAROMETER 
 
 THERMOMETER. 
 
 CLOUDS. 
 
 WIND. 
 
 RAIN. 
 
 7 A M2 PM!) i> M 
 
 7 AM 
 
 2PM9PM 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 May 20 
 
 28.70 28. 70 ! 28.60 
 
 | | 
 
 62 
 
 76 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " 21 
 
 2857287028.70 
 
 1 i 
 
 70 
 
 70 
 
 62 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " 22 
 
 28.75 2$ 84 28.64 
 
 1 i 
 
 64 
 
 70 
 
 62 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 From these data and a mass of other data collected by Col. 
 Lachlan, the following facts appear : 
 
 First, The hurricane was about 40 miles wide. Second, It 
 was exceedingly violent and destructive. The injury done be- 
 tween Louisville and Portsmouth, as estimated by a Cincinnati 
 paper, after the accounts were all in from the country, was esti- 
 mated at $1,300,000. Third, The duration of the storm at any 
 place did not exceeed 20 minutes, nor was it less than 10 minutes. 
 Fourth, The direction of the wind at every place was between 
 
7G THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 N.W. and S.W., and at no one of the 40 to 50 places was the 
 wind N. of one or S. of the other. At Cincinnati one of the 
 papers described it as from the S.W. and another as from the 
 N. W. The Louisville Courier, as will be seen by the extract, 
 described it as shifting from S.W. to N.W. Nearly all the ac- 
 counts described it as from the west. One of the Cincinnati 
 papers speaks of it as having blown in bands or separate divisions, 
 and the same thing is mentioned by others, arid is clearly deduci- 
 ble from the reports. Undoubtedly the cloud was divided into 
 bands parallel with its line of motion, as I have described them 
 as existing in all storms, and the lines of violent wind correspond- 
 ed with the bands of intensity and condensation in the clouds. 
 Fifth, The barometer rose just before the cloud appeared, and did 
 not fall materially during its passage. Sixth, At no spot on the 
 territory which it devastated was there the slightest trace, mark or 
 evidence of rotation or gyration. Seventh, It occurred in a pass- 
 ing condition, of considerable extent, which had the usual lateral 
 winds and a subsequent continuous rain. 
 
 From these facts it is evident that this was substantially a 
 straight line hurricane, and where the wind varied from its line of 
 progress it was either S.W, or N.W., consisting of a mass of cumu- 
 lo-stratus clouds settled low down near the earth, moving rapidly 
 over it, whirling and condensing on its front and drawing the air 
 between it and the earth, after it with irresistible force. 
 
 I have seen many such hurricanes, but upon a smaller scale, 
 and less violent, and such gusts are very common under parts 
 of intense belts of showers. 
 
 It will be observed from the Louisville description that the sky 
 became overcast some hours before the hurricane clouds appeared. 
 Probably there was a dense layer of cirrus in the upper story, 
 with patches of cirro-stratus in the upper part of the trade story, 
 and the bands of cumulo-stratus constituting the hurricane cloud 
 formed in the lower part of the trade story, and gradually settled 
 down into the surface story, drawing after them the intervening 
 surface atmosphere as they passed along, and creating the roaring 
 sound described by the observers. Such has been the manner 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 77 
 
 n which such storms and gusts have formed and moved when I 
 have had opportunity to observe them. 
 
 The thermometer, as it appears from the Meteorological reports, 
 
 stood at about 70, and as it was in May and a cloudy day, the 
 
 sarth could not have been heated in that locality as high as that. 
 
 And now professional men, practical men, and young men, 
 whose minds are uncommitted to theory, answer me, in candor 
 and honesty, is it possible that that organized condition could have 
 been created and impelled over the earth at the rate of 70 or 80 
 miles an hour, with all that awful and tremendous exhibition of 
 power, by the mere mechanical effect of the air heated by contact 
 with the surface of the earth to 70 ? Is not the persistent teach- 
 ing of such a theory an insult to your understandings ? 
 
 The remaining form of condition is the tornado, so it is termed 
 when it occurs upon land, but it is called spout or water-spout 
 when it occurs upon the water. The following are its principal 
 peculiarities. 
 
 1 st. It occurs during a peculiarly sultry and electric state of 
 the trade and surface atmosphere^ and at a time when thunder 
 showers are prevailing in and around the locality, as an incident 
 of the showery condition, and at any period of the year when such 
 a state of the atmosphere exists. One recently occurred in Bran- 
 don, Ohio, in midwinter. 
 
 2d. There is always a cloud above, but very near the earth, 
 between which and the earth the tornado forms and rages. It is 
 usually described as a black cloud, ranging about 1000 feet or less 
 above the earth, often with a whitish shaped cone projecting from 
 it, and forming a connection with the earth ; at intervals rising 
 and breaking the connection, and again descending and renewing 
 it with devastating energy. Its width at the surface varies from 
 forty to one hundred and eighty rods the most usual width be- 
 ing from sixty to ninety rods. Sometimes when still wider, they 
 have more the character of thunder-gusts, and are brightly 
 luminous. 
 
 3d. Two motions are usually visible, one ascending one near 
 the earth and in the middle, and a gyratory one around the other. 
 
78 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 The latter is rarely felt, or its effects observed, near the earth. 
 Occasionally, and at intervals, objects are thrown obliquely back- 
 ward by it. 
 
 4th. It is composed, at the surface of the earth, of two lateral 
 currents, a northerly and southerly one, varying in direction, 
 but at right angles in most cases, although not always, with its 
 course of progression, extending from the extreme limits of its 
 track to the axis ; which currents are most distinctly defined 
 toward the center, and upward. These currents prostrate trees, 
 or elevate and remove every thing in their way which is detached 
 and movable. There does not seem to be any current in ad- 
 vance of these lateral ones tending toward the tornado, save in 
 rare and excepted cases, and then owing to the make of the ground 
 or the irregular action of the currents ; nor any following, except 
 that made by the curving of lateral currents toward the center of 
 the spout as it moves on, and perhaps a tendency of the air to follow 
 and supply the place of that which has been carried upward and 
 forward, like that of water following the stern of a vessel. The 
 south current is always the strongest, and often crosses the axis 
 and curves backward as it rises from the surface, and ascends a 
 little in advance of the other, and covers the greatest area. The 
 proportion of the two currents to each other is much the same 
 that the S.E. trades bear to the N.E. This excess in volume 
 and strength of the southerly current will explain the irregular- 
 ities in most cases, and the fact that objects are so often taken 
 up and carried from the south to the north side, and so rarely from 
 the north and carried south of the axis. These irregularities are 
 such as attend all violent forces, and something can be found 
 which will favor almost any theory ; but the two lateral currents 
 appear always to be the principal actors, except when it widens 
 out and assumes more the character of a straightforward gust. 
 See a collection by Professor Loomis, American Journal of 
 Science, vol. xliii. p. 278. 
 
 The following diagram is a section of the New Haven tornado, 
 from Professor Olmstead's map accompanying his article in the 
 " American Journal of Science and Arts," vol. xxxvii, p. 340. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 79 
 
 The manner in which the main currents flow is shown by their 
 early and unresisted effect in a cornfield, as represented by the 
 dotted lines. The direction in which the fragments of buildings 
 
 FIG. 21. 
 
 were carried by the greater power of the southerly currents, and 
 by their crossing the axis in advance and curving backward is 
 clearly shown and should be particularly observed and remem- 
 bered. And so is this irregular action, where a part of the south- 
 erly current broke through the northerly one, and prostrated two 
 or three trees backward on the north side of the axis. 
 
 5th. This cloud, and its spout, move generally with the course 
 of the counter-trade in the locality i. e., from some point between 
 S.W. and W., to the eastward, but occasionally a little south of 
 east. 
 
 6th. Several exceedingly instructive particulars have been 
 observed and recorded. 
 
 a. No wind is felt outside of the track, as those assert who have 
 stood very near it, and its effects show. 
 
80 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 b. The track is often as distinctly marked, where it passed 
 through a wood, as if the grubbers had been there with their axes 
 to open a path for a railroad. The branches of the trees, project- 
 ing within its limits, are found twisted and broken off, or stripped 
 of their leaves, while not a leaf is disturbed at the distance of 
 a foot or two on the opposite side of the tree, and outside of the 
 track. 
 
 c. As the spout parses over water, the latter seems to boil up 
 and rise to meet it, Wb$flow up its trunk in a continued stream. 
 
 d. As it passes over the land, and over buildings, fences, and 
 other moveable things, they appear to shoot up, instantaneously, as 
 it were, into the air, and into fragments. If buildings are not de- 
 stroyed or removed, the doors may be burst open on the leeward 
 side, and gable ends snatched out, and roofs taken off on the same 
 side, while that portion of the building which is to the windward 
 remains unaffected. 
 
 e. Articles of clothing, and other light articles, have been car- 
 ried out of buildings through open doors, or chimneys, or holes 
 made in the roofs, and to a great distance, without any opening 
 being made for the air to blow in. 
 
 f. If there be a discharge of electricity up the spout from the 
 earth, like that of lightning, the intense action ceases for a time 
 or entirely. 
 
 g. Vegetation in the track is often scorched and killed, and so 
 of the leaves on one side of a tree, which is within the track, 
 while those on the other side, and without the track remain unaf- 
 fected. (Espy's Philosophy of Storms, 359, cited from Peltier.) 
 
 />. The active agent, whatever it is, has been known to seize hold 
 of a chain attached to a plow and draw the plow about, turning the 
 stiff sod for a considerable distance. (See Loomis on the tornado 
 at Stow, Ohio, American Journal of Science, vol. xxxiii, p. 368). 
 
 The following is a copy of the diagram prepared by Professor 
 Loomis, of the path of that tornado : 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTF 
 
 81 
 
 3 3 5.3 t> 
 
 3 S 9 sr 
 
 K'c CTP 
 
 -r o >-^g 5; 
 <=> S " S s 
 
 H 5 
 
 o 2 
 
 H o3^ 
 
 -^sii. 
 1^5. 
 
 l?a 
 
 rf8 
 
 P^_3$ 
 
 S-^3 
 I o^l 
 
 ~~ 
 
 
 D> 
 
 PCD 
 
 Do 
 
 D- 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 D 
 z D 
 
 H 
 
 O S 
 
 t? 
 
 Q 
 
82 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 
 ^'. In parsing over ponds, the spout has taken up all the vvate 
 and fish, and scattered them in every direction, and to a great 
 distance. 
 
 j. The barometer falls very little during the passage of the 
 spout. (See the Natchez hurricane of 1827, Espy, page 337.) 
 Not more than \t frequently does during gentle showers. 
 
 k. Persons have been taken up, carried some distance, and if 
 not projected against some object in the way, or some object 
 against them, have usually been set down gently and uninjured. 
 
 I. Buildings which stood upon posts, with a free passage for the 
 air under them, although in the path of the tornado, escaped un- 
 disturbed. (Olrnstead's account of the New Haven tornado, 
 American Journal of Science, vol. xxxvii, p. 340 ) 
 
 m. A chisel taken from a chest of tools, and stuck fast in the 
 wall of the house. (Ibid.) 
 
 n. Fowls have had all their feathers stripped from them in an 
 instant and run about naked but uninjured. 
 
 o. Articles of furniture, etc., have been found torn in pieces by 
 antagonistic force. 
 
 p. Frames taken from looking-glasses without breaking the 
 glass. Nails drawn from the roofs of houses without disturbing 
 the tiles. 
 
 q. Hinges taken from doors mud taken from the bed of a stream 
 (the water being first removed.) and let down on a house cover- 
 ing it completely a farmer taken up from his wagon and carried 
 thirty rods, his horses carried an equal distance in another direc- 
 tion, the harness stripped from them, and the wagon carried off 
 also, one wheel not found at all. (American Journal of Science, 
 vol. xxxvii, p. 93.) 
 
 Pieces of timber, boards and clapboard, driven into the side of 
 a hill, as no force of powder could drive them, etc., etc. 
 
 Such are some, but by no means all, the peculiar effects result- 
 ing from the action of a tornado. Many others have been sur- 
 veyed and mapped, but I have not space for them. Conforming 
 to my avowed purpose of avoiding all theoretic discussion until 
 the facts are fully presented to you, I waive inquiry into the char- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 83 
 
 ac'er of the force which creates this condition. A few words only 
 as to the localities where they are most frequent. Waterspouts 
 are most common in the West Indies and other localities where 
 hurricanes are most frequent, and doubtless for the same reason. 
 Tornadoes are more prevalent in the United States than in Europe. 
 They occur very rarely in the western part of this continent, and 
 indeed thunder is not frequently heard in that section. Tornadoes 
 in the United States are most frequent and most severe between 
 the 35th and 45th parallels of latitude, and between the Alleghany 
 Mountains and the western borders of Iowa and Missouri. 
 
 They occur too in much greater numbers and with much greater 
 severity in some years than others. The year 1860 was such a 
 year, and I conclude this notice of them by copying the following 
 article from a western paper, written in the summer of that year : 
 
 THE YEAR OF HURRICANES. 
 
 '" The season through which we are parsing, will go far to remove 
 the impression that the severest hurricanes are confined to the 
 tropics. All over the Northern and Middle States, tornadoes of 
 unprecedented violence, extent, and destructiveness have occurred. 
 At least three hundred lives have been lost by the force of the 
 elements. There seems to have been a cycle of tornadoes. 
 
 Within a fortnight there have been four in the Middle and the 
 Western States, one extending from Louisville up to Central Ohio, 
 one in Cattaraugus county in Western New York, one in Arm- 
 strong and the adjoining counties in Western Pennsylvania, and 
 now one in Iowa and Northern Illinois, which, it is said, has sur- 
 passed all the others in violence and destructiveness. 
 
 Whole villages have been demolished, and their inhabitants 
 either killed outright, or fearfully mangled by the falling of houses, 
 the mad sweep of the winds, or the flying of timbers and trees. 
 The imagination can hardly paint the terror which has overtaken, 
 in stern reality, the inhabitants of the devastated districts. It 
 must have been witnessed to be realized. 
 
 Never before has our country been visited by so many, or so 
 widely destructive hurricanes as during the present year. They 
 
84 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 have rushed through the country with resistless fury, uprooting 
 trees, demolishing fences, houses, and churches, and even taking 
 loaded freight cars from their tracks and dashing them to pieces. 
 The space traversed by the last great tornado, in Illinois and Iowa, 
 was fully one hundred and fifty miles in length. The force of 
 the wind has been almost incredible. Tin from roofs was carried 
 over twenty miles ; large brick houses were lifted completely from 
 their foundations and twisted around in the air, before being 
 dashed to fragments upon the ground. Churches were demolished 
 with a single thunder gust, and the whirling and snapping of 
 whole forests of trees, as they were caught up in the folds of the 
 tremendous whirlwinds, was awfully grand to hear and to see. 
 
 In all cases the electric forces appear to have been combined 
 with the atmospheric agitation. The fearful velocity and power 
 of the wind estimated to have traversed space at a speed of 
 from sixty to seventy miles an hour was alone sufficiently ter- 
 rific. But when to this was added the roar of the most startling 
 and tremendous claps of thunder, and the seething glances flash 
 after flash of the lightning, it is no wonder that a scene was 
 presented which struck men dumb with fear and alarm, and even 
 made the stoutest hearts to quake. The awful grandeur of the 
 storm, as the whole k> artillery of heaven " seemed let loose upon 
 the stricken globe, was indescribable. Add to this the groans of 
 wounded men, and the shrieks and prayers of terror-stricken 
 women and children, ending in a catalogue of dead, lying cold 
 and stiff in every stage of mangled deformity, and we have a pic- 
 ture of human desolation which transcends in horror all the con- 
 vulsions of nature." 
 
 Having thus examined the distinctive characters and peculi- 
 arities of the different conditions, we are now prepared to investi- 
 gate understandingly the systems of conditions which exist upon 
 this continent, and characterize its climatology and its weather, 
 but we will enter upon that branch of our inquiry in a distinct 
 chapter. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THE SYSTEMS OF CONDITIONS ON THE CONTINENT OF 
 NORTH AMERICA AND IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Three distinct and diverse systems of conditions in the United States, pass- 
 ing over the continent in three distinct and different paths The first, the 
 Atlantic system its conditions originate upon the Atlantic or its connect- 
 ed seas and gulfs, or in the counter trade they furnish move N.W. and 
 N. and enter upon the southwestern and southern states curve thence and 
 move to the N.E. The second originate upon the Pacific, move to the 
 N.E. on to and over the coast and continent The third, a part of the 
 tropical belt of rain which covers the Gulf coast, Southern Mexico and 
 Central America in midsummer Direction in which the different systems 
 movc The supply of rain depends upon these conditions Intermediate 
 between these systems, an arid area not all or entirely a desert all parts 
 of it reached by one or the other of the systems, but temporarily that 
 area scantily supplied with rain These systems evidence of law, order 
 and organization All peculiarities in our climatology dependent upon 
 them Developed thirteen years ago in the " Philosophy of the Weather" 
 Not since denied, but ignored by scientists accepted and adopted by 
 practical men Focal paths of the conditions and what is meant by them 
 Their situation in winter in the Atlantic system Rain-fall under and on 
 either side of the focal path Situation of the Atlantic focal path in Feb- 
 ruary, 1854 Temperature under and on either side of it Rain-fall for 
 that month, under and on either side of it Winds under and on either 
 side of it Weather south of the focal path, warm The same thing true 
 in respect to the single conditions Situation of the focal path in March, 
 1854 Extension N.W. and N. Situation of the focal path in April Had 
 extended still further W. and N.W. and N. Situation in May and June 
 Rapidly extending W. and N.W. and N. conforming to its annual progress 
 but more rapid and concentrated than usual, leaving an unusual drought 
 behind it Situation in July and August unusual extension and concen- 
 tration W. and N.W. and N. Area of the consequent remarkable drought 
 Descent of the focal path again in autumn and winter Extension less 
 regular on the Atlantic coast than in the interior Annual rain-fall upon 
 the eastern states, with chart Effect of this annual ascent and descent of 
 the focal path on our climatology causes rainy and dry seasons at the dif- 
 
8G THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ferent points Affects the temperature Produces sudden changes Ex- 
 plains the reason why consumptives go to Minnesota Why storms appear 
 at the southwest in winter and showers at the northwest in summer Ex- 
 plains the general winds Prevalent winds in Florida Prevalent winds 
 in eastern Arkansas in the Indian Territory in Tennessee in the N. 
 west and northern states in New England Explains why the winds pre- 
 vail from the intermediate instead of cardinal points of the compass Chart 
 of the isothermal lines for the winter their descent in the Mississippi 
 valley in winter, below the 40th parallel Their ascent at the same time 
 above the 40th parallel Explanation of anomalies Owing to the situa- 
 tion of the focal paths of the two systems at that time Climatology of 
 the Pacific states more simple, but has the same elements Its conditions 
 move from the Pacific in a northeasterly direction Have a focal path like 
 those of the Atlantic system that path has a similar transit to the north 
 in summer that transit produces a like effect upon the temperature pro- 
 duces like rainy and dry seasons has similar attendant and prevalent 
 winds The Pacific conditions are less intense the phenomena less violent 
 and more uniform Description of the third system of conditions Reaches 
 the Gulf coast and Central America in summer only movement of the 
 conditions in that system, and their character Summer rain-fall under 
 that system. 
 
 There are three distinct and diverse systems of atmospheric con- 
 ditions passing over this continent in distinct and different paths. 
 
 The first is the ATLANTIC SYSTEM, which consists of conditions 
 that originate upon the Atlantic Ocean within the tropic-, the 
 Caribbean Sea, the West Indies, and the Gulf of Mexico, or 
 form in the Equatorial current which comes from that part of the 
 tropics, and moving N. and N.W. enter upon the Southern and 
 Southwestern states of the Union, curving and moving to the 
 northeast, supplying the Eastern and ( entral States with rain. 
 
 The conditions of the second s stem originate upon the Pacific 
 Ocean, and move in upon the Western coast, and supply Califor- 
 nia and the Northwestern states and territories, the British terri- 
 tories and Alaska, and the country northeastward of them. 
 
 The third system is a part of the tropical, central belt of rain 
 which surrounds the earth, and which moves up in summer far 
 enough north to cover some portion of Florida and the Gulf 
 Coast, the West India Islands, Southern Mexico and Central 
 America. The path of the conditions in this central tropical belt, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SY6TEM. 87 
 
 is from the eastward to the westward, across Southern Mexico 
 and Central America and out into the Pacific. 
 
 The path of the Atlantic conditions is northward from the Gulf 
 States, curving to the N.E. and passing off on to the North 
 Atlantic. 
 
 The path of the Pacific system of conditions is northeastwardly 
 from the Pacific, across the northwestern part of the continent, 
 into the Arctic Circle. 
 
 To these different systems of conditions, and their diverse paths, 
 we owe fundamentally the diverse character of the climates of our 
 country. Thus, the eastern portion of the United States is largely 
 supplied with moisture by the Atlantic conditions. The western 
 coast from San Diego to the Arctic Circle is supplied Califor- 
 nia moderately and Oregon, Alaska, and the country east of them 
 abundantly by the Pacific system. And Southern Mexico and 
 Central America are abundantly supplied during their rainy sea- 
 son by the central belt which moves up over them in summer ; 
 intermediate between these three systems, Lower California and 
 Northern Mexico, the valley of the Gila, Western New Mexico, 
 the Staky Plain, the valley of the Colorado and Utah, and the 
 territory east of the Rocky Mountains, and west of the 100th merid- 
 ian, are in some places nearly, and in all comparatively dry or 
 desert. Both the Atlantic and Pacific systems reach them by an 
 extension of the paths of their conditions at particular seasons of 
 the year, but those extensions are for brief periods, temporary and 
 exceptional the Atlantic extending up upon a part of them in 
 summer, and the Pacific system reaching down on a part in win- 
 ter, as we shall see. In this diverse system of conditions and in 
 their paths, we shall find law, order, and organization, and we 
 shall also find an explanation of all the phenomena and peculiari- 
 ties in the climatology of our country. No savan or meteorol- 
 ogist, whatever his position or pretensions, who ignores the exist- 
 ence of the systems, and their transits, has ever explained or can 
 ever explain them. When I was writing the " Philosophy of the 
 weather," the differences in these systems became very apparent 
 to me, but it was not until the " Army Meteorological Register " 
 
88 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTKM. 
 
 was published, that I was enabled to trace and develop them. In 
 an appendix to that book, I traced the systems and their transits 
 by tables and diagrams, and showed their effect in producing our 
 varieties of climate and differences of fertility and sterility. Prof. 
 Henry, with the book before him, and the facts demonstrated by 
 mathematical expression, while publishing his series of compila- 
 tions in the Patent Office Report, at the expense of the country, 
 professedly for the people of the country, and professing by im- 
 plication at least to give them, and induce them to believe he had 
 given themaS the important facts pertaining to the subject, ignored 
 also that most important discovery. 
 
 But the Agricultural Department at Washington, or some 
 writer connected with it, (whom I do not know,) appreciated and 
 adopted the substance of that discovery and appendix, in an 
 elaborate article on American Cotton, Wool, and Tobacco, and 
 Climatology with reference to them, with the following recommen- 
 dation, in the monthly report of November and December, 1864 : 
 
 "These maps are taken from Butler's Philosophy of the 
 Weather, one of the most practical books on Meteorology, and 
 one that should be studied by every farmer desiring to learn the 
 character of that atmosphere which rules the productiveness of 
 the earth." 
 
 I have spoken of the focal paths of the conditions ; by that I 
 mean the paths in which the greatest number of conditions, or the 
 most intense conditions, or the focus of precipitation in the condi- 
 tions, pass for the time being, over the country. Thus, to speak 
 generally, the path of the Atlantic conditions is upon the south- 
 eastern portion of the United States, and there the greater num- 
 ber of those conditions, or the most intense of them, or the focal 
 precipitating parts of those which spread all over the Eastern 
 states, are found. This appears quite obvious upon a bare inspec- 
 tion of the rain-chart for the winter season of the year. The 
 following is an abridgement of one (probably as accurate as any), 
 which accompanied the " Army Meteorological Register." The 
 map is without territorial subdivisions, but the great lakes, great 
 rivers and coast outline are given, and the reader, holding it right 
 side up, cannot mistake the location of the lines. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FIG. 23. 
 
 89 
 
 Upon an examination of this chart, it will be seen that west of 
 a line drawn from Lake Superior to the mouth of the Rio Grande, 
 the fall of rain and melted snow is but two inches for the three 
 winter months. Upon a space nearly parallel with that, on the 
 east of it, the fall is but three inches. On still another space 
 farther east, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of 
 
90 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 St. Lawrence, the fall is but five inches. Upon still another spac 
 of like character, further to the east, and curving to the northeast 
 it is seven inches. And on still another, curving to the northwest 
 where the conditions entering upon the Gulf Coast move up over 
 the southwestern states, and curving again to the northeast, it is 
 ten inches, while upon the Atlantic coast of the Carolinas, the fall 
 is but eight inches. That portion over which the fall is ten inches 
 is the winter focal path of the Atlantic conditions for obviously 
 the rain was carried there by those conditions, and they must have 
 been more numerous or more intense, or their focal portions of 
 precipitation must have passed over that portion of the states. 
 It will be observed that a still greater fall was experienced where 
 the conditions were met by the mountain chains of Alabama, 
 Mississippi, and Tennessee, where the fall reaches to twelve, fif- 
 teen, and eighteen inches. I have not implicit faith as a rule 
 in the accuracy of the various registries of the weather, and es- 
 pecially in reference to the fall of rain and direction of the wind. 
 I have in my investigations quite too often found them differing 
 very much where kept by different persons in the same place or 
 at different places very, near together, and I have found them very 
 often, from my own personal knowledge, differing materially from 
 the facts ; but I think the registers kept by the officers of our 
 army are quite as reliable as any we have had, or are likely to 
 have, under our present system. But however that may be, abso- 
 lute truth is not essential to our purpose in this inquiry, and this 
 chart founded on Army Registers is doubtless sufficiently correct 
 for that purpose. 
 
 But in one particular it is not sufficiently correct. During the 
 months of December and January, the focal path is descending 
 rapidly to the southeast and east. It is not until after the first of 
 February, and not always so early as the middle of that month, 
 that the conditions begin to extend their paths to the west, over 
 the Gulf coast and States, and to the northwest and north, as they 
 curve to the northeast. The chart, therefore, does not show the 
 lines and rain-fall when the focal path is at its greatest descent in 
 February. I deemed it important, therefore, to ascertain the loca- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 91 
 
 tion of that focal path as near as could be on the 1st of February, 
 and trace it thence, as it moved to the west and north, month by 
 month, until it attained its highest elevation about the 1st of Au- 
 gust. It seemed important also to take a specific year, and I 
 selected the year 1854, because the last one embraced in the pub- 
 lication, and because it was characterized by a memorable drouth. 
 The following diagram shows the position in which I found that 
 focal path on the 1st of February, 1854, and also the path of the 
 Pacific conditions, as shown by the shading and arrows, and the 
 comparative extent to which they deposit their moisture on the 
 mountains which lie in their path : 
 
 FIG. 24 
 
 The arrows indicate the direction in which the conditions moved. 
 The intermediate space between these two systems of conditions 
 is left unshaded, not because no rain at all fell upon it, but because 
 there did not fall upon any portion of it, with here and there an ex- 
 ception, more than two inches of rain for the three months, and 
 where only two inches or less of rain falls, even during a single 
 month, drought may be said to exist. The rule is arbitrary, but 
 convenient for illustration. The following table exhibits the 
 
92 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 amount of rain which fell at the various posts situated under this 
 focal path, with the mean of previous years, in February. 
 
 1854. 
 
 FEBRUARY. 
 
 1854. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Key West 
 
 2.55 
 4.70 
 6.89 
 2.21 
 3.40 
 5.55 
 12.83 
 
 1.38 
 2.16 
 3.01 
 1.01 
 2.72 
 4.95 
 6.04 
 4.91 
 2.33 
 
 
 " Brooke 
 
 " Mead 
 
 " Pierce 
 
 
 
 Baton Rouge, 
 
 5.50 
 2.84 
 
 Fort Moultrie, 
 
 
 
 It will be seen that there was an excess at every station. The 
 conditions were not more numerous probably, but they were more 
 concentrated folded down, so to speak and confined to the 
 focal path, and did not spread out to the west and north as much 
 as usual, and for that reason the fall of rain was greater and tem- 
 perature higher on the focal path, and at the stations enumerated. 
 
 If now we look at stations to the west and north of the then 
 depressed focal path, and adjoining it, we shall find the fall was 
 less than the mean, during that month and also in January. 
 
 
 JANUARY. 
 
 FEBRUARY. 
 
 Fort Towson, Indian Territory, 
 Mean . 
 
 1.01 
 
 3.13 
 
 2.00 
 
 2.97 
 
 Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, 
 
 0.30 
 1.33 
 
 1.43 
 2.26 
 
 Fort Smith Arkansas 
 
 1.37 
 
 2.05 
 
 
 1.96 
 
 2.17 
 
 
 0.65 
 
 2.40 
 
 Mean.. . 
 
 1.93 
 
 3.37 
 
 The following table will also show the actual temperature 
 the same places under the focal path during the month of Janui 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 93 
 
 
 LAT. 
 
 LON. 
 
 JAN. 
 
 Fort Moultrie, 
 
 32.45 
 
 79.51 
 
 50 83 
 
 Mean of 28 years, . . 
 
 
 
 50 36 
 
 
 27.30 
 
 80 20 
 
 67 91 
 
 Meun of 5 yea s, . 
 
 
 
 62 T^ 
 
 
 28 01 
 
 82 00 
 
 63 75 
 
 Mean of 3 years 
 
 
 
 CO Afl 
 
 Fort Brooke, 
 
 28.00 
 
 82 28 
 
 62 94 
 
 Mean of 25 years, 
 
 
 
 fil ^ 
 
 Fort Myers,. .* 
 
 26.38 
 
 82.00 
 
 fi7 'Sfi 
 
 Mean of 4 years . 
 
 
 
 
 Key West, 
 
 24.32 
 
 81 48 
 
 71 75 
 
 Mean of 14 years 
 
 
 
 66 68 
 
 
 30 18 
 
 87 27 
 
 54 71 
 
 Mean of 17 years, 
 
 
 
 53 61 
 
 
 31.12 
 
 88.02 
 
 51 52 
 
 Mean of 14 years, 
 
 
 
 50 44 
 
 Baton Eouge, 
 
 30.26 
 
 91.18 
 
 53.43 
 
 Mean of 24 years. 
 
 
 
 53 47 
 
 
 
 
 
 It will be seen that the temperature, also, was above the mean 
 in January at every post under the concentrated focal path, ex- 
 cept Baton Rouge, and there it was at the mean. We shall see 
 hereafter that Baton Rouge was near its western line. 
 
 Now by the following table, we see that at the same time, at 
 the posts surrounding this path, west and north, the temperature 
 was below the mean : 
 
 JANUARY. 
 
 
 1854. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Western Ttxas. 
 
 59.34 
 
 60.41 
 
 " Ewell 
 
 50.47 
 
 52.92 
 
 " Inee 
 
 47.24 
 
 49.46 
 
 Indian Territory. 
 Fort Towon . .... 
 
 36.32 
 
 43.14 
 
 Forts Gibson, Washita, and Arbuckle, 
 in much the same proportions, 
 
 Arkansas. 
 Fort Smith 
 
 33.92 
 
 40.18. 
 
 
 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 TABLE CONTINUED. 
 
 
 JANUARY. 
 
 1854. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 25.47 
 31.75 
 29.08 
 32.38 
 28.71 
 
 3144 
 34.04 
 29.25 
 33.67 
 30.18 
 
 Kentucky. 
 Newport Barracks, 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 Alleghany Arsenal 
 
 Delaware. 
 Fort Delaware. . 
 
 New York Harbor. 
 
 
 And this was in obedience to a general law. It is generally 
 cool or cold west or north of the focal path, when concentrated, as 
 then, and always cool or cold when the focus of a storm passes to 
 the south or southeast of a place, and warm when it passes to 
 
 the north or northwest. In the first case the storm clears off. as 
 
 i/ ' 
 
 it is expressed, cold, the wind hauling through the north lo the 
 northwest, as the focus of the storm passes by to the south. In 
 the second case, the wind hauls round by the south, as the focus 
 of the storm passes by to the north of the place, and it clears off 
 from the S.W., warm. When the latter becomes the rule, " sum- 
 mer sets in" as it is said. Please remember and observe these 
 facts, for they are of great importance in several respects, as will 
 appear hereafter, more fully and clearly. 
 
 The following cut and table are inserted to show the situation 
 of the focal path in March, of the same year, when it was rapid- 
 ly extending west along the Gulf coast, northwest on to the Indian 
 Territory, and north on to Missouri and over Kentucky. Its pro- 
 gress west #nd northwest was greater than its progress north. 
 This will be alluded to hereafter. In this table I give not only 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 90 
 
 the rain-foil for March, but also that for January and February, 
 with the annual means, that you may continue to compare them 
 as we proceed. I have remarked that Baton Rouge was near 
 the western line of the focal path, and you will observe that the 
 extension was felt at that post and at Fort Barrancas as soon as 
 the movement of the focal path to the west and north commenced 
 in February. 
 
 FIG. 25. 
 
 1854. 
 
 JANUARY. 
 
 FEBRUARY. 
 
 MARCH. 
 
 Fort Barrancas, Pensacola Bay,. . . . 
 Mean, 
 
 3.45 
 
 8.87 
 
 5.55 
 4.95 
 
 7.21 
 
 5.87 
 
 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 
 
 2.85 
 
 5.50 
 
 6.15 
 
 Mean, 
 
 5.26 
 
 4.91 
 
 4 68 
 
 Fort Towson, Indian Territory, 
 Mean, * . 
 
 1.01 
 3 13 
 
 2.00 
 2.97 
 
 5.10 
 
 4.38 
 
 Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, 
 Mean, 
 
 0.30 
 1.33 
 
 1.43 
 2.26 
 
 7.83 
 
 2.54 
 
 Fort Smith, Arkansas, .. 
 
 1.37 
 
 2.05 
 
 7.05 
 
 Mean,. . . 
 
 1.96 
 
 2.17 
 
 2.92 
 
 St. Louis Arsenal, . . 
 
 0.65 
 
 2.40 
 
 7.10 
 
 Mean ... . 
 
 1.93 
 
 3.37 
 
 3.82 
 
 Newport Barracks, Kentucky.... 
 
 3.20 
 
 5.30 
 
 8.10 
 
 (No Mean given,) 
 
 
 
 
96 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Now run your eye over the diagram and table and see how the 
 conditions extended their path to the west and north in March, on 
 to the western part of Florida and the eastern and northern part 
 of Louisiana, curving on the Indian Territory, and covering Mis- 
 souri and Kentucky. The evidence that they were following their 
 annual course and obeying a general law, although in advance of 
 their usual mean progress, and the precipitation was in excess of 
 the annual mean, is perfectly satisfactory. The movement was 
 a general one. It occurred at all the stations, and although some- 
 what early and excessive, was in precise conformity with an an- 
 nual, unfailing progress which can be traced in all the records 
 known to the country. We shall see clearly hereafter what occa- 
 sioned that more rapid progress and greater precipitation, when 
 we come to examine the laws of the general system which cre- 
 ated the conditions and held them to their annual path. 
 
 Following up this most interesting development, we find by the 
 record that in April it reached a curving line of posts, still further 
 removed to the W., N.W., and N., and that it was still in advance 
 of its mean annual progress and excessive in its precipitation. I 
 give the fall in January, February, and March, at the same places 
 that you may contrast them also ; and you may begin in this table 
 to compare the rain-fall in June and July with the means, to see 
 the commencement of the drouth, which will be fully developed 
 as we go on. I wish also that you would carefully compare and 
 watch the means for the object of this exposition is to show you 
 by those means, the manner in which the extension of the focal 
 paths takes place every year, as well as their peculiar early pro- 
 gress and greater precipitation in that particular year. 
 
 We begin now to reach the northwestern states. Take for in- 
 stance the mean of Fort Leaven worth in Kansas, and look at il 
 separately, and see how the paths gradually spread up over it 
 Or take any other of the western or northwestern stations. 
 
 The following cut and table show the positions reached by 
 focal path in April : 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 26. 
 
 97 
 
 TABLE V. 
 
 APRIL, 1854. 
 
 ANUART. 
 
 EBRUARY 
 
 1 
 
 J 
 
 tH 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fort Riley Kansas . 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.94 
 
 1.86 
 
 455 
 
 435 
 
 1.10 
 
 O.IK! 
 
 Fort Leaven worth, Kansas, 
 Mean 
 
 0.04 
 0.72 
 
 1.78 
 1.01 
 
 1.33 
 1.61 
 
 *$ 
 
 5.55 
 
 3.62 
 
 4.5'' 
 6.80 
 
 018 
 3 '5 
 
 Allegheny Arsenal, Pittsburgh, 
 
 2.23 
 2.18 
 
 2.33 
 2.17 
 
 2.82 
 2.70 
 
 %o 
 
 224 
 
 3.58 
 
 2.06 
 3.56 
 
 1.45 
 
 297 
 
 Fort Columbus, New York Harbor, 
 
 260 
 
 278 
 
 4.00 
 2.92 
 
 0.70 
 3.44 
 
 8.80 
 
 3.33 
 
 7.70 
 
 4.78 
 
 2.20 
 3.46 
 
 1.90 
 317 
 
 
 2.50 
 
 336 
 
 2.55 
 
 
 428 
 
 200 
 
 
 West Point 
 
 3.52 
 
 5.04 
 
 2.81 
 
 10 53 
 
 5.08 
 
 1.62 
 
 
 Mean, 
 
 3.60 
 
 3.44 
 
 3.71 
 
 4.55 
 
 6.18 
 
 4.79 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 And here you get not only evidence of the continued extension 
 to the northwest, but of a fact alluded to which could not be 
 proved without anticipating, that the extension to the northwest 
 commences earlier and progresses more rapidly than that to the 
 north upon tie Atlantic coast. The focal path in conformity with 
 ; the winter chart, covered Boston and New York in February, prob- 
 ably the early part, of it, but had descended below them in March. 
 And we all know that March and early April are comparatively 
 dry in the northeastern states. But there were heavy floods 
 
08 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 there in April, 1854, from the earliest extension of the focal path 
 and the concentiation of the conditions, peculiar to that year. 
 
 Let me call your attention to the appearance of the drouth at 
 a part of the stations in that table in June, and the rest in July, 
 for the same stations will not appear in the next table. 
 
 FIG. 27. MAY, 1854. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 99 
 
 The preceding diagrams show the position of the path in May 
 and June. And in connection I give a full table of the stations 
 reached in those months, so that not only the earlier and more 
 excessive progress of that year, and the drouth which followed 
 behind, may appear, but also the mean annual progress in other 
 years. The table is full and instructive on each of theee tliree 
 points, and I ask yu to study it well. At most of the stations 
 the return of the focal path on its descent to the south ended the 
 drouth in September. 
 
 TABLE VI. 
 
 JUNE, 1854. 
 
 JANUARY. 
 
 i 
 
 & 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 h 
 
 9 
 
 i 
 
 APRIL. 
 
 JM 
 
 M 
 
 w 
 
 |3 
 
 & 
 
 AUGUST. 
 
 i 
 
 Fort Brown, 
 Mean 
 
 0.45 
 
 1.61 
 
 1.50 
 2.25 
 
 115 
 
 1.20 
 
 0.05 
 0.56 
 
 4.10 
 2.21 
 
 7.65 
 
 455 
 
 425 
 1 95 
 
 5.00 
 2.76 
 
 11.31 
 
 673 
 
 Ilinggold Barracks, 
 Mean, 
 
 0.70 
 1.24 
 
 1.69 
 1.18 
 
 0.22 
 0.72 
 
 0.00 
 108 
 
 2.83 
 2.09 
 
 10.98 
 
 3.47 
 
 4.06 
 3.18 
 
 1.58 
 1.50 
 
 3.02 
 3.22 
 
 Fort Merrill 
 
 0.11 
 
 1.99 
 
 0.05 
 
 1.16 
 
 7.66 
 
 4.70 
 
 544 
 
 3.13 
 
 5.01 
 
 Mean, 
 Fort Duncan, 
 Mean, 
 
 0.23 
 0.05 
 0.26 
 
 2.09 
 0.69 
 1.27 
 
 0.09 
 1.50 
 1.34 
 
 1.62 
 0.00 
 0.71 
 
 3.43 
 2.53 
 1.50 
 
 4.10 
 6.83 
 
 5.63 
 
 6.13 
 0.83 
 335 
 
 3.40 
 0.90 
 0.93 
 
 4.60 
 4.81 
 328 
 
 Fort McKavet 
 
 0.01 
 
 0.77 
 
 2.10 
 
 0.28 
 
 3 72 
 
 0.16 
 
 291 
 
 004 
 
 386 
 
 " Belknap 
 
 0.11 
 
 1.10 
 
 1.42 
 
 1.75 
 
 497 
 
 8 33 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.75 
 
 1.53 
 
 *' Kearney, 
 
 0.23 
 
 1.33 
 
 1.87 
 
 2.56 
 
 4.15 
 
 ft40 
 
 3.51 
 
 1.18 
 
 4.60 
 
 Mean, .... 
 
 0.50 
 
 0.48 
 
 1.55 
 
 268 
 
 6.57 
 
 4.36 
 
 5.07 
 
 2.62 
 
 1 83 
 
 Fort Laramie, 
 
 018 
 
 0.40 
 
 0.80 
 
 398 
 
 4.46 
 
 3.67 
 
 3.26 
 
 1.27 
 
 1.60 
 
 Mean, . 
 
 027 
 
 0.71 
 
 1.37 
 
 1.93 
 
 5.39 
 
 2.95 
 
 1.83 
 
 092 
 
 1.33 
 
 Fort Ridglfy, 
 
 1.20 
 
 0.01 
 
 1.18 
 
 2.83 
 
 6.84 
 
 2.70 
 
 249 
 
 2.28 
 
 2.58 
 
 " Snelling, 
 
 0.72 
 
 0.03 
 
 1.03 
 
 2.51 
 
 430 
 
 831 
 
 3.92 
 
 1.75 
 
 6.55 
 
 
 0.73 
 
 0.52 
 
 1.30 
 
 214 
 
 3.17 
 
 3.63 
 
 4.11 
 
 3.18 
 
 3 82 
 
 FortRipley, 
 
 0.67 
 
 0.03 
 
 079 
 
 0.97 
 
 4.34 
 
 3.68 
 
 0.62 
 
 1.69 
 
 440 
 
 Mean 
 
 0.68 
 
 0.37 
 
 1.80 
 
 1 42 
 
 309 
 
 5.15 
 
 520 
 
 2.27 
 
 492 
 
 Fort Mackinac, 
 
 2.59 
 
 1.23 
 
 1.56 
 
 1.04 
 
 265 
 
 635 
 
 5.67 
 
 4.26 
 
 3.22 
 
 Mean 
 
 1.25 
 
 0.82 
 
 1.14 
 
 1 21 
 
 2.32 
 
 2.81 
 
 320 
 
 287 
 
 2.97 
 
 Fort Brady, 
 
 2.49 
 
 1.18 
 
 1.34 
 
 2.14 
 
 361 
 
 1.23 
 
 3.21 
 
 3.86 
 
 3.18 
 
 Mean, . . 
 
 1.84 
 
 1.13 
 
 J.37 
 
 1.83 
 
 2. '24 
 
 2.83 
 
 3.73 
 
 3.39 
 
 4.33 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Observe first, its progress to the west over Louisiana and Texas. 
 Fort Brown is near the mouth of the Rio Grande, opposite Mat- 
 amoras. It was reached in May, and had its greatest excess from 
 the Atlantic conditions in June. But it was also reached, like 
 the rest of the Gulf coast, later by the central conditions, as shown 
 on the diagram, and had no drouth. Ringgold Barracks are on the 
 Rio Grande, further west and north, and were reached in June 
 and had the drouth in August. Fort Merrill is on the Neuces, 
 
100 THE ATMOSPHKRIC SYSTKM. 
 
 further east, and was reached in May by the Atlantic conditions, 
 and by the central ones afterwards. Forts Duncan, McKavet, 
 and Belknap are in northwestern Texas, and were reached by the 
 Atlantic conditions in May and June, and then had the drouth. 
 Then observe secondly, its progress to the northwest and north. 
 Fort Kearney is in Western Kansas. Fort Laramie is in Ne- 
 braska. Forts Ridgely, Ripley, and Snelling are in Minnesota, 
 and Forts Brady, and Mackinac in Michigan. Run your eye 
 along the columns opposite to those places for 1854, until you 
 come to the excessive fall of the then focal path, and continue it 
 on to August, and contrast the actual fall of that vear with the 
 mean which is given immediately below it, and you will realize 
 the extent and severity of the drouth, even on those western 
 and northwestern states. Follow on until you come to Forts 
 Brady and Mackinac, high up in Northern Michigan, which were 
 beyond the drouth. As this table contains the means also, you 
 can see again its average annual progress at these other posts, and 
 upon the northwestern states, as well as the continued develop- 
 ment and extension of the drouth. That extended drouth, it 
 will be seen, reached Nebraska and Minnesota in July, but its full 
 effect was not felt there until August, when it reached beyond 
 Fort Kearney and almo-t to the base of the Rocky Mountains. 
 It reached Forts Snelling and Ripley m Minnesota, but did not 
 reach Forts Brady and Mackinac in 1\1 ichigan, which are situated 
 in a somewhat higher latitude and above its northern limit. 
 
 The conditions continued to extend their paths to the west and 
 north, till they reached the position shown by the following cut 
 and table in July and August. Glancing at the table you will 
 perceive that their extreme western edge reached Fort Yuma and 
 San Diego on the Pacific, gave New Mexico an unusual quantity 
 of rain and spent themselves upon Northern Minnesota, North- 
 ern Michigan, and Southeastern British America. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 29. 
 
 101 
 
 TABLE VII. 
 
 Situation of the focus of Precipitation in July and Augi 
 
 
 JUNE. 
 
 JOLT. 
 
 AUG 
 
 SEPT. 
 
 ocr. 
 
 New Mexico. 
 Fort Thome, 
 
 0.08 
 028 
 
 2.23 
 
 250 
 
 6.01 
 1 19 
 
 3.50 
 267 
 
 0.00 
 1 37 
 
 Santa Fe, 
 Fort Defiance, 
 " Yuma, 
 Pan Diego, 
 
 0.32 
 1.24 
 0.00 
 0<>2 
 
 4.11 
 3.94 
 0.01 
 007 
 
 3.86 
 524 
 2.37 
 1 35 
 
 4.06 
 3.47 
 0.17 
 0.13 
 
 2.50 
 0.62 
 030 
 0.01 
 
 Fort Snelling, Minnesota 
 " Brady 
 
 3.31 
 1 23 
 
 3.92 
 321 
 
 1.75 
 
 386 
 
 6.35 
 3.18 
 
 123 
 
 3.40 
 
 " Mackinac, 
 
 635 
 
 5.67 
 
 1.26 
 
 3.22 
 
 2.28 
 
 I will now add a table showing the extension of the tropical 
 belt of rains from the south up on to the Gulf coast, forming the 
 southern limit of drought as shown on the diagram. 
 
 1854. 
 
 JULY. 
 
 AUG. 
 
 Fort Moultrie 
 
 5 69 
 
 3 ^2 
 
 Kev West, 
 
 3.45 
 
 5.83 
 
 Fort Myers, Fla., .. . 
 
 9.70 
 
 9.90 
 
 ' Brooke, 
 
 15.53 
 
 11.23 
 
 " Meade, 
 
 855 
 
 10.20 
 
 Baton Rouge 
 
 6.55 
 
 7.41 
 
 
 
 
102 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 I have added to the foregoing cut the situation of the focal path 
 of the Pacific conditions in August. The table which will verify 
 its correctness, will be given hereafter. 
 
 The descent of the Atlantic focal patn in the fall and winter 
 is but the counterpart of its ascent, and it reaches its southern 
 position again in February, having made the transit up and down, 
 in obedience to the laws of the general system. I give a single 
 table with a few representative stations on a curve in the south- 
 western, western, northwestern and northern states, for the entire 
 year, in illustration of both ascent and descent. The focal path 
 is not so sharply defined in Autumn, but of that hereafter. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 si 
 
 cs 
 
 
 o2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 i 
 
 1-5 
 
 g 
 E 
 
 1 
 
 APRIL. 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 'J 
 
 s 
 
 AUGUSl 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 03 
 
 
 o 
 K 
 
 DEC:;MI 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fort Duncan Texas 
 
 *>6 
 
 1.27 
 
 1 34 
 
 .71 1 50 5.63 
 
 3.35 0.93 S.^S 1.43 1.61 
 
 089 
 
 " Smith, Arkansas, 
 
 1.66 
 
 2.17 2.92 
 
 5.10 4.46 4.74 
 
 3.82 4.47 3.01 3.43 3.49 
 
 2.F3 
 
 Washita, Indian Territory,. . 
 
 1.65 
 1 91 
 
 2.88 
 
 3.27 
 
 R W 
 
 3.94 5 98 5.04 
 3.06,4.18 5.07 
 
 3.57 2.66 
 3.67 4.14 
 
 3.87 i 3.06 3.85 
 2.88! 2.76 2.38 
 
 1.89 
 
 Fort Scott Kansas 
 
 1.92 
 
 1 18 
 
 1.79 
 
 3.70 7 08 8 13 
 
 4.5513.69 
 
 2.30 2.66 3.43 
 
 1 fifl 
 
 " Winnebago, Wisconsin ,. 
 
 0.91 0.82 
 
 1.07 
 
 2 26 2.25 4.24 
 
 4.2113.01 
 
 3.62 2.00 2.01 
 
 1.09 
 
 " Snelling, Minnesota 
 " Kearney, Nebraska,. . . . 
 
 0.73 
 050 
 
 0.52 
 048 
 
 1.30 
 1 .55 
 
 2.14 3.17 3.63 
 2.68 6.57 4 36 
 
 4.11 3.18 
 
 5.07 2.62 
 
 3.32 1.35 1.31 
 1.83 O.H8 1.11 
 
 0.67 
 0.83 
 
 " Mackinac, Michigan,.. . 
 " Niagara, N. Y , 
 
 1.25 
 2.25 
 
 0.82 
 1.89 
 
 1.14 
 2.12 
 
 1.21 
 220 
 
 2.32 
 2.55 
 
 2.81 
 3.28 
 
 3.20 
 3.49 
 
 2.87 
 3.04 
 
 2.97 2.12 
 3.95 2.37 
 
 1.92 
 2.36 
 
 1.24 
 2.27 
 
 I have not included any of the eastern states because the focal 
 path covers them in December and January, and sometimes even 
 in the early part of February. This will be seen by referring to 
 the diagram of winter rains. (Fig. 23.) 
 
 But when the ascent commences in February, it first spreads out 
 over the states to the west and northwest, and continues to extend 
 in that direction much faster than over the Atlantic states. In a 
 class of seasons, this is so much the case that serious spring 
 drouths are occasioned in the northeastern states. I shall recur 
 to this when I come to classify and expla r n our drouths, but I 
 mention the fact here and wish it remembered. It will be found 
 hereafter not only an important fact in relation to drouths, but 
 an important element in prognosticat'on. 
 
 And here I also insert, rather as a matter of interest than as 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC 
 
 103 
 
 showing the movement of the system of conditions, ft chart of the 
 rain-fall for the year. It conforms of course generally, to the 
 chart, tables, and facts already given, but the movements of the 
 focal path are masked in the general result. The chart is copied 
 from the " Army Meteorological Register." It may not be en- 
 tirely accurate, but I think it is substantially so. It shows doubt- 
 less, more clearly than the winter chart I have given, the effect 
 of configuration on the quantity of rain, and also where the sys- 
 tem of Atlantic conditions is focal for the longest portion of the year. 
 
 FIG. 30. 
 
 And now professional men, practical men, and especially youn< 
 
104 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 men, I have given you the key to the climatology of your conti- 
 nent, in each and all of its various localities your locality, reader, 
 wherever it fs. I have given you the key to your RAINY AND 
 DRY SEASONS and they occur and alternate more or less per- 
 fectly everywhere. I have given you a key to understand the 
 TEMPERATURE of your locality as it is affected by the situation 
 of the focal path of the conditions in its relation to that locality. 
 I have given you a key to the SUDDEN CHANGES you all expe- 
 rience so often and talk so much about, and you can now under- 
 stand them, and forecast them, as the conditions which produce 
 them, pass over or within influential distance of you. You will 
 understand why the consumptive leaves the Atlantic coast, where 
 the conditions pass in winter with their sudden and extreme 
 changes, to seek restoration in the colder but dry and compara- 
 tively changeless atmosphere of Minnesota, where the conditions 
 rarely pass or extend their influence at that season of the year. 
 You will understand also, why, if in the central or eastern states, 
 you do look or may look in the southwest in winter, and in the 
 northwest in summer for the first appearance of the advance clouds 
 of a stormy condition, the focal path being in the one case at the 
 south, and the other at the north ; and why, when an approaching 
 storm is seen in the northwest, you may expect rain, and in the 
 southwest snow, east of the Alleghany mountains. And you will 
 also understand the PREVALENT WINDS of your country, alter- 
 nating east of the Rocky Mountains, from southerly to northerly 
 and from northerly to southerly as the focal path of the conditions 
 is west or north of you, or east or south of you, or over you. 
 And you will also understand the SPECIAL WINDS of your climate 
 and their changes, remembering that these special winds are parts 
 of conditions, and that you are enveloped in one wind, a warm 
 one, when the condition is approaching you, and in another and 
 cool one when the condition is passing away from you. 
 
 But on this general subject of the winds it may be well to be 
 more particular, and I copy the following tables from Prof. Cof- 
 fin's " Winds of the Northern Hemisphere." The first is in rela- 
 tion to the winds at Tampa Bay on the west coast of the penin- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 105 
 
 sula of Florida. Here it will be seen that the prevalent winds 
 are southerly, during all the time that the focal path of the con- 
 ditions is ascending to the northwest, but that during the winter 
 months they have the northeast trade. 
 
 No. 50. Tampa Bay, Florida. 
 11 YEARS. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 MEAN DIRECTION OP 
 WIND. 
 
 RATE OF 
 PROGRESS. 
 
 Jannary, 
 
 N. 9 17' E. 
 
 10 
 
 February, 
 
 S. 86 14 E. 
 
 12 
 
 March 
 
 S 51 17 W. 
 
 12 
 
 April, 
 
 S. 30 23 W. 
 
 10 
 
 May, 
 
 S. 3 56 E. 
 
 14 
 
 June, 
 
 S. 18 33 E. 
 
 26 
 
 July 
 
 S 8 21 E 
 
 35 
 
 August, 
 
 S. 19 58 E. 
 
 29 
 
 September, 
 
 S. 80 46 E 
 
 25 
 
 October, 
 
 N. 66 14 E. 
 
 22 
 
 
 N 55 2 E 
 
 15 
 
 December . . 
 
 N 27 20 E 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 No. 67. Forts Gibson, Smith, and Wayne. 
 3 stations. 
 
 8 YEARS. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 MEAN DIRECTION OF 
 WIND. 
 
 RATE OF 
 PROGRESS. 
 
 January 
 
 N. 61 8' E 
 
 10 
 
 February, 
 
 S. 46 13 E 
 
 20 
 
 March, 
 
 S 46 45 E 
 
 18 
 
 April, 
 
 S 24 52 E 
 
 23 
 
 May, 
 
 S 29 20 E 
 
 60 
 
 June, 
 
 S 31 31 E 
 
 66^ 
 
 July, 
 
 S 33 44 E 
 
 37 
 
 August, 
 
 S 40 28 E 
 
 34 
 
 September, ... 
 
 S 79 40 E 
 
 01 1 
 
 October, . . 
 
 S 70 43 E 
 
 01 2 
 
 10 
 
 November, 
 
 N. 2 6 W 
 
 19 
 
 December, 
 
 S 8 57 W 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 Following the focal path to the northwest on to Arkansas, we 
 6 
 
106 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 have at Forts Gibson Smith, and Wayne the preceding table, the 
 winds conforming to the focal path which covers the eastern part 
 of Arkansas in winter, and the curvature of the conditions over 
 that state as shown in the diagrams. 
 
 Turning now to Fort Towson on the Red river, in the Ind'an 
 Territory, southwest of Fort Smith, we have the winds ranging 
 through the year from the south, bearing more or less to the west. 
 Fort Towson as we have seen lies southwesterly of the focal path 
 of the conditions as situated in winter. 
 
 No. 65. Fort Towson, on Red River. 
 8 YEARS. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 MEAN DIRECTION OP 
 WIND. 
 
 RATE OF 
 PROGRESS. 
 
 January, 
 
 S. 34^ 1' W. 
 
 17 
 
 
 S. 65 42 W. 
 
 22 
 
 March, 
 
 S. 31 11 W. 
 
 26 
 
 April 
 
 S 6 40 W. 
 
 31 
 
 May, 
 
 S. 5 33 W. 
 
 47 
 
 June . . 
 
 S 4 53 W 
 
 49 
 
 July, 
 
 S. 6 21 W. 
 
 56 
 
 August ....... 
 
 S 13 38 W 
 
 40 
 
 September 
 
 S 5 13 W 
 
 17 
 
 
 S. 47 37 W. 
 
 16 
 
 November, 
 
 S 44 46 W 
 
 28 
 
 December, 
 
 S. 27 5 W. 
 
 21 
 
 
 S. 17 48 W. 
 
 29 
 
 
 
 
 Turning now to Nashville, Term., which is covered by the focal 
 path even in winter, and where the conditions are always moving 
 to the northeast, we have the winds conforming to them, and pre- 
 vailing between the south and west during every month of the 
 year. Observe with what substantial regularity the winds grow 
 more southerly from February to September, as the focal path is 
 carried up by its annual transit above the place to the north and 
 northwest, and how they turn to the west again when it return 
 in October. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Nashville, Tennessee. 
 
 107 
 
 5 YEARS. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 MEAN DIRECTION OF 
 WIND. 
 
 RATE OF 
 PROGRESS. 
 
 January, 
 
 S. 39 Ml' W. 
 
 30 
 
 February, 
 
 S. 65 22 W. 
 
 22 
 
 March, 
 
 S. 70 35 W. 
 
 21 
 
 April 
 
 S 57 38 W 
 
 41 
 
 May, 
 
 S. 57 29 W. 
 
 38* 
 
 
 S. 45 1 W. 
 
 49 
 
 July 
 
 S 39 18 W 
 
 27 
 
 August, 
 
 S. 20 31 W. 
 
 25 
 
 September, 
 
 S. 34 30 W. 
 
 18 
 
 October, 
 
 S 81 13 W. 
 
 27 
 
 November, 
 
 S. 62 42 W. 
 
 23 
 
 
 S. 60 59 W. 
 
 39* 
 
 The year, 
 
 S. 57 20 W. 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 If now we ascend to the northwest, to the stations from Iowa 
 to Maine inclusive, between the parallels of 45 arid 50, we have 
 the following as the mean monthly direction of the winds, during 
 a period of 17 5-12 years. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 MEAN DIRECTION. 
 
 RATE OF 
 PROGRESS. 
 
 CO 
 
 H 
 << 
 
 Q 
 
 % 
 
 6 
 R 
 
 January,. . . 
 
 N. 58 40' W. 
 
 14 
 
 31 00 
 
 
 N. 47 43 W. 
 
 19 
 
 28.24 
 
 March,- 
 
 N. 24 37 W. 
 
 9 
 
 31.00 
 
 April, ... 
 
 S. 69 34 W. 
 
 15* 
 
 30.00 
 
 May, 
 
 S. 12 27 W. 
 
 3 
 
 31.00 
 
 June, 
 
 S. 51 31 W. 
 
 18 
 
 30.00 
 
 July, 
 
 S. 64 3 W. 
 
 37 
 
 31.00 
 
 August, 
 
 S. 56 43 W. 
 
 28 
 
 31.00 
 
 
 S. 69 58 W. 
 
 20 
 
 30.00 
 
 October, 
 
 S. 70 59 W 
 
 19* 
 
 31 00 - 
 
 November, 
 
 N. 50 56 W. 
 
 11 
 
 30.00 
 
 December, 
 
 N. 69 50 W. 
 
 10 
 
 31.00 
 
 
 
 
 
108 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 And at Ambers t, which is a fair representative of New Eng 
 lund, we have the following : 
 
 Amherst, Massachusetts. 
 5 YEARS. 
 
 MONTHS. 
 
 MEAN DIRECTION OF 
 WIND. 
 
 RATE OF 
 PROGRESS. 
 
 January 
 
 N 69 ^ 42' W 
 
 36 
 
 Febririry 
 
 N 63 34 W 
 
 35 
 
 March 
 
 N. 53 39 W 
 
 41 
 
 April 
 
 N 55 2 W 
 
 33 
 
 Mav, 
 
 N. 85 9 W. 
 
 22 
 
 June . 
 
 S 67 5 W 
 
 22 
 
 July . . 
 
 S. 70 47 W 
 
 37 
 
 August 
 
 S 88 34 W 
 
 26 
 
 September 
 
 S 76 54 W 
 
 16 
 
 October, 
 
 N. 78 53 W 
 
 30 
 
 .November 
 
 N 55 19 W 
 
 41 
 
 December, 
 
 N 57 2 W 
 
 47 
 
 The year 
 
 N 73 13 W 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 And the explanation of this prevalence of S.E. winds in the 
 eastern Gulf states ; of southerly winds in the western Gulf 
 states; of S.W. winds in the central states; and alternation of 
 N.W. and S.W. winds in the northwestern, northern, and eastern 
 states, is found in the location and extension of the focal path of 
 the Atlantic conditions, and the alternation of the special winds 
 of the conditions, as they pass over the northern and eastern por- 
 tion of the country. 
 
 And in the foregoing facts the reader will find the reason why 
 the winds prevail from the northwest, northeast, southeast, and 
 southwest more than from any other points of the compass. It 
 is because the line of progress of the conditions, after they curve 
 over the eastern part of our country, is to the northeast, and their 
 winds -are either lateral or conform in their direction, or blow in 
 opposition to their line of progress. Southerly winds prevail on 
 the south side of the focal path, northwesterly and northeasterly 
 on the north side. Where the path is central, west of the Alle- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 109 
 
 ghany mountains, the winds are southwesterly, and east of them 
 northeasterly. If the conditions moved from one cardinal point 
 to another, the winds would prevail from the cardinal points. 
 
 And now let us see how perfectly this discovery explains the 
 heretofore unexplained peculiarities of temperature. 
 
 The following is a reduced copy of the chart of isothermal 
 lines (lines of equal temperature) for the winter , which accompa- 
 nies the Army Meteorological Register. It has been questioned 
 in some respects and may not be entirely accurate, but it is sub- 
 stantially so, and sufficiently so for illustration. 
 
 FIG. 31. 
 
 If this chart could have been drawn for the first half of Febru- 
 ary, when the focal path is at its extreme southeastern depression, 
 
110 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 its peculiar features would have been much more obvious, but 
 they strikingly appear as it is. 
 
 Take then, 1st, the isothermal of 50. It commences off the 
 coast, on the Gulf Stream, where the ocean is much warmer than 
 the land, a little above the parallel of 35 , and descends till it 
 meets the focal path of the conditions at eastern Georgia, and 
 there its descent is arrested until it gets to the west of that path 
 upon Texas, where it descends with great rapidity, as it should do, 
 in accordance with the tables I have given you. Observe the 
 sudden angle made by the descent, even on the coast and upon the 
 Guff. It is as cold at 30 in Texas, as at 35 in N. Carolina. 
 
 2d. Observe again, that over the Mississippi Valley all the 
 lines, after passing the Alleghanies, where of course they are de- 
 pressed by altitude, ascend where the focal path is found in De- 
 cember, and the latter part of February, and descend again rapidly 
 after passing west of that path. No other sufficient cause has 
 been or can be assigned, than that it is colder in winter to the 
 west and north of that focal path, and warmer under it, as we have 
 seen in the table heretofore given. Altitude will not explain it. 
 
 3d. Observe again, that further north the isothermal lines rise 
 over and in the vicinity of the great, unfrozen lakes, but fall, 
 lower even than in the central states, in the vicinity of the Missis- 
 sippi and west of it, conforming to the steady, dry cold weather 
 of these states when the focal path is southeast of them. 
 
 4th. But the most striking feature is the ascent of the lines as 
 they approach the Rocky Mountains at the west and northwest. 
 As the ground rises rapidly in that direction, and all our cold 
 winds have been supposed to sweep from thence, the fact has been 
 difficult to credit. Nevertheless, the fact cannot be questioned. 
 It is ten degrees warmer in January, at Fort Laramie, at the base 
 of the Rocky Mountains, at an altitude of 45 1 9 feet, than on the 
 same latitude near the Mississippi river, at an altitude of 500 feet. 
 Making the usual allowance of one degree of cold for every 300 
 feet of ascent, it should be 13 colder at Laramie. 
 
 There is then the very great difference of twenty-three degrees, 
 1x3 bo explained. It has not been explained. But our key ex 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Ill 
 
 plains it. Fort Laramie is reached or influentially approached in 
 winter by the southern edge of the focal path of the Pacific winter 
 conditions, and has not only the greater warmth which is found 
 under that path, hut somewhat of the warmer s ntherly and east- 
 erly winds instead of northerly winds, which are found on the 
 immediate southerly and easterly borders of both focal paths. The 
 following tables will show this. And first as to temperature. 
 
 
 JAN. 
 
 FEB. 
 
 MARCH. 
 
 APRIL. 
 
 Fort Laramie, mean of six years, Lat. 
 42 12', Long. 104 47/, Altitude 4519 
 feet 
 
 31.03 
 
 32.60 
 
 36 81 
 
 47 60 
 
 Fort Kearney, 6& years, Lat. 40 38', 
 Long. 980 57/ 5 Altitude 2360 feet,. . . , 
 Council Bluffs, mean of 7 years, Lat. 41 
 30', Long. 950 48', Altitude 1250 feet, 
 
 21.14 
 19.36 
 
 26.11 
 25.23 
 
 34.50 
 33.77 
 
 47.18 
 51.84 
 
 No station having precisely the same latitude as Laramie ex- 
 ists. Council Bluffs is the nearest to it, and sufficiently so for 
 illustration. Now observe two facts shown by the foregoing table. 
 The first is that there is at least ten degrees of difference in Jan- 
 uary as stated. The second is that the stations further east feel 
 the extension of the Atlantic conditions in advance of Laramie, and 
 the Pacific having moved beyond influential distance, the temper- 
 ature increases more rapidly in March and April at those stations 
 than at Laramie. 
 
 In the following table we compare the winds for the same 
 months in the same year, and take a year about the middle of the 
 decade, 1856, giving at the same time the mean temperature and 
 range of the thermometer. Our comparison here is with Fort 
 Kearney only, Council Bluffs being then broken up. 
 
 1856, JANUARY. TEMPERATURE. WINDS. 
 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Max 
 
 Min. 
 
 N. 
 
 N.E. 
 
 E. 
 
 S.E. 
 
 S. 
 
 s.w. 
 
 w. 
 
 N.W. 
 
 Laramie 
 
 19.98 
 
 42 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 50 
 
 8 
 
 Kearney 
 
 6.05 
 
 38 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 38 
 
112 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 This table does not differ materially in its results from the mean 
 of ten years. Looking to the fact that Laramie is much more 
 elevated, and nearly a degree farther north, where northerly 
 winds should be more prevalent, the absence of northerly winds 
 at Laramie, and their presence at Kearney, together with the 
 presence of easterly and southerly winds at Laramie and their 
 absence at Kearney, in the same month of the same year, indi- 
 cate decisively the influence of the Pacific system upon the 
 weather at Laramie. There is nothing else in either locality to 
 affect the result. The exposure of Laramie is open, and the val- 
 ley of the Platte river where Kearney is situated is broad, and 
 the bluffs distant and moderate. There is much other evidence 
 which might be adduced on this point, but it does not seem neces- 
 sary to adduce it. The facts given are sufficient until impugned. 
 
 Follow me now to the Pacific states, and we will analyze their 
 climatology. We shall find it much more simple, but substan- 
 tially the same in its elements. 
 
 In the first place, we find that the conditions all enter upon the 
 Pacific coast from the S.W. and move northeasterly. We have 
 but few data on this subject, and those are mostly from California 
 and Oregon. All these data prove that the rain-bearing clouds 
 move in from the southwest, and this is as it should be. The Pa- 
 cific is broad, and all the conditions which reach the western coas,t 
 of the continent form upon its surface and curve to the JS T .E. 
 before they reach the coast. They necessarily, therefore, reach 
 it from a southwesterly direction and pass on to the northeastward 
 precisely as the Atlantic conditions do, above 35 in summer and 
 30 in winter. There is therefore precise conformity in respect 
 to the direction in which the conditions move. 
 
 In the second place, there is a focal path in which the condi- 
 tions move, precisely similar to that found in the Atlantic system. 
 In the winter season, when the southern limit of the path is at of 
 near San Diego, the focus of the path is at Astoria in Oregon, 
 and the northern limit in the vicinity of Sitka. The following 
 table will illustrate this, and it will be seen that in January, when 
 there was very little rain at San Diego, or at Sitka, there was 2Z 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 113 
 
 inches at Astoria, and 1 1 .8 inches at Puget's sound, which is near- 
 ly in the same latitude, but lies in the interior, east of the coast 
 range of mountains which affect the rain-fall there. In August 
 and September, when the focal path has moved up to the north, 
 we find that 10 and 14 inches fell at Sitka, while there was none 
 in California and very little in Oregon. There is other evidence 
 on this point, but it is unnecessary to adduce it. 
 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 | 
 
 f 
 < 
 
 1 
 
 | 
 
 ": 
 
 >> 
 
 "3 
 
 >-s 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 s 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 \ 
 
 >< 
 
 San Diego, Cal., 
 
 32 41 
 
 0.3 
 
 1.7|1.1 
 
 0.9 0.5 
 
 0.0 
 
 0.0 
 
 0.2 
 
 0.0 
 
 0.1 
 
 1.5 
 
 3.4 9.6 
 
 San Francisco, 
 
 37 48 
 
 1 7 
 
 0.5 4 
 
 2 1! 0.4 
 
 00 
 
 I) 
 
 o.o 
 
 04 
 
 0.6 
 
 30 
 
 5.5 188 
 
 Cant., Far. W., Cal., 39 02 
 
 3.3 
 
 0.6! 6.4 
 
 2.2 
 
 0.9 
 
 0.0 
 
 0.0 
 
 0.0 
 
 0.3 
 
 0.1 
 
 3.5 
 
 4.6 21.9 
 
 Astoria, Oregon, 46 11 
 
 27.0 
 
 10.9 6.1 
 
 4.4 5.9 
 
 2.6 
 
 0.0 
 
 2.3 
 
 1.9 
 
 6.7 
 
 13.2 
 
 6.2 
 
 87.2 
 
 Puget's Sound, Ore., 
 
 47 07 11.8 
 
 3.9 4. 7 
 
 41 ! 0.8 
 
 0.6 
 
 0.5 
 
 1.3 
 
 1.6 
 
 3.6 
 
 5.9 
 
 6.1 
 
 44.8 
 
 Sitka, Alaska, 
 
 57 3 
 
 2.5 
 
 9.6 
 
 3.5 
 
 33 
 
 1.9 
 
 5.9 
 
 3.7 
 
 10.1 
 
 14.8 
 
 12.7 
 
 7.4 
 
 4.2 
 
 79.5 
 
 The figures are for inches and tenths of an inch of rain 
 
 In the third place, we find that there is a transit of this focal 
 path to the north in summer, and that all or nearly all the condi- 
 tions enter upon the coast in August above California and Oregon. 
 From evidence which I shall have occasion to introduce in another 
 connection, it will appear that during certain years of the decade, 
 the transit to the north is so great as to leave Oregon as rainless 
 as California. For the present, the foregoing table is sufficient 
 evidence of the fact, and the extent, of the transit, and that it is 
 in precise conformity with that of the Atlantic system in the east- 
 ern states, in its material features. 
 
 In the fourth place, there is satisfactory evidence that the winds 
 attendant upon the focal path are the same as those in the eastern 
 states. This is so well expressed by Mr. Blodgett in his Climat- 
 ology that I copy from him. 
 
 " The rains of this best known portion of the Pacific coast, 
 (California,) are, as has been said, peculiar in regard to the at- 
 tending winds, which, from San Diego to Puget's Sound, are in 
 nearly all cases from the southeast and south with a strong and 
 steady force. These are also simply attendant winds, and not those 
 which may be said to bring the rains, the course of clouds above 
 
114 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 the local or surface wind, being quite regular from the west. But 
 110 sooner is precipitation begun than the attendant southeast wind 
 sets in, to be continued steadily to the end of the rain in most 
 cases. And at the northernmost stations it begins always earlier 
 than at the next southward, in fact beginning and ending with 
 the rain in all cases, and as they begin earlier at the northerly 
 points it has more days of duration there." As the centre of the 
 focal path is never south of Oregon, there are of course none 
 other than the southerly lateral winds which form a part of the 
 conditions south of that point. 
 
 If now we go north of the focal path to Sitka, we find the east- 
 erly and westerly winds are prevalent, and that northerly winds 
 are prevalent when the focal path is at the south. The east wind 
 is not known south of the focus. At Sitka it is more prevalent 
 than any other, as the following table of the relative number of 
 winds taken from Prof. Coffin's work will show : 
 
 WINDS IN BRITISH AND RUSSIAN AMERICA. 
 
 SITKA, RUSSIAN AMERICA. 
 
 Course. 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 < 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 i-s 
 
 f 
 
 i 
 
 | 
 
 GO 
 
 O 
 
 > 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 North.. . 
 
 11 
 
 127 
 48 
 167 
 3 
 5 
 57 
 41 
 279 
 
 6 
 7 
 14 
 330 
 48 
 31 
 13 
 10 
 237 
 
 78 
 198 
 222 
 48 
 48 
 48 
 66 
 36 
 
 
 42 
 90 
 233 
 59 
 52 
 113 
 65 
 53 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 156 
 114 
 
 78 
 156 
 144 
 
 30 
 18 
 
 36 
 42 
 162 
 60 
 60 
 66 
 186 
 72 
 36 
 
 42 
 
 78 
 90 
 6 
 66 
 120 
 168 
 36 
 120 
 
 18 
 42 
 156 
 90 
 90 
 54 
 108 
 24 
 162 
 
 18 
 18 
 246 
 102 
 60 
 72 
 42 
 36 
 120 
 
 30 
 30 
 240 
 174 
 90 
 18 
 72 
 6 
 66 
 
 12 6 
 
 30: 18 
 270; 210 
 90 204 
 30 i 78 
 42 36 
 72) 48 
 24 48 
 150 96 
 
 311 
 704 
 2047 
 1444 
 703 
 42 
 1041 
 416 
 1298 
 
 N E 
 
 East, 
 
 SB ... 
 
 South, 
 
 s.w 
 
 West, 
 
 N.W 
 
 Calm 
 
 
 But it should be stated that all the conditions are less intense 
 on that coast than in the eastern states. Thunder storms are ex- 
 ceedingly rare, thunder is not heard more than two or three 
 times a year in California. Gales are uncommon and the condi- 
 tions seem to partake of the pacific character of the ocean on 
 which they originate. Why the ocean and the conditions are thus 
 pacific, I am not yet at liberty to suggest, for I have undertaken 
 to unfold the system to you, -as matter of fact, leaving the consid- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 115 
 
 eration of its motive and controlling forces for a concluding chapter. 
 I turn now to the third system of conditions, which in certain 
 years and seasons covers the southern portion of the Gulf States, 
 Southern Mexico, and Central America. Here, as we have said, 
 the conditions originate upon the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico 
 and pass to the westward out upon the Pacific. They are not 
 directly connected with the other two systems, and a further con- 
 sideration of them is scarcely necessary. They consist almost 
 wholly of limited and isolated thunder showers, passing frequently 
 and rapidly over the track, giving dashes of rain in large drops 
 and pouring masses for a brief period, and are gone. But the 
 aggregate amount of rain which they deposit during the rainy 
 season, even during the brief period they are over the Gulf coast, 
 is very large, as the following table will show: 
 
 Fort Myers, Florida, mean annual rain, - C2.26 
 
 " " " mean for summer, - 30.91 
 
 Fort Brooke, Florida, mean annual rain, - 55.47 
 
 " " " mean for summer, - - 28.44 
 
 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, annual mean, - - 62.10 
 
 " " " mean for summer, - 19.14 
 
 With this table, which requires no comment, I leave this branch 
 of the subject. The importance of the foregoing development of 
 the systems of conditions and the transits of their focal paths, can- 
 not be doubted. Nor can the truth of the development be honest- 
 ly denied. There is much other evidence to support it for which 
 I have not space. Some of it will hereafter appear in another 
 connection. Let not the practical reader doubt the truth of that, 
 and other developments, made and to be made, because they have 
 been in substance thirteen years before the professed Meteorolo- 
 gists of the country, and have been ignored and suppressed, be- 
 cause adverse to a baseless and pernicious theory. 
 
 " Truth crushed to earth will rise again, 
 
 The eternal years of God are hers; 
 But error wounded writhes in pain, 
 
 And dies amid her worshipers." 
 
116 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 And now if the reiser has attentively followed me in the fore- 
 going exposition of the manner in which the conditions produce 
 the states of the atmosphere constituting the weather, the charac- 
 ter of those conditions as they enter upon or form over our con- 
 tinent, and their various systems and the paths they pursue, he is 
 'prepared to follow me as I trace them back to their sources, and 
 examine the organization of the GENERAL SYSTEM, and the opera- 
 tion of the laws of that system, by which ihe conditions are pro- 
 duced. Upon that inquiry we will enter in another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE ATMOSPHERIC 
 SYSTEM. 
 
 Origin of a class of conditions in the central zone Central belt of precip- 
 itating clouds encircles the earth Mean width about 500 miles chart 
 of it and its connections Situation in August, north of the equator 
 Polar zones of rain connected with it Situation of polar zones in August 
 On each side of the central belt an area covered by dry trade-wind, called 
 N.E. and S.E. trades these areas also surround the earth The central 
 belt of cloud and rain, the two areas of dry trade- wind, and the two polar 
 zones of ra:n, make five permanent and connected parts of a general sys- 
 tem All as a connected whole have a northern and southern annual tran- 
 sit All commence their movement together to the south about the first of 
 August, and reach their southern position about the first of February 
 Chart showing the position in February of the five parts, to wit : the cen- 
 tral belt, the two trade-wind zones, and the two polar zones The connect- 
 ed, whole commences it& northern transit early in February, and reaches 
 its northern position in August This organized whole to be particularly 
 examined Some preliminary facis to be considered Transit more ex- 
 tended north and south some years than -others Some sections which are 
 not covered by either zone of rains during the transit such sections con- 
 stitute a class of deserts Such are New Holland and Kalahari in the 
 Southern Hemisphere Arabia; Egypt, Sahara, Colorado, &c., in the 
 Northern Hemisphere There are also arid areas in the polar zones Prin- 
 cipal rivers of Africa and ;South America rise under the central belt of rains- 
 Central belt passes over some places twice a year Monsoons Examina- 
 tion of the great central condition Constituted by or composed of a cen- 
 tral belt of condensation and two wings of winds, the trades Analagous 
 in this respect to the conditions of the polar zones Analagous also in all 
 its essential elements Critical examination -of its elements Examination 
 of the trade-winds and their character Examination of the central belt 
 o. ; condensation and its character Contains no vortex Theory that it 
 does a mere assumption Originally made by Halley in 1686 never 
 proved by any direct evidence, nor capable of such proof Every fact, in 
 nature bearing upon it adverse to it Earth, air and water under the belt 
 of rain colder than in the trades everywhere Fundamental base of the 
 
113 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 theory therefore untrue Review of evidence on the point Fact undenia- 
 ble, undenied, yet not regarded Coast wind of California, not an excep- 
 tion That wind does not reach the valleys which are assumed to cause it 
 
 The air as heated in the atmosphere has not the ascensiv, force attrib- 
 uted to it Review of the evidence on this point Impossible therefore that 
 it should produce a vortex Description of a violent West. India hurricane 
 Originated where the air and water were only 84. Ascensive force of 
 unconfmed air at that temperature does not exceed a quarter of an ounce 
 to the square foot Utterly impossible that it should produce storms of 
 such violence, or any storms All attempts to prove the existence of such 
 a vortex, directly or analogically, failures Review of evidence on that 
 point Examination of the nature of the central condition, as disclosed by 
 actual and positive observation Review of evidence on that point Obser- 
 vations of Squier in Nicaraugua Fendler in Venezuela Herndon in the 
 valley of the Amazon Gibbon upon the Andes Livingston in South 
 Africa Du Chaillu in Equatorial Africa Barth in North Africa All 
 concur to prove the theory of Halley untrue Critical examination of the 
 belt continued Has an upper layer of cirrus a second layer of stratus 
 or cumulo-stratus, beneath them the scud of the trade-winds These three 
 elements with the squalls and slant winds at the surface constitute the 
 organized central belt Trades pass each other in this belt Review of the 
 evidence of it and of the objections made to it After passing, continue in 
 the same general direction Facts pointing in a different direction are ex- 
 ceptions Review of evidence on this point Resume of the facts contained 
 in the chapter. 
 
 Taking now one of the distinct and intense conditions whose 
 path is along our coast, in the early part of August, and follow- 
 ing it back to the place of its organization, as shown upon the 
 map of Mr. Redfield ; or taking an intense belt of showers which 
 has come to us from the westward, and tracing it back on its curv- 
 ing path to where it entered upon the continent over Western 
 Texas, and thence to the south and southeast to its place of origin 
 in the West Indies or the Caribbean Sea, we find that place to be 
 covered by a belt or zone of precipitating clouds, averaging about 
 500 miles in width and encircling the earth. That belt or zone 
 is the centre of the atmospheric system, the Atmospheric Equa- 
 tor. Always existent, always active, and permanent. 
 
 Taking a general view of it and its connections, we find order, 
 arrangement, and organization. The following diagram shows that 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 119 
 
 central belt or zone of rain, substantially as it is found in normal 
 years on the 1st of August, and its c nmected polar zones. 
 
 FIG. 33. 
 
 You see that it is situated above the geographical equator, on 
 the eastern part of the Atlantic, ranging up on to Florida and 
 the southern part of the Gulf states, and on to the Gulf of Mex- 
 ico, Central America, and Southern Mexico. This is the belt to 
 which I alluded as the path of our third system of conditions. 
 It is generally felt in July and August on the peninsula of Flor- 
 
120 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM, 
 
 ida, and more or less on the Atlantic coast as high as Charleston, 
 but not as high on the Gulf coast except in occasional years in 
 
 FIG. 32. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 121 
 
 particular parts of each decade. The shading on the diagrnm 
 represents it with substantial accuracy. 
 
 Connected with this central belt of rains on the north, there is 
 a polar zone of rains, exhibited by the shading of the map. In 
 looking at it you will see that that polar zone of rains has moved 
 far to the north in August, uncovering the southern part of Spain 
 and Italy on the east, and California and Oregon on the west. 
 Another view of its situation, not quite as accurate, but sufficiently 
 so for our present purpose, is exhibited upon the preceding dia- 
 gram, and will show its situation also upon Africa and Asia. 
 
 It will be seen by the shading that upon the S.E. part of the 
 North American continent, and the S.E. part of the continent of 
 Asia, the zones are represented as connected. Casting your eye 
 upon the southern part of the first diagram, you will see another 
 zone of rains, termed the south polar zone, which about the 1st of 
 August, extends north, particularly upon South America, almost to 
 the Equator. These zones on the north and in the south are of 
 precisely the same character, having similar atmospheric conditions 
 to which they owe their rains, those conditions curving in the 
 south polar zone to the S.E., instead of the N.E., but in both 
 drifting to the eastward, and furnishing both alike with rain. You 
 must remember that the shading in all the zones is only to show 
 the territory upon which the distinct and separate conditions drop 
 their rain during a given period. It is not intended to represent 
 that it is constantly raining upon those portions of the earth. 
 Intermediate between the central zone of rains and each of the 
 polar zones, there are two belts of drouth, and constant wind 
 blowin^ toward the central zone of rain. These winds are called 
 
 O 
 
 the trade winds, and as they blow most frequently from the N.E. 
 em the north side, and the S.E. on the south side, as indicated by 
 the arrows, they are known as the N.E. and S.E. trades. The 
 dry belt on the south, with its S.E. trades, surrounds the earth, 
 unbroken except as it is crossed by an occasional storm. The 
 dry belt on the -N. side, with its N.E. trades, also surrounds the 
 earth unbroke-n save by an occasional storm, and save also as the 
 central zone is connected with the north polar zone on Southeast- 
 
122 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ern America and Southeastern Asia. It will be observed that 
 the central zone of rains does not extend over Africa upon the 
 Desert of Sahara, nor does it extend on to Northern Mexico or 
 Southern California. Thus then, on the 1st of August, in each 
 year, we have these five parts of a permanent, atmospheric ar- 
 rangement. Three zones of clouds and precipitation, and two of 
 drouth and constant wind, and the five embracing the whole at- 
 mosphere, and each in its appropriate place, encircling the earth. 
 
 FIG. 34 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 123 
 
 About the first of August, every year, these five belts commence 
 as a connected whole, a movement to the south. The northern 
 edge of the south polar zone of rains descends to the south 
 towards its pole, the zone of S.E. trades and drouths, the central 
 belt or zone of rains, and the belt of N.E. trades and drouths, all 
 three descend also, and so does the southern edge of the north 
 polar zone of rains. All together and all as one, they thus con^ 
 tirme to descend until about the 1st of February, when they reach 
 substantially the position shown in the preceding diagram. 
 
 Strictly speaking, (for in an investigation of this kind we must 
 nim to be accurate,) the northern edge of the south polar zone 
 lias not, as a permanent edge, retreated to the south ; nor has the 
 southern edge of the north polar zone, as a permanent edge, ex- 
 tended to the south ; but the central zone of rain, the prima mobile 
 and causa causans of all, the central organized body, has moved 
 down, carrying with it its wings of wind, withdrawing its north 
 wind from the north polar zone, and permitting the northern con- 
 ditions, its creations, to commence curving and precipitating further 
 to the southward. So it has moved its southern wing gradually 
 farther and farther down, causing its S.E. dry winds to commence 
 blowing still farther and farther fiom the southward, and compel- 
 ing the southerly conditions of its creation to commence curving 
 and precipitating farther and farther to the southward until its an- 
 nual southern limit was reached. 
 
 Generally by the middle of February, in some particular year 
 of the decade a little earlier, and in others still later, the central 
 belt of precipitation, with its wings of winds and connections, fol- 
 lowing the sun, commences its northern transit. The ascent to 
 the north is but a counterpart of the descent to the south. As 
 the S.E. trades cease to blow at their extreme limits, the southern 
 conditions commence curving and precipitating farther and farther 
 north upon the surface from which they had been excluded by 
 the trades and drouth, or to speak more correctly, by the influence 
 which caused the trades. So, on the other hand, as the central 
 belt moves to the north, the N.E. trades commence blowing far- 
 ther and farther from the north, compelling the northern condi- 
 
124 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 lions to commence curving and precipitating still further and fur- 
 ther northward. And so the process goes on, until about the 1st 
 of August, the central belt and the belts of trade and drouth, and 
 the edges of the polar zones, reach the positions in which we 
 found them on the first of August before. 
 
 Before we examine critically the character of the organization 
 of which we have thus taken a general view, it will be well to 
 look at a few facts, which will be useful in a critical inquiry. 
 The first is, that although the transit of the central belt of rains 
 is substantially the same every year, at intervals of 10 or 11 years, 
 its transit both north and south is perceptibly extended ; and there 
 is irregularity and periodicity connected with it, which we shall 
 see has an important influence on the weather of our zone. 
 
 Another fact is, that over extensive portions of the earth in the 
 dry belt covered by the trade-winds, the central zone of rain and 
 the polar zones of rain do not lap, so to speak, during the transits, 
 and such portions are rainless deserts. Thus upon New Holland, 
 under _the southern belt of trade, the central zone of rains, in its 
 transit to the south, covers a part, but only a small part of it on 
 the north. And so, in its movement to the north, the south polar 
 zone of rains moves far enough north to cover a part only on the 
 south, leaving an intervening, extensive, rainless, central desert 
 not reached by either. Following the same belt of trade to the 
 west, we find a desert, though not as perfectly arid in South 
 Africa that of Kalahari. On the diagram I have marked the 
 extent to which the south polar zone of rain extends up beyond 
 Orange river, during its northern transit, in normal years, and 
 also, by a dotted line, the extent to which the central belt of rains 
 in such seasons reaches in its southern transit. The space which 
 is not covered by either, is the Kalahari Desert, so fully described 
 to us by Livingstone. One fact may here be noted, mentioned by 
 Livingstone, viz. : that occasionally the central zone of rains does 
 extend down far enough to cover the desert, and that it is a tradi- 
 tion among the natives that this occurs once in 10 or 11 years. 
 We shall advert to it again when we come to consider the occasional 
 extreme transits to which we have alluded. Going west to 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 125 
 
 South America, south of the- equator, we find that the central 
 and south polar zones of rains do lap, though imperfectly, and 
 there is no place which is not reached by either of them, and no 
 absolutely rainless desert. South America is peculiarly situated 
 for the reception of moisture from the trades, and peculiarly ele- 
 vated, and is therefore more abundantly supplied with moisture 
 than any other territory south of the Equator. If the country 
 was flat, and its supply of an ordinary character, the imperfectly 
 watered Salinas and Pampas would be rainless deserts. 
 
 There is no other continent covered by the S.E. trades, where, 
 for the rear on stated, a desert can exist. The desert of Peru is 
 partly owing to the cause mentioned, and in part also, to the bar- 
 rier which the Andes present against the passage of either the 
 upper or lower trades over it. 
 
 Coming now to the belt of N.K trades, we find under it exten- 
 sive tracts of rainless desert. The central zone of rains, and the 
 north polar zone of rains, connect together, as represented on the 
 diagram, on Southeastern Asia, as they ' do upon Southeastern 
 North America. Commencing now at the western edge of that 
 connection on Northwestern Hindostan, and going west, we find 
 an unbroken rainless desert reaching through Beloochistan, Afghan- 
 istan, Arabia, and Egypt, and across northern Africa to the Atlan- 
 tic. The north polar zone of rains reaches down, for a few weeks 
 in winter, on to the northern part of Egypt, and upon the Barbafy 
 States, but the central portion of that entire and extensive desert 
 has no rain, except now and then an occasional brief shower. 
 Except upon Southeastern Asia and Southeastern North Amer- 
 ica, the central zone of rains does not often extend north of 20, 
 nor the polar zone of rains south of 25. 
 
 Coming to this continent, the belt of deserts is broken on the 
 eastern part, by the extension of the central belt of rain up to 
 30, but the line of desert appears again oh Northern Mexico, and 
 in the valleys of the Gila and Colorado. Thus you may under- 
 stand that there is a general law of the atmospheric system which 
 produces the great central deserts of the earth, and that it is the 
 law which regulates the transits of the zones of rains. 
 
126 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 There is another important fact to be noticed here, bearing upon 
 future inquiry. In "Western Asia, westward of its system of 
 Pacific conditions, and northward of the belt of trade-wind desert 
 which I have described, there is an extensive tract of country, in- 
 cluding Beloochistan, Afghanistan, Persia, the Punjaub, Northwest- 
 ern India, Toorkistan and the northwestern part of the Chinese Em- 
 pire and Desert of Gobi, that receives but little rain, and is compara- 
 tively infertile, and very much of it desert. To what is it owing ? 
 Directly south lies the Arabian Sea, and over that for 20 or more, 
 in summer, the central belt of rain is situated. Why should not the 
 equatorial current in its assumed uprising and overflowing, flow 
 from that over on to this vast arid country ? And if not in summer 
 then why not in winter, when that central belt lies over the Indian 
 Ocean, an extent of more than 50 ? There are the facts, what 
 is the explanation ? We shall find it in the law of the system 
 which carries up the central belt to meet the polar zone of rain 
 upon Southeastern Asia, and establishes limits for the paths of the 
 conditions, which no "heating of the land" ever disturbs or 
 affects. 
 
 Again, upon the southwestern portion of this continent we 
 have a similar state of things. Between the Atlantic and Pacific 
 systems of conditions we have the arid areas before described, 
 of Southern California, Northern Mexico, the Deserts of the 
 Gila and -Colorado and the Stakey plain, and Utah, while upon 
 the south of them lie the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and 
 the Pacific, on which the equatorial belt of rains rests in summer 
 and f. om whose " overflow" if there was such, as assumed by Sir 
 John Tyndall and Prof. Henry, they too might be watered. 
 Again, over all central and eastern Hindostan, even where the 
 central belt of rains passes up over it in the spring, it precipitates 
 but very little, but on the western coast and over the Ghauts the 
 rain falls in large quantities, while east of them the country is 
 dry. But when the central belt returns from its transit to the 
 north, in the fall, it supplies central and eastern Hindostan abun- 
 dantly with rain. Why, over that great country should it precip- 
 itate during its transit to the north, on the west coast and not on 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 127 
 
 the east coast and in the interior, if precipitation depends simply 
 on overflow ? And why, in its transit to the south, should it 
 precipitate on the east coast and in the interior and not on the 
 west coast ? The questions cannot be answered by alleging a 
 vortex and overflow, but there is a satisfactory explanation for all 
 these apparent anomalies which will appear hei eafter. I cannot 
 now give it without anticipating. 
 
 There is another matter which it may be well to glance at, as 
 a matter of interest, rather than as furnishing important evidence 
 in our inquiry, viz. : The manner in which all the great rivers in 
 Africa and South America originate in the track of the central 
 belt of rains. Thus, the immense river system of South America 
 is fed mainly by that central belt. On the south is a system 
 which has its trunk in the La Plata, and whose branches are the 
 Uruguay, Paraguay, the Parana, and its affluents the Salado 
 the Vermejo, and the Pilcomayo, and all rise to the noithward, 
 supplied by the central belt of rains. So is the vast system of 
 the Amazon supplied by the same belt. The same is true of the 
 Orinoco and its tributaries, and of all Northern South America. 
 
 Turning to Africa, we find all its great rivers rising in the 
 centre of the continent, fed by the central belt of rains, and run- 
 ning northward or southward to the sea. Thus the Niger on the 
 west, rising in the western part of Soudan, on the north side of 
 mountains, curves northward and eastward to Timbuctoo, and 
 thence running to the southward, receives the Benuwe and other 
 small affluents, and enters the Gulf of Guinea. So the Nile, ris- 
 ing near the equator, fed by the central belt of rains, runs north 
 through more than 30 of latitude, and much of the way through 
 a sterile country, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. And so 
 of the Zambesi, and the Kingami, which flow southeasterly into 
 the Indian Ocean. There are a few inconsiderable streams enter- 
 ing the Atlantic on the northwest, and the Mediterranean on the 
 north, which derive their water from the north polar zone of rains. 
 And the*-e is one considerable stream, the Orange river, which 
 drains extreme South Africa of water supplied by the south polar 
 zone of rains, during its extension to the north. 
 
128 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 There is still another feature _of this general system which it is 
 important to notice. In its transit north and south over South 
 America, Africa, and Hindostan, there are central portions over 
 which it passes twice each year. When it is at the north of such 
 a place the winds are southerly, and when south of it they are 
 northerly. This change in the direction of wind at different 
 seasons of the year gave rise originally to the term Monsoons, 
 but it is obvious that they are not a distinct system of winds. 
 They are simply trade-winds. There is a different class of 
 winds, which I have represented upon the diagrams to which 
 I have applied the term monsoons, although it is not very des- 
 criptive of them. I allude to a class of winds eddies, perhaps 
 they may be called which blow in under the central belt of 
 rains, on the western coasts of the continents and islands where 
 that coast is elevated, but not too elevated. Such winds are 
 found on the west coast of Hindostan, blowing from the S.W. in 
 upon the Ghauts ; and again upon Senegambia on the west coast 
 of Africa ; and still again on central America, and the northwest- 
 ern coast of South America. The same thing is measurably true 
 of Burmah and Siam, and the western coast of Madagascar. 
 These are deflected S. E. trades. Of the force which deflects them, 
 I cannot yet speak without anticipating. 
 
 Having thus taken a general view of the organization of the 
 general system, as a connected whole, let us now attempt a close 
 and careful analysis of its path and character, commencing with 
 the great permanent central condition, consisting of the central 
 belt of rains and its wings, the trades. In this inquiry we omit 
 all notice of the polar zones of rains and variable winds. We 
 have already examined their character, and find that they are 
 constituted by conditions which are originated and controlled 
 directly or indirectly by the cause or force which organizes and 
 sustains the central belt and its wings, the trades. Our inquiry 
 then narrows to the organization of that belt and its trades. 
 
 One thought may perhaps already have entered your minds. 
 On a general view, that arrangement of clouds and winds consti- 
 tuting the great central condition, seems to resemble precisely the 
 arrangement of clouds and winds which constitute our intense 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 129 
 
 a:.d distinct summer conditions or belts of showers, and we shall 
 find, upon analyzing it, that all its elements are precisely like those 
 of the condition that I have described as having passed unre- 
 garded, and unnoticed, over the heads of the assembled and asso- 
 ciated scientists of the country, at Springfield, in August, 1859. 
 
 If now you cut out a section of the central belt and its winds, 
 from Africa to South America, as represented upon the diagram, 
 or make afac simile of it, and slide it endwise to the northwest 
 to the latitude of 30, and there curve it gradually so as to give 
 it a northeast direction at the parallel of 35, and then as you pass 
 it up to the northeastward, give it a sliding drift to the east, you 
 will have the appearance and apparent character and movement 
 of an intense belt of summer showers. And in fact they are, as 
 we shall see, precisely alike in their essential elements. But to 
 the evidence. 
 
 Passing from that general appearance and similarity, we find 
 in its composition the following state of things. The trade-winds 
 which blow into it, or are drawn into it on the north side, vary 
 considerably in width. On the eastern side of the Atlantic, the 
 northern limit of the central belt of rains ranges in summer from 
 12 to 15 N. Lat., and the northern limit of the N.E. trades 
 ranges from 32 to 35, both varying in different years. On 
 the western side of the Atlantic, the northern limit of the central 
 belt is carried much higher, curving to the northwest, passing 
 north of the Antilles and Windward Isles. The breadth of the 
 N.E. trade is therefore much less on the western than on the east- 
 ern side. On the eastern side of the Atlantic the breadth is there- 
 fore -about 20, and substantially uniform. On the west the 
 breadth is much diminished, the S.E. trades being very strong, 
 blowing across the central belt and following it up on to the 
 southeastern portion of the United States. 
 
 The S.E. trades all round the world, are stronger and cover a 
 larger area than the N.E. They are often found on the South 
 Atlantic and South Pacific as low down as 37, when the south- 
 ern limit of the belt of rains is not much south of the equator. 
 They must therefore sometimes have a breadth of more than 30, 
 7 
 
130 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 especially when they blow across the equator up over the West 
 India Islands even to Florida. 
 
 What is the character of these winds ? I have not been in 
 .them and cannot speak from my own knowledge. But I have 
 taken great pains to ascertain that character, by reading and in- 
 quiry. They are substantially constant, blowing night and day. 
 They are attended by their scud, like the winds which blow into 
 our summer belts of showers. These scud frequently enlarge and 
 make dashing showers, and sometimes gusts, constituting what 
 the sailors term " white squalls." Coalescing and gathering to- 
 gether in large masses, they make the cumulo-stratus and heavy 
 thunder showers, and in larger masses still the hurricanes of the 
 surface. From all I can leam of them, from the treatises of me- 
 teorologists and the logs of navigators, they differ in no essential 
 respect from the lateral storm winds of our distinct conditions. 
 What then is the character of this cloud belt ? Beneath are the 
 scud and showers and squalls of the trade-winds and over all a 
 layer constituted of cirrus and cirro stratus, precisely as over the 
 precipitating cumulo-strati of our belts of showers and of the ex- 
 tensive stratus of our less intense southeasters. To the evidence 
 of all this I will advert hereafter. 
 
 This statement is adverse to the prevailing assumption in rela- 
 tion to this cloud-belt, inasmuch as it is adverse to the idea that 
 there is an ascending vortex there, which creates the belt and produces 
 the trade- winds, and we must inquire into the evidence on which 
 it is rested and dispose of it. Whether there is a vortex in its com- 
 position or structure is a matter of fa-t and pertinent and impor- 
 tant here. 
 
 What then is the prevailing assumption and theory ? It is 
 thus concisely stated by Sir John Tyndall in his treatise on "Heat, 
 as a mode of motion," as late as 18G3. " From the heat of the 
 sun our winds are all derived. We live at the bottom of an 
 aerial ocean, which is to a remarkable decree permeable to the 
 sun's rays, and is but little disturbed by their direct action. But 
 those rays, when they fall upon the earth, heat its surface ; the 
 air in contact with the surface shares its heat, is expanded and 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 131 
 
 
 
 ascends into the upper regions of the atmosphere. Where the 
 rays fall vertically on the earth, the heating of the surface is 
 greatest, that is to say, between the tropics. Here aerial currents 
 ascend and flow laterally north and south toward the poles, the 
 heavier air of the polar regions streaming in to supply the place 
 vacated by the light and warm air. Thus we have an incessant 
 circulation. Yesterday I made the following experiment in the 
 hot room of a Turkish bath. I opened wide the door and held a 
 lighted taper in the doorway, midway between top and bottom. 
 The flame rose straight from the taper. I placed the taper at the 
 bottom and it was blown violently inward ; I placed it at the top, 
 it was blown violently outward. Here we had two currents or 
 winds, sliding over each other in opposite directions. Tims, also, 
 as regards our hemisphere, we have a current from the equator 
 setting in toward the north and flowing in the higher regions of 
 the atmosphere, and another flowing toward the equator, in the 
 lower regions of the atmosphere. These are the upper and the 
 lower Trade Winds." The same theory, in substantially similar 
 terms, was promulgated by Prof. Henry, in his patent office compil- 
 ations, and his Springfield lecture. 
 
 This is but a repetiiion of an assumption, and a mere assump- 
 tion, made by Halley in 1686, nearly two centuries ago. The 
 assumption seemed plausible then, for little was known of the 
 atmosphere, there were none to question it, and it has been handed 
 down, like a tradition, from that time to this ; and he has been the 
 most distinguished meteorologist who could discover, or group, 
 or assume the most facts to sustain it, or invent the most plausible 
 assumption or incidental theory to reconcile inconsistent and indis- 
 putable facts as they have been constantly brought to light by the 
 progress of knowledge. I stated, and I think demonstrated sat- 
 isfactorily to the minds of all intelligent readers not committed to 
 the theory of Halley, by essays or lectures, in the " Philosophy 
 of the Weather," published in 1856, that the assumption was un- 
 supported by evidence, and was a fallacy. And now after 13 years 
 more of continued and careful investigation, with the fullest con- 
 viction of which my mind is capable, I reassert that the theory in 
 
132 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 its fundamental and auxiliary assumptions is baseless as the" 
 fabric of a vision. THERE is NOT A FACT IN NATURE, RIGHTLY 
 
 UNDERSTOOD, WHICH IS NOT OPPOSED TO IT. And I also ill- 
 
 clude the modification involved in the Espyan theory. 
 
 Now in the first place, there is not a spot upon the land, covered 
 at any season by the central belt of rains, which is hotter than the 
 dry surface on either side of it, from which the trade-winds blow 
 into it. Let us test this. 
 
 Commencing on the west coast of Hindostan, we find from a 
 table prepared by Kaemtz, and taken from his treatise on Meteor- 
 ology, that at Anjarakandy, between 12 and 13 N. Lat., the 
 thermometer rises during the month of April, and while the belt 
 of rains is south of it, to a mean of 29 8' Centigrade, and 85 
 Fahrenheit. As the belt of rains moves north and covers it, it falls 
 rapidly although the sun is vertical, until July, when it is but 25 
 8' Centigrade and 77 Fahrenheit. From this it rises again so that 
 in November, after the belt of rains has receded to the south, it 
 reaches 26 9' Centigrade and 80 Fahrenheit. 
 
 I give the tab'e of Kaemtz, with the rain-fall, to show the sit- 
 uation in the respective mon:hs, of the belt of rains. 
 
 
 Temp'ture 
 Fahrenheit. 
 
 Rain in inches 
 
 January . 
 
 79 
 
 00 
 
 February, 
 
 81 
 
 00 
 
 March, 
 
 83 
 
 00 
 
 April, . . 
 
 85 
 
 1.00 
 
 Mav, 
 
 83 
 
 6.00 
 
 .June, . 
 
 79 
 
 31.00 
 
 July, 
 
 77 
 
 31.00 
 
 August, 
 
 79 
 
 22.00 
 
 September 
 
 79 
 
 12.00 
 
 October, 
 
 80 
 
 6.00 
 
 November, ... .... 
 
 80 
 
 2.00 
 
 December, 
 
 79 
 
 1.00 
 
 Fractions of degrees of temperature and inches of rain are omitted. 
 
 Between April, when the belt is not over Anjarakandy, and 
 July, when its centre is over it, and the sun also is vertical or nearly 
 so, -there is a difference of 8 degrees. In India then, on either 
 

 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 133 
 
 side of the belt of rains, the surface from which the trades are 
 blowing, is hotter, materially, than the surface and the air under 
 the belt of rains to which they blow. 
 
 Passing now to Northern Africa, we find from the observations 
 of Dr. Barth, at Kukuwa, in latitude 12, that in April and May 
 and early June, the thermometer ranges during one half of the 
 days above 100 while in August, when the central belt has 
 reached up over the place, and the sun is vertical, the thermom- 
 eter rose above 90 on two recorded days only. We also find 
 that in October, after the rains had retreated to the southward, the 
 thermometer again rose on a majority of days, and indeed upon 
 every day but two, above 100. The mean difference in Soudan, 
 according to the observations of Dr. Barth, between May and 
 October, when the sun was not vertical, and the earth was not 
 covered by the belt of rains, and July and August, when the sun 
 was vertical and the rains were over it, is at least 15. 
 
 Passing now to the North Atlantic, we find that in summer, 
 when the northern limit of the belt of rains is 14 North in Aug- 
 ust, the mean temperature of the atmosphere for 5 north of it is 
 at least 2 higher. This is shown by the tables of Dove and so 
 many others that it is not necessary to insert any evidence of it. 
 At this place let me introduce a reduced map of.the trade-winds 
 prepared by Prof. Coffin, and published by the Smithsonian 
 Institution. 
 
 It is a correct reduction, but as a representation of the trade- 
 winds, it is imperfect. It represents their mean location for the 
 year merely. 
 
 But it also represents an indisputable fact which the false as- 
 sumption we are considering cannot explain or obscure, having, 
 as I think, a conclusive bearing on the question in hand. It 
 shows that from 600 miles of flat coast, adjoining the great Desert 
 of Sahara, on which the sand is heated every day to an eleva- 
 tion of from 130 to 160 Fahrenheit, and where the same ther- 
 mometer stands in the shade during the summer months as high as 
 112, the wind draws off to the S.W., on to a surface and into abelt 
 of rain, where the water never rises above 82 or the air above 84. 
 
134 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 FlG. 35. 
 WINDS OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 In this connection I also introduce the following tables from 
 Prof. Coffin's "Winds of the Northern Hemisphere," showing the 
 direction of the winds in summer along the coast of North Africa, 
 below and opposite Sahara. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 135 
 
 LATITUDE TO 5" 1 , LONGITUDE FROM GREENWICH 10 TO 55. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 North. 
 
 
 
 
 
 S.S.W. 
 
 54 
 
 Ill 
 
 N.N.E. 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 S.W. 
 
 1 
 
 29 
 
 N.E. 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 W.S.W. 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 27 
 
 16 
 
 West. 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 East. 
 
 31 
 
 20 
 
 W.N.W. 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 120 
 
 96 
 
 N.W. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 S.E. 
 
 216 
 
 276 
 
 N.N.W. 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 S.S.E. 
 
 218 
 
 443 
 
 Calm. 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 South. 
 
 69 
 
 279 
 
 Total, 
 
 768 
 
 1,314 
 
 Here it is evident from the foregoing table that the S.E. trades 
 are the prevailing winds, but their course is variable at that point 
 south of the rains. 
 
 Ascending to the region between 5 and 10 north latitude, and 
 10 to 55 west longitude, the northern part of which at this sea- 
 son is covered by the rains, we find by the following table the 
 monsoon, the S., S.S.W., and S.W. winds, the prevailing ones in 
 August, although the winds are variable, as usual under the rainy 
 belt. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 North. 
 
 19 
 
 6 
 
 S.SW. 
 
 188 
 
 368 
 
 N.N.E. 
 
 26 
 
 11 
 
 S.W. 
 
 63 
 
 94 
 
 N.E. 
 
 104 
 
 32 
 
 W.S.W. 
 
 73 
 
 93 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 30 
 
 16 
 
 West. 
 
 33 
 
 48 
 
 East. 
 
 45 
 
 29 
 
 W.N.W. 
 
 30 
 
 18 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 36 
 
 40 
 
 N.W. 
 
 21 
 
 9 
 
 S.E. 
 
 93 
 
 53 
 
 N.N.W. 
 
 17 
 
 13 
 
 S.S.E. 
 
 225 
 
 307 
 
 Calm. 
 
 109 
 
 74 
 
 South. 
 
 239 
 
 514 
 
 Total, 
 
 1,351 
 
 1,725 
 
 Ascending to the region of 10 to 15 north latitude, and 15 
 to 45 west longitude, still along the coast, we find the winds, as 
 shown in the following table, exceedingly variable, and the mon- 
 soons diminished remarkably. If Professor Coffin's theory was 
 
136 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 correct, they should increase as they approach the desert; but 
 they in fact diminish, and the N.E. trades are found at the north 
 portion. The peculiar variable character of the trade, under the 
 rains on the west coasts of Africa and South America, has been 
 much commented on by seamen. They call the location " the 
 doldrums. ' 
 
 Course, 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 North. 
 
 17 
 
 55 
 
 S S.W. 
 
 30 
 
 71 
 
 N.N.E. 
 
 64 
 
 74 
 
 S.W. 
 
 33 
 
 63 
 
 N.E. 
 
 155 
 
 149 
 
 W.S.W. 
 
 19 
 
 43 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 91 
 
 71 
 
 West. 
 
 12 
 
 25 
 
 East. 
 
 83 
 
 60 
 
 W.N.W. 
 
 17 
 
 21 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 N.W. 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 S.E. 
 
 17 
 
 26 
 
 N.N.W. 
 
 24 
 
 56 
 
 S.S.E. 
 
 13 
 
 33 
 
 Calm. 
 
 62 
 
 78 
 
 South. 
 
 9 
 
 44 
 
 Total, 
 
 684 
 
 919 
 
 Ascending to the region between 15 and 20 north latitude, 
 and 15 to 45 west longitude, we get north of the belt of rains, 
 and lose the monsoons entirely although still below the desert ; and 
 find the regular N.E. trades, with less variable winds than are 
 found in almost any other part of the ocean, as shown by the next 
 table. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 North. 
 
 39 
 
 20 
 
 S.S.W. 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 N.N.E. 
 
 210 
 
 185 
 
 S.W. 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 N.E. 
 
 112 
 
 87 
 
 W.S.W. 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 114 
 
 104 
 
 West. 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 East. 
 
 20 
 
 36 
 
 W.N.W. 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 21 
 
 17 
 
 N.W. 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 S.E. 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 N.N,W. 
 
 3 
 
 31 
 
 S.S.E, 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 Calm. 
 
 20 
 
 8 
 
 South. 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 Total, 
 
 557 
 
 526 
 
 Ascending still further to the region between 20 and 25 north 
 latitude, and 15 and 45 west longitude, which borders in part 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 137 
 
 on the S.W. corner of the desert, and we have not, during the 
 month of August, a single wind between S.S.E. and W.N.W. 
 which blows in upon the land ; and only twelve instances out of 
 three hundred and ninety -four in this hottest month in the year, 
 and on the southern portion of the desert, when the wind blows on 
 shore from any quarter. This is demonstration. The monsoon 
 winds are confined to the rainy belt ; they do not reach the desert, 
 nor does the desert attract the winds from the ocean, or reverse, 
 hold back, or disturb the trades. They blow uninterruptedly 
 from land heated up to 130 every day, on to water which is never 
 heated above 82. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 Course. 
 
 July. 
 
 August 
 
 North. 
 
 25 
 
 20 
 
 S.S.W. 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 NN.E. 
 
 210 
 
 153 
 
 S.W. 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 N.E. 
 
 129 
 
 77 
 
 W.S.W. 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 E.N.E. 
 
 110 
 
 86 
 
 West. 
 
 
 
 
 
 East. 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 W.N.W. 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 E.S.E. 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 N.W. 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 S.E. 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 N.N.W. 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 S.S.E. 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 Calm. 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 South. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Total, 
 
 515 
 
 394 
 
 Passing on to Northern South America, we find abundant evi- 
 dence of the fact. Humboldt has given us a graphic description 
 of the heat of the earth and air during the dry season upon the 
 plains of the Orinoco, when the trade-winds are blowing over it 
 and into the belt of rains visibly approaching from the south. 
 
 " When, beneath the vertical rays of the bright and cloudless 
 sun of the tropics, the parched sward crumbles into dust, then the 
 indurated soil cracks and bursts, as if rent asunder by some mighty 
 earthquake. The hot and dusty earth forms a cloudy vail, which 
 shrouds the heavens from view, and increases the stifling oppres- 
 sion of the atmosphere ; while the east wind (*'. e. trade-wind), 
 when it blows over the long heated soil, instead of cooling, adds 
 to the burning glow. 
 
138 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 " Gradually, too, the pools of water, which had been protected 
 from evaporation by the now seared foliage of the fan-palm, dis- 
 appear. As in the icy north, animals become torpid from cold, 
 so here the crocodile and the boa-constrictor lie wrapped in un- 
 broken sleep, deeply buried in the dried soil. Everywhere the 
 drouth announces death, yet everywhere the thirsty wanderer is 
 deluded by the phantom of a moving, undulating, watery surface, 
 created by the deceptive play of the reflected rays of light (the 
 mirage.) A narrow stratum separates the ground from the dis- 
 tant palm-trees, which seem to hover aloft, owing to the contact 
 of currents of air having different degrees of heat, and therefore 
 of density. Shrouded in dark clouds of dust, and tortured by 
 hunger and burning thirst, oxen and horses scour the plain, the 
 one bellowing dismally, the other with outstretched necks snuffing 
 the wind, in the endeavor to detect, by the moisture in the air, 
 the vicinity of some pool of water not yet wholly evaporated. 
 
 " Even if the burning heat of day be succeeded by the cool 
 freshness of the night, here always of equal length, the wearied 
 ox and horse enjoy no repose. Huge bats now attack the animals 
 during sleep, and vampire-like suck their blood ; or, fastening on 
 their backs, raise festering wounds, in which mosquitoes, hippo- 
 bosces, and a host of other stinging insects, burrow and nestle. 
 Such is the miserable existence of these poor animals, when the 
 heat of the sun has absorbed the waters from the surface of the 
 earth. 
 
 " When, after a long drouth, the genial season of rain arrives, 
 the scene suddenly changes. The deep azure of the hitherto 
 cloudless sky assumes a lighter hue. Scarcely can the dark space 
 in the constellation of the Southern Cross be distinguished at 
 night. The mild phosphorescence of the Magellanic clouds fades 
 away. Even the vertical stars of the constellations Aquila and 
 Ophiuchus, shine with a flickering and less planetary light. Like 
 some distant mountain, a single cloud is seen rising perpendicularly 
 on the southern horizon. Misty vapors collect and gradually 
 overspread the heavens, while distant thunder proclaims the ap- 
 proach of the vivifying rain. Scarcely is the surface of the earth 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 139 
 
 moistened, before the teeming steppe becomes covered with Kil- 
 lingise, with the many-panicled Paspalum, and a variety of grasses. 
 Excited by the power of light, the herbaceous Mimosa unfolds its 
 dormant, drooping leaves, hailing, as it were, the rising sun in 
 chorus with the matin song of the birds, and the opening flowers 
 of aquatics. Horses and oxen, buoyant with life and enjoyment, 
 roam over and crop the plains. The luxuriant grass hides the 
 beautiful and spotted jaguar, who, lurking in safe concealment, 
 and carefully measuring the extent of the leap, darts, like the 
 Asiatic tiger, with a cat-like bound on his passing prey." 
 
 Such is Humboldt's description of the dry season on the Ori- 
 noco, and the return of the belt of rains from the south. 
 
 There is other and abundant evidence that over all Northern 
 South America, upon the mountains and upon the plains, varying 
 in degree according to the elevation, in the month of April, before 
 the arrival of the belt of rains from the south, the temperature is 
 higher than it is after they have arrived, and that it increases 
 again while the belt moves north of them in summer, or where it 
 continues and returns again in the fall. And so of May in the 
 West Indies. 
 
 And now from these and other data, it may be safely asserted, 
 that from every spot upon the circumference of the globe the trade- 
 winds blow, on the north of the central belt, during its northern 
 transit, from extended surfaces where the earth and water and air 
 are not less than 5, and in some places 40 hotter than under 
 that belt as it lies to the south of them. 
 
 Turning now to the south side of the belt, upon South America, 
 we have the evidence of Lieut. Gibbon, who was sent in connec- 
 tion with Lieut. Herndon to explore the sources of the Amazon. 
 Lieut. Gibbon reached Cochabamba in December, Lat. 18 S., and 
 remained until May. The central belt of rains reached Cocha- 
 bamba in the middle of January. 
 
 In December, before the arrival of the belt, the thermometer 
 rose frequently at midday to 80, and after its arrival, and while 
 it remained, it did not rise except in two or three instances above 
 70. When the belt moved to the north again in February and 
 
140 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 March, the thermometer rose again to 80 at 3 P.M. Making 
 allowance for the altitude of the sun, and the altitude of Cocha- 
 bamba among the mountains, the difference in temperature, both 
 before the arrival and departure of the rains, was at least 10 ; 
 and if Cochabamba had been situated at the level of the plains of 
 Orinoco, it would have been from 20 to 30, as Humboldt found 
 it there. 
 
 From the log of an intelligent shipmaster, found in the wind 
 and current charts of Lieut. Maury, I abridge the following, 
 which will illustrate the state of things on the South Atlantic. 
 Capt. Young, in February, found the N.E. trades at about 17 
 north latitude, with the water at 75 and air at 76, trade-wind 
 N.E. 
 
 At 120 16f the water was 75 the air 76 wind N.B. 
 
 Feb.22d. 9o 49f " " 76 " 77 " N.E. 
 
 " 23d. 713r " " 78 78o N.E. 
 
 " 24th. noobs. " " 79 ' l 79 N.E.,E.S.E.,rain. 
 
 " 25th. 3 lOt " " 810 83 " E.S.E. rain. 
 
 26th. noobs. 82' " 82 { * 
 
 " 27.th. 2? 2V " " 82 " 82 " calm with rain. 
 
 " 28th. no oba. " " 82o 82 " calm rain. 
 
 March 1st. 29f " ' 82 82 E.S.E., sqs., rain. 
 
 " 2d. 127>S.L. ' " 82 " 82 SE, sqs., rain 
 
 3d. 244f " " 82 ' 83 
 
 f S.B. and S.S.E. 
 
 I weather settled. 
 
 " 5th. 608/ " ik 82 " 84 " S.E., fair weather. 
 
 6th. 808/ " 82 < 84 " { f ai ^eathe?.' E '' 
 
 Here the air was seven degrees colder at the extreme limit of 
 the N.E. trades than in the center of the belt of rains, as it is, 
 usually, in mid-winter, but not in summer. On the other hand, 
 after he left the region of calms and rains, where the water and 
 air stood with almost entire uniformity at 82, on the 3d of March, 
 and for three days thereafter, during which he was in the S.E. 
 trades with fair weather, the water was the same as under the 
 supposed vortex, viz., 82, and the air rose to 83 and 84. This 
 is demonstration, that on the summer side of the central belt, the 
 air is hotter than under it. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 141 
 
 Passing east to South Africa, we have the evidence of Livings- 
 tone. He had the misfortune to lose his records in his journey to 
 Loanda, and he does not give us tabular observations, but he fur- 
 nishes other evidence which is perfectly satisfactory. 
 
 On his return from Loanda to Liiivanti, he made preparations 
 for his journey to the eastern coast, and was ready to start in. 
 September, but the natives with whom he was staying, opposed 
 it, and of that opposition he thus speaks : " Being near the end 
 of September, the rains were expected daily; the clouds ivere 
 collecting and the wind blew strongly from the east, but it was ex- 
 cessively hot, All the Makololo urged me strongly to remain till 
 the ground should be cooled by the rains ; and as it was probable 
 that I should get fever if I commenced my journey now, I resolved 
 to wait. The parts of the country about 17 and 18 (S. L.) suf- 
 fer from drouth, and become dusty. It is but the commencement 
 of the humid region to the north, and partakes occasionally of the 
 character of both the wet and dry regions. Some idea may be 
 formed of the heat in October by the fact that the thermometer 
 (protected) stood, in the shade of my wagon at 100 during the 
 day. It rose to 110 if unprotected from the wind; at dark it 
 showed 89 ; at 10 o'clock, 80, and then gradually sunk till sun- 
 rise, when it was 70 " 
 
 " During the whole of my stay with the Makololo, Sekelutu, 
 supplied my wants abundantly, appointing some cows to furnish 
 me with milk, and, when he went out to hunt, sent home orders 
 for slaughtered oxen to be given. That the food was not given 
 in a niggardly spirit may be inferred from the fact that, when I 
 proposed to depart on the 20th of October, he protested against 
 my going oif in such a hot sun. " Only wait," said he, " for the 
 first shower, and then I will let you go." This was reasonable, 
 for the thermometer, placed upon a deal box in the sun, rose to 
 138. It stood at 108 in the shade by day and 96 at sunset." 
 
 Under date of 22d October, the rains set in, and he made ready 
 to go, and on the 3d of November departed, meeting a tremendous 
 thunder-storm on the night of his journey. That the state of 
 
142 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 things on Southern Africa is substantially the same as upon 
 Northern Africa is sufficiently shown by these extracts. 
 
 The only remaining land surfaces in the Southern Hemisphere 
 from which evidence could be derived, are Australia and the 
 Islands of the South Pacific. Of these there is little to be learned, 
 except from the general statements of navigators. Northern and 
 Central Australia have been but little explored, and the southern 
 part of Australia is watered by the south polar zone of rains. 
 
 Those who desire to look further at this matter, will find much 
 interesting evidence in the 3d chapter of Hopkins on " Atmos- 
 pheric changes." I shall have room for a few extracts only. 
 
 " It is true that regular alternating sea and land breezes are 
 found on coasts of continents and islands in many parts of the 
 world ; but, to those who think that they are produced by sun- 
 heated land, it must seem a singular fact, that such breezes 
 should not be found in those parts where the causes which are 
 supposed to produce them exist in the strongest degree. The sun 
 must heat the northwestern part of the Sahara, or North African 
 Desert, every day up to a very high temperature, yet no regular 
 sea-breeze prevails on this coast. Now if sun-heated land caused 
 the sea-breeze in the way described, how could this be ? It is 
 known also, that the temperature of the land in this part sinks 
 greatly at night, and there is, consequently, that difference of tem- 
 perature between day and night which it is presumed always 
 produces the sea and land breezes, but no such breezes are found 
 here. The northeast trade-wind, in a gentle form, prevails dur- 
 ing a great part of the year off this coast, and the atmosphere is 
 clear. To use the language of Malte Brun " The earth beneath 
 is scorching, the sky above is on fire on the desert land, while the 
 trade wind near to it is comparatively cool, and yet there is no 
 sea breeze. It may be said that the trade-wind, blowing away 
 from the coast, is sufficiently strong to overcome the tendency of 
 the air to flow from the sea to the hot desert. That, however, is 
 giving up, in this instance, the theory in question." 
 
 " But the northwest coast of Africa is only one out of a num- 
 ber which might be named. In the neighborhood of the Arabian 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 143 
 
 Sea, land is found which in our summers is heated up to a high 
 temperature. The southern part of Arabia is very hot, compared 
 with the temperature of the adjoining sea, but does the air flow 
 from that sea toward and over the heated land ? It certainly does 
 not. On the contrary, when the summer monsoon is the strongest, 
 and the land of Arabia the hottest, the wind blows from the west, 
 and consequently it blows from the greatly heated land towards 
 and over the cool sea, or just in the opposite direction to what 
 would be found if the common theory respecting the cause of sea- 
 breezes were true." 
 
 " And to the south of Arabia, along the eastern coast of Africa, 
 from Cape Guardafui, by the dry desert of Ajan, Zanguebar, 
 and Mozambique, extending from 10 N. to 20 S., there is land 
 so greatly heated as to make it some of the hottest in the world ; 
 yet the comparatively cool air of the Indian Ocean does not flow 
 toward this land, but as on the Arabian coast, the wind blows 
 from the heated land over the cool sea." 
 
 " If any one part of the broad expanse of the continent of Asia 
 could be heated so as to draw air from the Arabian Sea and the 
 Indian Ocean in summer, it would be that part which lies between 
 Hindostan and the Lake of Aral, including the region between 
 the valley of the Oxus and Persia, and the land of this part, un- 
 like Hindostan, is not screened from the sun by thick vapors. 
 But what says Burnes respecting the winds of this part? Why, 
 that about the latter end of June, though the thermometer was 
 at 103 in the day, *In this country a steady wind generally 
 blows from the north/ And on the 23d of August, after having 
 passed the Oxus, * The heat of the sand rose to 150, and that 
 of the atmosphere exceeded 100, but the wind blew steadily, nor 
 do I believe that it would be possible to traverse this track in 
 summer, if it ceased to blow. The steady manner in which it 
 comes from one direction is remarkable in this inland country/ 
 Again, * the air itself was not disturbed but by the usual north 
 wind that blows steadily in this desert/ and he has many other 
 similar passages." 
 
 " Indeed, from Madeira, by the Canary Islands, along the coast 
 
144 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 to Cape Blanco, and the Cape Verd Islands, either calms or dry 
 winds from the desert are generally met with. The harmattan, 
 or land wind of the desert, is sometimes encountered, and it is this 
 wind which takes the fine dust so far out to sea. The whole of the 
 coast is remarkable for the want of water, in that particular resem- 
 bling the south coast of Arabia and the eastern coast of tropical 
 Africa, and in none of those parts does the wind blow from the 
 cool sea to the heated land." 
 
 With these extracts, and with the assurance that during nearly 
 fifty years attention to this subject, and the devotion to it, as an 
 incidental speciality, of very much of my miscellaneous reading, 
 
 I have not been able to discover within the zone in question a 
 single spot upon the land adjoining the central belt of rain upon 
 the summer side of it, where the earth and the air are not hotter 
 than under the belt toward which the air is moving, nor any upon 
 the water, except where a cold, antarctic polar current is inter- 
 posed, as upon the western coast of South America. Allusion is 
 often made to the cold ocean wind which blows in upon the west- 
 ern coast of California, particularly at San Francisco from about 
 
 II A.M. to 5 P.M., from the W. or W.N.W, and the cause as^ 
 signed, is the rising of the heated air in the valleys of the San 
 Joaquin and Sacramento which lie east of it. The entire valley 
 east of the Coast Range is unquestionably hot, but the cold 
 ocean wind that blows in over the western coast never reaches it. 
 Mr. George Bartlett, in the " American Journal of Science and 
 Arts,'' for September, 1856, thus speaks of it : 
 
 " The most wonderful phenomenon of the California climates is 
 the marked manner in which they are cut in two by no higher 
 chain of mountains than the coast range. This range extends 
 along the coast of California from latitude 34 to 41^ and is so 
 low that snow collects during the winter only on a few of the 
 highest peaks. Now while the western side of this range has the 
 cold summer above described, the valley on the east side is one 
 of the hottest portions of the earth. This valley, through which 
 flows in opposite directions the waters of the Sacramento and the 
 San Joaquin, extends about 400 miles from north to south, with 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 145 
 
 an average breadth of perhaps 60 miles from the Coast Range 
 on the west to the Sierra Nevada on the east. It is a very flat 
 valley, much more level than the western prairies, and occupies 
 the great portion of the interior of California. It has been quite 
 difficult to obtain exposures of a thermometer which were unob- 
 jectionable. In the cloth tents and stores which were in use in 
 18-19 and '50, the temperature would range in the warm days 
 from 115 to 120. On the north side of a large tree, also in a 
 wooden cabin covered with earth, a friend of the writer observed 
 the mercury at 110 and 112 during many of the days of 1850. 
 On the north side of a large two-story frame house, with but one 
 other house near, and that one several rods distant, the writer has 
 observed the mercury at 109. But Dr. Haille of Marysville, 
 by hanging his thermometer in a draught of air, in the back part 
 of his office, where it was shaded by high buildings around, suc- 
 ceeded in keeping the mercury down to 102 during the summer 
 of 1852. The sun rises clear in the east, rolls up over the heads 
 of the inhabitants, drying and scorching everything in sight, and 
 sinks into the west. " One unclouded blaze of living light." 
 And this is repeated day after day, and month after month. The 
 hottest time of day is about 5^ in the afternoon. The nights are 
 cool ; you need two or three blankets to sleep comfortably even in 
 the hottest part of the summer. A plate of butter, set in a com- 
 mon wooden house, will be perfectly liquid at night, and entirely 
 hard in the morning, and these changes will occur every 24 hours 
 for months in succession. 
 
 " The change from the cold climate of the coast, to the heat of 
 the valley is marvellous. You go on board a steamboat at San 
 Francisco at 4 o'clock, in the afternoon, and find the passengers 
 all dressed in winter clothing, flannels and overcoats, huddled 
 around the stove in the cabin with its hot anthracite fire. The 
 next morning at sunrise, you find yourself going up the Sacra- 
 mento river, and as your state-room is insufferably hot, you put on 
 the thinnest summer clothing, and go out on the guards of the boat, 
 oppressed with the heat, and the prespiration starting from your 
 pores." 
 
146 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Mr. Hittell, whose work on the " Resources of California" is 
 just published, says, that at Stockton, which is nearly east of San 
 Francisco, the thermometer may be found every noon at 1 00 
 nearly every summer, and that the county assessor of Fresno 
 County stated in his annual report for 1857, that the mean tem- 
 perature at Millerton, during the summer months was 106. To 
 this temperature of Millerton, I have already referred. 
 
 It is clear that the valley of the San Joaquin is hot enough to 
 create wind of any degree of force which could ever be created 
 by sun-heated land, and equally clear that it creates no wind at 
 all, for the heat goes on increasing every day, until 5 o'clock, ac- 
 cording to Mr. Bartlett, unaffected by the cold coast wind which 
 has then been blowing 6 hours at the rate of from 12 to 20 miles 
 per hour at San Francisco, within 40 miles of it. Wind created 
 by suction begins at the place of suction, but where wind is not 
 known, suction must necessarily be presumed to be absent. 
 
 Before I leave the consideration of this peculiar coast wind, I 
 want to call your attention to the fact, that there is combined upon 
 the west side of the coast range of California, all the elements 
 required by closet-theorists to get up a daily rain ; there is a cold 
 ocean wind, saturated with moisture, rushing up the sides of the 
 mountains from 2,000 to 3,000 feet high, at the rate of from 12 to 
 20 miles an hour, but not producing rain, an observable vortex, or 
 even a cloud. Why one or the other is not produced, as theory 
 requires should be, has not been, and cannot be satisfactorily ex- 
 plained by them. What the true explanation of this ocean wind 
 is, will appear hereafter. 
 
 I have thus shown conclusively, that the theory of a vortex in 
 the central belt of rains, producing the trade-winds, is not sup- 
 ported by the claim that the air and water are there materially 
 hotter, but is disproved by the fact that everywhere they are 
 materially colder. Such evidence will be sufficient with profes- 
 sional and practical men, to dispose of any theory in relation to 
 any matter of knowledge or science, but it has been and will be 
 otherwise, wkh the class of men who claim to be meteorologists. 
 The false assumption of Halley, made at the time as only an as- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 14? 
 
 sumption, supported since by assumptions and unsupported by any 
 facts then or since known, has been so long received without 
 question, and so many other theories to which such men have 
 committed themselves, in lectures and essays, are dependent upon 
 it, and they so persistently ignore and repudiate all facts or dis- 
 coveries inconsistent with it, that it seems a duty to go farther 
 and show, that rightly understood, there is not a fact in nature 
 that is consistent with it. I proceed then in the second place, to 
 examine the question whether heat, as a mechanical agent, opera- 
 ting upon portions of the atmosphere, can produce such effects. 
 Sir John Tyndall found that the hot air of a Turkish bath, 
 when the door of the room is opened, will flow out near the top 
 of the door with sufficient force to flare a taper, and that the cold 
 air flows in with a like force at the bottom. How hot the room 
 was he does not say ; the general practice is to heat such rooms 
 up to about the temperature of 150 or 160. Neither of the 
 currents blew out the candle ; now a candle cannot be carried in 
 the open air without being blown out, where the wind is blowing 
 at the rate of 1 2 miles an hour. The force of the current must 
 then have been considerably less than that, and judging from ex- 
 periment, it was not probably half of it. Again, the air of this 
 room was confined, and heated air not only tends to expand hori- 
 zontally as well as perpendicularly, but it is subject to the law of 
 diffusion, and if it had not been confined by the room, would have 
 been influenced by that law of lateral diffusion, and the tendency 
 to rise perpendicularly would have been lessened. The experi- 
 ment of Sir John then showed the concentrated action of heat as 
 a mode of motion, upon the atmosphere, which might have been 
 attended with very different results if made in the open air. All 
 the most violent hurricanes, in which it is conceded that the wind 
 must blow 80 or 90 miles an hour, originate where the tempera- 
 ture of the air and water do not exceed 84. Now if Sir John 
 could not get motion enough by heat, as a mode of motion, when 
 applied to air in a confined room, until its temperature was raised 
 to 150, to blow out a taper, how perfectly absurd to claim that 
 by heat as a mode of motion, raising the atmosphere to a temper- 
 
148 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ature of 84, an uprising suction is created, which produces a 
 current of 90 miles per hour, wlm-e effects are so awfully destruc- 
 tive ? The experiment of Sir John with the Turkish bath would 
 not have varied materially if his door had opened through the 
 floor above, instead of at the side. Suppose now we state it as a 
 mathematical proposition. Assuming that the current that creates 
 the vacuum, and the current that fills it are of the same velocity, 
 and assuming that heated air at a temperature of 150 will rise 
 at the rate of 10 miles an hour, what must be its temperature to 
 give it an ascensive velocity of 90 miles per hour ? Answer, 84. 
 And just such a problem as that is being taught every day in the 
 colleges of the country. But let me suggest a few experiments. 
 Many of you have furnaces in your houses. Take now some 
 occasion when there is a strong fire in your furnace and when the 
 air outside is still, and the wind does not blow into the cold -air 
 box, to shut all the registers except the one most directly over 
 the furnace. Hold a thermometer in the current, until satisfied 
 that the air in the hot air chamber beneath has attained a tem- 
 perature of 130, which is a greater temperature than is ever 
 given to the earth's surface by the heat of the sun at midday, ex- 
 cept upon some arid, rainless desert. Now fold three double sheet 
 newspapers, weighing 5 ounces, and lay lightly upon the register, 
 and you will find there is not ascensive force enough in the heated 
 air of 130 to raise them. Lift them up and hold them one foot 
 above the register, then let them drop, and they will fall, notwith- 
 standing the air is rising with nearly the same rapidity as if there 
 were no current. Then take two papers and you will find they 
 fall in the same way, though not as rapidly, and substantially pre- 
 vent the ascent of the heated air. Even a single paper will not 
 be blown away from over the register, with the air at 130, al- 
 though it may be moved somewhat. At 84 and even at 100, 
 the ascensive force of a column of heated and confined air, 10 
 inches in diameter, and 8 feet high, will not exceed 1 ounce. In 
 the open air, where the law of diffusion can operate, it is very 
 much less. 
 
 Or, if you have not a furnace in the house, try the experiment 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM!. 149 
 
 in another way. Nail together four boards of any convenient 
 length, say 7 or 8 feet, so as to make a tight, square box one foot 
 in diameter, in the clear, and raise it perpendicularly a convenient 
 distance, say 10 or 12 inches from the ground or floor, place in it 
 a thermometer with an angular tube, if you have one, or adopt 
 any other method of ascertaining the temperature of the atmos- 
 phere within the box, cover it with a piece of pasteboard of ordin- 
 ary thickness or weighing not more than two ounces. Then put 
 inside the box, resting upon the floor, two or three kerosene lamps, 
 which will heat the air within the box, and see what temperature 
 is required to raise the pasteboard from the top. Aid the experi- 
 ment if you will, by opening the windows and letting the cold air 
 in, or try it by any other means, and you will find that the ascen- 
 sive force of a column of heated air 7 or 8 feet long, and 1 foot 
 square, does not exceed 2 ounces. Then reduce the temperature 
 to 84, the temperature which is said to produce hurricanes, and 
 which is higher by 14 than that which existed before and dur- 
 ing the Cincinnati hurricane, or than that which existed where some 
 of the most violent tornadoes have originated, and you will find that 
 the ascensive force of a column of air 7 feet long and 1 foot square, 
 does not exceed ^ of an ounce, when the outside air is at zero. 
 
 There is a strong draught undoubtedly, up a chimney, where 
 there is a strong fire, and the air is heated to a great heat, but the 
 strongest draught that ever was created by mere heat, without a 
 blower, in chimney or furnace stack, can be stopped by a less 
 weight than that of an inch pine board, on the top. I have 
 passed round a burning block in a city, in which there was a large 
 piano-factory, containing a very large amount of seasoned lumber, 
 and the whole interior part, and much of the rest of the block on 
 fire; the air was rising, full of sparks, heated to a temperature 
 of 300 or 400 degrees, at a velocity not exceeding 20 miles an 
 hour, and the inward draught in the most favorable spots would 
 not have extinguished a taper. And there was an obvious set- 
 tling down of the air adjoining the vortex to supply the place of 
 that which was ascending, clearly visible by the eddies of smoke^ 
 so that no wind was created. 
 
150 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 The air which ascends from the chimney of a farmer's hard 
 wood fire, over which the tea-kettle and pot are boiling, goes up 
 into the cold winter air, after leaving the chimney, (though charged 
 with vapor and smoke and heat,) but a little way before it is dif- 
 fused into the atmosphere. It has little ascensive force or veloc- 
 ity. A moderate breeze will turn it almost at right angles. 
 
 The smoke of the most extensive conflagrations which occur in 
 times of drouth, has never been carried above the surface story 
 of the atmosphere, but it is diffused and expanded near the sur- 
 face, and floats near the earth to the leeward, sometimes hundreds 
 of miles. When the railioad was first built upon Long Island, 
 the locomotive frequently set the combustible material upon its 
 scrub oak plains on fire, occasioning extensive conflagrations, in 
 times of drouth. At such times I have seen across the level sur- 
 face that intervenes, and at a distance of 15 to 20 miles, and, in 
 a still time, for several successive days, a column of smoke ris- 
 ing from the extensive fire, gradually diffusing, dissipating, and 
 becoming invisible. I never saw such a column of smoke, or 
 any column fiom any fire, however extensive, rising above 1500 
 feet ; I doubt whether there ever was a column which had ascen- 
 sive force enough to carry it a greater distance, however exten- 
 sive the fire or great the heat* By the time it reaches that ele- 
 vation, its ascensive force is overcome by the laws of diffusion 
 and expansion. Nor have I seen a stove heated hot enough to 
 hoist off one of the revolving toys made of paper, and which are 
 hung on a point above it by their weight merely. 
 
 In the early history of ballooning, the Montgolfiers attempted 
 it with balloons filled with confined heated air. They succeeded, 
 by building a balloon 35 feet in diameter, containing 23,000 cubic 
 feet of air, heated by the burning of chopped straw and wool 
 to a high temperature, in raising a weight of 500 pounds. To 
 what degree of heat the air in the balloon was raised, to en- 
 able ?t to raise 500 pounds, I do not know, but it must have been 
 far above any created by the sun in the atmosphere, in any part 
 of the earth, and yet the ascensive force was but \ of an ounce 
 to the foot. Their second experiment was a success, and they 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 151 
 
 attained the elevation of 3,000 feet, with a balloon 74 feet high 
 and 48 feet in diameter, but by keeping the air of the balloon heat- 
 ed to a high temperature by constant fire at its mouth. Balloons 
 are still made and sent up, as matter of amusement, filled with 
 heated air, and provided with a lamp at the mouth, to keep the 
 air heated. But attempts to carry any considerable weight into 
 the atmosphere, by means of balloons filled with heated air, ended 
 with the Montgolfiers, and no man now would think of acquiring 
 for a balloon or anything else, any considerable ascensive force or 
 power, with the temperature known to exist in the central belt of 
 rains, or anywhere else upon the earth where hurricanes or storms 
 of any description originate, without a very cold surrounding at- 
 mosphere. The rule for rarified air balloons, as given by Mr. 
 Wise, is one cubic foot of air heated one hundred degrees above the. 
 surrounding air, to attain an ascending power of one-third of an 
 ounce ! but I give it in his own words. 
 
 " In making small fire balloons, we must not calculate on more 
 than one-third of an ounce of ascending power, for every cubic 
 foot of capacity in the machine. Thus, if we look at the table 
 of capacities and dimensions of balloons, we find a three feet 
 diameter one to contain fourteen cubic feet. Hence one of this 
 size, with highly rarified air would raise about five ounces, and 
 hence if the balloon and sponge weigh more than five ounces, it 
 will not rise, at least not by raising the temperature of air in it 
 one hundred degrees above its surrounding atmosphere" 
 
 And now by way of contrast to this infinitesimal power, let me 
 copy a description of a West India hurricane which occurred at 
 Barbadoes, 10th August, 1831, as described by Gen. Reid. It 
 was violent, but not the most violent of its class. 
 
 u At 7 P.M. the sky was clear and the air calm ; tranquility 
 reigned until a little after 9, when the wind blew again from the 
 north ; distant lightning was observed at half past 10 in the 
 N.N.E. and N.W, Squalls of wind and rain from the N.N.E. 
 with intermediate calms succeeded each other until midnight ; the 
 thermometer fell to 83 Fahrenheit, and during the calms it rose 
 as high as 86 ; after midnight the continued flashing of the light- 
 
152 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ning was awfully grand, and a gale blew fiercely from the north and 
 north-east ; but at 1 A.M. on August 1 1 th, the tempestuous rage 
 of the wind increased, the storm which at one time blew from 
 the N.E., suddenly shifted from that quarter and burst from the 
 N.W. and intermediate points. The upper regions were from 
 this time illuminated by incessant lightning, but the quivering 
 sheet of blaze was surpassed in brilliancy by the darts of electric 
 fire, which were exploded in every direction. At a little after 2, 
 the astounding roar of the hurricane, which rushed from the 
 N.N.W. and N.W., cannot be described by language. Lieut. Col. 
 Nickle, commanding the 3Gth regiment, who had sought protec- 
 tion by getting under an arch of a lower window, outside his house, 
 did not hear the roof and upper story fall, and was only assured 
 this had occurred by the dust caused by the falling ruins. About 
 3 the wind occasionally abated, but intervening gusts proceeded 
 from the S.W., the W. and W.N.W., with accumulated fury. 
 
 " The lightning also having ceased for a few moments only at 
 a time, the blackness in which the town was enveloped, was inex- 
 pressibly awful ; fiery meteors were presently seen falling from 
 the heavens ; one in particular, of a globular form, and a deep, 
 red hue, was observed to descend perpendicularly from a vast 
 height; it evidently fell by its specific gravity and was not shot 
 or propelled by any extraneous force. On approaching the earth 
 with accelerated motion, it assumed a dazzling whiteness and an 
 elongated form, and, dashing to the ground, in Beckwith Square, 
 it splashed around in the same manner as melted wax would have 
 done, arid was instantly extinct. In shape and size it appeared 
 much like a common barrel-shade ; its brilliancy and the spatter- 
 ing of its particles on meeting the earth, gave it the resemblance 
 of a. body of quicksilver of equal bulk. A few minutes after the 
 appearance of this phenomenon, the deafening noise of the wind 
 sank to a solemn murmur, or more correctly speaking, a distant 
 roar, and the lightning which from midnight had flashed and dart- 
 ed forkedly, with few and but momentary intermissions, now for 
 a space of nearly half a minute, played frightfully between the 
 clouds and the earth, with novel and surprising action. The vast 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 153 
 
 bo ly of vapor appeared to touch the houses, and issued down- 
 ward flaming blazes, which were nimbly returned from the earth 
 upward. 
 
 "The moment after this singular alternation of lightning, the 
 hurricane again burst from the western points, with violence pro- 
 digious beyond description, hurling before it thousands of missiles, 
 the fragments of every unsheltered structure of human art. The 
 strongest houses were caused to vibrate to their foundations, and 
 the surface of the very earth trembled, as the destroyer raged 
 over it. No thunder was at any time distinctly heard. The hor- 
 rible roar and yelling of the wind, the noise of the ocean, -whose 
 frightful waves threatened the town with destruction of all that 
 the other elements might spare, the clattering of tiles, the falling 
 of roofs and walls, and the combination of a thousand other souridfe, 
 formed a hideous and appalling din. No adequate idea of -the 
 sensations which then distracted and confounded the faculties, can 
 possibly be conveyed to those who were distant from -the scene 
 of terror. - ' *' 
 
 " After 5 o'clock, the storm, now and then for a few moments 
 abating, made clearly audible the -falling of tiles and -building ma- 
 terials, which by the last gust had probably been carried to a lofty 
 height. At 6 A.M. the wind was at S., and at 7, S.E., at 8, 
 E.S.E., and at 9, there was^again clear weather. 
 
 As soon as dawn rendered - outward objects visible, : the writer 
 proceeded, but with difficulty 'to the wharf. The rain, at the time, 
 was driven with such- force, as to injure the skin, and was so thick 
 as to prevent a view of any object "much beyond the head of the 
 pier. The prospect was majestic beyond description the gigan- 
 tic waves rolling onward, seemed as if they would defy all obstruc- 
 tion, yet as they broke over the careenage they seemed to be lost, 
 the surface of it being entirely covered with floating wrecks of 
 every description. It was an undulating body of lumber, shingles, 
 staves, barrels, trusses of hay, and every kind of merchandise of 
 a buoyant nature. f Two vessels only were afloat within the pier, 
 but numbers could be seen which had been capsized or thrown on 
 their beam-ends in shallow water. 
 8 
 
154 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 "On reaching the summit of the cathedral tower, to whichever 
 point of the compass the eye was directed, a grand but distressing 
 picture of ruins presented itself; the whole face of the country 
 was laid waste, no sign of vegetation was apparent, except here 
 and there small patches of a sickly green. The surface of the 
 ground appeared as if fire had run through the land, scorching 
 and burning up the productions of the earth ; the few remaining 
 trees stripped of their boughs and foliage, wore a cold and wintery 
 aspect, and the numerous seats in the environs of Bridgetown, 
 formerly concealed arnid thick groves, were now exposed and in 
 ruins. From the direction in which the cocoanut and other trees 
 were prostrated next to the earth, the first that fell must have been 
 blown down by a N.N.E. wind ; but far the greater number were 
 rooted up, by the blast from the N.W." 
 
 And here your minds will naturally recur to the hurricane 
 which I have described, from the account furnished me by Major 
 Lachlan, which originated in the valley of the Ohio, in May, 
 when the temperature of the air was but 78, and as the sky was 
 overcast for some hours previously, the temperature of the earth 
 must have been much less. And there, as in the central belt, 
 there was no contrast of temperature, absolutely NONE, between 
 the assumed vortex and the surrounding air. These examples 
 might be multiplied indefinitely. It is incomprehensible to me 
 how any mind which is honest with itself, can continue to assert 
 that such effects are attributable to uprising air, moved by the 
 mechanical effect of heat at 84 and 78 Fahrenheit, with a sur- 
 rounding atmosphere of the same temperature. 
 
 And in the third place, I assert that all attempts to prove di- 
 rectly, or analogically, that there is such a vortex, have been 
 utter failures. No man has ever discovered one. In 1834, Prof. 
 Espy advanced the theory that an ascensive force was given to 
 the air, in which the vapor of water was condensed, by the es- 
 cape of the latent heat of the vapor. This theory assumes, first, 
 that the vapor of the atmosphere exists in the form of diffused 
 steam. That is a fallacy. Vapor exists in the atmosphere in a 
 state of combination with one or more of its elements. Cold will 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 1)5 
 
 condense it into mist, but not into cloud. Electricity, passed 
 through air saturated with vapor, will produce cloud. Human 
 ingenuity may produce water and mist by cold, but a vesicular 
 cloud, reflecting light, has been produced by no agent but electric- 
 ity. Second, the heat assumed by Prof. Espy to be liberated by 
 condensation has never been found in a cloud or its vicinity, al- 
 though in numberless instances the clouds have been penetrated 
 by aeronauts, and have surrounded and enveloped travelers upon 
 mountains. In the third place, no cloud, however dense, or how- 
 ever suddenly formed, has ever been seen to rise above the story 
 in which it formed or to which it belonged. I have watched them 
 ever since the theory of Mr. Espy was started, and have never 
 been able to discover it in a single instance. It is within the 
 observation of every man, that the densest fogs form suddenly in 
 the morning hours of night, to the height of one or two hundred 
 feet from the earth, and no heat is evolved and no ascent takes 
 place. The high fog forms at the same hour, visibly with a 
 density and depth sufficient to obscure the sun as perfectly as 
 any layer of cloud can do, and there it icmains without being ele- 
 vated by any "tremendous power," which the Espyan theory and 
 Prof. Henry assume must be developed in it. So of the scud 
 which form and float in the surface wind ; you may see them 
 forming and charging till they occupy very considerable space, 
 but you discover no ascent. And so of an immense cumulo-stratus 
 towering high as a thunder-head, its base settling down into the 
 first story, and sometimes near the earth, black, dense, dropping 
 rain in sheets, but never ascending. Prof. Hemy amused his 
 Springfield audience by a large picture of a cumulus thunder- 
 cloud, with arrows representing an upward current in the cloud. 
 The picture was borrowed from Prof. Espy. The Prof, thought 
 he had established the fact that there was an upward current in 
 such a cloud, but he did not attempt to tell his hearers why the 
 wl ole cloud did not go up. The theory he was advocating, as- 
 sumes that the latent heat is given out as the result of condensa- 
 tion. It must then be given out wherever there is condensation, 
 and therefore in every part of the cloud and according to the com- 
 
156 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 pleteness of the condensation. Why then is not the entire dense, 
 black mass shot up by the "tremendous power" which it is 
 claimed must then and there be developed? Why does not the 
 hurricane-cloud, which in its incipiency is but an extensive thun- 
 der shower, and which forms in the very focus of the central belt, 
 shoot up, impelled by its own developed tremendous power, aided 
 by the suction of the assumed vortex above, al?o acting with the 
 same supposed ' tremendous power ?" How does it get away from 
 the vortex and its own ascensive force developed by condensa- 
 tion ? To these questions, and many others of equal pertinency 
 which might be put, no answer, consistent with the theory, ever 
 has been or ever can be given. We SEE and we KNOW, or MAY 
 SEE and KNOW, that clouds, whether in dense masses or in ex- 
 tensive, deep strata, are never affected by any such tremendous 
 power, and that the assumption is false. Mr. Redfield was a con- 
 stant, careful, and close observer, and he always admitted as the 
 result of his observation although the theory of a vortex would 
 have favored his views, that all considerable storms were over- 
 laid by an extensive field of stratus cloud. The following is one 
 of his admissions, and I cite it again here : 
 
 " In nearly all great storms which are accompanied with rain, 
 there appear two distinct classes of clouds, one of which, com- 
 prising the sto: m scuds in the active portion of the gale, has 
 already been noticed. Above this is an extended stratum of 
 stratus cloud, which is found moving with the general or local 
 current of the lower atmosphere which overlies the slorm. It 
 covers riot only the area of rain, but often extends greatly beyond 
 this limit, over a part of the dry portion of the storm, partly in a 
 broken or detached state. This stratus cloud is often concealed 
 from view by the nimbus and scud clouds, in the rainy portion of 
 the storm, but by careful observations may be sufficiently noticed 
 to determine the general uniformity of its specific course, and 
 approximately, its general elevation." 
 
 Mr. Espy was a laborious and pains-taking investigator, and 
 did good service by his investigations, although he could not es- 
 tablish, his theory. He well knew that the scud which run in 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 157 
 
 the surface wind of. a storm, must ascend the vortex, if there was 
 one, with the wind in which they float, and by their means the 
 existence of the vortex could be discovered. He doubtless 
 watched for such vortex and found it not. If one had ever been 
 discovered, we should have heard of it. No man, living or dead, 
 has ever seen or discovered an existing fact indicating the truth 
 of the theory. Mr. Wise, the aeronaut, on one occasion, found 
 an upward current in a thunder cloud, but there was a downward 
 current in the same cloud, and the cloud did not rise. He, and all 
 other aeronauts, have found the strata of clouds moving horizon- 
 tally in their places, and have passed through and above them. 
 
 Again, in the fourth place, it is settled by experiment at the 
 Peak of TeneriiFe, that the N.E. trade-wind at that point, upon 
 the Atlantic, is 9,000 feet deep, when the north line of the cen- 
 tral belt is 14 to the south. The depth of the current cannot 
 be supposed to be less, and may be more, when it reaches that 
 belt. Indeed, if it blows obliquely upward, as is claimed, it 
 must be much more. And this vast current, it is claimed, is 
 created and continued by suction, and enters an atmospheric throat 
 in common with a still larger current from the south, and both 
 ascend into the upper regions of the atmosphere. This is un- 
 doubtedly a " tremendous " operation, requiring " tremendous 
 power," but what power, equally tremendous holds up the super- 
 incumbent atmosphere at the throat of the vortex, and to the ex- 
 tremities of this current, and above it all the way, while it can 
 thus be created and sustained by the suction of a vortex ? Why 
 does not the air rush in at the sides of the vortex, or press down 
 at its throat, or upon some of the thousands of miles where the 
 influence of this suction is assumed to be felt ? Can such a phe- 
 nomenon be imitated by man in water or in air? I answer, NO, 
 emphatically, NO it never has been done and it never can be 
 done. It is impossible and incredible. Moreover, the throat is 
 not there, nor is the towering column of the ascending trades 
 there. The whole theory is a false assumption and a " tremen- 
 dous " DELUSION; and of this thereis still other evidence, equally 
 and perfectly satisfactory. 
 
158 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 I come now, in the fifth place, to another species of evidence, 
 that of actual and positive observation. It has long been my 
 wish to pass through this central region, and observe for myself 
 the phenomena we are examining, but it has not been conven- 
 ient to do so. In the summer of 1867, a neighbor and personal 
 friend, Dr. Samuel Lynes, took passage for his health in the Pa- 
 cific Mail ship, steamer "China," from New York, and went down 
 through the South Atlantic, and the Straits of Magellan, and up 
 the Pacific to Panama, as I have already stated. At my request, 
 he observed carefully the character of this great central condition, 
 and on his return gave me the following concise abridgement of 
 his recorded observations. I was particularly desirous that he 
 should observe the character of the trade-winds and their scud, 
 and on that point the record is very clear. To parts of his ex- 
 tended record I have referred in another place, and shall here- 
 after refer to others. 
 
 " Struck the N.E. trade-winds July 7, in Latitude 27, N. Lon- 
 gitude 57 W. They blow steady day and night, a little fresher 
 at times, seemingly they freshened as the moon rose. Scud flying 
 almost constantly, sometimes so thickly that one might call it cloudy. 
 A good deal of the scud resembles that flying in our northwest 
 winds after a storm. It flies mostly not very high. Occasionally 
 there would be very slight showers from the passing scud. Tem- 
 perature very uniform, about 80 day and night. Temperature 
 of the water about the same. Struck the belt of tropical rains 
 July 14th, in Lat. 10 N., Long. 45 W. Capt. Bradbury esti- 
 mated them about 5 or 6 degrees wide. He says they are very 
 narrow on the coast of South America, but wider as they ap- 
 proach the coast of Africa. It rained heavily in frequent show- 
 ers for two days, wi h warm and light breezes. Temperature 
 about 82. We ran through this belt and struck the S.E. trades 
 July 16th, in Lat. 4 10 N., Long. 41 W. These S.E. trades 
 differ not at all from the N.E. in the phenomena exhibited by 
 them. They blow equally day and night, at times a little more 
 freshly than others. Scud constantly flying of the same charac- 
 ter and appearance as that of the N.E. trades. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 159 
 
 "Temperature of course, as we got down lower, grew less than 
 it had been in the N E. trades, this being the winter season here 
 now. We ran out of the S.E. trades about July 26th, in Lat. 
 25 S., Long. 45 W. After getting into the south polar zone 
 of rains, it corresponded with your diagram, that is, we did not get 
 much or heavy rains until about Lat. 32 30' S., then the rains 
 were often and heavy, with frequent lightning and thunder, until 
 we reached Lat. 41 S. From thence to Cape Virgins and 
 through the Straits of Magellan, the weather was unpleasant with 
 frequent rain and snow squalls, and a more of less overcast con- 
 dition of the sky. Thermometer was at the lowest in the Straits 
 at bO. The prevailing winds about the end of South America 
 are northwest and southwest, and on leaving the Straits at the 
 west end, N.W. winds are very frequent and strong. We struck 
 tha S.E. trades on the west coast of houth America, August loth, 
 at about Lat. 33 S., Long. 77 W. The characteristics of the 
 S.E. trades in the Pacific very much resemble those of the At- 
 lantic. I saw no special difference. The^ continued steady day 
 and night from light to fresh, rather fresher at night. Scud fly- 
 ing constantly, and of the same appearance as on the east side. 
 We ran out of the S.E. trades in about Lat. 3 S., and struck the 
 belt of S.W. monsoons with frequent showers, which followed us 
 to Panama, Lat. 9 N. We had not much rain till we were in 
 Lat. 3 N. Temperature of air and water about 80. The S.E. 
 trades were very cool all the way up, ranging at no time above 
 65." 
 
 The foregoing statement conforms to the record kept by Dr. 
 Lynes and that of Capt. Bradbury, and is undoubtedly a true 
 statement. It shows the trades to be continual, and that fact 
 calls for a continual vortex and uninterrupted rain to answer the 
 requirements of the Halley and Espyan theories. There is abun- 
 dant other evidence that the rain of the central belt is not contin- 
 uous, but in showers, mainly in the afternoon and night. Let us 
 look at this also as we proceed. 
 
 Commencing with Nicaragua, in Central America, which lies 
 near the northern limit of the central belt in summer, we have 
 
1GJ THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 the evidence of Mr. Squier, in his work upon that country, pub- 
 lished in 1863. There, according to Mr. Squier, the belt arrives 
 from the south, and the rainy season commences in May. From 
 page. 30th I take the following extract ': ' 4 The year is divided, 
 rather anomalously to the stranger," into two seasons, the wet and 
 the dry ; the first of which is called Winter and the latter Summer. 
 The wet season commences in May, and lasts until November, 
 during which time, but usually near the commencement or close, 
 rains of some days duration are of occasional occurrence, and 
 showers are common, but do not often happen except late in the 
 afternoon, (commencing about 4 o'clock,) or in the night." 
 
 All the rains described by Mr. Squier in his book were from 
 showers. These showers occur occasionally on the east side of 
 the Coast Range, and in the valley of the San Juan, at all seasons 
 of the year, when the scud of the N.E. trades are enlarged or 
 coalesce in passing over the mountains. All the rains described 
 by Mr. Squier were from thunder-showers formed and moving in 
 the N.E. trades. A few extracts will illustrate this. Speaking of 
 a night on Lake Nicaragua, he says : 
 
 " The night was wonderfully still, we could distinctly hear the 
 tinkling of guitars at the fort, at least three miles distant, inter- 
 rupted by bursts of gay laughter, until a late hour. Before 
 I slunk under the chopa, however, clouds began to gather in the 
 N.E., lighted up momentarily by flashes of lightning, while fitful 
 gusts of wind veering in every quarter, betokened the approach 
 of a thunder storm. A little past midnight we were all roused 
 in a summary manner, by a dash of water full in our faces, fol- 
 lowed the next instant by the lurching of the boat, which tum- 
 bled passengers, arms, books, and whatever was moveable, all in 
 a heap together " (page 123.) 
 
 . . " It was just sunset when we entered the streets of Chichigalpa. 
 A- heavy thunder-storm was piling up its black volumes behind 
 the ; volcanoes in the east; arid: the calm and silence which precede 
 the tempest rested upon the plain. The winds were still, and the 
 leaves' hung motionless on the "trees. It came down from the 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 161 
 
 mountains with the majesty of an ocean, poured along their trem- 
 bling sides." (page 3.)1.) 
 
 lie also speaks of the passage of the showers on either side of 
 him and says : 
 
 " All that night, thunder-storms, like invading columns, swept 
 over the lake around us, but we fell in the course of none of them. 
 They all seemed to linger against the high volcanes, on the op- 
 posite (southwestern) shores of the lake, as if they would level, 
 in their wrath, the daring rocks which opposed their progress." 
 
 Again, in speaking of a thunder-storm which was coming on 
 from the northeast, he says : 
 
 " The wind had sprung up arid carried the impending storm to 
 the southward." 
 
 Mr. Squier gives no register, but these extracts will suffice to 
 show you the manner in which the rains fall, under the central 
 belt of Nicaragua. 
 
 I turn now to some intelligent, particular, and instructive obser- 
 vations by Mr. A. Fendler, in about the same latitude, at Colonia 
 Tovar, in Caracas, a province of Venezuela. Colonia Tovar is 
 situated among ihe mountains, at an elevation of 6,500 feet above 
 the sea, in Lat. 10 26', about 30 miles west of Laguayra, and 
 12 miles south of the Caribbean Sea. The observations of Mr. 
 Fendler are remarkably particular, and are tabulated with great 
 care. They may be found in the Smithsonian report for 1857. 
 The rainy season commences there as in Nicaragua, in May, but 
 continues longer, until December. All their rain is in showers. 
 Mr. Fendler, during the rainy season of 1857, noted down the 
 time of beginning and ending of these showers each day. Noth- 
 ing like long-continued rain appears in his tables. There were 
 sometimes three or four successive showers of short duration in a 
 day. As illustrating the manner in which these tropical rains fall, 
 I copy some of his tables. I know of none more perfect or 
 instructive. 
 
 Look as a sample, and a fair one, at a page of the record for the 
 first part of August, the middle of the rainy season, and observe 
 the beginning and ending of the rain. Remember this was under 
 
162 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ;s ; : 
 
 MI 
 
 asanoo 
 
 S 
 
 spntx 
 
 esanoo 
 
 K 
 ectn BO 
 
 turnout v 
 
 S :S S 
 
 il; 
 
 ^unoray 
 
 ooco 
 
 Time of 
 ending. 
 
 a a a a a a aaaaaaaaaaaaaa a 
 
 D. D, O. D, ft oj C3 ftftft ft ftftftcSftftftftft ft 
 
 S8 8 
 
 loaJci 
 
 sas sad ssafl-ass 
 
 tL d a. g p, a, oj j cs p, . p, P< cj e. cs a. a, e. g o. P< 
 
 J5aa^ S ^3S82J28cLS g5 
 
 CDOSrHN 16 irHt-OOC<lrHC'ias<i ^ 
 
 eaas 
 
 P<P I s - 
 
 S3 ^ S; 
 
 si 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 163 
 
 the center of the belt, 6,500 feet above the level of the sea, at 
 the very spot and level where the continuous rain should be, and 
 ihe vortex discoverable, and neither are discovered. The rains are 
 all in short showers, and 22 out of 26 in the afternoon. 
 
 Now look at a table of the course of the clouds during all the 
 months that the central belt of rains was over him. The clouds, 
 for aught that he appears to have discovered, moved horizontally. 
 It could not have been so, if there had been any voriex in the 
 belt. THAT, you and /very well know, whatever professed me- 
 teorologists may say about it. Nor can we " wink so hard " as 
 not to see that the southeast trade was blowing during the seven 
 months, as a prevalent wind, just as it does everywhere, and with 
 no more variable winds. In those tables, and in extracts which I 
 shall hereafter make, you have the evidence of an intelligent, 
 acute observer " on the spot," as we say, up in the belt, and there 
 all the time while the belt was passing. Prof. Henry may doubt 
 his word, or think his statement unworthy of notice. He did dis- 
 regard them in his Patent Office compilations, but you and I, 
 reader, must credit and regard them, especially when we find them 
 corroborated by all other practical observers. And if regarded 
 they are conclusive. 
 
 I next refer to the observations of Lieut. Herndon, in the val- 
 ley of the Amazon. Lieuts. Herndon and Gibbon were ordered 
 to explore the Amazon and its tributaries in 1850, from Lima, 
 Peru, to Para, at the mouth of the Amazon. At Tarma, on the 
 Andes, Lieut. Gibbon separated from the party and turned south 
 to Cochabamba, and from thence down the Madeira river to the 
 Amazon, while Lieut. Herndon struck its head-waters and de- 
 scended directly to the sea. There is much that is instructive in 
 his narrative. The rainy belt passed twice over him. He ap- 
 pears to have had an unusual acquaintance with meteorology, 
 and his register seems to have been kept with great care and par- 
 ticularity, and to be reliable. It commences at Pilcomayo, 10,500 
 feet above the sea, in July, 1851, and continues until his arrival 
 at Para, at the mouth of the Amazon, in May, 1852. Occasional 
 showers were experienced as he descended the mountains, in July 
 
164 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 .JS .5 .JS 
 
 .48 .48 
 
 l 
 
 iH r-H (N 
 
 rH Tt^CO -C* < !-( 
 
 rH ^ . . (M L^ 
 
 ^f 
 
 -NiNrHr-lrH 
 
 iH . 00 rH -CO- 
 
 t-.kOrHOrHrHI^ 
 
 K 
 
 1 1 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. iC5 
 
 and August, while the rain belt was at the north, and he was 
 upon the river Hualaga, and the upper waters of the Amazon. 
 
 In the vicinity of Nauta, on the Amazon, in September, 1851, 
 the belt reached him in its descent to the south. On the 9th of 
 that month, he writes respecting the rainy season as follows : 
 
 " We have had a great deal of cloudy weather and rain since 
 we have been upon the Amazon, and it is now near the com- 
 mencement of the rainy season at this place. No one suffers 
 from heat, though this is probably the hottest season of the year ; 
 the air is loaded with moisture, and heavy squalls of wind and 
 rain sweep over the country almost every day. In the dry months, 
 from the last of February to the first of September, a constant 
 and heavy breeze blows, nearly all day, against the stream of the 
 river ; the wind, at all seasons, is generally easterly, but is, at 
 this time, more fitful and liable to interruption ; so that sail-boats 
 bound up, make, at this season, the longest passages." 
 
 From Nauta, he diverged to the south, up the Ucayuli to Sar- 
 ayacu, which he reached October 18th. Of that he says : "We 
 had rain nearly every day that we were there, but it was in pass- 
 ing showers alternating with the hot sun." 
 
 General expressions of travelers are not so reliable as a rec- 
 ord carefully and intelligibly kept from day to day. The me- 
 teorological record of Lieut. Herndon is of that character, and 
 the only reliable record of the kind ever kept in Central South 
 America and the valley of the Amazon, and published, to my 
 knowledge. ' 
 
 The record furnishes conclusive evidence that upon Central 
 South America, and in the broad valley of the Amazon, while 
 the Central belt is passing over it to the south, nothing like contin- 
 uous rain for days is experienced. Rain even through a [single 
 day, is. recorded but once. Nearly all; the" rain which falls from 
 it, falls in showers during the afternoon or night. ' Except in a 
 very few; instances, 1 cirrus and cirro-stratus clouds were observed 
 in the morning, cumulus, and :: cumulo-stratus; clouds in the after- 
 noon and night. Sometimes, '_but .very rarely, the rain of the 
 night continued into the forenoon of the next day. 
 
168 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 But to be more particular ; from Sept. 10th, when he arrived 
 at Nauta, until January 1st, 1852, making 112 days, there were 
 recorded nine mornings as clear, and of these, one only occurred 
 in October, and none between the middle of October and the mid- 
 dle of November, when the center of the belt was over him. 
 During the same period, there were thirteen mornings when there 
 was rain, arid in seven of those, the rain was a continuation of 
 that which commenced in the night and ceased early in the fore- 
 noon. During the whole period of 112 days, there were but six 
 days in which rain commenced in the forenoon. 
 
 From this it clearly appears that as a rule, under the central 
 belt of rains upon the Amazon as at Colonia Tovar, the rain from 
 that belt falls in heavy showers of short continuance, occurring in 
 the afternoon or night. 
 
 I refer in the next place to the record of Lieut. Gibbon. Pass- 
 ing southeast from Tarma, lat. 11 25 S., across the ridges of the 
 Andes, he descended to Lake Titicaca, and from thence to Cocha- 
 bamba, in lat. 18 S., where he arrived in December. At the com- 
 mencement of his journey he thus speaks of the weather : 
 
 " Our course is to the eastward. The snow-capped mountains 
 are in sight to the west. Temperature of a spring, 48 ; air, 44. 
 Lightning flashes all around us ; as the wind whirls from N.E. to 
 S.W., rain and snow-flakes become hail, half the size of peas. 
 Thunder roars and echoes through the mountains ; the mules 
 hang their heads and travel slowly ; the thinly clad aboriginal 
 walks shivering, as he drives the train ahead ; the dark cumulus 
 cloud seems to wrap itself around us." (July 18th, 1851.) 
 
 As he passed down the mountains in a S.E. course, he struck 
 the S.E. trades, and thus speaks of them ; 
 
 " The southeast winds that we meet here, come across the South 
 Atlantic ocean ; passing over the lowlands, they strike against 
 these mountains. Rising from the vapors of the sea, they are 
 wet, but after traveling over dry lands, their dampness is distrib- 
 uted on the soil, and there springs up a growth of forest trees and 
 wild flowers, which otherwise would be burnt down by the fiery 
 rays of the sun. By the time the winds reach these lofty moun- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 1G7 
 
 tains, they are comparatively dry. The little dampness remain- 
 ing in them, meeting with the cold atmosphere of the mountain- 
 peaks, freezes and falls in the shape of snow or hail." 
 
 Lieut. Gibbon arrived at Cochabamba, on the 1 3th of Decem- 
 ber, and remained until May. The central belt of rains did not 
 reach that place until after he did, and then the rain was not con- 
 tinuous, but mainly in thunder-showers. His register is imper- 
 fect in not giving the time of commencement, continuance, or end- 
 ing of the showers, but there were many days without them, or 
 any rain. He remained at Cochabamba until May, when he trav- 
 eled northward down the Madeira river to the Amazon. Of his 
 journey to the North he thus speaks : 
 
 "Our route from Tarma to Oruro was south. We traveled 
 ahead of the sun. In December when we arrived in Cochabamba, 
 the sun had just passed us. As soon as he did so, the rains de- 
 scended heavily on this side of the ridge ; it was impossible to pro- 
 ceed. The roads were flooded, the ravines impassable, and the 
 arrieras put off their journey until the dry season had commenced. 
 After the sun passed the zenith of Cochabamba, and had fairly 
 moved the rain-belt after him toward the north, then we came 
 out from under shelter, and are now walking behind the rain-belt 
 in dry weather, while the inhabitants are actively employed in 
 tending their crops." 
 
 I turn now to the continent of Africa, and the observations of 
 the traveler, Livingstone. I alluded (page 141) to the fact that 
 when he was about to leave Linyanti, lat. 18 S., he was urged 
 by the chief of the Makololo, to wait for the arrival of the rainy 
 season, before commencing his journey across the continent east- 
 ward to the Indian Ocean. But he had previously twice passed 
 through the central belt of rains, during his journey from Lin- 
 yanti to Londa, on the west coast in 1853. The meteorological 
 record which he kept during that journey was lost, but a few ex- 
 tracts from his narrative, will sufficiently illustrate the point we are 
 considering. On his way up the Zambesi in November, before 
 the arrival of the central belt of rains from the north, and when 
 at Gonye Falls, in lat. 1G 40' he thus speaks of the dry season : 
 
168 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTKM. 
 
 . November 30th, 1853, at Gonye Falls, No rain has fallen 
 here, so it is excessively hot. The trees have put on their gayest 
 dre-s, and many flowers adorn the landscape, yet the heat makes 
 all the leaves droop at midday, and look languid for want of rain. 
 If the country increases as much in beauty in front as it has done 
 within the last four degrees of latitude, it will be indeed a lovely 
 land. We all felt great lassitude in traveling. The atmosphere 
 is oppressive both in cloud and sunshine. The evaporation from 
 the river must be excessively great, and I feel as if the fluids of 
 the system joined in the general motion of watery vapor upward, 
 as enormous quantities of water must be drank to supply its place." 
 
 On the eastern sides of the Andes we have seen that showers 
 occasionally occur during the dry season. The same is true of 
 Africa under the Equator, where the country is elevated, as Du 
 Chaillu experienced during his second journey. But upon the 
 flat plains of Southern Africa, where Livingstone was then travel- 
 ing, showers never occur in the dry season. 
 
 But Livingstone was traveling to the north up the Zambesi, 
 and the belt of rains was descending to the south, and early in 
 December they met at Naliele, in lat. 15 24'. 
 
 " The rains began while we were at Naliele ; this is much later 
 than usual ; but though the Barotse valley has been in need of 
 rain, the people never lack abundance of food. The showers are 
 refreshing, but the air feels hot and close, the thermometer, how- 
 ever, in a cool hut, stands only at 84. The access of the exter- 
 nal air to any spot at once raises its temperature above 90. A 
 new attack of fever here caused excessive languor ; but as I am 
 already getting tired of quoting my fevers, and never liked to 
 read travels myself where much was said about the illnesses of 
 the traveler, I shall henceforth endeavor to say little about them." 
 
 From that time he speaks of heavy rains and showers, mostly 
 in the afternoon and night, until his arrival at Londa, but nowhere 
 of continued and unintermitted rains. On the 16th of January, 
 he arrived at Cabompo, lat. 12 37', and remained until the 24th. 
 As the rains had been moving to the south, and he to the north, 
 passing each other, he was now near the northern edge of the belt, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 169 
 
 and of course had the winds from the north, and he thus speaks 
 of the rain and wind. 
 
 " One cannot get away quickly from these chiefs ; they like to 
 have the honor of strangers residing- in their villages. Here we 
 had an additional cause 'of delay in frequent rains ; twenty-four 
 hours never elapsed without heavy showers ; everything is affect- 
 ed by the dampness ; surgical instruments become all rusty ; cloth- 
 ing mildewed and shoes mouldy ; my little tent was now so rotten 
 and so full of small holes, that every smart shower caused a fine 
 mist to descend on my blanket, and made me fain to cover the 
 head with it. Heavy dews lay on everything in the morning, even 
 inside the tent ; there is only a short time of sunshine in the af- 
 ternoon, and even that is so interrupted by thunder-showers that 
 we cannot dry our bedding. The winds coming from the north 
 always bring heavy clouds and rain ; in the south the only heavy 
 rains noticed are those which come from the N.E. or E. The 
 thermometer falls as low as 72, when there is no sunshine, though 
 when the weather is fair, the protected thermometer generally 
 rises as high as 82, even in the mornings and evenings." 
 
 Livingstone arrived upon the western coast at about 9 S. lat., 
 in May. The central belt of rains had passed him again, and 
 gone to the north. In December following, he again left for Lin- 
 yanti, and again the belt of rains passed over him in its transit to 
 the south. On page 80 he thus speaks of it : 
 
 " We had now rain every day, and the sky seldom presented 
 that cloudless aspect and clear blue so common in the dry lands 
 of the south. The heavens are often overcast by large, white, 
 motionless masses, which stand for hours in the same position and 
 the intervening spaces are filled with a milk-and-water-looking 
 haze." 
 
 He does not seem to have had any distinct conception of the 
 nomenclature of clouds or the strata of the atmosphere, but in this 
 paragraph he has represented the cumuli, and the milk-and-water 
 looking cirrus seen through their spaces and above them. He 
 was at that time in the very center of the rainy belt. 
 i That belt moved to the north again in spring, and the latter 
 
1<0 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 part of his journey to Linyanti was concluded during the dry 
 season. There he waited for the rainy season again, as we have 
 already stated, and then left for the eastern coast of the continent, 
 passing the fourth time across the country while the belt of rains 
 was over it. Here again, he says of the rains : 
 
 " These rains were from the east, and the clouds might be seen 
 on the hills exactly as the table cloth on Table Mountain." 
 
 There is in the Wilkes Exploring expedition, a view of Cape- 
 town and Table Mountain, with the cloth on. If that is a correct 
 representation, the cloth does not differ in any material respect 
 from the foggy patches of scud which are often seen on our high 
 hills, in all parts of the country, forming as the moist current 
 passes over them, and dissolving again after the particular portion 
 passes away from the influence of the hill or mountain top. 
 
 On this journey he nowhere speaks of continuous rain for a 
 longer period than several hours, and no material difference in the 
 character of the belt is described. It moved to the north and left 
 him in dry weather again, before he reached the eastern coast at 
 Quillimaine. 
 
 In the works of Du Chaillu, describing his discoveries in equa- 
 torial Africa, we have like descriptions of these rains. During 
 their absence at the north, they have the same dry season in the 
 vicinity of the equator, as elsewhere. Their dry season begins 
 in May, and ends when the rains return, in September. During 
 his last journey into the interior, he reached an elevated section 
 of the country, and there, as under like circumstances in South 
 America, occasional showers are experienced in the dry seasons 
 of the year. There, as elsewhere upon the continent, the showers 
 passed from the east to the west, and the rain was all in showers. 
 
 The natives called the elevated country to the east of them" the 
 mother of rains" conveying the" same idea that the natives of 
 Brazil did to Prof. Agassiz, when they said " the path of the sun is 
 the path of the storm" 
 
 We may now get an idea of the rapidity with which the belt 
 of rains moves over the continent in its transit. It reaches the 
 equator, according to Du Chaillu, early in September. It reaches 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 171 
 
 the Congo, five degrees further south, about the latter part of 
 September, and Livingstone met it when he waited for it at Lin- 
 yanti, in lat. 18 17' 20", the 27th of October. But as we shall 
 hereafter see, it varies in different years. 
 
 I refer next and again to the record of Dr. Barth, in North 
 Africa. The Dr. left Tripoli in March, 1850, and journeying to 
 the south, crossed the Desert of Sahara, arriving at Kukawa, 
 near lake Tsad, in April following. This was the base of his 
 movements and observations during that year. From this base 
 he made various short journeys during that time, but they were 
 all between 9 30' and 12 30' N. He kept a Meteorological 
 Register, and we have nothing of the kind more perfect for that 
 part of the continent. An occasional brief shower was experi- 
 enced during the journey across the Desert, especially near its 
 southern border, and in September. At Kukawa, where his most 
 important observations were made, the rainy season commences 
 in May, and ends in September. His description of the belt of 
 rains is substantially like that of all the others. The substance 
 of it, so far as it relates to our present inquiry, is contained in 
 the following paragraphs : 
 
 " It is generally supposed that storms in the tropical climes 
 break forth in the afternoon or in the course of the night, and 
 this certainly is the general rule ; but if there has been a storm 
 the day before, or during the night, and the weather has not 
 cleared up, there can be no certainty that it will not come on again 
 in the course of the morning. It is rather a rare phenomenon 
 in these regions for a storm to gather in the morning on a clear 
 sky, but nevertheless the reader will find several examples even 
 of this, in my meteorological tables." 
 
 This is in accordance with the observations of Herndon, on the 
 Amazon where the rain continued from the night into the morn- 
 ing, on seven days, and commenced in the morning, on six days 
 out of 112, during which the belt was passing over him. The 
 exceptions are few in both cases, and prove the rule. 
 
 ** Rain was very plentiful this year, 1851, and I am sure would, 
 if measured, have far exceeded the quantity found by Mr. Vogel 
 
172 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 in 18" 4. Indeed there were twelve very considerable falls of 
 rain, during the month of August alone, whicn together probably 
 exceeded thirtjf inches. It must be borne in mind, moreover, that 
 the fall of rain in Kukawa does not constitute the rule for the 
 region, but is quite exceptional, owing to the entire absence of 
 trees and of heights in the neighborhood. Hencs the statement 
 of Mr. Vogel in one of his letters that the line of tropical rains 
 only begins south of Kukawa, must be understood with some re- 
 serve, for if he had measured the rain in the woody country north 
 of that capital, between Dawerghu, and Kaliluwa, he would, in 
 my opinion, have attained a very different result. It is evident 
 that all depends upon the meaning of tropical rain. If we imply 
 a very copious fall of rain, Kukawa certainly does not lie within 
 the limits of tropical rain, but if we are to understand by it the 
 regularly returning annual fall of rain, produced by the ascend- 
 ing currents of heated air, it certainly does. There was a very 
 heavy fall of rain on the night of the 3d of August, which not 
 only swamped our courtyard, but changed my room, which lay 
 half a foot lower, and was protected only by a low threshold, 
 into a little lake, aggravating my feverish state very considerably, 
 and spoiling most of my things." 
 
 In the following year Dr. Barth went to Timbuctoo, which 
 lies to the north and west- in about lat. 18. He encountered the 
 rainy season again in the summer, and described it by saying : 
 " We had a thunder-storm almost every day, followed now and 
 then by a tolerable quantity of rain." Timbuctoo is upon the 
 Niger, and there is a curious anomaly connected with the rise of 
 that river. Dr. Barth thus alludes to it : 
 
 " Towards the end of January, the waters of the river reached 
 their highest level, exhibiting that marvelous anomaly, in com- 
 parison with the period of the rising of other African rivers north of 
 the equator, which is calculated to awaken astonishment in any man 
 acquainted with the subject. For when he knows that the rising 
 of these rivers is due to the fall of the tropical rains, he will nat- 
 urally expect that the Niger, like its eastern branch, the Tsad, 
 or Benuwe, or the Nile, should reach its highest level in August 
 or September." 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 173 
 
 The explanation of this peculiarity is found in several facts : 
 First, the Niger heads on the northern and eastern slopes of the 
 mountains of Senegambia, Liberia, and Ashantee, in lat. 10 N., 
 and from thence runs Northeasterly to Timbuctoo, through 7 or 
 8 of lat., and from thence easterly and southeasterly, to the Gulf 
 of Guinea. The rains which raise the river, therefore, at Tim- 
 buctoo in January, fall several degrees to the south of it. Second, 
 the belt of rains upon the Atlantic, though it moves up in sum- 
 mer as high as 15 N. lat., does not move more than 3 or 4 
 south of the equator in winter. Its transit upon the eastern 
 part of the Atlantic, therefore, is scarcely 15, and it lingers in 
 December and even into January, upon the mountains of Sene- 
 gambia and Ashantee and Western Soudan, while its transit upon 
 the continents of Africa and America exceeds 30. Third, when 
 the belt of rains is moving to the north in summer it can derive 
 little moisture from the N.E. trades, as the country north of it is 
 an extensive, sandy desert, and the moisture supplied by the S E. 
 trades is intercepted by the Kong mountains of Western Soudan, 
 Guinea, and Yaraba. When, however, the belt descends to the 
 south in the fall, and the N.E. trades blow into it from the then 
 uncovered and drenched surface of Soudan, they deposit their 
 moisture upon the northern and eastern slopes of those mountains, 
 where the Niger has its rise, and fill its banks so as to occasion 
 the peculiar rise of the river at Timbuctoo, in the middle of the 
 dry season. 
 
 A like anomaly is found in India. A very moderate supply of 
 rain falls on the Deccan, east of the Ghauts, during the transit of 
 the belt of rains to the north, for then the countries about the head 
 of the Bay of Bengal, on which its N.E. trades then originate, 
 are dry, but after the belt has been up over them in summer, and 
 descending has- uncovered them in the fall, the N.E. trades blow- 
 ing from them are charged with the evaporating moisture of their 
 summer rains and abundantly supply the Deccan with rain. 
 
 From all this evidence I think it entirely certain that nothing 
 like that continuous rain, under the central belt which a vortex 
 in constant action night and day must produce if the theory was 
 
174 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 true is to be found, and this fact would be amply sufficient of 
 itself, to disprove the theory. But in addition we have the con- 
 curring evidence of all travelers, that the rains of that belt are 
 produced by showers, " gathering," to use the expressive phrase 
 of Dr. Earth, generally in the afternoon or night, and "sweeping," 
 to use the equally expressive phrase of Prof. Agassiz, along hor- 
 izontally near the surface of the earth, precisely as they do wiih 
 us, and with a like unperforated layer of cirrus or cirro-stratus 
 above them. And in addition to all this W T C have the observa- 
 tions of Fendler, Gibbon and others, up in the upper horizontal 
 trades, even in the rainy season, and not an observed fact, anywliere, 
 indicating the existence of a vortex. 
 
 Having thus demonstrated, as I think, that the theory of Halley, 
 in respect to the existence of a vortex in the central belt, is a de- 
 lu-ion, it is obvious that we must examine critically the great belt 
 for the purpose of ascertaining its elements. In respect to them 
 there is a mass of evidence, which to my mind is entirely suffi- 
 cient to show that it is a stratified and organized body, consisting 
 of a stratum of cirrus and sometimes of cirro-stratus above, a 
 stratum of cumulus and cumulo-stratus in the middle, and of scud, 
 fog and other incidental condensations, beneath and at the surface. 
 
 I have already cited the graphic description given by Hum- 
 bolt of the appearance of the central belt when first discovered 
 approaching from the south, when he was on the banks of the 
 Orinoco, but I wish to call your attention to it again, in this con- 
 nection. 
 
 " When, after a long drought, the genial season of rain arrives, 
 the scene suddenly changes. The deep azure of the hitherto 
 cloudless sky assumes a lighter hue. Scarcely can the dark space 
 in the constellation of the Souther Cross be distinguished at night. 
 The mild phosphorescence of the Magellanic clouds fades away. 
 Even the vertical stars of the constellations Aquila, and Ophiu- 
 chus shine with a flickering and less planetary light. Like some 
 distant mountain, a single cloud is seen rising perpendicularly on 
 the southern horizon. Misty vapors collect and gradually over- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 175 
 
 spread the heavens, while distant thunder proclaims the approach 
 of the vivifying rain." 
 
 Here we have described the elevated stratum of misty, cirrus 
 condensation which overlies this belt of rains,extending far to the 
 north and south of that portion where the rains are falling, and 
 becoming cirro-stratus nearer the center. Humboldt discovered 
 it first, not only because of its elevation, but because of that ex- 
 tension which brought it first into view. It moved up and over 
 him, dimming his vision of the stars and constellations, before the 
 rain-cloud was seen on the southern horizon. And before the 
 rain-clouds of the belt had approached sufficiently near for their 
 thunder to be heard, that stratum of condensation had " overspread 
 the heavens" Here then we have frpm Humboldt a description 
 of two strata, and two kinds of condensation as characteristic of 
 this belt the upper stratum of cirrus or cirro-stratus, and the 
 cumulo-stratus, or thunder-clo id below it. 
 
 To the same effect are the observations of Fendler at Colonia 
 Tovar, modified of course by elevation. During the month of 
 April before the rainy season set in, when there was light rain on 
 five days only, the sky was often entirely overcast at 7 A.M., and 
 not a perfectly clear morning is recorded. The mean amount of 
 cloudiness at that hour, for the month, was 6/0, while in May 
 when the rainy season had set in, and there was rain on 25 days, 
 the mean amount of cloudiness at 7 A.M. was 8 T 3 ^, a difference 
 of only 1-j^. 
 
 I turn now to the tables of Herndon, to which I have referred, 
 and see how perfectly the same state of things appears from his 
 unstudied but clear and intelligent description. He entered upon 
 the Amazon, on the 4th of September, when the belt was ap- 
 proaching from the north. His history of the mornings from that 
 time forth until the belt had passed him on its way to the south, 
 is a description of that upper layer, sometimes spoken of as cirrus, 
 and at others as cirro-stratus, as it assumed one or the other form. 
 On the 15th of September he has this entry. "The first per- 
 fectly clear morning we have seen since entering the Amazon. 
 At 1 P.M. cumulus clouds ; showery at 2J." So his description 
 
176 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 of the clouds at midday and in the afternoon, is of the formation 
 of cumuli and cumulo-strati which furnish the showers of the 
 afternoon and night. None of these cumuli were ever seen to 
 ascend into a vortex. They are frequently described as parsing 
 by to the southward or to the northward of him, horizontally and 
 at the same elevation. . In this connection I cite a brief but inter- 
 esting description by Prof, and Mrs. Agassiz of a shower which 
 they witnessed upon the Amazon. It may be found on page 248 
 of " A journey in Brazil." i 
 
 " October 23d. We left Teffe on Saturday evening on board 
 the Icamiaba, which now seems quite like a home to us ; we have 
 passed so many pleasant hours in her comfortable quarters since 
 we left Para. We are just on the verge of the rainy season here, 
 and almost every evening during the past week has brought a 
 thunder-storm. The evening before leaving Teffe, we had one of 
 the most beautiful storms we have seen on the Amazon. It came 
 sweeping up from the east; these squalls always come from the 
 east, and therefore the Indians say, " the path of the sun is the 
 path of the storm." The upper, lighter layer of cloud, traveling 
 faster than the dark, lurid mass below, hung over it with its white, 
 fleecy edge, like an avalanche of snow, just- about to fall. We 
 were all sitting at the doorstep, watching its swift approach, and 
 Mr. Agassiz sa'd that this tropical storm was the most accurate 
 representation of an avalanche 011 the upper Alps, he had ever 
 seen." 
 
 I have taken the liberty to italicise some very . suggestive por- 
 tions of that description. The thunder-storm occurred in the 
 evening, during the rainy season, as did others, .previously expe- 
 rienced. It came from the east, sweeping, that -is horizontally, 
 and neiir the earth, as .all such storms do in that country. It was 
 in October , when the belt of rains had arrived from the north, and 
 was passing over, them to the south. They remained upon the 
 Amazon and its tributaries until -March, an.d .during that period 
 the entire belt passed over them, -and they had full opportunity to 
 observe its phenome a. To their description of this storm they 
 append a statement cf the natives, that " the path of the sun " 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 177 
 
 and the " path of the storm " there are the same, and record that 
 statement for our instruction, uncontradicted and unqualified ; and 
 it imports, that all the thunder-storms, under the belt, during its 
 transit north and south, sweep in like manner, horizontally, from 
 the eastward to the westward. 
 
 And they also describe two layers of cloud, the upper and 
 lighter (cirrus T>r cirro stratus,) moving more rapidly than the 
 dark cumulo-stratus below it, precisely such as are often seen as 
 our belts of showers approach from the northwest. 
 
 I have not the honor to know these distinguished travelers, 
 except as the world knows them, by reputation. But I believe 
 they have not unfitted themselves by a too ready and unwise 
 committal to the Halley theory, (as too many have done,) for the 
 discovery and reception of truth on this subject, if inconsistent 
 with that theory ; and if I did know them, I should ask whether 
 they discovered anything, during the transit of that belt over them, 
 which indicated that it was constituted by a great ascending vortex. 
 Of the character of their answer I cannot entertain a doubt. 
 That brief description speaks with the fulness of a volume. 
 
 I have alluded to the record of Lieut. Gibbon. From the mid- 
 dle of December to the middle of February, as appears from that 
 record, there were but five clear mornings, and during the 30 days 
 preceding the arrival of the belt of rains, not a single day when 
 it was not cloudy at 3 P.M. The overlying stratum of cirrus 
 and cirro-stratus must have extended nearly or quite 10 S. of 
 the southern edge of the belt of rains. After that time, not a 
 single clear morning is recorded. There is a single instance on 
 the 31st of January, when the record reads, "blue sky, with 
 hazy atmosphere," but that haze was undoubtedly the cirrus or 
 cirro-stratus of the overlying stratum, somewhat thinner and more 
 broken than usual. 
 
 On the west of the Andes and over the Pacific Ocean, that 
 overlying stratum extends still farther to the southward. From 
 the statement and record of Dr. Lyrics it would seem to extend 
 nearly to the southern limit of the S.E. trades. 
 
 Turning again to Southern Africa, we have the evidence upon 
 9 
 
178 THK ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 this point also, of Livingstone, but as lie kept no record which is 
 preserved, and had little knowledge of Meteorology, the evidence 
 is meagre. It sufficiently appears, however, from his general 
 statements that the same state of things exists there. I have al- 
 ready copied a description (page 1G9) of the two strata as de- 
 scribed on his journey to Londa. In his journey to the eastward 
 from Linyanti to Quillemaine, and on the 27th of November, in 
 lat. 17, he thus writes : " The temperature was pleasant, as the 
 rains though not universal, had fallen in many places. It was very 
 cloudy, preventing observations. The temperature at 6 A.M. was 
 70, at midday, 90, in the evening, 84. This is very pleasant 
 on the high lands, with but little moisture in the air." 
 
 It is obvious from the fact that he could get no observations at 
 any time of the day, because of the cloudiness, before the belt of 
 rain was felt in its force, and while the showers were infrequent, 
 that the same overlying layer of cirrus or cirro-stratus had ex- 
 tended south in advance of the rains. 
 
 After he had passed the coast range of mountains, and while 
 descending their slopes to the sea, he met with what was to him, 
 a new feature. Everywhere else in his travels he found the 
 thunder-storms and showers in the interior moving to the west- 
 ward, but here they seemed to him to move to the eastward, but 
 he was mistaken, as we can all understand. Thus, while upon the 
 hills in January, he says : " The clouds rested upon the tops of 
 the hills, as they came from the eastward, and then poured down 
 plenteous showers upon the valleys below." But a little farther 
 down, on the 29th of the month, he says, " A double tier of clouds 
 floated quickly away to the west, and as soon as they began to 
 come in an opposite direction, the rain poured down." The lower 
 of the two tier of clouds was the rain-bearing cloud, and passed 
 off to the west, with the layer of cirro-stratus above it, like that 
 observed by Prof. Agassiz in Brazil. The clouds which deceived 
 him were scud, lower down still, running as we often see them, 
 in opposition to the path of the storm, especial'y when here as 
 there the belt of showers has passed over highlands. The tendency 
 to easterly surface wind and scud under a belt or storm which has 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 179 
 
 passed over the Alleghanies, is well ascertained and understood. 
 
 This superior cloud stratum was also observed by Du Chaillu, 
 and seriously interfered with his observations when the cumulus 
 and cumulo-stratus were not present. This was especially true 
 over the hills of the interior, and he thus speaks of it. " Up to 
 the present time, May 18th, I have only twice seen the sky free 
 from cloud since my arrival at Fernand Vaz, from England." 
 
 On this point the record of Dr. Barth, in north Africa, is very 
 full and clear. On page 702, Vol. II., during April, 1852, and 
 from that time on until the arrival of the rains, he records with 
 few exceptions, the morning as " a little overcast" and " thickly 
 overcast" and after the arrival of the belt of rains, he described the 
 gathering of thunder-showers in the afternoon and evenings, pass- 
 ing sometimes to the south and sometimes to the north, and some- 
 times over them, but always to the westward horizontally, and gen- 
 erally with strong or violent winds. No thunder-storms are record- 
 ed by any writer, to my knowledge, of a more violent character. 
 
 I extract for a week from the 26th of April, 1852, to the 2d 
 of May, inclusive. This was before the belt of rain had arrived, 
 but when it was approaching from the south. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Hour of 
 day. 
 
 JJegree in 
 scale of 
 Fahr. 
 
 
 1852 
 April 26, 
 
 27. 
 
 1.45 p.m. 
 
 101.8 
 
 Sky thickly overcast, the sun breaking through 
 the clouds at 9.30 A.M., the atmosphere remain- 
 ing sultry. In the afternoon a thunder-storm 
 accompanied by heavy squalls of wiud, but no 
 rain. 
 Atmosphere sultry. 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 In the afternoon a thunder-storm gathered but 
 
 29, 
 
 
 
 brought us only a few drops of rain in the even- 
 ing. 
 The sky the whole day overcast, in the afternoon 
 
 30, 
 May 1, 
 
 
 
 
 a storm gathered in the south, but not accompa- 
 nied by rain 
 In the afternoon a thunder-storm arose, followed 
 by a considerable rain the following night, last- 
 ing for about two hours. 
 Sky overcast, the sun breaking through the clouds 
 
 2, 
 
 
 
 about 10 A.M. but only for a few moments At 
 4 P.M. thick thunder clouds, with much heat- 
 lightning but no rain. 
 About 5.30 PM. dark thunder clouds gathered 
 
 
 
 
 but passed by westward. 
 
180 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 There is much other evidence which might be adduced in sup- 
 port of the proposition, but I have not space for it, and it cannot 
 be necessary. Lieut. Maury was undoubtedly right, when from 
 the mass of nautical evidence before him, he assumed that there 
 was a tropical cloud ring encircling the earth. Seen from above, 
 this layer of cirrus and cirro-stratus does undoubtedly form a cloud 
 ring, wide over the continents and narrower over the oceans, bro- 
 ken or attenuated in places or at times, it may be, but still a girdle 
 of cloud. Underneath this cloud ring, and near the center of it 
 and in the trade-winds, the scud enlarge and the showers form, 
 from which the rains descend. And beneath those showers are 
 the incidental and varied slant winds, which constitute the squalls 
 and gales and hurricanes which are felt at the surface. The^e 
 together constitute the elements of the great, permanent, central 
 atmospheric condition. 
 
 In his lecture before the ' American Association for the ad- 
 vancement of Science " in August, 1859, Prof. Henry endeav- 
 ored to make a strong point upon the assumption that the trades 
 could not pass each other, and therefore that when they met, they 
 must ascend and consequently that there must be a vortex. But 
 there is nothing in either the assumption or the argument. Of 
 the manner in which they do meet and pass there is much and 
 satisfactory evidence. 
 
 In the first place we have the evidence of those who have 
 witnessed the manner in which they pass each other. Mr. Fen- 
 dler thus saw them at Colonia Tovar. He says : 
 
 " Sometimes the eastern currents may be seen in their gradu- 
 ally ascending but nearly horizontal course, to meet the higher 
 southern currents at right angles, and without mixing, to be de- 
 flected by the latter in a horizontal semicircle, or downward or 
 upward as the case may be. I have also seen two opposite cur- 
 rents meet when each endeavored to force its antagonist back 
 with alternate success and failure, until one got the better over 
 the other, and at last kept undisputed sway." 
 
 In the second place, it is by no means certain that we do not 
 owe the alternate character of our condition to the obstruction of 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 181 
 
 the N.E. trades, blowing against the S.E., preventing temporarily 
 their passage, causing them to accumulate until sufficiently strong 
 to overcome the resistance, and then move forward in larger vol- 
 ume and an excited state, and that thus our storms arid even the 
 hurricanes originate. 
 
 But in the third place, there are few places where the trades 
 can be said to meet. They blow obliquely in under the central 
 belt, in most cases at right angles to each other, and it is an easy 
 matter for one or the other to slide over or under as Fendler saw 
 them do at Colonia Tovar. There is much reason to believe that 
 this is true, as a rule, upon the oceans, where both are of consid- 
 erable strength. 
 
 But in the fourth place it is to be considered that even upon 
 the oceans they are rarely of equal strength. Thus, in the At- 
 lantic Ocean, the N.E. trades are very strong upon the coast of 
 Africa, where the ocean is kept cool by the Polar currents, but 
 weak and almost entirely wanting, west of longitude 35. This 
 is especially true during the summer season, when the oceanic 
 isothermal of 80, is carried up to the latitude of Bermuda. If 
 you turn back to the statement of Dr. Lynes, you will see that 
 although they struck the latitude in which the N.E. trades should 
 be, on the 7th of July, they found very little of that description 
 of trade, until they made easting, and a day or two before they 
 encountered the belt of rains. Their route was nearly a direct line 
 from New York to Cape St. Roque, with a slight curve to the 
 east. Sailing vessels, bound south of the Equator, make a much 
 larger curve to the east, so as to strike the N.E. trades in their 
 strength on the east side of the Atlantic, and cross the belt of 
 rains further east. 
 
 We have seen that in the summer season the belt of rains 
 curves up over the western Atlantic, and over the West India 
 Islands, and on to Florida and the southern portions of the Gulf 
 States. West of a line drawn from New York, to lat. 30 upon 
 the Equator, the S.E. trades prevail in the summer, and the N.E. 
 trades are occasional, weak, and unreliable. The surface is usurped 
 by the southerly trades. Of this too, Mr. Fendler speaks with 
 that intelligence that characterizes all his observations. 
 
182 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 " As lo the trade-winds, I found on my trip from Philadelphia 
 to Laguayra, that within the tropics we had no E.N.E. wind, 
 which is thought to be the regular trade-wind of those regions. 
 After crossing lat. 23J in long. 68j, we were becalmed for one 
 day, and soon after got a fiesh bieeze from the south, which we 
 kept all the way to long. 63. By tacking, we got to lat. 22, 
 long. 63J. From thence we had the wind all the time from S.S.E. 
 which we kept to lat 11^, the day before we reached Laguayra. 
 Capt. Wilkins, who has been in this southern trade for 18 years, 
 assured me that within the last 8 years, he never could depend 
 much upon the trade-winds. He finds that between lat. 23 and 
 18 the south wind frequently kept on blowing very brisk for 
 eight days in succession. 
 
 " On the way from the colony to Caracas, along the high ridge 
 of the principal mountain chain which stretches east and west 
 parallel with the coast, at an elevation of from 7,000 to 8,000 
 feet, we travel about six miles over a region bare of forests, where 
 we, nearly at all times, find a very strong breeze from the south 
 rushing up the declivity and over the ridge, hurries off to the 
 north, towards the ocean. The ocean can be plainly seen from 
 this elevation. That this great current of air does not sink down 
 along the northern slope, but on the contrary, is somewhat pro- 
 jected upward by the shape of the mountain, can be seen by the 
 course of the condensed vapors, which, in the form of fog and 
 mist, are driven along. May not this current of air sink gradu- 
 ally lower and lower, until it reaches about lat. 18, where it 
 strikes the sea ? I have found this south wind at sea, always 
 much colder than any of the other winds in these latitudes." And 
 he gives the following cut, exhibiting the passage of this upper 
 trade to the eye. 
 
 sea 
 
 N 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 183 
 
 The view is a section looking east. The elevation where the 
 upper trade is felt is at , and the long arrow indicates the course 
 of the upper trade, and the scud in the valleys the lower trade. 
 But I will give the description in the language of Mr. Fendler 
 himself. 
 
 u Several times I had a most excellent opportunity for observ- 
 ing and tracing the course of this southern current to a great dis- 
 tance in the direction south and north. I was then standing on 
 the very crest of the mountains of the coast, having a view tow- 
 ards the north upon the sea, and towards the south over a part of 
 the fertile valleys of Araguay. Scattered masses of clouds showed 
 plainly by their motion, the direction of the current in a long 
 line, whence it came and whither it went. The annexed figure 
 may serve to give a somewhat clearer idea. It is to represent a 
 vertical section of the territory from south to north, i a ' the place 
 of observation, 'v' the valleys between the northern and south- 
 ern ranges, 'cc' clouds moving with the eastern trade- winds 
 towards the west, the line 'bb' the track of the high southern 
 current, which had a velocity of about twelve miles per hour, and 
 a somewhat sinking tendency, until it struck the northern range, 
 where it was forced upwards for a short distance until it reached 
 the crest, and then went on unobstructed on the other side of the 
 mountains, in a horizontal line, apparently lowering but very 
 little, leaving hereby the eastern trade-winds of the sea far below 
 and undisturbed in their regular and steady course, which is nearly 
 at right angles to that of the former. The lower clouds of the 
 valley showed plainly a motion from east to west, as seen against 
 the dark background of the southern mountains. The high 
 southern current was not indicated by clouds in those places where 
 it was vertically over the lowest parts of the valley ; but when 
 drawing nearer to the Cordilleras, on which I stood, the vapors 
 which it contained conden.-ed rapidly, and became visible, as drift- 
 ing, incoherent clouds sweeping by, and which could still be seen 
 on the sea side as long as they floated over the dense, primeval 
 forest, which extends here from the mountains' tops, to the very 
 margin of the sea." 
 
184 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 " Here I may also remark that the great amount of cloudiness, 
 which in some respects may be regarded as a disadvantage to 
 observation, offers, with regard to the currents of the atmosphere, 
 great advantages, the condensed vapors indicating the various 
 motions and directions of these currents, and I have had, there- 
 fore, opportunities to observe them in most of their various forms. 
 Sometimes I have seen the air ascend and descend vertically with 
 considerable velocity, at other times pushed up the inclined planes 
 of mountain flanks on one side until reaching the crest, arid then 
 gliding or flowing down on the other side, somewhat like a liquid, 
 following in its course the most depressed localities and ravines in 
 all their windings. Sometimes, the eastern currents may be seen 
 in their gradually ascending but nearly horizontal course, to meet 
 the higher southern current at right angles, and, without mixing, to 
 be deflected by the latter in a horizontal semicircle, or downward 
 or upward, as the case may be. I have also seen two opposite 
 currents meet, when each endeavored to force its antagonist back, 
 with alternate success and failure, until one got the better over 
 the other, and at last kept undisputed sway." 
 
 In addition to this there is very much evidence to establish the 
 fact that along the N.E. coast of South America, and over the 
 eastern part of the Caribbean Sea, and the West Indies, the S.E. 
 trades continue up in summer as a surface current 30 or more in 
 breadth, the source of our bountiful supply of moisture, the foun- 
 tain of our Atlantic system of conditions, and the field where the 
 hurricanes of the Western Atlantic originate and operate with 
 their greatest violence, (see charts of Lieut. Maury, and Mr. Red- 
 field, herein before given,) and Prof. Coffin's tables of the wind 
 of the Gulf States. 
 
 The evidence to show that the N.E. trades of the eastern At- 
 lantic find their way to South America, covering the valley of 
 the Amazon and pressing up the slope of the Andes, derivedfrom 
 the records of Herndon and Gibbon, and from other sources for 
 which I have not space, is entirely satisfactory. There is no in- 
 trinsic difficulty in the idea that when they meet the stronger 
 S.E. trades of the west side of the ocean, they rise and pass over 
 
THE ATMOSPHEHIC SYSTEM. 185 
 
 them, descending again or meeting the elevated land and depos- 
 iting their moisture upon the continent of South America. 
 
 If now you turn to the diagram of Prof. Coffin, on page 134, 
 or the diagram which I have introduced on page 119, you will 
 observe that upon the middle and eastern part of the Atlantic 
 Ocean, south of the belt of rains, the trades become more south- 
 erly and southwesterly near the coast of Africa. The S.E. trades 
 there are light compared with the N.E. and undoubtedly pass 
 over them, for they are found as an upper current from the S. W. 
 on the Peak of Teneriffe. Of the deflected trades, which be- 
 coming still more easterly, blow in upon the continent of Africa, 
 upon Senegambia and the countries lying north of the Gulf of 
 Guinea, represented upon the diagrams, I cannot yet speak with- 
 out anticipating. 
 
 We see then that upon the Atlantic Ocean, there is nothing to 
 prevent the trades from passing each other, and there is satisfac- 
 tory evidence that they do indeed pass. 
 
 And so there is everywhere; Fendler describes the S.E. wind 
 blowing over the surface trade at an elevation of from 8,000 to 
 10.000 feet, when the belt is south, and blowing as a surface wind 
 when the belt was over him or at the north. Gibbon found the 
 N.E. upper trade on the Andes, south of the belt, and struck the 
 S.E. surface trade when he descended into the valleys at their 
 base. Goodrich found the counter trade or return trade, as Dove 
 calls it, on the mountains of Hawaii as a horizontal, not a descend- 
 ing wind, and Von Busch and others found it on the peak of 
 Teneriffe the same. 
 
 All the phenomena of the system point to the same result. 
 All the storms in both hemispheres, which originate in the belt of 
 rains, and are sufficiently intense to find their way to the polar 
 zones, move to the northwestward, until near the outer limits of 
 the trades, when they curve to the northeastward. Instances 
 where storms have thus issued simultaneously and moved diverg- 
 ently to each polar zone, are on record. (See work of Col. Reid, 
 page 43.) Extensive arid areas lie northwest of arid or mountain- 
 ous southern continents, and wet areas northwesterly of southern 
 
186 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 oceans, and vice versa. The Andes of South America cause the 
 aridity of Northern Mexico, Southeastern California, and Utah, 
 and the aridity of New Holland, causes the arid areas of West- 
 ern Asia. 
 
 It has been assumed that the counter or return trade leaves the 
 central belt as a S.W. wind, but all the reliable evidence alluded 
 to and much more for which I have not space, proves the con- 
 trary. If it were true, the western coast of North America would 
 be wet, and the eastern dry. So of the whole western coast of 
 South America for the counter or upper trade of the southern 
 hemisphere, would undoubtedly follow the same law, and move in 
 upon that coast from the N.W. Peru, which is now dry for the 
 want of an upper N.E. trade, because it is intercepted by the 
 Andes, would be as wet as Chili or Patagonia. And the same 
 would be true of Europe, of Africa, or arid Southwestern Asia, 
 and still more arid New Holland. The theory cannot be true. 
 
 But it is in all our text-books, and I will add a few words in 
 relation to the evidence on which it is founded. And first in re- 
 lation to observations on the Peak of Tenneriffe. The existence 
 of a S.W. wind there is explained by two facts : 1st, that the 
 southern trades of the eastern Atlantic, are deflected, and enter 
 the belt of rains, as S.W. trades, as we have already stated, and 
 the S.W. wind on the Peak of Teneriffe may be a continuation 
 of them. 2d, the upper trade commences curving to the east be- 
 fore it reaches the outer limit of the lower trade, and this fact in- 
 validates the evidence derived from observations on the peak of 
 Teneriffe and the mountains of Hawaii. 
 
 The next item of evidence on which the theory is rested, is the 
 falling of ashes in Barbadoes, from the volcano in St. Vincent, 
 but this evidence is not reliable. Barbadoes is 100 miles directly 
 east of St. Vincent, and a S.W. wind would have carried the 
 ashes to the N.E., and clear of it ; and in the second place, "slant 
 winds " from every point of the compass are experienced in that 
 vicinity, produced by passing storms, sometimes too far off to be 
 observed, yet near enough to disturb the currents of the atmos- 
 phere. These occasional slants are felt by all mariners, and one 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 187 
 
 is described in the diary of Dr. Lynes from the S. W. in that vicin- 
 ity, when no storm was experienced. Fendler describes these 
 occasional slants as occurring at Colonia Tovar and in the West 
 India Seas, and Maury's Sailing Directions are full of them. 
 Moreover it does not appear that the ashes fell upon St. Lucia, 
 which lies much nearer St. Vincent and N.N.E. from it. This 
 evidence is entitled to no consideration. 
 
 A stronger point is made in relation to the ashes which were 
 thrown out from Cosaguina and fell about Jamaica. In relation 
 to this it may be observed, first, that they too, may have been 
 transported by an occasional slant wind, and second, that an ex- 
 ceptional upper current from the southwest must, to some extent, 
 exist in that vicinity, for the S.E. trades off the northwest coast of 
 South America are deflected, as upon the coasts of Africa and 
 Hindostan, and constitute there a S.W. monsoon, as represented 
 upon the diagram. And here again, to illustrate this, I copy from 
 the record of Dr. Lynes : 
 
 " Sunday 25. 7 A.M., ther. 64, cloudy, cool and pleasant, as 
 the sun shines occasionally. Strong S.E. trades white caps and 
 large swell. Cape Blanco in sight at 8 A.M. ; saw a brig and 
 numerous whales to-day. Wind in afternoon, S.S. W. Ther. hig- 
 est 70, lat. 3 38', long. 81 38'. Miles 188. 
 
 Monday 26. 7 A.M., ther. 69, cloudy, warm but pleasant ; 
 close and muggy, nearly calm and smooth sea. Passed La Plata 
 island at 6 A.M., and Cape Lorenzo at 8J A.M. Crossed the 
 Equator at 3.30 P.M. Quite warm and light breeze from S.W. 
 Ther. highest 76, lat. 27', long. 80 58' W. Miles 196. 
 
 Tuesday 27. 7 A.M., ther. 74, cloudy, warm and pleasant. 
 Sun rose clear, but soon overcast. Light wind from S. W., smooth 
 sea. At 7.15 A.M., passed the English steamer Santiago from 
 Panama, bound south. Hot this P.M., showers. Have run out 
 of the S.E. trades into the S. W. monsoons. Ther. highest 80, 
 lat. 2 29' N., long. 80 16' W. Miles 180. 
 
 Wednesday 28. 7 A.M., ther. 78, cloudy, warm and frequent 
 heavy showers. Light S. W. winds, close and muggy air, sea very 
 smooth but long S. W. swell. Slowed engine to 5J turns yester- 
 
188 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 day, showers all day. Caught a swallow lighted on ship. Then 
 80, lat. 5 3' N., long. 79 50'. Miles 156." 
 
 Now this S.W. monsoon, constituted by a deflection of the 
 S.E. trade on the N.W. coast of South America, continues in all 
 probability and according to all analogy as an upper trade over 
 Jamaica, and carried the ashes there. The same ashes fell on 
 the " Conway" at the same time at a distance of several hundred 
 miles on the Pacific, carried there doubtless by the surface E.N.E. 
 trades. That piece of evidence is also unreliable. 
 
 Lieut. Maury in his " Sailing Directions " and in his " Geog- 
 raphy of the Sea," inferred that the upper trade was a S.W. wind, 
 because of the deposition of dust on southwestern Europe, which 
 contained organic forms known to exist in South America, and 
 which he assumed were taken up into the upper trade by whirl- 
 pillars and tornadoes, and carried thence to Europe. But dry 
 seasons, arid plains, tornadoes and whirl-pillars, occur in Equato- 
 rial and South Africa also. To this effect is the evidence of 
 Livingstone and Du Chaillu, and for aught that appears, the same 
 organic forms exist there. Moreover, the dust falls on a curve 
 which clearly indicates an African origin. And the observations 
 of Fendler and others, show conclusively that the S.E. trades of 
 the Atlantic, except where deflected near the coast of Africa, find 
 their way on to our continent. 
 
 From this review I think it appears that the upper trade con- 
 forms to the direction which it had as a surface trade, until near 
 the outer line of the surface trade, over which it is flowing, when 
 it curves to the eastward, obedient to a law which is hereafter to 
 be considered. 
 
 There is still another important fact to which I wish to call par- 
 ticular attention, before closing this analysis of the great central 
 condition, for it has a special relation to irregularities in the con- 
 ditions of our own climate. I refer to variations in the commence- 
 ment, progress, and extent of the transits of the central belt in 
 different years. This matter was briefly alluded to on page 171 
 with the expression of an intention to resume it. Fendler thus 
 speaks of it : 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 189 
 
 "The dry season commences here, generally, soon after New 
 Years day, and lasts till the end of April. The remainder of the 
 year is taken up by the rainy season. This is generally so, for 
 there are many exceptions, and our notions about the great regu- 
 larity and sharply denned seasons of the tropics, which we have 
 received from books, are sometimes materially upset and correct- 
 ed by experience. When I first came to the colony, in March, 
 1854, we had a dry season in its usual way. The rainy season 
 then commenced on the 23d of April, but it did not end with the 
 latter part of December, as is usually the case ; it lasted till the 
 end of January, and commenced again with the first of March, 
 and then kept uniformly on till the end of December, 1855. The 
 dry season was therefore only of one months duration instead of 
 four. The last dry season, has been, on the contrary, unusually 
 long, and lasted till the latter part of May." 
 
 And Du Chaillu, who travelled in Central Africa, near the 
 Equator, says : 
 
 "The dry season this year, (1864) was an unusual one for 
 the long absence of rain and lowness of the rivers. The negroes 
 have a special name for a season of this sort, calling it enomo 
 onguero ; it lasts five months, and they assure me that it always 
 comes after a long series of dry seasons of the usual length ; we 
 have had a few showers, but they have produced no impression. 
 
 And so Livingstone when he met the descending rainy belt in 
 December, 1853, at Naliele, on his way to Louda, in lat. 15 24', 
 says of it : " The rains began while we were at Naliele ; this is 
 much later than usual." 
 
 And so, when in South Africa, speaking of occasional rains in 
 the Kalahari Desert, he says : " But the most surprising plant of 
 the Desert is the * Kengwe or Kerne,' (Cucumis caffer,) the water- 
 melon. In years when more than the usual quantity of rain falls, 
 vast tracts of the country are literally covered with these melons; 
 this was the case annually when the fall of rain was greater than 
 it is now, and the Bakwains sent trading parties every year to the 
 lake. It happens commonly once every ten or eleven years, and 
 for the last three times its occurrence has coincided with an ex- 
 
190 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 traordinarily wet season. Then animals of every sort and name, 
 including man, rejoice in the rich supply." 
 
 And again on page 135 he says, " Having parted with Sechele, 
 we skirted along the Kalahari Desert, and sometimes within its 
 borders, giving the Boers a wide berth. A larger fall of rain 
 than usual had occurred in 1852, and that was the completion of 
 a cycle of eleven or twelve years, at which the same phenomenon 
 is reported to have happened on three occasions. An unusually 
 large crop of melons had appeared in consequence." 
 
 On this point there is much other evidence, but these extracts 
 will suffice. I enter the facts here as pertaining to the condition. 
 Corresponding irregularities occur in the polar zones and both will 
 be explained hereafter. 
 
 In relation to the movement of the upper stratum of cirrus and 
 cirro-stratus, the evidence is limited. So far as the observations of 
 Gibbon and Herndon upon the Andes, and of Livingstone and 
 Barth in Africa, bear upon the point, they indicate that the move- 
 ment is westerly, and as its movement elsewhere in the northern 
 and southern hemispheres conforms to the path of the conditions 
 beneath it, its movement in that direction may well be analogi- 
 cally assumed. 
 
 And now with a brief resume of the principal facts, thus at 
 length collected and arranged, I will close this analysis of the 
 great central condition. 
 
 I. This condition consists of a central body known as the cen- 
 tral belt of rain, and two areas or wings of wind, known as the 
 trade winds, the whole together, having a westerly movement. 
 
 II The trade-wind south of the body, moves from some point 
 between east and south, towards a corresponding point between 
 west and north, and the trade-wind north of the body, moves from 
 some point between north and east, towards a corresponding point 
 between south and west. 
 
 III. The central condition has an average breadth of about 
 50, and a transit north and south averaging more than 25. 
 Nearly one-half of the central portion of the globe is therefore 
 covered by it, at some seasons of the year. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 191 
 
 IV. The central portion or body averaging more than five hun- 
 dred miles in width, precipitates rain wherever it may be, and 
 gives to the tropical portions of the earth, as it passes over them 
 in its transits, their rainy seasons. 
 
 V. The areas covered by the trade-winds, while so covered, 
 are as a rule dry, except as occasional storms or showers, issuing 
 from the central belt, in the trade, precipitate upon them. 
 
 VI. The polar zones of rains recede before the advancing 
 areas of trade-winds, and return after them as they retire. 
 
 VII. Surfaces which are not covered by the transits of the cen- 
 tral belt of rains, nor the tropical extension of the polar zones of 
 rains, continue dry through the year, and constitute the principal 
 rainless deserts of the world. 
 
 VIII. The trade-winds blow with substantial constancy night 
 and day, when not interrupted by passing storms, and contain scud, 
 and both winds and scud resemble the wind and scud of approach- 
 ing or passing conditions in the polar zones. 
 
 IX. On the west side of the Atlantic, and also on the west side 
 of the Pacific Oceans, the S.E. trades exist in great strength and 
 volume, and blow as surface winds over latitudes which would 
 otherwise be covered by the N.E. trades, up to and connecting 
 with the polar zones of rains. These two exceptional and re- 
 markable volumes of trade give a large and exceptional supply 
 of moisture and fertility, and a peculiar climatology to S.E. North 
 America, and S.E. Asia. And in these remarkable volumes of 
 trade, originate the intense hurricanes of the West Indies, and 
 the typhoons of the China Sea and Bay of Bengal. 
 
 X. Where the S.E. trades originate on arid areas, like that of 
 New Holland, corresponding areas under the north polar zone of 
 rains, like those of southwestern Asia, are dry. And where they 
 originate on continents that are well watered, areas under the 
 same polar zone are less perfectly supplied with moisture than 
 those supplied by trades which originate upon oceans. And where 
 they originate upon continents like that of South America, or 
 upon oceans and are met in their path by lofty mountains, corres- 
 
192 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ponding areas like those of southwestern North America, and the 
 Desert of Gobi in Asia, and Peru in South America, are found. 
 
 XI. The body of the central condition is composed, 1st of an 
 overlying stratum of cirrus and cirro-stratus, extending in a more 
 misty form, to a greater or less extent, out over the trades. This 
 stratum is usually misty or fibre-cirrus in the morning, becoming 
 dense and assuming a cirro-stratus form, as the day advances. 
 Under this stratum the trades pass and afterwards overlie each 
 other, and in the trades occasionally, though rarely, in the morn- 
 ing, but generally in the afternoon or night, thunder-showers form 
 and furnish the rains peculiar to the belt. These showers have a 
 westerly progression, corresponding to that of the trade in which 
 they are formed. Beneath the trades where they meet and pass 
 each other, it is either calm or there are squalls or gusts or slant 
 winds, incidental to showers or storms as everywhere. 
 
 XII. The northern transit of the condition is usually complet- 
 ed about the first of August, and the southern tran-it commenced 
 before the middle of that month. So the southern transit is 
 usually completed about the first of February, and the northern 
 transit commenced before the loth. But in respect to these, and 
 also in respect to the rapidity and extent of the transits, there are 
 some irregularities, occasioned by a cause which could not be con- 
 sidered without anticipating. 
 
 XIII. There is no vortex in the central belt. The theory of 
 Halley was originally but a mere assumption, and is not support- 
 ed by any facts since discovered. Observation, analogy, and 
 every known fact, when properly understood, are inconsistent with 
 and adverse to it. No man, in the light of facts now known, can 
 believe it, and be honest with himself. No man acquainted with 
 the facts, can teach it, and be honest with others. 
 
 Having thus examined, and I hope comprehended, the nature, 
 extent, and essential features and elements, of the great fundamen- 
 tal, permanent, and controlling CENTRAL CONDITION, we are pre- 
 pared to return to the polar zones, and a further examination of 
 them. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Re-statement of the fact that the normal or natural state of the polar zones, 
 is dry, fair weather, and that they have no independent arrangement for 
 a supply of moisture Heat, as a mechanical agent, does not do it It is 
 effected by passing conditions which originate in, or result from, the fun- 
 damental, tropical condition Some conditions, which originate in the 
 central helt, and others which originate in the polar zones, reach the Arctic 
 Circles, retaining all their essential elements Copy from Dr. Kane's rec- 
 ord during the absence of the sun, to prove it Analysis of two recorded 
 storms Halley's theory requires the belief that the sun creates storms 
 where there is no sunshine, and American Meteorologists hold and teach 
 the absurdity practical men, whose profession or business trains them in 
 the logic of cause and effect, know better Storms met with by Dr. Kane 
 probably originated upon the Pacific Storms originate in the polar zones, 
 where there is a sufficient volume of upper trade Where there is not suf- 
 ficient volume, stormy conditions do not occur Recapitulation of the 
 proof furnished by the changes which occur in our own country The ir- 
 regularities of the central condition produce irregularities in our zone 
 One of the principal irregularities is drouth Four classes of drouth at- 
 tributable to such irregular action The first class occur in spring, north 
 of the focal path occasioned by the retarded progress of that path to the 
 north most common east of the Alleghany Mountains and upon the 
 northeastern states Second class produced by the unusually extended 
 transit and concentration of the focal path This class are south of that 
 path such was the drouth of 1854 The third class are meridional occur 
 in the interior of the country produced by the concentration of the upper 
 trade and a succession of conditions upon the Atlantic coast such was 
 the drouth of 1867 The fourth class are found on the Atlantic coast only, 
 occasioned by an extension of the outer limits of the N.E. trades occur 
 in July and August only Limited and local drouths tendency to them 
 in certain localities northern part of the Gulf States south coast of New 
 England Configuration sometimes produces them also the passage of 
 successive belts of showers in the morning Such belts if of weak inten- 
 sity, do not precipitate where they are vertical in the morning Instances 
 of such irregular precipitation Want of data for a thorough elucidation 
 of drouths a history of them by Mr. Flint, Secretary of Board of Agri- 
 
11)4 TllE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 culture, Massachusetts Examination of that history Are there any facts 
 which will guide us to a knowledge of these irregularities ? Some of them 
 connected with spots upon the sun Description of those spots and of 
 Schwabe's investigation Tables and observations given by him not per- 
 fect or satisfactory nevertheless the connection with the irregularities of 
 the system apparent Comparison of the table of spots with the transits of 
 the focal paths of the conditions Effect upon the mean fall of rain Effect 
 upon temperature Extended examination of the subject, in various local- 
 ities and under various circumstances Examination of facts which seem 
 to militate against the connection Properly understood, the facts are not 
 adverse, because consequent upon irregular transits Extended examina- 
 tion of the whole subject Connection between the spots and the irregular 
 action of the whole system Inquiry whether there are any other forces 
 or causes which affect the system Volcanic action its influence probable 
 Extended examination of the question Influence of the moon upon 
 the weather Popular opinion upon the subject Such an opinion requir- 
 ing careful examination No such influence can be traced, upon such ex- 
 amination No facts from which it can be analogically or philosophically 
 presumed. 
 
 We have in what has already appeared ample evidence of the 
 truth of our first proposition, that the normal or natural state of 
 the polar zones is dry, fair weather, and that they have no inde- 
 pendent arrangement for producing storms, and a supply of moist- 
 ure. Heat, as we have seen, as a mechanical agent, produces no 
 vortices or storms on deserts, or on fertile surfaces during their 
 dry seasons however hot. The distribution of moisture in the polar 
 zones, is effected by passing, irregular, and limited conditions, which 
 occasion all the incidental changes of the weather, and those condi- 
 tions originate in, or result from the action of the fundamental, 
 central condition. That condition sends off its storms and they 
 traverse for days the polar zones up to and into the Arctic Circle. 
 Although no one has traced a storm from the central belt of rains 
 to the Arctic Circle, they have been traced by several American 
 minds, into high northern latitudes, as far as settlements or com- 
 merce have enabled them to obtain evidence, moving with dimin- 
 ished but still sufficient strength to reach the circle. And the 
 conditions appear there with every element and feature which 
 they possess in lower latitudes, and appear when the oceans are 
 locked up with ice, the surface covered with snow, and the sun 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYaTEM. 
 
 195 
 
 has not shone for weeks, and the temperature is between 25 and 
 30 below zero. Look now upon the following record from Dr. 
 Kane's Register, kept during the Grinnell expedition. 
 
 JANUARY 1851, (LATITUDE ABOUT 74, LONGITUDE ABOUT 70). 
 
 Date. 
 
 Wind. 
 
 Force. 
 
 Ther. 
 
 Bar. 
 
 Sky and Weather. 
 
 Jan. 3 
 
 
 calm. 
 
 26.1 
 
 29.62 
 
 blue sky in. 
 
 4 
 
 W. 
 
 gent, breeze. 
 
 21.3 
 
 29.53 
 
 blue sky, detached clouds, m. 
 
 5 
 
 W. by N. 
 
 gent, breeze. 
 
 - 3.9 
 
 29.59 
 
 blue sky. in. clouded over. 
 
 6 
 
 W. by S. 
 
 light breeze. 
 
 0.8 
 
 29.67 
 
 clouded over, m., snow. 
 
 7 
 
 W. 
 
 gent, breeze. 
 
 14.4 
 
 29.96 
 
 blue sky, detached clouds, m. 
 
 8 
 
 w.s.w. 
 
 light air. 
 
 21.2 
 
 30.14 
 
 blue sky, m. 
 
 29 
 
 W.N.W. 
 
 light air. 
 
 -18.9 
 
 30.19 
 
 blue sky. 
 
 30 
 
 N.W. by W. 
 
 light air. 
 
 -13.5 
 
 30.17 
 
 clouded over, m. 
 
 31 
 
 N.W. by W. 
 
 gent, breeze. 
 
 4.4 
 
 29.35 
 
 clouded over, snow. 
 
 Feb. 1 
 
 W. 
 
 light breeze. 
 
 11.7 
 
 29.27 
 
 cloudy, blue sky, m. 
 
 ' 2 
 
 W. 
 
 light air. 
 
 25.1 
 
 29.62 
 
 blue sky, detached clouds, m. 
 
 Observe that on the third of January, when the sun had not 
 been above the horizon for 40 days, the air was calm, the sky 
 cloudless but misty (that state being indicated by the letter m,) 
 the thermometer at 26 below zero, the barometer at 29.62 a 
 pleasant arctic day. The next day a breeze sprang up from the 
 west, the thermometer began to rise, the barometer to fall, de- 
 tached clouds to appear, whether cirrus or cirro-stratus, the record 
 does not state, probably the former. The next day the breeze 
 continued, the thermometer rose rapidly and the sky clouded over. 
 During the following 24 hours, the thermometer continued to rise, 
 and snow fell. During the next 24 hours, the thermometer fell, 
 the barometer rose rapidly, and the blue sky, with its detached 
 clouds (scud doubtless) appeared again. On the next day, the 
 thermometer Was down, the barometer up, the a r nearly calm 
 and the sky cloudless. 
 
 Now here we have the record of a distinct, passing condition, 
 exhibiting every essential feature. We have the precise condi- 
 tion which often occurs in our own latitude, with the same changes 
 of state. The rise and fall of the thermometer from the fair day 
 before, to the fair day after the storm, was substantially the same 
 as is common with us, and all the phenomena are substantially the 
 
196 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 same. It is rare with us, in midwinter, that the thermometer 
 rises more than 25, prior to, and during a midwinter snow-storm. 
 Another storm of similar character, commenced on the 29th of 
 the same month, differing in no respect except that the rise of the 
 thermometer was somewhat less, and the fall of the barometer 
 greater. It would seem too much for the intellect of the most 
 determined and exclusive disciple of Halley to assume that such 
 a process could be originated or continued under such circumstan- 
 ces, by the mere mechanical effect of heat from the rays of an 
 absent sun. But it is not. The doctrine which Professors 
 Henry and Loomis, and other American Meteorologists persis- 
 tently hold and teach, includes all storms everywhere, and com- 
 pels them to attribute such effects to sunshine where there is no 
 sunshine. But practical reader, our professions and business have 
 trained us in the logic of cause and effect, and we know that these 
 storms could not have originated there from such a cause. And 
 we also /enow that if, as is probable, they originated in lower lat- 
 itudes, and travelled there, they must have passed through a cold 
 atmosphere, and over a snow clad surface of at least 1000 miles, 
 and could not have been kept in continued activity, by ascending 
 currents of air, produced by sun-heated land. Nor could the dis- 
 tinguishing elevation of the thermometer during the storms, have 
 been produced by any direct action of the sun. There has not 
 been, since the serpent whispered in the ear of Eve, a grosser de- 
 lusion, or one more persistently taught and sustained, without 
 evidence and against evidence. It is impossible for an honest 
 mind to have patience with it, and be true to its best impulses. 
 
 Before I leave these storms let me observe that they undoubt- 
 edly originated upon the Pacific Ocean. The only winds which 
 accompanied them were from the western quarter. They had not 
 sufficient intensity to produce a strong wind, laterally or in oppo- 
 sition, and in snow-storms of such weak intensity, in high lati- 
 tudes, in our own country, the wind conforms substantially to the 
 path of the storm. Doubtless it did so in those described. 
 
 But all the conditions experienced in the polar zones, do not 
 originate within the central belt. The largest proportion of them, 
 
THE ATMOSPHKRIC SYSTEM. 197 
 
 and some of the most violent, commence and assume form and 
 character, at or beyond the outer limit of the surface trade. Such 
 was the Cincinnati hurricane described. But the great central 
 condition sends forth the volume of upper trade which is the basis 
 of all such incidental conditions, and therefore they result from it. 
 Where no sufficient volume of that upper or counter trade issues 
 forth, or traverses the polar zones no such incidental, stormy con- 
 ditions are known. It is instructive to retrace these results, (al- 
 though already traced) upon our own country. Thus, in mid- 
 winter, when the central condition moves far to the south, the 
 S.E. trades of the Atlantic are intercepted by the mountuns in 
 the southeastern portion of Brazil, and the Andean ranges of 
 western Venezuela and Columbia, and all the states of the union, 
 east of the Rocky Mountains, except the Gulf States east of the 
 Mississippi, and the Atlantic states northeast of them, are compar- 
 atively dry. The incidental conditions which pass over them are 
 occasional and feeble. As the great central condition returns to 
 the north, and the S.E. trades originate higher u[:on the Atlantic, 
 a rainy season progresses to the westward over Texas, and curves 
 to the N.W. over western Arkansas and Missouri, and so on to 
 the northeastward. And gradually, as the central condition moves 
 farther north, the pa'h of the conditions is gradually extended 
 westward and northwestward until August and September, when, 
 if the transit has not been interrupted, New Mexico and all the 
 northwestern 'states are reached by the curving conditions, and re- 
 ceive their summer rains. And when the central condition de- 
 scends again to the south, the path of our polar conditions is grad- 
 ually contracted down again upon the southeastern states. The 
 same thing occurs upon the Pacific Coast. The paths of their 
 conditions, constituting a distinct system, ascending and descend- 
 ing with the movements of the central condition. And so it is 
 everywhere in like circumstances, in both hemispheres, and in 
 both polar zones. So, from the action of the central condition, 
 all our incidental conditions, with their attendant phenomena, 
 constituting the weather result. And irregularities in the move- 
 ments and operations of the central condition, produce correspond- 
 
198 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ing irregularities in the polar zones. Let us look at those irreg- 
 ularities as they occur in this country. 
 
 One of the most noticeable and important irregularities to which 
 we are subject, is that of Drouth. When these are extensive, 
 unseasonable anl long continued, they may prima facie be at- 
 tributed to irregularities in the action of the central condition ; for 
 as our fall of rain at any given point depends mainly upon the 
 volume of counter or upper trade passing over it, any irregularity 
 in the central condition, which interrupts the usual supply of that 
 trade at that point, must necessarily produce a drouth there. 
 
 There are four classes of drouth of extensive character, which 
 can be directly traced to irregular action of the central condition. 
 The first clas.i occur in the spring of the year, when the transit 
 of the central condition to the north is delayed, and the volume 
 of upper trade remains concentrated upon the southeastern states. 
 Such drouths are mo<t common in the early part of the decade, 
 following open winters, and are greatly injurious to crops of hay 
 and winter grain. Such a drouth occurred in the Spring of 18G2, 
 and it was very dry in all the northern states, while McClellan 
 and his army were nearly drowned out on the Chickahominy. 
 This class of drouths are most common in the northeastern states, 
 because the focal path does not move up there as early as it does 
 to the westward of the mountains, and often seems rather to con- 
 tract down in March and April. 
 
 Another class of drouths are produced by an unusually extend- 
 ed transit and concentration of the central condition to the north 
 and west in summer, carrying the path of the conditions farther 
 to the west and north, and leaving the southeastern portion of 
 the United States comparatively dry. Such was the drouth of 
 1854, which has been fully described. That too occurred in an 
 early year of the decade, and was connected with an excessive 
 transit of the central condition. 
 
 The third class of drouths are meridional, depending upon a 
 concentration of the volume of counter trade, and a succession of 
 storms issuing out of the central belt, and passing up on the east- 
 ern coast of the United States. Such a condition of things exist- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 199 
 
 ed in 1867, when a severe drouth covered the interior states from 
 Texas to Canada, and the Atlantic states were drenched by a suc- 
 cession of tropical storms, which passed up the coast, reaching 
 inland a few hundred miles. 
 
 A fourth class which sometimes extends as far north as New 
 England, are confined mainly to the Atlantic coast, are accompa- 
 nied by a dry northeast wind, and are evidently produced by an 
 unusual and temporary extension of the outer limit of the N.E. 
 trade, as high up as 41 or 42 off the Atlantic coast. I have 
 known such a temporary extension with its easterly wind to last 
 17 or 18 days. But the few others that I have known have 
 ranged from a week to ten days. The heavens are never more 
 brassy than during the short drouths dependent upon this cause. 
 
 There are also limited drouths depending upon local causes. 
 
 There is a known tendency to drouths in the summer season, 
 in the Gulf States, upon the area which for the time being is left 
 uncovered by upper trade, in consequence of its extension to the 
 north and west in midsummer. The drouth of 1854, to which I 
 have alluded, commenced upon that area, and extended north and 
 west, as I have shown by diagrams. The line between this local 
 drouth arid the northern line of the central belt which extends up 
 on to Florida and the Gulf Coast in midsummer, is sometimes 
 very sharply defined. Thus, at New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Mobile, 
 Fort Brook, St. Augustine, and Savannah, the rain-fall may be 
 heavy, when upon an east and west line, one hundred miles to 
 the north of them, a severe drouth may prevail. This drouth, 
 like the others we have mentioned, although apparently local, de- 
 pends upon a degree of the same action of the central condition, 
 as that which produced the drouth of 1854. 
 
 There is a local tendency to drouths upon the southern corKt 
 of New England, and the fall of rain is materially less in the 
 summer than upon the more elevated ridges to the north of it. 
 This is so well recognised a fact, as to be represented upon all the 
 hyetal charts of the country. It is painful to hear people in New 
 England complain of the apparently excessive rain-fall of the 
 
200 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 rainy season in May and June, when there is a certainty that the 
 springs and wells will need it all in July and August. 
 
 Other local drouths seem to depend upon the manner in which 
 belts of showers distribute their rain. The eastern and middle 
 states of the union are supplied with rain in summer, in normal 
 seasons, mainly by passing belts of showers. These belts are 
 very irregular in their action. Sometimes, they precipitate heav- 
 ily in the afternoon and early part of the night only, and then the 
 area over which they pass during the latter part of the night and 
 morning, will receive little or no rain from them. Thus, the first 
 condition which I have described of August, 1859, deposited about 
 an inch and a half of rain at Buffalo and Rochester in the after- 
 noon and night of the 3d, and nearly three inches at Amherst in 
 the afternoon and night of the 4th, but it deposited very little 
 rain at many of the intermediate places where the focus was ver- 
 tical in the forenoon. Harvard received a trifle more than an 
 inch, and Providence .75 of an inch. PYom the second belt, which 
 passed during the first half of August, there fell on the llth at 
 Buffalo, .277 in. on the 12th and 13th, at Waterford 1.28 in. 
 at Amherst 1.121 in., but at Harvard only .171. These differ- 
 ences are very considerable, and show that the fall is heaviest 
 from the belts where their focus is vertical in the latter part of 
 the afternoon and evening, and inconsiderable where it is vertical 
 during the early part of the day. In this there is conformity to 
 the manner in which the rain falls, under the great central belt of 
 the tropics. Configuration also, undoubtedly has an influence. 
 The elevations of the interior of New England, receive a larger 
 rain-fall in summer than the depressed and more level coast. 
 Hills and mountains increase the intensity and precipitation of 
 the cloud belts as they pass over them, and that precipitation is 
 still further increased, by the surface atmosphere and scud, which 
 are drawn to them by the increased intensity, especially if that 
 surface atmosphere is drawn from an extensive moist and evapo- 
 rating surface. 
 
 This branch of the subject is one of much interest and would 
 justify a more lengthy development, if I had space for it. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. . 201 
 
 It is obvious that if the successive passing belts for a month or 
 more, should all be of weak intensity and focal in the early part 
 of the day, over a given area, that area would have comparatively 
 little rain, although fifty miles to the east, and the same distance 
 west of it, the supply might be sufficient. Configuration, or loca- 
 tion with reference to large bodies of water, may neutralize, to 
 some extent, but not materially change the result. 
 
 The materials and data for a comprehensive and thorough ex- 
 amination of the drouths of this country, do not exist. The rec- 
 ords of the weather, prior to this century are too few and imper- 
 fect, and confined to a few localities. The same is measurably 
 true of the first three decades of this century. The records since 
 accumulated by the Smithsonian Institution and the War Depart- 
 ment, if continued, will furnish the next generation ample data 
 for their elucidation, and that may throw very much additional 
 light upon the whole subject. 
 
 Something of interest in this direction has been done. Mr. 
 Charles L. Flint, the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, in 
 Massachusetts, instigated by the extraordinary drouth of 1854, 
 sought out all the old records which could be found, examined 
 them, and embodied the result of his examination in his report to 
 the Board, for the year 1854. His history of the drouths, com- 
 mences with the settlement of the country, and is very interesting. 
 I have tabulated them, but have not space for the tables. About 
 50 severe drouths are noticed, commencing with the year 1623, 
 and extending to 1854. Of these, nearly two-thirds were sum- 
 mer drouths, occurring between the middle of June and the 1st 
 of September, ending usually with heavy rains in the latter part 
 .of August, and apparently owing, like that of 1854, to a con- 
 centration of the conditions on the focal path, to the west and 
 north. Nearly one-third were spring drouths, apparently due .to 
 the detention of the focal path at the south, on the Atlantic coast, 
 and its undue extension to the northwest, to which we have 
 also referred. A few continued through the whole season, and 
 were probably due to a meridional diversion of the upper trade, 
 like that which occasioned the interior drouth of 1867. The re- 
 10 
 
202 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 maining ones were for shorter periods and obviously local. I 
 would commend the history of Mr. Flint to a careful examina- 
 tion by those who feel an interest in the subject, and de.sire to in- 
 vestigate it, in connection with the data and principles I have 
 given, and the later and more extensive records which are, or 
 will be, at their command. Doubtless there is much of great 
 practical moment to be yet discovered in that direction. 
 
 Having thus alluded to the irregularities in the operation of 
 the system, and their influence upon the polar zones, I proceed 
 to inquire whether there are any other facts which will guide us 
 to their cause, and aid us in the further inquiry yet to be made, 
 how far can we prognosticate the weather? 
 
 I do not purpose to inquire yet into the nature of the motive 
 force of the system, but to confine myself, as hitherto, to the facts 
 and a development of the system as matter of fact ; and as matter 
 of fact, we must enquire whether there are any changes of the 
 sun's surface, affecting its power, and whether there is any connec- 
 tion between those changes and the irregular action of the system. 
 
 Whatever the nature of the motive-force or its manner of ope- 
 ration may be, it is certain that it emanates from the sun. The 
 semi-annual transits of the whole system from south to north, and 
 from north to south, following the sun in its transits from tropic 
 to tropic, as well as the time of the diurnal changes, showing in 
 a lesser degree, but with equal certainty, its influence, all point 
 unerringly to that great luminary, as the controlling source of the 
 power. If the planets have any influence, it has not been detect- 
 ed. Of the influence of the moon, I shall speak in another place. 
 
 Irregularities in the operation of the system, must of course 
 be referred to irregular action of the power which controls it, as 
 affected or modified by other influences. What knowledge have 
 we of that irregular action, or of such other influences ? 
 
 Our knowledge of the sun" is yet imperfect. We feel and know 
 its heating power ; we know that we are mainly dependent upon 
 it for light, and we can detect and trace its magnetic influence. 
 We know that its surface is not uniformly the same ; that it is 
 sometimes partiaHy obscured by dark spots, and at other times its 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 203' 
 
 surface is mottled by dark dots or pores. The former occur in 
 cycles, and increase and decrease with substantial regularity, and 
 their connection with the irregularities in the operation of the 
 atmospheric system is clearly traceable. This part of our sub- 
 ject has great significance, in respect to the laws of the system, 
 as well as to the elements of prognostication, both to be hereafter 
 considered. Let us then inquire carefully into the nature of these 
 irregularities upon the surface of the sun, their cycles, and their 
 connection with the irregular action of the system. 
 
 " When the sun is examined through a telescope, its surface is 
 found to be marked by black spots, edged with a penumbral fringe 
 of uniform shade ; they appear sometimes singly, sometimes in 
 groups. These spots are not permanent, but undergo changes of 
 form from day to day, or even from hour to hour, indicating a 
 gaseous form of matter. They seldom last longer than six weeks, 
 and often only a few hours. They are seen to break out and en- 
 large, or to contract and disappear, and occasionally one is observed 
 to divide into several. When they disappear, the black centre or 
 nucleus always vanishes before the penumbra. Mr. Dawes, an 
 English observer, has noticed a violent whirling going on in some 
 of the spots. Father Secchi, of the Roma-n College, describes 
 one as presenting a filamentous aspect, the filaments seeming like 
 currents, and appearing to describe spiral curves. Their size is 
 sometimes enormous. Mayer records having seen one in 1758, 
 whose diameter was $ that of the sun, and Secchi thinks some 
 spots are deeper than the earth's radius. They are not scattered 
 promiscuously over the surface of the sun, but are almost entirely 
 confined to a belt of 25, on either side of the equator, the north- 
 ern being much the favorite hemisphere. The zone of 3 north, 
 and 3 south of the equator, is nearly barren of spots. This dis- 
 tribution suggests the idea that they may be connected somehow 
 with the rotation of the sun ; and Sir John Herschel infers the 
 existence of a movement in the solar atmosphere, analagous to 
 our trade-winds. According to Langier, they seem to have a 
 motion of approach toward the nearest pole , and these motions 
 are strikingly correspondent on opposite sides of the equator, a 
 fact which lends confirmation to Herschel's opinion. 
 
204 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 "Often before disappearing, the spots undergo lemarkable 
 changes. Ridges of light are seen to dart across the chasm, split- 
 ting it into many parts, and these have been known to separate 
 from each other and dart along in new and disturbed paths. 
 Here again is suggested an analogy to our trade-winds. Schwabe 
 of Dessau, by a most persevering study of the spots for upward 
 of a third of a century, during which he has recorded the num- 
 ber visible on each day, for nearly 300 days in each year, arrived 
 at a remarkable law of periodicity affecting them. They are 
 found to gradually increase in number up to a certain period, and 
 then to decrease to a certain period, and then to increase again, 
 and so on. The cycle is completed, according to this investiga- 
 tion, in 10 years." 
 
 There is much in the foregoing extract from the article " Sun," 
 in the New American Cyclopedia, which is suggestive. The 
 reader will perceive that the sun presents to the view of the 
 world, a great central condition, analogous in some respects to 
 that great central condition in our own atmosphere, which is 
 doubtless observable upon other peopled planets. But our busi- 
 ness now is with the spots and their relation to our atmospheric 
 system. The following is the table of Schwabe referred 10. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Groups 
 of spots. 
 
 Days sho'ing 
 no spots. 
 
 Days of Ob- 
 servation. 
 
 1826 
 
 118 
 
 22 
 
 277 
 
 1827 
 
 161 
 
 2 
 
 273 
 
 1828 
 
 226 
 
 
 
 282 
 
 1829 
 
 199 
 
 
 
 244 
 
 1830 
 
 190 
 
 1 
 
 217 
 
 1831 
 
 149 
 
 3 
 
 239 
 
 1832 
 
 84 
 
 49 
 
 270 
 
 1833 
 
 33 
 
 139 
 
 267 
 
 1834 
 
 61 
 
 120 
 
 273 
 
 1835 
 
 173 
 
 18 
 
 244 
 
 1836 
 
 272 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 1837 
 
 333 
 
 
 
 168 
 
 1838 
 
 282 
 
 
 
 202 
 
 1839 
 
 1B2 
 
 
 
 205 
 
 1840 
 
 152 
 
 3 
 
 263 
 
 1841 
 
 1(12 
 
 15 
 
 283 
 
 1842 
 
 08 
 
 64 
 
 307 
 
 1843 
 
 34 
 
 149 
 
 312 
 
 1844 
 
 52 
 
 111 
 
 321 
 
 1845 
 
 114 
 
 29 
 
 332 
 
 1846 
 
 157 
 
 1 
 
 314 
 
 1847 
 
 257 
 
 
 
 276 
 
 1848 
 
 330 
 
 
 
 278 
 
 1849 
 
 238 
 
 
 
 2H5 
 
 1850 
 
 186 
 
 2 
 
 3^8 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 205 
 
 To it I append his comments upon the connection between the spots 
 and the weather. 
 
 " I observed large spots, visible to the naked eye, in almost all 
 the years not characterized by the minimum ; the largest appeared 
 in 1828, 18H9, 1831, 1&36, 1837, 1838, 1*39, 1847, 1848. I re- 
 gard all spots, whose diameter exceeds 50", as large, and it is 
 only when of such a size that they begin to be visible to even the 
 keenest unaided sight. 
 
 <% The spots are, undoubtedly, closely connected with the forma- 
 tion of faculse, for I have often observed faculre, or narben, formed 
 at the same points from whence the spots had disappeared, while 
 new solar spots were also developed within the faculae. Every 
 spot is surrounded by a more or less bright, luminous cloud. I do 
 not think that the spots exert any influence on the annual tem- 
 perature. I register the height of the barometer and thermometer 
 three times in the course of each day, but the annual mean num- 
 bers deduced from their observations have not hitherto indicated 
 any appreciable connection between the temperature and the num- 
 ber of the spots. Nor, indeed, would any importance be due to the 
 apparent indication of such a connection in individual cases, unless 
 the results were found to correspond with others derived from many 
 different parts of the earth. If the solar spots exert any slight 
 influence on our atmosphere, my tables would, perhaps, rather 
 tend to show that the years which exhibit a larger number of 
 spots had a smaller number of fine days than those exhibiting few 
 spots." 
 
 I have copied the remarks of Schwabe, in respect to the effect 
 of the spots upon the mean annual temperature, that the reader 
 may see the result to which he came. But his observations were 
 confined to a single locality, and as he on the one hand was cor- 
 rectly of opinion that if he had discovered a connection it would 
 have been of little importance as an individual case, so, on the 
 other hand it is of little importance that he did not discover the 
 connection, if the fact is clearly discernible in other and different 
 parts of the earth. That it must exist is inferrible from the effect 
 
206 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 of obscuration by an eclipse, and that it is so discernible may, 
 I think, be demonstrated. 
 
 In the first place, 1 he table demonstrates that there is a cycle 
 or period during which the spots increase, and another during 
 which they decrease. This appears from the table of Schwabe 
 to be a ten year period. But there is an observable difference in 
 the regularity of their increase and decrease, and their number 
 in the different decades. 
 
 In the second place, the influence of these spots upon the mag- 
 netic effect of the sun uppn the magnetism of the earth, is clearly 
 ascertained and generally conceded. All the magnetic elements 
 increase and decrease in strength pari passu, with the increase 
 and decrease of spots. Different investigators have arrived at 
 different results, in respect to the length of the period from one 
 magnetic maximum or minimum to another, but I suspect that 
 this is owing mainly to the fact that they have selected different 
 periods for their observations. Looking at the table of Schwabe, 
 we see that there is a difference in relation to the number and 
 size of the spots, in different decades, as for example : the table 
 commences with the year 1826, when the number of spots was 
 but 118. In 1836, the number was 272, and in 1846, it was but 
 157. Again the greatest number of spots during the decade 
 from 1820 to 1830, was in 1828, but the greatest number for the 
 decade from 1830 to 1840, occurred in 1837, and again, in the 
 decade between 1840 and 1850, in 1848. The difference be- 
 tween the maxima was in one case, 9 years, and in the other 11. 
 I think scientists have overlooked the fact that the difference of 
 time between the maxima may be more or less than 10 years, 
 while the mean period may be, as it appears to be, a decadal one. 
 
 The effect of these spots upon the mean temperature of the 
 year, upon the seasons, and upon many of the atmospheric con- 
 ditions, although somewhat masked by the operation of other 
 causes, and although the observations of Schwabe were in impor- 
 tant respects, imperfect, and do not afford all the information 
 which can be obtained in that direction, because they do not give 
 the amount of daily or yearly obscuration, is clearly traceable. I 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 207 
 
 trust the time is not distant, when the sum of the daily and yearly 
 obscuration the gist of the matter will be ascertained. 
 
 The spots were not as numerous during the decade from 1820 
 to 1830, as during the subsequent decades. That was a very 
 warm decade, the mean temperature of the northern hemisphere 
 ranging several degrees higher, than during the preceding or sub- 
 sequent one. It was consequently a peiiod when epidemics were 
 prevalent, and the cholera spread from India all over the north- 
 ern hemisphere, arriving in this country in 1832. During the sub- 
 sequent decade, which I will call for the purpose of distinction, 
 the solar decade, from 1833 to 1843, the spots were more numer- 
 ous, and the season correspondingly cold and peculiar, in both 
 hemispheres. I copy from a meteorological register kept at Rio 
 Janeiro, in lat 22 S., a locality as little likely to be affected by 
 disturbing influences as any,the following means of tempera- 
 ture from 1832 to 1843, comparing them with the spots, adding a 
 few others taken from tables published in this country: 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 1832 
 
 1833 
 
 1834 
 
 1835 
 
 1833 
 
 1837 
 
 1838 
 
 1839 
 
 1840 1841 
 
 152 1 102 
 77.7 ^770 
 51.2 61.2 
 47.8 |478 
 55.9 55 9 
 41.093943 
 44.82 42.93 
 | 
 
 1842 
 
 68 
 783 
 ISA 
 475 
 
 574 
 38.82 
 43.39 
 
 
 Groups of spots 
 
 84 
 77.2 
 51.5 
 47.S 
 56.1 
 41.93 
 45.85 
 
 33 
 79.5 
 51.5 
 48.5 
 56.8 
 41.34 
 47.95 
 
 51 
 77.3 
 510 
 
 48.5 
 55.4 
 41.16 
 47.09 
 
 173 
 
 75.7 
 49.6 
 470 
 51.9 
 40.08 
 43.41 
 
 272 
 
 76.8 
 49.6 
 45.2 
 54.6 
 37.03 
 42.96 
 
 333 
 
 75.5 
 49.1 
 46.1 
 54,9 
 36.46 
 43.96 
 
 282 
 76.7 
 503 
 474 
 53.7 
 37.90 
 41.75 
 
 162 
 
 76.0 
 51.2 
 48.1 
 65.6 
 41.71 
 4720 
 
 
 Ann'l Tern . at R. Janeiro 
 ' Ft. Columbus 
 ' New Bedford,. 
 ' St. Louis, 
 ' Ft. Brady,.... 
 ' Ft. Snelling,.. 
 
 A comparison of the number of spots during the solar decade, 
 from 1843 to 1854, or so long as Schwabe observed, at a few se- 
 lected points, least liable to be affected by transient causes, gives 
 the following result : 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 1844 
 
 1845 
 
 1846 
 
 1847 
 
 1848 
 
 1849 
 
 1 
 1850 1851 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Solar spots, 
 
 52 
 6384 
 42.62 
 52.03 
 56.07 
 65.97 
 
 114 
 63.31 
 
 45.70 
 53.88 
 57.20 
 55.71 
 
 157 
 
 6408 
 48.23 
 52.28 
 56.76 
 55.86 
 
 257 
 61.06 
 41.83 
 52.32 
 
 52.95 
 
 330 
 61.56 
 42.46 
 52.34 
 55.00 
 53.49 
 
 238 
 61.60 
 42.27 
 5022 
 54.00 
 53.13 
 
 186 1 
 62 03 62.98 
 44.3046.M 
 50.93 52.15 
 55.4856.01 
 53.72 54.63 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 Ft. Washita, 
 Ft. Snelling, 
 
 Ft. Columbus, 
 
 Jefferson Barracks, 
 St. Louis Arsenal 
 
208 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 I have selected the foregoing observations of the mean temper- 
 ature, at points where I think the accounts are most reliable, and 
 least influenced by other causes. Implicit reliance cannot be 
 placed upon such observations, as will be apparent from compar- 
 ison of the observations at St. Louis, by Dr. Engleman, and those 
 at St. I^ouis Arsenal, which are but three miles distant from each 
 other, and at Jefferson Barracks which is ten miles from St. Louis. 
 
 Two things are very apparent from careful observation of these 
 tables. In the first place, that there is a decrease of the mean 
 annual temperature, corresponding to an increase of the solar 
 spots, and a corresponding increase of temperature as these spots 
 decrease. And second, that the temperature rises highest during 
 the solar decade, when the spots are least numerous. These 
 movements in temperature although they do not conform precise- 
 ly to the increase and decrease of spots, show clearly a connec- 
 tion between them. It may, and probably will be ascertained 
 hereafter, that these irregularities which may be attributed to 
 other causes, are owing to irregularities in the size of the spots, 
 for you may have observed that Schwabe gives the number of 
 groups which he observed during the year, but does not give 
 their comparative size, nor furnish as I have said, any reliable 
 comparison of the amount of obscuration. 
 
 In connection with this subject, it is important you should un- 
 derstand a fact which is disclosed by the tables. In every decade, 
 the year preceding or succeeding the minimum of spots, or that 
 in which the minimum occurs, is colder than the latter year. 
 
 In the " Philosophy of the Weather," I ventured to assume, 
 that the fact might be owing to a more extended transit to the 
 south, of the atmospheric system in winter, when the spots were 
 least numerous. The depression of the thermometer in January 
 and February, or February and March, at stations where other 
 causes were least likely to operate, renders that assumption highly 
 probable. The following table of temperature in February, taken 
 from the observations at Fort Snelling, which lies so far to the 
 N.W. as to be less influenced by other causes, tends to show this : 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 209 
 
 In 1822 the mean temperature for February was 
 " 1823 cold year, 
 " 1824 
 
 19.92 
 5.95 
 14.20 
 
 1 1 04 
 
 1832 cold year, 
 " 1833 - 
 
 6.46 
 20.93 
 
 " 1842 it was ... 
 " 1843 cold year, 
 " 1844 
 
 19.54 
 2.01 
 22.33 
 
 And the same fact was true to a greater or less degree of the 
 other representative stations selected. 
 
 Since that work was written, Livingstone's travels in South 
 Africa have been published. It appears from his description, 
 already copied, that once in ten, eleven, or twelve years, such a 
 transit of the atmospheric system is experienced there, and the 
 central zone of rains is carried down over the Kalahari Desert, 
 producing a periodical and extraordinary growth of wild melons. 
 
 The importance which may justly be attached to this part of 
 the subject, will justify and require a more extensive and careful 
 examination of it. Reliable tables of temperature for the last 
 century were very few, and for this century also, in the western 
 states, until the practice of recording observations was instituted 
 at the Military Posts of the country, by the War Department in 
 1826. Mr. Blodget in his Climatology, has selected from such 
 records as were accessible and reliable, and I copy from him. 
 The earliest he gives for ten consecutive years is from 1750 to 
 1759 inclusive, at Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
 1750 - 65.0 1755 - - - 63.6 
 
 1751 - 66.7 1756 - - - 67.0 
 
 1752 - - 67.3 1757 - - 65.7 
 
 1753 - - 66.8 1758 ' - - - 64.3 
 
 1754 - 67.8 1759 - 65.l 
 
 Comparing this with the subsequent observations made under 
 
210 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 the War Department at Fort Moultrie, of which the annual mean 
 was 66.58, and making due allowance for the location of Charles- 
 ton upon the sea, and where it is sometimes reached by the cen- 
 tral belt in midsummer, the effect of the spots is plainly discern- 
 ible. There is an increase from 65 to 67, and a decrease to 
 65 again. The depression in 1755 seems to indicate that there 
 was an extreme southern transit in that year, as well as in 1753. 
 The next early observations for ten consecutive years, are at 
 Philadelphia, and are as follows : 
 
 53.2 
 
 - 51.5 
 52.0 
 
 - 52.0 
 
 1767 - 
 1768 
 1769 - 
 1770 
 1771 - 
 1772 
 
 51.8 
 - 52.5 
 
 1773 - 
 1774 
 1775 - 
 1776 
 1777 - 
 
 54.7 
 52.9 
 54.4 
 53.4 
 51.0 
 
 Here again, the increase and decrease, though more irregular, 
 are clearly discernible. The decrease during a year of the warm 
 period, happened in 1774, the fourth instead of the second or 
 third year of the decade. Indeed the whole decadal period seems 
 to be thrown forward one year, as we shall see that it clearly was 
 in one or two subsequent decades. 
 
 The next most reliable observations cited by him, were those 
 made by Dr. Holyoke, covering the period from 1786 to 1825 in- 
 clusive. I copied from those observations in the " Philosophy of 
 the Weather," and arranged them as follows : 
 
 Cold Period. 
 
 Warm 
 
 Period. 
 
 Cold 
 
 Period. 
 
 Warm 
 
 Period. 
 
 1786. . . 
 
 ...480.53 
 
 1791... 
 
 ...48 .963 
 
 1796 
 1797 
 
 ...48. 678 
 48 135 
 
 1801 
 
 50 432 
 
 1787 
 
 47 88 
 
 1799 
 
 . 48 44 
 
 18A9 
 
 50 794 
 
 1788 
 
 470.6761793 
 
 50 .96 
 
 1798 
 
 49 .471 1803 
 
 50 24 
 
 1789 
 
 .470.68 
 
 1794 
 1795 
 
 ....50.768 
 ....50.173 
 
 1799 
 
 48. 291 
 
 1804 
 1805 
 
 ....48 .328 
 . . . .50.792 
 
 1790 
 
 . . . .460.53 
 
 1800 
 
 49 .989 
 
 Mean of period47 e> .659 Mean 
 
 , ,490.901 
 
 Mean , , , 
 
 480910 
 
 Mean 
 
 ....50.117 
 
 1806 
 
 ...47 982 1811 
 
 . . . .60. 76 
 
 1816 
 1817 
 1818 
 1819 
 
 47.113 
 46 .277 
 48. 009 
 50 75 
 
 1821 
 
 48 15 
 
 1807 
 
 48 132 
 
 1812 
 1813. .. 
 
 . . . .45 .28 
 . ..47 702 
 
 1822 
 1823 
 
 ....49. 81 
 47 58 
 
 1808 
 
 49 485 
 
 1809 
 1810 
 
 ....47 .92 1814 
 ....49 .001 1815 
 
 ....46 .279 
 . . . .47. 607 
 
 1824 
 
 49 25 
 
 1820 
 
 48.70 
 
 1825 
 
 ....50. 99 
 
 Mean 
 
 48 (? .605 
 
 Mean 
 
 47.925 
 
 Mean, . , , 
 
 ., 48.169 
 
 Mean 
 
 ....49. 15 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 211 
 
 The observations of Dr. Holyoke show a decided difference in 
 three of the four decades which they embrace, thus, from '86 to 
 '95 the differences are very striking, and so they are from '96 to 
 1805. But the first half of the decade, from 1810 to 1820, was 
 peculiarly and exceptionally cold ; indeed the year 1812, was 
 much the coldest of any embraced in the tables, and both 1813 
 and 1815 were below the mean. The peculiar depression during 
 that part of the decade, has been attributed to volcanic action, 
 and there is much reason to believe, correctly. Certainly, earth- 
 quakes were, so to speak, epidemic during that period, in this 
 country and elsewhere. Turning to the table of volcanic action 
 and of earthquakes, found in the report of the British Association 
 for 1854, we find that year was remarkable for earthquakes in 
 the United States and South America. In December, 1811, 
 earthquakes commenced in the valley of the Mississippi, Ohio, 
 and Arkansas, and were felt also at places in Tennessee, Ken- 
 tucky, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia, North and South Carolina, 
 Georgia, and Florida, though not so severely east of the Alle- 
 ghanies ; and they continued to occur till 1813. About the same 
 time they commenced in Caracas, and in March, 1812, became 
 severe over the greater portion of the northern section of South 
 America, and in the Atlantic. No such general and continued 
 succession of earthquakes occurred during the other periods em- 
 braced in the tables, and the mean of the following five years was 
 very low, embracing the memorable cold summer of 1816. But 
 I shall consider the influence of volcanic action upon the seasons, 
 in another place. 
 
 Schwabe did not commence his observations till 1826, and we 
 have no reliable telescopic observations of the number and fre- 
 quency of the spots during the second decade of the century, but 
 there is much historic evidence to show that they were numerous 
 and large, and visible to the naked eye, during the years 
 1815, 16-17, when the depression of temperature was very great. 
 Few traditions are more clearly remembered. 
 
 These considerations would seem to be sufficient, to show that 
 the exceptional depression in the decade from 1810 to 1820, does 
 
212 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 not materially affect the other evidence which tends clearly to 
 establish a connection between the spots upon the sun, or their 
 cause, and the mean, annual temperature. And it accords with 
 analogy that obscuration should diminish power and effect. 
 
 But the evidence we have adduced and much other of like 
 character might be adduced shows three facts, which seem to 
 militate against the connection : 
 
 I. In the first place the tables show an exceptional cold year 
 in the first half of each decade. This I have supposed to be owing 
 to a more extended transit of the great central condition to the 
 south, and a consequent greater winter depression. The truth of 
 the supposition, on further investigation, seems perfectly apparent. 
 
 Such a depression is found during either the second, third or 
 fourth years of every decade, except in the fifth decade of the 
 17th century at Charleston, when it was in 1755. In the first 
 decade of this century, it was in the fourth year, or 1804. In 
 the next it was in the second, or 1812. In the next it was in the 
 third, or 1823. In the next it was in the second, or 1832. In the 
 next it was in the third year, or 1843. And in the next it was in 
 the second, or 1852. The last is shown by the following tables : 
 
 Fort Columbus, New York Harbor, - - 1850 50.93 
 
 Fort Snelling, 
 
 Jefferson Barracks, - 
 
 u _ _ 
 
 - 1851 
 
 52.15 
 
 u _ _ 
 
 1852 
 
 51.40 
 
 a 
 
 - 1853 
 
 52.24 
 
 of 33 years, 
 
 - 
 
 51.69 
 
 .... 
 
 1850 
 
 43.5 
 
 
 - 1851 
 
 46.5 
 
 _ - _ . 
 
 1852 
 
 43.7 
 
 . 
 
 - 1853 
 
 46.7 
 
 of 35 years, - 
 
 - 
 
 44.54 
 
 - 
 
 - 1850 
 
 53.7 
 
 _ 
 
 1851 
 
 56.0 
 
 _ 
 
 - 1852 
 
 54.5 
 
 - 
 
 1853 
 
 55.1 
 
 _ 
 
 - 1854 
 
 58.3 
 
 of 26 vears. 
 
 _ 
 
 55.46 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 213 
 
 Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, - 1850 60.23 
 
 " - 1851 61.12 
 
 " " " " - 1852 59.44 
 
 " " " " - 1853 60.43 
 
 " " " - 1854 62.12 
 
 Mean of 27 years, - 60.81 
 
 Fort Washita, Indian Territory, - 1850 62.3 
 
 " " " - 1851 62.98 
 
 " " " " 1852 60.32 
 
 " - 1853 61.14 
 
 " u " 1854 63.18 
 
 Mean of 12 years, 62.21 
 
 Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1850 51.94 
 
 " " - - 1851 53.9 
 
 1852 51.44 
 
 - - 1853 53.02 
 
 1854 55.84 
 
 Mean of 24 years, - 52.78 
 I add a table of the annual mean temperature of the state of 
 
 Iowa, for the years 1850 to 1856 inclusive, contained in a report 
 
 of the climate of Iowa, made by Theodore S. Parvin, of Musca- 
 
 tine, published in 1857. 
 
 1850 - . - - 46.28 1854 - 49.81 
 
 1851 46.66 1855 - 47.92 
 
 1852 - - - 46.65 1856 - 44.73 
 
 1853 47.31 
 
 It will be perceived that the depression in 1852 is scarcely per- 
 ceptible in Iowa, although very obvious south, west, north and 
 east of it. But the annual increase and decrease is very apparent. 
 
 We come now to an explanation of the depression thus found 
 in the first half of the decade. I have already alluded, as evi- 
 dence that it was occasioned by a southern transit, to the fact 
 stated by Livingstone, that once in ten or eleven years, as he says 
 in one place eleven or twelve, as he says in another the Desert 
 of Kalahari receives a supply of rain, by reason of the excessive 
 
214 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 transit of the central belt to the south. That fall occurred in 1 852, 
 at the same time that the depression occurred in this country for 
 that decade. The language of Livingstone, which I repeat is as 
 follows : " Having parted with Sechele, we skirted along the Kal- 
 ahari Desert, and sometimes within its borders, giving the Boers 
 a wide berth. A larger fall of rain than usual had occurred in 
 1852, and that was the completion of a cycle of eleven or twelve 
 years, at which the same phenomenon is reported to have hap- 
 pened on three occasions. An unusually large crop of melons 
 had appeared in consequence." This not only corresponds with 
 the depression in this country of that year, but corresponds in 
 another particular, for the depressions are sometimes ten and 
 sometimes eleven years apart. 
 
 The depressions of 1832 and 1843, which are the most distinct- 
 ly marked, were eleven years apart, and were accompanied by 
 unusual depressions in January and February both, at all the 
 stations north of the usual winter line of a curving counter trade. 
 Thus at Watervliet Arsenal, in New York, in 1832, both Jan- 
 uary and February were below the mean. The same was true 
 at Fortress Monroe in Virginia, at Fort Mackinaw in Michigan, 
 and in short at all the stations north and west of, and adjoining 
 the focal winter line of the Atlantic conditions, while at all the 
 stations in the S.E. portion of the United States, then covered by 
 the focal path of the Atlantic conditions, the temperature was no* 
 below the mean, and in many of them, was above it. Thus the 
 mean annual temperature at Fort Johnson, in North Carolina, is 
 65.68, the temperature in 1832 was 66.22. 
 
 Augusta Arsenal, Georgia, mean temperature, - 64.01 
 
 " for 1832, - 64.64 
 
 Fort Marion, St. Augustine, mean temperature, - 69.61 
 
 " for 1832, - 70.60 
 
 Fort Jessup, Louisiana, mean temperature, - - 66.34 
 
 for 1832, - 66.16 
 
 Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, mean temperature, - 60.81 
 
 " " for 1832, - - 61.76 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 215 
 
 In this connection there is a still more striking fact demonstra- 
 ting the truth of the assumption. At all the stations in the north- 
 western states, beyond the cold area, which adjoins the curving 
 focal path of the conditions for the winter, on the north and west, 
 the temperature was also actually above the mean. Thus, at 
 
 Fort Leavenworth, temperature, - - 54.77 
 
 Mean 24 years, ... 52.78 
 
 Fort Snelling, temperature, - - - 45.85 
 
 Mean 35 years, ... 44.54 
 
 Fort Crawford, Wisconsin, temperature, - - 47.66 
 
 Mean 19 years, - - 47.63 
 
 Fort Winnebago, temperature, - - - 50.32 
 
 Mean 16 years, - 44.80 
 
 Fort Brady, temperature, - 41.93 
 
 Mean 31 years, - - 40.37 
 
 Fort Gratiot, Michigan, temperature, - - 47.93 
 
 Mean 17 years, - 46.29 
 
 From this it will be seen that in all the stations high up in the 
 N. W. the temperature was higher than the mean, owing undoubt- 
 edly to a corresponding descent of the path of the Pacific condi- 
 tions which cross the continent in winter, covering Oregon and 
 California, and the depression was confined to the curving area, 
 lying between the winter focal paths of the two systems of condi- 
 tions. 
 
 With reference to the depression of 1832, little evidence can 
 be derived from the tables of precipitation, for the observations 
 at that time were very limited, and there are none on record for 
 California or the western coast. Records of rain-fall were not 
 kept at the Posts of the United States, until 1836. 
 
 The same state of things occurred again in 1843. While the 
 depression was distinctly marked upon the tables we have given, 
 there was little or no depression in the southeastern states. 
 Thus at 
 
 Fort Johnson, N. C., temperature, - 51.40 mean, 51.69 
 
 Augusta Arsenal, " - 64.51 64.01 
 
216 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Oglethorpe Barracks, temperature, - 67.19 mean, 67.44 
 Fort Marion, St. Augustine, temperature, 68.77 " 69.61 
 Fort Barrancas, Florida, " 68.44 " 68.74 
 
 Striking beyond the curving focal paths of the winter Atlantic 
 conditions, we find however the depression distinctly marked. 
 Thus at 
 
 Fort Smith, Arkansas, temperature, - 56.83 mean 60.02 
 
 Fort Gibson, Indian Territory, temperature, 58.84 " 60.81 
 Fort Atkinson, Arkansas, " 41.66 " 45.51 
 
 Fort Scott, Missouri, " 52.48 54.30 
 
 Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, " 52.26 " 55.46 
 
 Detroit, Michigan, " 45.57 47.25 
 
 Watervliet Arsenal. N. Y., " 47.65 " 48.07 
 
 Fortress Monroe, Va., " 57.47 " 58.89 
 
 On the Pacific coast, we have no data for comparison in respect 
 to the depression of 1832 and 1843, or any of the previous ones, 
 but in 1852 there was an unusual descent of the focal path of the 
 Pacific conditions, marked by an unusual supply of rain. And 
 so in February, 1854, when the focal path of the Atlantic condi- 
 tions in the United States, was carried very low by an extreme 
 southern transit, there fell the unusual quantity of 8 T % inches of 
 rain at San Francisco, and the evidence seems clearly to estab- 
 lish a connection between the two. 
 
 But it may be well here to look a little more particularly at 
 the state of things upon the Pacific coast. Mr. Hittell, in his re- 
 cent work upon California, gives us the following table of annual 
 rain-fall at different points in that state and Oregon. 
 Astoria, Oregon, - inches 86.35 
 
 Fort Humboldt, Humboldt Bay, California, - 34.56 
 
 Fort Reading, Sacramento valley, - 29.02 
 
 San Francisco, - - 21.41 
 
 Sacramento, - - 21.73 
 
 Fort Miller, San Joachim valley, - 22.18 
 
 San Diego, Southwestern corner of state, - - 10.43 
 
 Fort Yuma, about 1 60 miles east by south of San Diego, 
 
 and in the S.E. corner of the state, 3.15 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 217 
 
 inches 44.15 
 
 Latitude, 46 10' 
 
 u 15.03 
 
 " 40 46' 
 
 " 12.44 
 
 " 40 30' 
 
 " 12.11 
 
 " 38 34' 
 
 " 11.33 
 
 37 48' 
 
 " 9.79 
 
 37 00' 
 
 " 5.90 
 
 " 32 42' 
 
 " .72 
 
 32 32' 
 
 This table shows several important facts. First, that there is 
 a gradual lessening of the annual rain-fall, from Astoria down to 
 San Diego. This will appear more strikingly perhaps if we take 
 the rain-fall for the winter, viz. : 
 Astoria, 
 
 Fort Humboldt, 
 Fort Reading, 
 Sacramento, 
 San Francisco, 
 Fort Miller, 
 San Diego, 
 Fort Yuma, 
 
 It will be seen that there is a regular decrease with the lati- 
 tude, the winter focus of the path of the Pacific conditions, be- 
 ing as high as Astoria. The table heretofore inserted, page 113, 
 from another source, and for a different period, differing somewhat 
 in amounts because covering a less period of time, shows the 
 position of the focal or center path of the conditions as at Astoria 
 in the winter, and eleven degrees further north at Sitka in summer. 
 If now that focal path is from any cause shifted farther down the 
 coast, there will be a corresponding increase at every point except 
 Astoria, of the annual rain-fall. And that is precisely the effect 
 which is produced by the extreme southern transits in the first 
 half of each decade. In 1852 and again in 1854, the fall was 
 excessive at San Diego, the extreme southern point. This is 
 shown by the following table ; 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 s 
 
 I-J 
 
 j> 
 
 3 
 
 1-9 
 
 1 
 
 p. 
 
 1 
 
 j 
 
 o 
 
 | 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1850 
 
 0.00 
 
 1.13 
 
 1.00 
 
 0.09 
 
 0.00 
 
 068 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.19 
 
 2.82 
 
 1.93 
 
 7.84 
 
 18511 003 
 
 1.51 
 
 0.34 
 
 0.87 
 
 0.71 
 
 001 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.02 
 
 0.01 
 
 0-25 
 
 3.74 
 
 7.49 
 
 1852 
 
 0.58 
 
 1.84 
 
 1.87 
 
 0.85 
 
 0.32 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.40 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.06 
 
 1.45 
 
 4.50 
 
 11.87 
 
 1853 
 
 0.50 
 
 0.20 
 
 1.52 
 
 0.25 
 
 2.10 
 
 0.05 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.21 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 1.28 
 
 1.77 
 
 7.88 
 
 18541 1.46 
 
 2.56 
 
 2.14 
 
 0.75 
 
 0.21 
 
 0.02 
 
 0.07 
 
 135 
 
 0.13 
 
 0.01 
 
 0.02 
 
 3.34 
 
 12.06 
 
 185512.40 
 
 4.83 
 
 1.53 
 
 1.82 
 
 0.10 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 o.oo 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.15 
 
 2.23 
 
 0.31 
 
 13.37 
 
 1856 
 
 0.66 
 
 2.04 1.97 !2.48 
 
 0.27 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.05 
 
 0.00 
 
 1.47 
 
 1.20 
 
 10.14 
 
 1857 '0.21 
 
 2.12 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.12 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00- 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.64 
 
 2.25 
 
 1.38 
 
 6.72 
 
 1858 
 
 1.87 
 
 0.4511.60 
 
 0.27 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.15 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.03 
 
 0.11 
 
 0.49 
 
 0.32 
 
 3.65 
 
 8.94 
 
 1859 
 
 Record incomplete. 
 
218 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 See the marked manner and extent of the rain fall increas- 
 ing rapidly to 1855 inclusive, and then decreasing as rapidly to 
 the close. 
 
 The record for Fort Yuma is imperfect, but I give it for the 
 purpose of showing its peculiar position between the two systems 
 of conditions in May and June. 
 
 Fort Yuma, California. 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 J3 
 g 
 
 
 
 *j 
 
 a. 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 j 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 >-s 
 
 & 
 
 9 
 
 >-9 
 
 1 
 
 "p< 
 o 
 
 OU 
 
 1 
 
 > 
 o 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1851 
 
 OOf) 
 
 001 
 
 000 
 
 027 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1853 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.28 
 
 0.33 
 
 1.45 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.35 
 
 004 
 
 
 1858 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.01 
 
 0.00 
 
 000 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.25 
 
 0.69 
 
 0.13 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.18 
 
 0.52 
 
 1.78 
 
 1N54 
 
 0.00 
 
 028 
 
 0.80 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 000 
 
 0.01 
 
 2.37 
 
 0.17 
 
 0.30 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.57 
 
 4.50 
 
 law 
 
 0.12 
 
 0.26 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.10 
 
 o.oo 
 
 
 0.22 
 
 0.10 
 
 0.00 
 
 
 18*6 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.5') 
 
 ().(X) 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.48 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.36 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.19 
 
 000 
 
 1.53 
 
 1857 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.30 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 000 
 
 0.00 
 
 000 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.30 
 
 1858 
 
 0.00 
 
 1.06 
 
 ().(K) 
 
 ().(X) 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 1.03 
 
 2.09 
 
 1859 
 
 0.00 
 
 2.09 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.50 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.42 
 
 1.83 
 
 0.00 
 
 4.88 
 
 Fort Laramie. 
 
 ____ 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 ~ 
 
 | 
 
 d 
 a, 
 
 < 
 
 H 
 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 i-S 
 
 >> 
 
 "3 
 >-> 
 
 ti 
 
 3 
 <1 
 
 ! 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 f* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1852 
 
 0.72 
 
 1.10 
 
 1.55 
 
 1.25 
 
 7.29 
 
 4.08 
 
 1.88 
 
 1.46 
 
 2.74 
 
 1.70 
 
 6.42 
 
 123 
 
 3142 
 
 1853 
 
 0.08 
 
 0.57 i 1.78 4.53 
 
 1219 
 
 4.95 
 
 1.86 
 
 0.55 
 
 2.80 
 
 06S 
 
 0.08 
 
 071 
 
 30.78 
 
 1854 0.18 0.40:0.80 3.98 
 
 4.46 
 
 3.67 
 
 3.26 
 
 1.27 
 
 160 
 
 1.86 
 
 0.73 
 
 0.05 
 
 22.26 
 
 18550.04 1.08 1.41J0.65 
 1856:055 045 1 1.75 0.34 
 
 2.79 
 3.51 
 
 3.25 
 
 0.82 
 
 1.45 
 4.15 
 
 2.93 
 2.55 
 
 339 
 0.23 
 
 0.62 
 0.29 
 
 0.18 
 0.21 
 
 120 
 0.17 
 
 18.99 
 15.02 
 
 185710.33 
 
 0.53 0.00 
 
 0.07 
 
 1.45 
 
 0-12 
 
 0.04 
 
 1.87 
 
 0.10 
 
 1.53 
 
 0.05 
 
 0.06 
 
 6.15 
 
 1 >68 0.00 
 
 0.02.0.02 0.09 
 
 1.12 
 
 0.80 
 
 1.14 
 
 1.81 
 
 0.70 
 
 1.43 
 
 0.32 
 
 0.45 
 
 790 
 
 1859 0.01 
 
 0.00 1 0.00 0.18 
 
 2.11 
 
 0.03 
 
 1.33 
 
 0.57 
 
 0.49 
 
 0.22 
 
 1.12 
 
 0.20 
 
 6.26 
 
 
 
 1 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I give also the record for Fort Laramie in Nebraska, conform- 
 ing substantially in their results. But May, 1853, is erroneous. 
 
 The fact of a depression of the system, cannot, as we have 
 said, be reliably shown, by the fall of rain, for want of data for 
 the whole country, prior to 1843. In respect to that year how- 
 ever, the records of the various posts are sufficiently full and en- 
 tirely corroborative. On the southern states to which the focal 
 path of the conditions was carried by the extreme southern tran- 
 sit of the central condition, the rain-fall was greater than the 
 mean. Thus at 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 219 
 
 Oglethorpe Barracks, Ga., Feb., 1843, rain 2.03 mean, 2.18 
 " " " March, " " 12.51 7.11 
 
 Fort Brooks, Florida, Feb., " " 5.70 " 3.01 
 
 " " March, " 7.20 " 3.37 
 
 Mt. Vernon Arsenal, Ala., Feb., " " 5.90 " 6.04 
 
 " u " March, " 9.22 " 4.59 
 
 Fort Moultrie, S. C., Feb., " " 2.09 2.33 
 
 " March, 10.52 4.06 
 
 New Orleans, La., Feb., " 3.80 2.90 
 
 " March, " 5.31 " 3.90 
 
 West and north of and adjoining the then path of the condi- 
 tions, we have the following deficiencies which show as well the 
 unusual descent in February, as the lingering return in March. 
 
 Fort Towson, February rain, 00.25 mean 2.97 
 March - 3.35 " 4.38 
 FortJessup, February " 1.41 2.76 
 March " - 3.25 " 5.02 
 Fort Smith, February - 0.26 " 2.17 
 " March * - 2.29 2.92 
 Fort Gibson, February " 0.70 " 2.26 
 " March " - J.31 " 2.54 
 Fort Scott, Mo., February, " 0.20 1.18 
 " " March - 1.75 " 1.79 
 Jefferson Barracks,February " - 1.75 " 2.04 
 " March - 2.30 332 
 St. Louis Arsenal, February " 1.30 " 3.37 
 March " - 2.29 3.82 
 And here in connection with this subject, I re-insert the dia- 
 gram showing the situation of the paths of the conditions or 
 belts of rains in February, 1854, with the intervening compara- 
 tively cold and dry area, that you may have it under your eye in 
 connection with the foregoing tables. Doubtless they were in the 
 same situation substantially, in 32, 43 and 52. 
 
220 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 37. 
 
 From this examination it appears that the first of the three facts 
 does not militate against the proposition advanced, and attempted 
 to be proved by the tables, but an investigation of its cause, di- 
 rectly confirms it. 
 
 The second fact is more apparent than real, although the years 
 1813 and 1814 did not show such an increase of temperature at 
 Salem as is shown in other decades. The temperature was yet 
 far in advance of the depression of 1812, and fully up to the 
 mean. Observations for those years are very meagre. Those of 
 New Bedford show the years to have been up to the mean there, 
 and as high as that of 1844, but New Bedford feels the influence 
 of the Gulf stream and is not a representative station. We have 
 no record of the spots for that decade, but it is a matter of history 
 that they were very numerous, large, and observable by the naked 
 eye, especially in 1816, which was the coldest year in the cen- 
 tury, except 1812. There was frost during every month of the 
 year, and the corn crop was generally lost. Now as it appears 
 from the record of the spots which we have, that they are variable 
 in number and effect in different decades, and as we have it as a 
 matter of tradition and of history, that they were more numerous 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 221 
 
 during that decade than in any previous one, and much larger or 
 they could not have been so extensively seen with the naked eye, 
 we are fully justified in assigning the unusual depression of tem- 
 perature, in that decade, to that cause, and this apparent excep- 
 tion also proves the rule. 
 
 So too of the unusual elevation of the temperature from 1825 
 to 1830. We have a full explanation of that in the comparative 
 infrequency of the spots and that apparent exception also proves 
 the rule. 
 
 Again, there seems to be an exception in the decade from 1840 
 to 1850. The temperature continues to rise until and including 
 the year 1846, but when we turn to the table of spots, we find 
 that they increased with less rapidity than in other decades, and 
 there again, the exception proves the rule. 
 
 And thus upon examination I have found every fact which 
 bears upon the subject, when understood, conspiring to prove that 
 there is a period of increase and decrease of temperature, and 
 peculiarities of rain fall in the middle and northern portions of 
 the United States, dependent upon the transit of the atmospheric 
 system north and south, caused and controlled by the spots upon 
 the sun and their effect in diminishing its controlling power. 
 
 Our examination leads to the further inquiry, whether any 
 other forces affect the volume of L-ade with which this coun- 
 try is supplied, or the volume of moisture which they bring to us, 
 and the consequent frequency and intensity of the conditions which 
 make our weather. 
 
 That volcanic action affects the weather locally, is generally 
 believed. On this subject there is a mass of evidence for which 
 I have not space. Even earthquakes, at a distance from volca- 
 noes, seem to exert an influence. On this subject Mr. Hittell 
 thus speaks in the " Resources of California," page 44. 
 
 ' Earthquakes, according to the common theory of Californians, 
 are electrical in their origin, or closely connected with electrical in- 
 fluences. Many of the strongest shocks have been preceded by 
 a condition of the atmosphere very similar to that which precedes 
 thunder-storms in other lands. When the weather is sultry and 
 
222 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 oppressive in San Francisco, people say, " Look out for an ea th- 
 quake ! " And it usually comes perhaps so faint as to be barely 
 perceptible, and sometimes not until several hours after a change 
 in the weather." 
 
 A writer in the London, Edinburgh and Dublin Phil. Mag. 
 for December, 1853, gives a collection of facts bearing upon this 
 subject, which I copy. He collected the facts as a basis of theory, 
 but I introduce them, only as tending to show that volcanic action 
 may have an influence upon the weather, and as confirmatory of 
 what I have already suggested, that the cold decade from 1810 to 
 1820 may have been caused in part by the extraordinary volcanic 
 activity which existed during the early part of the decade in South 
 America, the West Indies, and this country ; but we cannot trace 
 that influence, for we have no records of temperature or of rain- 
 fall, except at a very few points upon the Atlantic coast. 
 
 There has been occasional volcanic activity since then, in the 
 West Indies and in South America, but I have not attempted to 
 trace its influence, if it exerted any, upon the weather of this 
 country. I have not had time or strength to devote to it. The 
 subject is of sufficient interest, and I commend it to the reader as 
 worthy of investigation. And to aid him, I insert that paper of 
 Mr. Dobson. His cited cases may all have been coincidences, 
 but I do not doubt the influence. At the same time I snould look 
 for it as affecting the character and volume of the trades at their 
 place of origin, rather than the atmosphere in the polar zones 
 directly. But if it affects the former, it must, thereby, indirectly, 
 the latter. 
 
 The following is the substance of the paper of Mr. Dobson : 
 
 " 1st. The eruption of a submarine volcano has produced water- 
 spouts. 
 
 " During these bursts the most vivid flashes of lightning con- 
 tinually issued from the densest part of the volcano, and the vol- 
 umes of smoke rolled off in large masses of fleecy clouds, grad- 
 ually expanding themselves before the wind in a direction nearly 
 horizontal, and drawing up a quantity of water spouts." (Cap- 
 tain Tilland's description of the upheaval of Sabrina Island in 
 June, 1811, Phil. Trans.) 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 223 
 
 With this significant fact may be compared the following anal- 
 ogous ones. 
 
 ' In the Aleutian Archipelago a new island was formed in 1795. 
 It was first observed after a storm, at a point in the sea from which 
 a column of smoke had been seen to rise." (Lyell, Principles 
 of Geology ) 
 
 " Among the Aleutian Islands a new volcanic island appeared 
 in the midst of a storm, attended with flames and smoke. After 
 the sea was calm, a boat was sent from Unalaska with twenty 
 Russian hunters, who landed on this island on June 1st, 1814." 
 (Journal of Science, vol. viL) 
 
 " On July 24th, 1848, a submarine eruption broke out between 
 the mainland of Orkney and the island of Strousa. Amid thun- 
 der and lightning, a very dense jet black cloud was seen to rise 
 from the sea, at a distance of five or six miles, which traveled 
 toward the northeast. On passing over Strousa, the wind from a 
 slight air became a hurricane, and a thick, well-defined belt of 
 large hailstones was left on the island. The barometer fell two 
 inches." (Transactions Royal Society, Edinburg, vol. ix.) 
 
 2d. Hurricanes, whirlwinds, and hailstones accompany the par- 
 oxysms of volcanos. 
 
 " 1730. A great volcanic eruption at Lancerote Island, and a 
 storm, which was equally new and terrifying to the inhabitants, 
 as they had never known one in the country before." (Lyell, 
 Principles of Geology, vol. ii.) 
 
 " 1754. In the Philippine Islands a terrible volcanic eruption 
 destroyed the town of Taal and several villages. Darkness, hur- 
 ricanes, thunder, lightning, and earthquakes, alternated in fright- 
 ful succession " (Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.) 
 
 "In 180>, 1811, 1813, and 1830, during eruptions of Etna, 
 caravans in the deserts of Africa perished by violent whirlwinds. 
 In 1807, while Vesuvius was in eruption, a whirlwind destroyed 
 a caravan." (Rev. W. B Clarke in Tasw. Journal.) 
 
 " 1815, Java. A tremendous eruption of Tombow Mountain. 
 Between nine and ten P.M., ashes began to fall, and soon after a 
 
221 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 violent whirlwind took up into the air the largest trees, men, 
 horses, cattle, etc." (Raffle's History of Java.) 
 
 "1817, Dec. Vesuvius in eruption. In the evening a hail storm, 
 accompanied with red sand." (Journal of Science, vol. v.) 
 
 " 1820, Banda. A frightful volcanic eruption, and in the even- 
 ing an earthquake and a violent hurricane." (Annales de 
 Chimic.) 
 
 " 1822, Oct. Eruption of Vesuvius. Toward its close the vol- 
 canic thunder-storm produced an exceedingly violent and abun- 
 dant fall of rain." (Humboldt, Aspects of Nature.) 
 
 "1843, Jan. Etna in eruption. Violent hurricanes at Genoa, 
 in the Bay of Biscay, and in Great Britain. 
 
 w 1843, Feb. Destructive earthquake in the West Indies, a 
 volcanic eruption at Guadaloupe, followed by hurricanes in the 
 Atlantic." 
 
 " 1846, June 26. Volcano of White Island, New Zealand, in 
 eruption. Heavy squalls of wind and hail ; it blew as hard as 
 in a typhoon." (Commodore Hayes, II. N., in Naut.Mag., 1847.) 
 
 " 1847, March 20. Volcanic eruption and earthquake in Java ; 
 and on the 21st of March, and- 3d of April, violent hurricanes." 
 (Java Courant) 
 
 "1851, Aug. 5. A frightful eruption of the long dormant vol- 
 cano of the Pelee Mountain, Martinique. Aug. 17. Hurricane 
 at St. Thomas, etc. ; earthquake at Jamaica, etc. 
 
 " 1852, April 14. Earthquake at Hawaii, and on the 15th a 
 great volcanic eruption. On the 1 8th a gale of unusual violence 
 lasted thirty-six hours, and did great damage." (The Polynesian, 
 April 22, 1852.) 
 
 3d. In volcanic regions, earthquakes and hurricanes often occur 
 almost simultaneously, but in no certain order, and without any 
 volcanic eruption being observed. 
 
 In 1712, 1722, 1815, and 1^51, earthquakes and hurricanes 
 occurred together at Jamaica; in 1762 at Carthagena; in 17#0 
 at Barbadoes ; in 1811 at Charleston; in 1847 at Tobago; in 
 1837 and 1848 at Antigua ; in 18 19, an awful storm at Montreal, 
 rain of a dark inky color, and a slight earthquake. People con- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 225 
 
 jf3etured that a volcano had broken out. In 1766 the great Mar- 
 tinique hurricane, a waterspout burst on Mount Pelee and over- 
 whelmed the place. Same night an earthquake. 
 
 1843, Oct. 30. Manilla. Twenty- four hours' rain and two heavy 
 earthquakes. 10 P.M., a severe hurricane. 
 
 " 1852, Sept. 16. Manilla. An earthquake destroyed a great 
 part of the city ; many vessels wrecked by a great hurricane in 
 the adjacent seas, between the 18th and 26th of September." 
 (Singapore Times.) 
 
 "1737, Oct. Calcutta. Furious hurricane and violent earth- 
 quake ; 300,000 lives lost." 
 
 "1816, May 26. Bombay. Hurricane and earthquakes; 2,000 
 lives lost." (Madras Lit. Tran., 1837.) 
 
 " 1800, Ongole, India, and in 1815, at Ceylon, a hurricane and 
 earthquake shocks." (Piddington.) 
 
 " 1848. Cyprus. An earthquake and a frightful hurricane." 
 (Hecker.) 
 
 " 1819, Bagdad. An earthquake and a storm an event quite 
 unprecedented. 
 
 "1820, Dec. Zante. Great earthquake and hurricane, with 
 manifestations of a submarine eruption." (Edinburgh Phil. 
 Journal.) 
 
 " 1831, Dec. Navigator' slslands. Hurricane and earthquakes." 
 (Williams' Missionary Enterprise.) 
 
 " 1848, Oct., Nov. New Zealand. Succession of earthquake 
 shocks, and several tempests. 
 
 " 1836, Oct. At Valparaiso, a destructive tempest and severe 
 earthquakes." (Nautical Magazine, 1848.) 
 
 When an earthquake of excessive intensity occurs, as at Lisbon, 
 in 1755, the volcanic craters, which act as the safety-valves of 
 the regions in which they are placed, are supposed to be sealed 
 up ; and it is a remarkable and highly-suggestive fact, that no 
 hurricane follows such an earthquake. The number of instances 
 of the concurrence of ordinary earthquakes and hurricanes might 
 easily be increased, but the preceding suffice to show the gener- 
 ality of their coincidence, both as to time and place. 
 11 
 
226 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 4th. The breaking of water-spouts on mountains sometimes ac- 
 companies hurricanes. 
 
 In 1766, during the great Martinique hurricane, before cited. 
 
 " 1826, Nov. At Teneriffe, enormous and most destructive 
 water-spouts fell on the culminating tops of the mountains, and a 
 furious cyclone raged around the island. The same occurred in 
 1812 and in 1837." (Espy and Grey's Western Australia.) 
 
 " 1829, Moray. Floods and earthquakes, preceded by water- 
 spouts and a tremendous storm." (Sir T. D. Lander.) 
 
 " 1826, June. Hurricanes, accompanied by water-spouts and 
 fall of avalanches, in the White Mountains." (Silliman's Amer- 
 ican Journal, vol. xv.) 
 
 5th. The fall of an avalanche sometimes produces a hurricane. 
 
 "1819, Dec. A part (860,000,000 cubic feet) of the glacier 
 fell from the Weisshorn (9,000 feet.) At the instant, when the 
 snow and ice struck the inferior mass of the glacier, the pastor of 
 the village of Randa, the sacristan, and some other persons, ob- 
 served a light. A frightful hurricane immediately succeeded." 
 (Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, 1820.) 
 
 6th. Water-spouts occur frequently near active volcanoes. 
 
 This is well known with regard to the West Indies and the 
 Mediterranean. The following notices refer to the Malay Archi- 
 pelago and the Sandwich Islands : 
 
 " Water-spouts are often seen in the seas and straits adjacent 
 to Singapore. In Oct. 1841, I saw six in action, attached to one 
 cloud. In August, 1838, one passed over the harbor and town 
 of Singapore, dismasting one ship, sinking another, and carrying 
 off the corner of the roof of a house, in its passage landward." 
 (Journal of Indian Archipelago. ) 
 
 " 1809. An immense water-spout broke over the harbor of Hon- 
 olulu. A few years before, one broke on the north side of the 
 island (Oahu,) washed away a number of houses, and drowned 
 several inhabitants." (Jarves' History of Sandwich Islands.) 
 
 7th. Cyclones begin in the immediate neighborhood of active 
 volcanoes. 
 
 The Mauritius cyclones begin near Java ; the West Indian^ 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 227 
 
 near the volcanic series of the Caribbean Islands ; those of the 
 Bay of Bengal, near the volcanic islands, on its eastern shores ; 
 the typhoons of the China Sea, near the Philippine Islands, etc. 
 
 8th. Within the tropics, cyclones move toward the west ; and, 
 in middle latitudes, cyclones and water-spouts move toward the 
 N.E., in the northern hemisphere, and toward the S.E. in the 
 southern hemisphere." Such are the views of Mr. Dobson. 
 
 Popular opinion has ever attributed to the moon a controlling 
 effect upon the changes of the weather. If it be dry, a storm is 
 expected when the moon changes ; or if it be wet, dry weather. 
 Such popular opinions are usually entitled to respect, and founded 
 in truth. But every attempt to verify this opinion, by careful 
 observation and registration, has failed. Weather-tables and 
 lunar phases, compared for nearly one hundred years, show four 
 hundred and ninety-one new or full moons attended by a change of 
 the weather, and five hundred and nine without. The celebrated 
 Olbers, after fifty years of careful observation and comparison, de- 
 cided against it. So did the more celebrated Arago, at a more 
 recent date summing up the result of his observations by say- 
 ing " Whatever the progress of the sciences, never will obser- 
 vers who are trustworthy and careful of their reputation, venture 
 to forete 1 ! the state of the weather." Still, the moon may influence 
 the weather, though she may not effect changes at her syzygies or 
 quadratures, and this subject should not be too summarily dismissed. 
 That the moon can not effect changes at the periods named seems 
 philosophically obvious. She changes, for the whole earth, within 
 the period of twenty-four hours ; yet, how varied the state of things 
 on different portions of its surface. The equatorial belts of trades, 
 and drouth, and rains, cover from fifty to sixty degrees of its sur- 
 face, and know nothing of lunar disturbance. The extra-tropical 
 belt of rains and variable weather moves up in its season, uncover- 
 ing 10, or more, of latitude, and admitting the trades and a six 
 months' drouth over it, as in California, regardless of the moon. Un- 
 der the zone of extra-tropical rains, even upon the eastern part of 
 the continent of North America, "dry spells" and "wet spells" exist 
 side by side ; the focus of precipitation is now in one parallel, and 
 
223 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 now in another storms exist here and fair weather there, on the 
 same continent at the same time ; and as the moon's rays in her 
 northing pass round the northern hemisphere during the twen- 
 ty-four hours, they, doubtless, pass from twenty to thirty or more 
 storms, of all characters and intensities, moving in opposition to 
 her orbit and as many larger intervening areas of fair weather, 
 not one of which are indebted to her for their existence, or "take 
 thought of her coming." 
 
 The storm, which originates in the tropics, pursues its curving 
 way now N.W., then N.E., to the arctic circle, over gulf, and 
 continent, and ocean, occupying one-third the time of a lunation, 
 and two changes or more, in i:s progress, without any perceptible 
 or conceivable influence from her. Yet every inhabitant of 
 mother-earth, influenced by coincidences remembered and uninflu- 
 enced by exceptions forgotten, looks up within his limited horizon, 
 and devoutly expects from the agency of some phase of the moon, 
 a change for the special benefit of his dot upon the earth's surface. 
 Upon how many of these countless dots is the moon at a particu- 
 lar phase, or relative distance from the sun, to change fair weather 
 to foul, or foul to fair ? Upon none. The storms keep on their 
 way ; the wet spells, and the dry spells, the cold and the hot 
 spells alternate in their time, and though the moon turns toward 
 them in passing, her dark face, her half face, or her full orb (the 
 gifts of the sun, which confer no powerj they do not heed her. 
 They are originated, and are continued, by a more potent agent. 
 They are the work of an atmospheric mechanism, as ceaseless in its 
 operation as time, as regular as the seasons, as extensive as the globe. 
 
 Indeed, it seems as if it was expressly designed by the Creator 
 that the moon should not interfere materially with this atmos- 
 pheric machinery. She is the nearest orb , her influence would 
 be controlling and continuous ; would follow her monthly path 
 from south to north, and with changes too violent, and intervals 
 too long; and would interfere with the regular fundamental ope- 
 ration in the trade wind region, where she is ve. tical. Aside 
 from the attraction of gravitation, therefore, she seems to have 
 been so created as to be incapable of exerting any influence. She 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 229 
 
 is without an atmosphere ; the rays which she reflects are polar- 
 ized, and without chemical or magnetic power ; and, if it be true 
 that Melloni has recently detected heat in them, by the use of a 
 lens three feet in diameter, which could not previously be effected, 
 its quantity is exceedingly small, and incapable of influence. 
 Doubtless, the attraction of her mass is felt upon the earth, as the 
 tides attest ; and upon the atmosphere as well as the ocean. But 
 the atmosphere is comparatively attenuated, and exceedingly so 
 at its upper surface. Her attraction, therefore, although felt, is 
 not influential. She seemed, to Dr. Howard, to produce in her 
 northing and southing, a lateral tide which the barometer disclosed, 
 but owing to the attenuated character of the atmosphere, neither 
 the sun nor moon create an easterly and westerly tide, that is 
 observable, except with the most delicate instruments. Sabine is 
 believed to have detected such a tide by the barometer, at St. 
 Helena, of one four-thousandth of an inch. But even this in" 
 finitesimal influence may prove an error upon further investiga- 
 tion. There is a diurnal variation of the barometer, but it is not 
 the result of her attraction, for it is not later each day as are the 
 tides, exists in the deepest mines as well as upon the surface, and 
 is demonstrably connected with the group of diurnal changes pro- 
 duced by other causes. 
 
 Can the lateral tide, if there be one, affect the weather ? for in 
 the present state of science it seems entirely certain that the moon 
 can exert an influence in no other way. 
 
 If the received idea of many, perhaps most meteorologists, on 
 which all wheel barometers are constructed, that a high barometer 
 necessarily produces fair weather, and a low one foul, were true, 
 she certainly might do so. But that idea cannot be sustained, and 
 there is no known certain influence exerted by the moon upon the 
 weather, in relation to which we have any reliable practical data. 
 
 Humboldt appears to have adopted the impression of Sir W. 
 Hcrschel, that the moon aids in the dispersion of the clouds. 
 (Cosmos, vol. iv, p. 502.) But the tendency to such dispersion 
 is always rapid during the latter part of the day and evening, 
 when there is no storm approaching, and the full moon renders 
 
230 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTKM. 
 
 their dissolution visible, and attracts attention to them. The 
 Greenwich observations, also, carefully examined by Professor 
 Loomis, fail to confirm the impression of Herschel and Hum- 
 boldt, and those eminent philosophers are doubtless, in this, mis- 
 taken. 
 
 The foregoing paragraphs in relation to the influence of the 
 moon, were written for the '- Philosophy of the Weather," pub- 
 lished in 1856. Since that, I have continued the investigation, 
 but with no change of result. Dr. Lynes, in his diary of a 
 voyage round Cape Horn, which I have copied, remarks that the 
 trades seemed to freshen after the moon rose, but there is no con- 
 ceivable way in which the moon could increase the trades, except 
 by aiding the motive force of the sun which causes them, nor any 
 known way in which she could do that, unless by the influence of 
 her light, and such an influence cannot be conceived. Howard 
 thought he could trace an increase in the frequency and volume 
 of rain, after the moon had reached her southing, and was com- 
 ing north. If we could conceive of any method by which the 
 moon could increase the southeast trades, when vertical to them, 
 or the quantity of moisture contained in them, we could easily see 
 that the supposition of Howard might be true, for the increased 
 volume of trade would arrive at the latitude of England, before 
 the moon crossed the equator ; and an increased volume of trade 
 would be likely to increase the frequency and constancy of rains 
 in that climate. But I am unable to see how it is possible for the 
 moon to exert any influence upon the volume of the trades, or 
 their evaporating power, and am alike unable to trace any influ- 
 ence upon the weather in this country. To the tables of Herschel 
 and Adam Clark, I shall refer particularly hereafter. 
 
 There is one other thing which probably affects the volume of 
 counter or upper trade, which comes to this country, and thereby 
 the amount and regularity of its rain-fall, which I have not at- 
 tempted to investigate. I allude to the deflection of the S.E 
 trades of the Atlantic in upon Senegambia, under and below the 
 central belt of rains, constituting the monsoon represented upon the 
 diagram, page 119. Lieut. Maury has said that the influence which 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 231 
 
 deflects the S.E. trades upon that part of the ocean, is sometimes 
 felt nearly across to the continent of South America. If that is 
 true, it is obvious that a portion of the S.E. trades, which, if undi- 
 verted, would pass over this country as an upper trade, is deflect- 
 ed away from us, and must have an important influence upon the 
 amount of our rain-fall. The subject is capable of elucidation by 
 an examination of the logs of vessels which have passed that part 
 of the ocean, which are collected at the National Observatory, 
 and I hope it will be investigated. 
 
 While this chapter has been in the hands of the printer, ac- 
 counts have been published of a summer drouth which has pre- 
 vailed in the southeastern states, of the second class described, 
 and of like character with that of 18)4, but of less extent. To 
 illustrate its character, and the fact that like all of its class it has 
 been produced by an unusual concentration of the conditions on 
 the focal path to the west and northwest, I copy a letter from 
 the New York Observer, descriptive of the drouth at its central 
 point in Tennessee. 
 
 ''DROUTH IN EAST TENNESSEE. 
 
 "KNOXVILLE, TENN., Aug. 30, 1869. 
 
 "Messrs. Editors : On arriving at this point, and resting for a 
 day or two, I have had opportunity for gaining additional^a 7 form- 
 ation as to the condition of this section and the country South 
 and We.-t ; and I am now to write of a distressing state of things, 
 resulting from an almost unparalleled drouth. For nearly three 
 months there has been no rain of any consequence in East Ten- 
 nessee. The rivers and smaller streams are very low. The Hol- 
 ston at this place presents quite a singular appearance, the volume 
 of water being so small that ferry-boats can scarcely cross, while 
 steam-boats are all aground, and for the present, entirely useless. 
 The thermometer has, during this season, ranged from 90 to 
 104. Persons have been and are still complaining of the severe 
 oppressiveness of the heat, and, thinly clad, many, with umbrellas 
 while out of the shade, barely manage to get about. The farm- 
 ers, many of them, have become so discouraged that they have 
 
232 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 turned their stock in upon their cornfields, because they felt that 
 it was impossible to receive as much benefit from them in any 
 other way. In some portions of the state large fields of corn 
 which would have yielded from thirty to fifty bushels to the acre, 
 cannot possibly yield now exceeding from three to five." 
 
 And now I copy from the St. Paul (Minnesota,) Daily Press, 
 the following notes of the rain-fall for the month of August at 
 that place, descriptive of tie drench : 
 
 " The month commenced with a very heavy fall of rain, nearly 
 two inches and a half of water being deposited on the first day. 
 Other rains followed at pretty regular intervals, and in copious 
 showers, so that the amount of rain for the month reached the 
 unusual quantity of seven and two -thirds inches. This monthly 
 fall has been exceeded three times only in eleven years in July, 
 1862, in August, 1865, and in June, 1867. Looking at it in an- 
 ticipation, it would have seemed that so numerous and abundant 
 rains must produce a disastrous effect upon the harvest, coming as 
 they did at almost every stage of its gathering. And yet, with 
 occasional exceptions, no serious injury appears to have resulted, 
 and the wheat crop, now almost full secured, is represented to be 
 both very large and of good quality. 
 
 Rain fell on twelve days, to the amount of seven inches and 
 sixty-two hundredths of an inch of water. The fair days were 
 equal to sixteen. The winds came principally from E. and S.E." 
 
 Here is evidence of a parching and destructive drouth over a 
 large area in the Middle and Eastern States, and at the same 
 time a dangerous drench under the focal path over the Western 
 and Northwestern states, conforming precisely in character to the 
 summer drouths, produced by the transit and concentration of the 
 conditions, as fully developed and explained in the Philosophy of 
 the Weather, and this work. It is a great public misfortune that 
 the practical mind of the country should be kept in ignorance of 
 those transits and concentrations, and their important climatolo- 
 gical results and consequences, by men claiming to be meteorolo- 
 gists, and occupying prominent and controlling public and educa- 
 tional positions. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PROGNOSTICATION. 
 
 Consideration of the question how far and by what means, a local, isolated 
 observer can prognosticate or forecast the weather assuming the two first 
 fundamental propositions to be proved, the logical inquiry will be, when 
 will the normal state be disturbed by a condition and its changes, and what 
 its character and intensity Certainty or regularity of interval, not to be 
 expected, although conditions of more or less intensity pass frequently 
 They sometimes pass on a given day of the week for several weeks, with 
 or without an intervening condition No certainty as to the character and 
 intensity of the next condition nor any reliance on planetary influence 
 only reliance is upon changes of state produced by passing conditions 
 Signs, proverbs, and maxims not founded on or connected with those 
 changes of state, empirical and worthless The inquiry then is for prog- 
 nostic inferences, derivable from changes of state Certain other elements 
 and contingencies to be considered, viz : location of observer, season of 
 the year, and the situation of the year in the decade Recapitulation of the 
 changes of state, induced by the conditions from which prognostic infer- 
 ences are to be drawn Weight of the atmosphere, how measured various 
 instruments examined Barometer the principal one to be relied on Its 
 indications its mean elevation generally upon the earth difference of 
 elevation in different localities mean elevation least where conditions are 
 most frequent and intense examination of the fact in relation to this 
 country Places and circumstances under which it ranges highest and 
 lowest Allowance to be made for elevations above the level of the sea 
 Rules for determining that allowance No fair weather standard for the bar- 
 ometer each observer must fix one for himself Standard must vary with 
 the transits of the focal path and deduction must be made for altitude 
 Rules for fixing such standard collection of rules used in England, for 
 forecasting weather by barometer critical examination of these rules 
 Prognostic influences to be drawn from temperature before northeasters 
 before belts of showers in relation to the probability of snow or rain 
 exceptional warm periods in winter without passing conditions how 
 produced thermometer to be consulted in reference to the continuance of 
 storms sudden changes of our climate their magnitude and how pro- 
 duced importance of forecasting and regarding them Prognostic infer- 
 ences to be drawn from the winds and their changes winds not felt at the 
 
234 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 surface discoverable by sounds and scud all fresh, earnest winds created 
 by conditions importance of this class of prognostic inferences Prognos- 
 tic inferences drawn from clearness or cloudiness their character and im- 
 portance examination of the maxims founded on them Resume of the 
 appearances of the sky from which prognostic inferences may be drawn 
 Prognostic inferences from the existence of humidity Evaporation and 
 hygrometry devices by which humidity is measured contrast between 
 the English climate and ours, in relation to humidity examination of 
 weather signs founded on humidity Prognostic inferences from.ram, hail 
 and snow examination of weather proverbs in relation to them Rules for 
 determining whether a storm will precipitate snow or rain Prognostic in- 
 ferences from the seventh element or electric state of the atmosphere Dr. 
 Jenner's signs of rain examination of those signs as founded upon the 
 electrical influence of an approaching condition, on men, animals, and 
 plants Examination of signs and proverbs not founded on any of the fore- 
 going seven states all fallacies Review of some of the principal points 
 importance and probability of the use of the telegraph in prognostica- 
 tion other material points reviewed Examination of the question what 
 will be the character of the next condition, and how to forecast that char- 
 acter also the question what will be its intensity, and how that question 
 can be answered prognostic inferences in relation to the continuance of the 
 conditions and how they " clear off." 
 
 If the reader has carefully followed me in the foregoing devel- 
 opments, and fully comprehended and appreciated them, he is pre- 
 pared to enter with me upon the further and important inquiry : 
 " how far and by what means can a local, isolated observer prog- 
 nosticate or forecast the weather T' And here again we shall find 
 the subject capable of intelligent, logical analysis, and practical 
 result. 
 
 In the outset of this inquiry, I assume, as I think I may well 
 assume that the facts I have developed and arranged, have sat- 
 isfied you of the truth of my two first fundamental propositions, 
 viz : 1st, that the normal state of the polar zones is still, fair 
 weather, and 2d, that the changes from that state, result from the 
 influence of forming, approaching or passing conditions. It fol- 
 lows philosophically and logically, that in respect to prognostica- 
 tion, the inquiry is and must be, how long will that normal state 
 continue undisturbed by a passing condition, or in other words, 
 when will the next condition approach and disturb that state by 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 235 
 
 its changes ? What will be the character and intensity of that 
 condition and its incident changes ? and how long will it be in 
 passing away and permitting the normal state to return ? 
 
 Certainty or regularity in relation to the intervals between the 
 occurrence of the conditions is not ordinarily to be expected. 
 The Californian knows indeed when the focal path of the condi- 
 tions has moved to the north in summer, that it will not descend 
 until fall, and that a long period of drouth and fair weather is be- 
 fore him. He sees the thin and feeble southern edge of the con- 
 ditions occasionally pass over him, while their intense and precip- 
 itating bodies are far to the north, carried by a law as unchange- 
 able as the transits of the sun. Dr. Gibbon, in the Smithsonian 
 Report for 1854, thus speaks of these lateral, outlying, feeble, 
 southern extensions of the conditions, though without understand- 
 ing them : " In almost every month of the year during the dry 
 season, the clouds put on the appearance of rain, and then vanish. 
 It is evident that the phenomena which produce rain in other 
 climates, are present in this, but not quite in sufficient degree to 
 accomplish the result, except during the rainy season, and then 
 only by paroxysms, with intervening periods of drouth." And 
 here, during a class of drouths like that of 1854, occasioned by a 
 peculiar concentration and extension of the focal path to the west 
 and north, we have similar appearances, and say, " all signs fail 
 in a dry time," and are reasonably certain that our needed rains 
 will not return until the conditions become more focal over us 
 again, late in August or early in September. But with respect 
 to the eastern part of the continent, that class of drouths are ex- 
 ceptional. So too, in the rainy season of spring and early 
 summer, when the conditions are focal over us, and both frequent 
 and intense, and we say, " it rains very easy now," and it does 
 so almost every day, and the intervals are short, we can calculate 
 with reasonable certainty on the recurrence of rain. But this 
 also is confined to a season of a few weeks, and is exceptional. 
 And it is true, as we have stated, that certainty and regularity of 
 interval between the conditions, is not, as a rule, for the year, 
 to be expected. 
 
'236 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is sometimes true, not merely in the rainy sea- 
 son of spring and fall, but at other times, that the intervals are, 
 in fact, regular for several weeks in succession. It is doubtless 
 within the recollection and experience of every one who has lived 
 long, that at a remembered period, some particular day in the 
 week, for several successive weeks, was stormy ; sometimes with, 
 and at others without, an intervening storm or showery condition 
 on some other day in the week. Those cases too are exceptional, 
 and do not affect the proposition as a general one. 
 
 Nor is there any absolute certainty in respect to the character 
 or intensity of the next condition, on which a local observer can 
 rely. There is probability, dependent upon the season of the year, 
 and the location of the year in the decade, as we shall see, but it 
 is probability merely. 
 
 Nor, in respect to either, is there any reliance on any planetary 
 influence. 
 
 Inasmuch then as there is no certainty, or regularity of inter- 
 val between the conditions, or in respect to the character or inten- 
 sity of the one which will next pass over the observer, it is phil- 
 osophically and logically obvious that his only reliance is, and must 
 be, upon the observable changes of state which the forming, ap- 
 proaching or passing conditions induce ; and as matter of fact it 
 will be found on careful examination that all the most important 
 proverbs and signs which men have observed or adopted, and tra- 
 dition has preserved, are founded on those changes of state ; and 
 that all which are not directly connected with, or indicative of, 
 some one of those states, are empirical and worthless. We must 
 recur then to those states and changes, to trace the manner in 
 which they are initiated, and the prognostic influences to be de- 
 rived from them. 
 
 Before we do this, however, it is essential that we should al- 
 lude to some circumstances which must enter as elements into the 
 consideration of the subject at all times, and in all places, in order 
 to a correct and clear prognostication. 
 
 I. The first element to be considered is the location of the 
 observer. Of the importance of this element, the reader is doubt- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 237 
 
 less satisfied, if he has comprehended the developments made ; 
 but it is fundamentally important, and an additional illustration or 
 two may not be amiss. 
 
 If in February the observer is in Alabama, Eastern Arkansas, 
 Southern Tennessee, Southern Virginia, or North Carolina, he is 
 in the centre of the winter focal path of the Atlantic conditions, 
 subject to the winter rainy season, even when most concentrated, 
 and the conditions will be frequent and intense. If in the same 
 month he is in Western Texas, Western Arkansas, Western Mis- 
 souri, Northern Illinois, or Indiana, he is west or north of that 
 focal path, and will have a comparatively dry season. The con- 
 ditions will occasionally widen or spread out far enough to the 
 west and north, to cover his place of observation, but occasionally 
 only, and be of weak intensity. 
 
 If again his place of observation is in New Mexico, Western 
 Kansas, or Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Upper Canada, 
 the northern edge of the condit r ons will reach him still less fre- 
 quently, and the weather will be comparatively still, cold and 
 clear, with great uniformity. 
 
 If again his place of observation be Fort Yuma, in Southern 
 California, or at the extreme northwestern point of New Mexico, 
 or at the extreme northwestern point of Nebraska or Minnesota, 
 he may be reached by the southern edge of the Pacific conditions, 
 or their influence, during certain years in the early part of the 
 decade ; but in the latter years of the decade it will be otherwise, 
 and no conditions will reach him from either system ; and the 
 weather will generally be clear and unaffected by anything but 
 latitude and altitude. 
 
 If his place of observation is west of the Rocky Mountains, 
 and any considerable distance north of the line drawn through 
 Forts Yuma and Laramie to northwestern Minnesota, he will be 
 covered by the Pacific system of conditions, which increase in 
 intensity arid frequency from San Diego to Astoria, and northeast- 
 ward of them, and are comparatively regular in their frequency 
 and intensity according to the latitude. This, I think will be suf- 
 ficient to satisfy the reader of the importance which the element 
 
238 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 of place bears to the problem. But if not, let us contrast a little. 
 Is he in central or northern Alabama, in August, or September, 
 of a normal year, lie is in the dry season of that section, and if 
 any condition passes over him, it is an exceptional belt of show- 
 ers, drifting to the eastward from the focal path, or a West India 
 gale breaking and moderating upon the coast. 
 
 That focal path is now far to the west over Texas and Mexico, 
 curving to the north and east, spreading out in the early years of 
 the decade, as far as Fort Yuma, and sometimes, as in 1854, as 
 far as San Diego, to the west, and giving New Mexico and the 
 northwestern states their summer supply of rain. And now in 
 August the centre of the focal path of the Pacific conditions has 
 moved up towards Sitka, and the whole coast from Astoria down, 
 and the interior northeastwai d of it, are in a normal state of 
 drouth. The cold, moist coast wind of the ocean moves in upon the 
 land and up the sides of the Coast Range, and over their sum- 
 mits daily, for months without a shower, and without reaching the 
 San Joaquin valley which is said to create them, belying the the- 
 ories which at the same instant are being promulgated from at 
 least thirty Professors' chairs in the eastern states. The intelli- 
 gent reader, if uncommitted to theory, and capable of looking 
 honestly at the matter, cannot doubt, if he would, the importance 
 of this first preliminary element, location. 
 
 II. The second preliminary element to be taken into consider- 
 ation, is the season of the year. The importance of this element 
 is illustrated by what has already been said. The element in- 
 deed is closely connected with the preceding one, and both are 
 connected with the question, where at the time of observation, is the 
 
 focal path of the system of conditions under which the observer is 
 situated? Is that focal path over him, or south, or north, or 
 east, or west of him, and how far ? And what are the probabili- 
 ties that a condition, pursuing the path, will spread out so as to 
 cover his locality at that season of the year ? 
 
 III. The third preliminary element is, what year it is in the 
 decade, and what the state of the sun's surface in relation to spots. 
 We have shown the effect which the presence or absence of spots 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 239 
 
 upon the sun have in carrying the focal paths of the conditions 
 to the south in winter, and extending them north in summer, or 
 contracting them at both extremities, and affecting the rapidity of 
 their transit in the different portions of the decade, and in differ- 
 ent decades. No further evidence can be required to satisfy the 
 honest and intelligent reader of the necessity of this element. 
 Indeed, his own experience must have satisfied him that there is 
 great diversity in the severity or mildness of the winters, and in 
 the earlier or later occurrence of spring, and the continuance of 
 the rainy or dry seasons. The facts I have developed show that 
 these diversities are dependent, in a considerable and appreciable 
 degree, upon the extent to which the power of the sun is affected 
 by the presence or absence of the spots, and that there may be 
 and probably are other causes aiding or neutralizing their effect, 
 which cannot now be regarded, but are sure to be hereafter de- 
 veloped. The Spectroscope seems to be opening the way for 
 further discoveries, and some of interest have already been made, 
 but I have not deemed them sufficiently proved, to be considered 
 in this branch of our inquiry. 
 
 There is another class of facts to which we have more than 
 once alluded, which are rather contingencies than elements, but 
 which bear on this subject and should always be borne in mind, 
 and those are First, that changes of state may be induced by a 
 condition, which may pass by the particular locality, on one hand 
 or the other, without precipitating upon that locality ; and second, 
 that a portion of the conditions one-fifth at least which actual- 
 ly pass over any given locality, are of too feeble intensity to pre- 
 cipitate. When therefore, the question is whether there will be 
 rain or snow, and the changes of state indicate the influence of a 
 passing condition, these two contingencies should be borne in 
 mind, and the intensity of the induced states be regarded in com- 
 ing to a conclusion. 
 
 With these preliminary elements and contingencies well under- 
 stood and appreciated, we may come to the proposition which is 
 fundamental in this branch of our inquiry, viz : that all the prov- 
 erbs and signs which are of any value in the prognostication of 
 
240 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 the weather, are founded upon, or connected with the states in- 
 duced by the forming, approaching, or passing conditions, and all 
 others are empirical and worthless, and should be discarded. And 
 the further proposition that the local observer may and must look 
 to those changes of state, for the evidence on which to base an 
 intelligent and reliable forecast. The time will come when the 
 telegraph will extend his horizon and give more certain results. 
 But it is not yet. 
 
 And now what are the states and changes to which we are to 
 look to determine the immediate future ? There are seven, and 
 we have already enumerated them, and traced them in the order 
 in which they occurred in two passing conditions. But we must 
 here repeat and examine them. 
 
 First. The weight of the atmosphere. 
 
 Second. The temperature. 
 
 Third. The movements of the atmosphere, or winds. 
 
 Fourth. Its clearness or cloudiness. 
 
 Fifth, Its humidity. 
 
 Sixth. In respect to precipitation, rain, hail or snow. 
 
 Seventh. Its electrical state. 
 
 Strictly speaking, perhaps, the sixth should not be included if we 
 were looking to a forecast merely, for the principal object in con- 
 sulting the others is to determine the probability of the occurrence 
 of that particular state ; but our inquiry embraces the question 
 of character and continuance, as well as of coming, and therefore 
 I include it. 
 
 Let us then take up these states severally and successively, 
 and see how far our propositions are sustained, and how we must 
 answer for ourselves the inquiry involved. 
 
 The first in the list is the weight of the atmosphere. That it 
 has weight is universally conceded. Like every other material 
 thing connected with the earth, though exceedingly attenuated 
 and easily moved, it is controlled by the attraction of gravitation, 
 and unaffected by the revolutions of the earth. 
 
 Some philosophers have supposed that they have detected a 
 diurnal tide produced by the attraction of the moon, but the fact 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 241 
 
 cannot be said to be established, and if it was, the tide would be 
 too infinitesimal to be of importance in this inquiry. 
 
 The weight of the atmosphere is measured in two ways by the 
 barometer, and the temperature at which water will boil at the 
 time and place. The boiling point of water at the mean pressure 
 of the atmosphere is 212. It boils at a proportionately less tem- 
 perature, when the weight is decreased by altitude or other 
 causes. The boiling point of water is rarely used to ascertain 
 the weight of the atmosphere with a view to prognostication, and 
 I pass it by. 
 
 Some minor instruments are occasionally used with a view to 
 prognostication ; thus, solutions of camphor and other substances 
 in alcohol, in long and narrow glass vessels, hermetically sealed 
 or otherwise, are sometimes used, the greater or less solution or 
 deposit of the camphor before or after a storm, being relied upon 
 as indications. But upon this instrument three of the states 
 operate, and to some extent neutralize each other. Pressure and 
 humidity operate from without by endosmosis, but the principal 
 agent is the increase or diminution of pressure upon the surface 
 of the fluid, by the expansion or contraction of the vapor and air 
 contained above the fluid in the vessel, if hermetically sealed. 
 Another instrument similar in principle, is made by inverting a 
 Florence flask and inserting its neck in another glass vessel partly 
 filled with colored water. An increase of pressure in the atmos- 
 phere will drive the water up the neck of the flask, overcoming 
 proportionately the resistance of the air by compressing it ; but 
 here again another and frequently counteracting state of the 
 atmosphere is influential, and that is temperature. If the pres- 
 sure of the air increases, and the temperature of the air increases 
 also, the latter will counteract the effect of the former by expand- 
 ing the air in the flask. When pressure increases and tempera- 
 ture decreases, the effect upon the instrument is very observable. 
 So on the other hand, when temperature increases and pressure 
 decreases, the combined effect is quite obvious, but the instru- 
 ment is very sensitive to changes of temperature in the house 
 and is not adapted to out-door exposure. Neither of these in- 
 
242 THE ATilOSrilSRIC SYSTEM. 
 
 struments are in general use or of material practical importance, 
 though both are philosophical and not empirical. 
 
 The barometer is the principal instrument in use for the pur- 
 pose of measuring atmospheric pressure. It is made, as you know, 
 by filling a glass tube 32 or more inches long with dry mercury, 
 and inverting it into a vessel or bag also containing mercury. 
 The top of the mercury settles in the tube to about 30 inches at 
 the level of the sea, during a fair-weather state of the atmos- 
 phere, in the polar zones. There is another kind of barometer 
 termed Aneroid, which is made without mercury, motion being 
 communicated to an index by the pressure of the atmosphere on 
 the movable covering of a vacuum. The mercurial barometer, 
 however, is the one principally in use, and the most certain and 
 reliable. 
 
 The barometer indicates a slight diurnal increase and diminu- 
 tion of the pressure of the atmosphere in set fair weather, but 
 that is of no importance to our present inquiry. 
 
 The barometer also indicates changes in the pressure of the 
 atmosphere occasioned by the inducing influence of passing con- 
 ditions. This indication is often the first change to be perceived. 
 Until quite recently, and perhaps even now in England, they look 
 to & falling barometer only to indicate approaching rain. For a 
 long time the barometers were constructed with movable indices 
 or pointers, and the word " rain " was placed upon the dial where 
 the position of the pointer indicated a diminution of pressure 
 below the mean, and the words " set jair weather" where the 
 pointers indicated an increase of pressure above the mean. 
 
 It is unquestionably true, that all the passing conditions affect 
 the barometer, and true, as a rule, that that influence is percepti- 
 ble before the condition reaches the place of observation. It is 
 further true that the effect of that influence is, sooner or later, to 
 depress the mercury, and the depression is in proportion to the 
 intensity of the influence. If these facts constituted all the 
 elements of the proposition, the barometer would be a perfectly 
 reliable instrument, but there are other facts which must be taken 
 into the account. In the first place, the barometer at one season 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 243 
 
 of the year, and in one class of conditions, is elevated by the first 
 effect of that influence, and in respect to that C;ass, elevation and 
 not depression is the indication of its approach, and the measure 
 of its intensity ; and in the second place, it has no invariable fair- 
 weather standard, a departure from which, by elevation or depres- 
 sion, will indicate with certainty the character and intensity of 
 the approaching condition. Barometers were formerly construct- 
 ed in England, as I have said, whereon the words "set fair 
 weather " were placed above the ordinary mean, and " rain " at 
 depressions below the mean, but they were found deceptive, and 
 are not now so constructed. 
 
 The mean height of the barometer is generally stated by meteor- 
 ologists, and in our text-books, as 30 inches at the level of the 
 sea. This is substantially accurate when taken for long periods 
 and for all latitudes, but there is very considerable diversity in 
 different localities. A few of the mean heights are as follows : 
 
 The mean height of the barometer in England, as kept by 
 
 Howard for a great many years, was - 29.823 
 
 The mean of London, as kept by Daniell, was - 29 92 
 
 The mean under the central belt is 29 92 
 
 " in the N.E. trades of the Atlantic it is - 29 97 
 
 " " " Pacific - 29.99 
 
 " S.E. " " Atlantic - 29.95 
 
 " " Pacific - 30.01 
 
 " off Cape Horn it is - 29.20 
 
 At the Cape of Good Hope - 30.22 
 
 The mean from the northern limits of the trades in the northern 
 hemisphere is higher than in the trades, differing greatly in dif- 
 ferent places, from several causes, the principal of which is the 
 difference in the volume of the equatorial current, or upper trade, 
 which passes over the locality. The annual mean of the United 
 States does not differ materially from 30 inches. 
 
 But the mean of 30 inches, thus spoken of, is the average of 
 all fair weather elevations, and foul weather depressions, and as 
 the foul weather depressions are greater in extent than the fair 
 
244 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 weather elevations, and the latter differ very greatly in different 
 climates in the same latitude, according to their intensity, it is 
 obvious that 30 inches is not a reliable fair-weather standard 
 for any particular place. The greatest known fluctuations of the 
 barometer were 3J inches, and of that range, at least two-thirds 
 was below the mean of 30. The barometer very rarely rises 
 above 31 in this country, and sometimes falls as low as 28, making 
 a range of 3 inches, and it would be safe to say that the ranges, 
 as a rule, are twice as great below 30 as above it. 
 
 And there are other difficulties. The ranges and mean eleva- 
 tion of the barometer differ in different years, in different months 
 of the same year, and in different localities. The reader must 
 endeavor to get the true fair-weather .standard of his locality. 
 To aid him in doing this, regai d must be had to the following 
 rules and considerations. 
 
 In all latitudes the mean height is low when the passing con- 
 ditions are frequent and intense, and that is the main reason why 
 it is so low at Cape Horn. There is at that point an almost con- 
 stant passage of intense conditions, with consequent alternations 
 of N.W. storm winds, and 1S.W. clearing off winds. Eastwardly, 
 at the Cape of Good Hope, the barometer ranges much as in the 
 northern hemisphere under similar circumstances, and so it does on 
 the west coast of South America, above the Horn. For the same 
 reason mainly, the mean height of the barometer is lower in 
 Europe than here. They have more frequent, though less intense 
 conditions, and the changes in the barometer are more frequent 
 and the ranges less. At the same time their volume of upper trade 
 is also less. In this country the range of the barometer is affected 
 by the same causes. It ranges lower, therefore, under the focal 
 path of the conditions, and during the rainy reason, than upon 
 either side of it. And its range differs in different years also, 
 because the frequency and intensity of the conditions differ in 
 different years. The first is shown by the following table : 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 245 
 
 o io 8 
 8 3 8 S 
 
 i-H I 
 
 3 8 
 
 C5 ** 
 
 3 3 3 S8 ^ 
 
 rH l^ CO O 
 
 I- CD ^> t- 
 O> O CO OO 
 
 i oo 
 
 
 
 s s 
 
 OS O) 
 
 S S S 8 
 
 2 53 
 
 05 co 
 
 i i 
 
 c-i 1-7 
 
 CD OO * O5 
 
 S3 S & 
 
 a 8 
 
 3 s j t : .2 
 * ~ .5 a ^a 
 
 a -a 5 s o 
 
 'Ssa 
 
21G THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 The foregoing table is taken from Blodgett's " Climatology of 
 the United States," and contains all the positions given in that 
 table from the United States. It will be observed that there is 
 at every station a decrease and increase during the months of the 
 year, and through a substantially regular curve. Meteorologists 
 have attributed the decrease in spring and summer, and the in- 
 crease in winter, to the decrease and increase of temperature, but 
 they mistake. The increase and decrease, on the face of the table, 
 must be attributed to other causes, for at Para, Brazil, where the 
 barometer is at its minimum in November and December, and 
 at its maximum in July, there is no difference in the temperature 
 of the place which will account for the elevation in July, and the 
 depression in December. Para is near latitude 2 8., and the 
 sun is not farther north of it when the maximum elevation is 
 reached in July, than it is south of it when the minimum is 
 reached in November and December, nor is there a material dif- 
 ference in the temperature of the two periods. Moreover the 
 elevation decreases as the sun approaches from the north, and the 
 heat increases. 
 
 Observe again, that at Cambridge, Mass., the minimum is 
 reached in June, and there is a very rapid increase in July and 
 August, which are the hottest months in the year, and the eleva- 
 tion is greater in August than in February. In those months the 
 focal path is at the north, and the conditions are occasional. 
 Observe again, that the minimum in Philadelphia is reached in 
 May, and there is an increase during July and August. The 
 same thing is true of Washington in the District of Columbia. 
 At Toronto, Canada, there is an increase during the spring until 
 May, when there is a sudden depression, continued through June, 
 followed by an increase during July and August. At Hudson, 
 Ohio, the minimum occurs in May, conforming to the more rapid 
 extension of the focal path to the northwest of the mountains, 
 and there is a rapid increase from thence until September. At 
 Glenwood, Tenn., the minimum is reached in April, and there is 
 a rapid increase from thence to August. At Sitka, the minimum 
 is reached in December, and the maximum in July as in Para. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 217 
 
 The facts disclosed in this table, conform perfectly with my 
 observation. The barometer ranges the lowest when the focal 
 path of the conditions is over us in its ascent to the north, in the 
 spring and early summer. Thus, Glenwood, Tenn., has its min- 
 imum in April. St. Louis, Washington, and Philadelphia have 
 their minimum in May, which is their rainy season. Cambridge, 
 Mass., has its minimum in June, and in Toronto, Canada, the fall 
 from April to May and June is sudden and great. At Para, the 
 belt of rains is at the north in midsummer, when the maximum oc- 
 curs, and the subsequent rapid fall is coincident with the return 
 of the belt and rainy season, as it is here. The rain fall at Sitka 
 is peculiar, as may be seen by referring back to the table we have 
 already given ; and by referring also, to a table given of the winds 
 it will be seen that their winds are in like manner peculiar. The 
 rainy season does not set in, as will be seen from the table, until 
 August, and their heaviest falls of rain are in September and 
 October, the rainy season continuing until December. Thus there 
 is a substantial conformity between the depression of the barom- 
 eter and the occurrence of the rainy season, at Sitka also. It is 
 unnecessary to pursue this subject farther. I am satisfied, and the 
 reader should be satified, that neither the fact nor the cause I have 
 assigned can be successfully questioned. Certainly if he will 
 observe for himself, he will be satisfied. 
 
 In conformity with these facts, it may be stated that the ba- 
 rometer ranges highest on the north and south of the focal 
 pa'hof the conditions, and in the winter and autumn. It is fre- 
 quently true in New England, that its mean range is so high that it 
 does not fall below 30 during very considerable snow storms in win- 
 ter. It is common also in the eastern states for it to rise from -j 4 ^ 
 to T 6 o above 30, when a northeast snow storm is approaching, and 
 still higher before a thaw. It is during that period of the year, and 
 generally in the winter months, that it attains its highest elevations. 
 I have rarely known it to reach 31 at any other sea on. The read- 
 er must be careful here, not to mistake. I am speaking of the ba- 
 rometer standing at, or corrected for, its elevation at the level of 
 the sea. The reader must therefore make allowance for his eleva- 
 
248 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 tion, whatever it may be. If his elevation above the level of the 
 sea is 917 feet, he should allow one inch and proportionately for 
 a less elevation. If 1,860 feet, he should allow two inches, and 
 proportionately for a less elevation. If 2,830 feet, he should de- 
 duct three inches. If 3,830 feet, four inches. If 4,861 feet, five 
 inches. This is according to the formula of La Place, and in- 
 cludes all corrections. But it is sufficiently accurate for all prac- 
 tical purposes in a matter of this kind, to say, that the barometer 
 sinks an inch for every thousand feet of ascent, and as a matter 
 of convenience, it is well enough to do so. When therefore I 
 say that the barometer frequently rises from ^ to T ^y above 30 ? 
 I mean a barometer standing, as mine does, substantially at the 
 level of the sea j and the reader who tests the accuracy of my 
 statement, must deduct ^ -fa, y 3 ff , -^ or more of an inch, if his 
 altitude is 1, 2, 3, 4, or more hundred feet above the level of the 
 sea. 
 
 What I have said in reference to the elevation of the barome- 
 ter in the winter season, on the north of the focal path, must be 
 understood as stating what is generally true. There are occasion- 
 ally severe and exceptional winters, when the focal path descends 
 low, and is unusually contracted and concentrated, when the ba- 
 rometer remains at about 30 and sometimes even less for very 
 considerable periods. I have known two or three such winteis, 
 the wind holding steady but light from W.N.W. to N.W. The 
 most remarkable instance I have known, occurred during the cold 
 decade from 1830 to 1840. In one instance there was no south- 
 erly wind, and no condition passed over us and very little upper 
 trade for six weeks. President Dwight, in his Travels and His- 
 tory of New England, describes two such winters during the cold 
 decade from 1780 to 1790. He says : " In 1787 the west wind 
 began to blow about the 20th of November, and continued its 
 progress with only four short interruptions until the '20th of the 
 following March somewhat more than 100 days. During the 
 whole time the weather for the season was very cold." Also, "In 
 1780 the wind blew from the west more than six weeks without 
 any intermission, and during the whole of this time, the weather 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 249 
 
 was so cold that snow did not dissolve sufficiently to give drops 
 from the southern eaves of houses." It is during the winter and 
 spring that the N.E. storms are most common, and their approach 
 is foretold by a rise of the barometer, and it is during this period 
 when the focus of the condition passes to the south of us, that 
 the wind backs from the N.E. into the N.W. as the storm passes 
 by and it is clearing off. 
 
 Having thus considered the peculiarities attending the range of 
 the barometer on the north of the focal path, let us look at them 
 when the focal path is over us, and we are having our rainy sea- 
 son. The barometer does not then rise so high, and sinks lower. 
 Nor does it always ascend in fair weather between the conditions. 
 The fair weather intervals between the conditions are less fre- 
 quently not more than twenty-four hours, and sometimes there 
 are scarcely any intervals. The air does not become dry even 
 with the northerly wind. Wood work swells and everything be- 
 comes damp and sticky, and frequently quite wet, and although 
 the barometer vibrates up and down, it does not rise promptly to 
 any considerable elevation after the passage of a condition, as at 
 other seasons. 
 
 When the focal path has moved to the north of us, and we 
 begin to get the southerly winds of the passing conditions and 
 they " clear off warm" and for that reason "summer breaks upon 
 us " with some of those hot days which surprise us with their 
 contrasts, the peculiarities in the action of the barometer change 
 again. It does not now indicate the approach of a condition by 
 a sudden rise. It ascends in the interval to its ordinary summer 
 fair weather position, and what that is in the particular locality 
 the observer must determine, but rarely takes any of those high 
 flights to which it is subject in winter and spring. When it feels 
 the influence of the approaching condition of that season, a belt 
 of showers, it commences falling steadily, and falls rapidly or 
 slowly, in proportion to the intensity of the condition, and the ra- 
 pidity of its approach ; rising again, slowly and steadily, after the 
 condition is past. This is true in respect to conditions which ap- 
 proach overland from the west. It does sometimes rise on the 
 12 
 
250 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 approach of an intense hurricane condition up the coast, and after- 
 wards fall rapidly and very considerably at those places which are 
 covered by the condition. 
 
 I do not intend to give you specific " Rules " for observation 
 you can and must deduce them from the facts but in respct to 
 this matter of a fair weather standard I will say : 
 
 1st. Your mean fair weather elevation of the barometer will 
 range between 30 and 30^ inches, deducting therefrom ^ of an 
 inch for every one hundred feet, or to be perfectly accurate, every 
 91 and ^ feet of altitude above the level of the sea. Or to be 
 sufficiently accurate, -^ of an inch for every 91 feet. 
 
 2d. That fair weather elevation will average higher in winter 
 when the focal path is south of the observer, in normal years, 
 than in midsummer when it is at the north of him. It will 
 average lowest when the focal path is over him in spring and 
 early summer. 
 
 3d. A fair weather point cannot be fixed for either period, ex- 
 cept approximately. If I should attempt to fix them I should 
 say, 30^ for the period when the focal path is farthest south, if 
 not unusually concentrated, 30^ when it is farthest north, and 
 30 when centrally focal, deducting, as in rule 1st, for altitude, and 
 scaling gradually from one to the other, as the focal path changes 
 its position. But it must be borne in mind that a great contrac- 
 tion and concentration of the upper or counter trade, down upon 
 the southeastern states, will produce great cold and a low fair 
 weather barometer west and north of them in very severe winters. 
 
 It is not my purpose, as I have said, to give you any general 
 rules or maxims in relation to the indications of the barometer. 
 Such a collection could not be of general application, in all parts 
 of the country, in all years, and in all seasons alike. No collec- 
 tion of rules has been made for this country. Several have been 
 made for Great Britain. That of Dr. Brand, which embraced 
 but seven rules, was for a long time, the popular one. It may be 
 found in the 2d Volume of the " New American Cyclopedia," 
 page 657. 
 
 A much longer list has recently been published by Mr. Stein- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 251 
 
 metz in his work entitled " Sunshine and Showers." It may be 
 instructive to take up this list and analyze it, and see whether 
 any additional light is thrown upon the subject. 
 His rules are as follows : 
 
 I. " It the barometer has been about its ordinary height, say 
 30 inches at the sea-level, and is steady or rising, whilst the ther- 
 mometer falls, and dampness becomes less, then northwesterly, 
 northerly, or northeasterly wind, or less wind, less rain or snow 
 may be expected." 
 
 This merely describes the clearing off change of a condit : on 
 of very weak intensity. 
 
 II. " If a fall take place with a rising thermometer, and in- 
 creased dampness, wind and rain may be expected from the south- 
 eastward, southward, southwestward." 
 
 This describes three indications of a coming southerly rain, a 
 change in weight, temperature, and humidity. 
 
 III. "In winter, a fall with a low barometer foretels snow." 
 I have seen nothing of this kind in our climate. 
 
 IV. " A fall of the barometer, with unusually high tempera- 
 ture for the season, will be followed by a southerly wind, with 
 rain ; and during the gale the barometer may begin to rise, and 
 be followed by another from the northward ; but then the ther- 
 mometer will fall for change of temperature, and show the direc- 
 tion of the coming wind." 
 
 This describes the programme, in part, of an intense belt of 
 showers or of a southeaster, like those on pages 14 and 24. 
 
 V. "But northerly winds will follow a fall of the barometer 
 at all times, if the thermometer below (for the season) and south- 
 erly wind if the thermometer be high for the sea^n." 
 
 The first part of this is a mere description, by way of contra-t, 
 of the order of events when the condition has nearly passed, and 
 it is about to clear off the second, the order of events when it is 
 approaching. 
 
 VI. " The barometer is lowest of all during a thaw following 
 a long frost.^ 
 
 The same is true here in our winter thaws, which are warm 
 southeasters. 
 
 VII. " In like manner the glass falls very low with south and 
 west winds in general." 
 
 All this means is, that the barometer falls, as a rule, lowest on 
 the southerly side and with the southerly winds of a condition. 
 
 VIII. " If the barometer falls with the wind in the north, we 
 
252 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 must prepare for weather of the worst description, rain and 
 Storms in summer, snow and severe frosts in winter and early 
 spring." 
 
 A general description of the comparative severity of north- 
 easters. 
 
 IX. " A rapid rise in winter, after bad weather, is usually 
 followed by clear skies and hard, white frosts." 
 
 This is merely descriptive of a clearing off, and is repetition. 
 
 X. " During frosty weather, if the barometer falls it denotes 
 a thaw ; but if the wind goes again to the north, the mercury 
 will rise and the frost set in again." 
 
 Descriptive of the passage of a weak, brief, and imperfect con- 
 dition. 
 
 XL " During broken and cold weather in the winter, with 
 northerly winds, a sudden rise of the barometer foreshows a 
 change of the wind to the southward, with rain." 
 
 It is otherwise here such a sudden rise is followed by a north- 
 easter. 
 
 XII. " If, during a northerly and easterly wind in winter, the 
 barometer rises slowly, expect snow or cloudy weather." 
 
 Common in our winter northeasters, where the first rise is slow, 
 but becomes rapid before the storm appears. 
 
 XIII. " In a continuous frost, if the mercury rise, it will cer- 
 tainly snow." 
 
 Same as preceding. 
 
 XIV. " Whilst the barometer stands above 30, the air must 
 be very dry or very cold, or perhaps both, and no rain may be 
 expected." 
 
 True enough probably. 30 is probably the fair weather point 
 there. 
 
 XV. " Of course a great rise in summer means dry and warm 
 weather, and if this be of long duration, the question is, how will 
 it end ? If a sudden fall, of two or three-tenths occur, we must 
 prepare for a storm of rain, or thunder and rain. This usually 
 follows a period of unusual heat, unless northerly and easterly 
 winds are to succeed with drouth." 
 
 This is scarcely intelligible. If true there, it is untrue and is 
 inapplicable here. A " great rise " does not precede our summer 
 belt, nor is it common during our drouths. 
 
 XVI. " Thunder storms are not always foretold by the ba- 
 rometer ; indeed the barometer cannot indicate electricity, as some 
 of the barometer maxims seem to infer. We mu<t consult the 
 clouds and our feelings for thunder. The barometer falls, but 
 not always, on the approach of thunder and lightning. It is in very 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 253 
 
 hot weather that the fall of the mercury indicates thunder. 
 Tliuiiuer clouds rising from northeastward ayainst the wind, do 
 not usually cause a fail in the barometer, simply because they 
 are borne onward by a p f >lar current, which is dense. An ap- 
 proaching thunder storm is indicated by a rapid decrease of the 
 daily evaporation during hot weather." 
 
 This is unimportant, in relation to the barometer here. Thun- 
 der clouds do not rise from the northeast with us. 
 
 XVII. u A rising barometer with a southerly wind is gen- 
 erally followed by fine weather ; but then it will be generally 
 observed that a change of wind occurs a,t the same time, or very 
 shortly after." 
 
 A mere general description of the action of the barometer after 
 a clear off, and before the wind has had time to change. 
 
 XVIII. " During storms the mercury will be seen to rise and 
 fall continually, and to be in a state of general agitation. While 
 this lasts, no nope of good weather can be entertained." 
 
 Sometimes occurs here in the rainy season. 
 
 XIX. *' Although some rain may occasionally fall with a high 
 barometer, it is usually of trifling amount, and of short duration." 
 
 Applicable only to passing squalls from the northwest, such as 
 described, and conditions passing by at the south. 
 
 XX. " When the barometer stands very low indeed, there will 
 never be much rain ; although, on the other hand, a fine day will 
 seldom occur at such times. The air must be very warm or very 
 moist or both, and so there will be only short heavy showers, with 
 sudden squalls of wind from the west." 
 
 Describes the action of the instrument in their rainy season. 
 Here everything is more intense in that season. 
 
 XXI. " A sudden fall of the barometer, with a westerly wind, 
 is sometimes followed by a violent storm from N.W. to N.N.E." 
 
 Unknown here. 
 
 XXII. " In summer, after a long continuance of fair weather, 
 the barometer will fall gradually for two or three days before rain 
 come* ; but if the fall be very sudden, then a thunderstorm is at 
 hand." 
 
 True everywhere in respect to a belt of showers ; but it is rep- 
 etition. 
 
 IXII 1. "When ihe barometer is high, dark, dense clouds 
 will pass over the sky, without rain ; but if the glass be low, it 
 will often rain without any appearance of clouds." 
 
 The dark, dense clouds are N.W. scud, from which no rain 
 falls except in short squalls rain without cloud I never saw. 
 
254 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 XXIV. " If wet weather happens soon after the fall of the 
 barometer, there w 11 be little of it. In fair weather, if the glass 
 falls much, and remains low, expect much wet in a few clays, and 
 probably wind. In wet weather, if the glass continues lo fall, 
 expect much wet." 
 
 The first part of this relates to belts of showers which proba- 
 bly do not precipitate much in that climate. The rest looks like 
 the occurrence of the rainy season. 
 
 XXV. " The barometer sinks lowest of all for wind and rain 
 together ; next for wind, except it be an east or northeast wind." 
 
 That is to say it will not fall so low in a weak condition that 
 does not precipitate, as it % will in an intense one that does. 
 
 XXVI. " Instances of fine weather with a low glass occur, 
 however, rarely ; but they are alway.3 forerunners to a duration 
 of wind or rain, if not both." 
 
 Not intelligible, unless it refers to an occasional clear day in 
 the rainy season. 
 
 XXVII. u Our storms are generally announced by a fall of 
 the barometer, and a tendency of the wind towards east and 
 south ; the return of fine weather, by a rise and a pretty strong 
 west wind, apparent in the motions of the clouds before it is felt 
 below." 
 
 A restatement of the order of events on the occurrence of a 
 class of condition-; applicable everywhere in the hemisphere. 
 
 XXVIII. " A great and sudden change, either from hot to 
 cold or from cold to hot, is generally followed by rain within 
 twenty-four hours ; because, in the change from hot to cold, the 
 cold condenses the a?r and its vapor, which being condensed, fails 
 in rain ; and in the change from cold to hot, the air is quickly 
 saturated with moisture, and as ?oon as night comes on, the tem- 
 perature is lowered again, and some of the abundant moisture 
 falls in rain." 
 
 .Not true here. A great change from hot to cold follows, but 
 is not followed by rain in our climate, unless it be a brief N.W. 
 squall. 
 
 XXIX. " When heat rapidly follows cold, the evaporation, 
 which was checked by cold, is carried on very rapidly, in conse- 
 quence of the diminished pressure of the air by heat. The less 
 the pressure of the air, the more rapid the evaporation of 
 moisture." 
 
 The application of this t > the barometer is not apparent. 
 
 XXX. " The barometer varies most in winter, because the 
 difference of temperature between the torrid and temperate zones 
 is much greater, and produces a greater disturbance in the state 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 255 
 
 of the air. It varies least in summer, because the temperature 
 of our island is so nearly equal to that of the torrid zone or hot 
 regions of the earth, that its state is not much disturbed by inter- 
 change of currents." 
 
 This is philosophy, and not a " rule." 
 
 XXXI. " Heat and cold do not of themselves affect the bar- 
 ometer, but because cold weather is either generally dry or rough, 
 with N.E. winds, the air being denser and heavier therefore the 
 mercury rises in cold weather, but in warm weather, the air is 
 often moist and less dense, with S. W. winds and therefore lighter, 
 and so its pressure is less, thus causing the mercury to fall." 
 
 Philosophy again and unimportant. 
 
 XXXII. " If the top of the column of mercury be convex, 
 or higher in the middle than at the sides, it is rising ; if lower, or 
 concave, it is falling. This is caused by the attraction of the glass- 
 tube in contact with the mercury." 
 
 True everywhere, and worthy of attention where slight changes 
 are important. 
 
 " Such are the chief rules and maxims of the barometer with 
 reference to agricultural pursuits, the season-;, and the crops." 
 (Sunshine and Showers, pages 259-265.) 
 
 I have thus separately examined the rules copied from Mr. 
 Steinrnetz. It is obvious they might be very much condensed 
 and much more clearly expressed. It is equally obvious that they 
 might be much more certain and reliable, even for that climate, 
 if the action they describe was connected \\iih an intelligent de- 
 scription of the different conditions to which the different rules 
 relate. No rules can be of value unless so connected with a de- 
 scription of the peculiar conditions on which they are founded. 
 In the foregoing pages" I have given my readers a description of 
 the action of the barometer, in connection with the disc.r ption of 
 the conditions, and at the various seasons, and they will find little 
 or nothing in the English rules that will be new, or independently 
 useful to them. 
 
 The second state which is an element in prognostication i- tern 
 perature. This is important in connection with the other elements, 
 as an indication of the approach of a condition, and important 
 also as furnishing an indication of its character and continuance, 
 
256 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 but still more important to t e considered in relation to its changes, 
 when the condition is passing away. Let us consider it in the 
 three points of view. 
 
 First, as furnishing an indication of the approach of a condi- 
 tion. In winter, when the normal state of clear cold weather 
 exists, among the other early indications of the approach of a 
 stormy condition, is an increase of temperature. I have illustra- 
 ted this so often in the course of the developments I have made, 
 that it ought now to be clearly impressed upon your minds. 
 Under the circumstances mentioned, it always "moderates to storm" 
 No more perfect illustration or description of that truth can be 
 given, than in the two descriptions of storms as they occurred 
 within the Arctic circle, copied in the last chapter, from the reg- 
 ister of Dr. Kane. It will be sufficient therefore to add here, that 
 as an indication of the approach of a winter-storm, which is invari- 
 ably present, and nearly simultaneous with the rise of the barom- 
 eter and the appearance of cirrus condensation, it should always 
 be looked for and regarded. Unless there is a moderation of the 
 temperature, commencing about the same time or soon after, the 
 other indications should be regarded with suspicion. 
 
 When the season advances, and the mean daily temperature is 
 above 65, an elevation of the thermometer is not to be expected 
 upon the approach of a northeast storm. In the hdtest seasons 
 of the year, the temperature never exceeds 70, during a north- 
 east storm. When it ranges above that in the daytime, but on a 
 given day fails to rise higher, or having risen falls to that point or 
 below, it is as certain an indication of the character of the ap- 
 proaching condition, as the precedent, sudden and considerable 
 rise of the barometer is. 
 
 During the rainy season, changes of temperature, though less 
 distinctly marked, are worthy of note, as indications. The prev- 
 alent winds during that season, if it occur in the spring or earb 
 summer, are easterly, and their chilliness proverbial. 
 
 In relation to the approach of a belt of showers, temperatui 
 is an important indication. It always rises high, and above the 
 mean of the season, on the southeasterly side of those belts ; it 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 257 
 
 is therefore a distinguishing characteristic, as well of their ap- 
 proach, as their intensity. The " hot spells" as our fathers called 
 them, " heated terms" as it is now the fashion to characterize 
 them are an elemental part of the condition, and the excessive 
 he it is created by the cause which organizes and continues the con- 
 dition. Very hot weather sometimes occurs in midsummer, dur- 
 ing drouths, which is not connected with, or a part of an approach- 
 ing condition, but is the mere effect of an unclouded sun, operat- 
 ing upon a dry and heated soil. Two characteristics, however, 
 distinguish the incident heat of the condition, om the mere heat 
 created by the sun. 1st, The latter does not rise so high, and it 
 cools off by radiation, at night, rarely rising to 90, in the day 
 time, east of the Rocky Mountains, unless there has been a long 
 continued drouth, and cooling off during the night to 70, or below. 
 In the 2d place, the incident heat of an approaching condition is 
 both humid and electric a state which is variously described as 
 sultry, muggy, close, &c., and the temperature continues high 
 through the night and into the morning when the condition is to 
 arrive. The humid, electric, muggy heat of an approaching in- 
 tense belt of showers, would be scarcely endurable, if it was not 
 tempered by the accompanying incident, southerly wind. All this 
 will address itself to common experience. 
 
 Temperature is also an important element in relation to the 
 character which the storm will assume. In the middle latitudes 
 of the country it is usually an interesting inquiry whether a com- 
 ing winter storm will be one of snow or rain, and one of the ele- 
 ments by which this que tion is answered, is temperature. 
 
 Snow sometimes falls from the northwest ecud in squalls, for a 
 few moments or even half an hour, early in the spring and late 
 in the fall, when the thermometer is considerably above the freez- 
 ing point. Snow sometimes also falls in the early part of storms, 
 after the thermometer has risen above the freezing point, but 
 unless the thermometer falls again soon, the snow will turn to 
 rain ; for snow does not often fall for any great length of time 
 with the thermometer above the freezing point, and when it does, 
 it is usually in large flakes, which indicate that it is about to turn 
 
2o8 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 to rain. Fnow sometimes falls with the thermometer near zero, 
 but such instances are rare. We have seen that in the Arctic 
 circle, in a storm described by Dr. Kane, the thermometer rose 
 to about zero. So when a snow storm is approaching in the mid- 
 dle latitudes of this country, if the thermometer is near zero, the 
 temperature generally rises about 20 before the snow falls. The 
 usual range of temperature in snow storms, there-ore, between 
 the latitudes 3-j and 5 >, is from 20 to 30, according to lati ude, 
 and the severity of the season. Between 40 and 41, according 
 to my observation, the thermometer ranges from 24 to 30 from 
 the commencement to the close of such a storm, in the majority 
 of instances. 
 
 Rain sometimes falls when the thermometer is low. I have 
 often heard the expression, " it is too cold to snow," and also the 
 expression, " it is going to rain, it is too cold for snow," and there- 
 is seeming truth in both. As to the first, it is to be observed 
 that it is obviously founded on the experienced fact that it gener- 
 ally does moderate up to a certain point before it snows, but the 
 moderation does not cause the snow ; it is but an incident effect 
 of the storm action. So it is an experienced fact that rain fe- 
 quently falls when the thermometer ranges lower than the ordin- 
 a y snow point, freezing to the trees and constituting what is com- 
 monly called'an ice-storm ; but there again the fall of rain is not oc- 
 casioned by the continued low temperature, but by a warm souther- 
 ly current in the upper part of the surface story, the storm being 
 exceptional, and liav'ng its focus to the north. Neither expres- 
 sion therefore is philosophically correct. 
 
 Very warm southe^sters sometimes oc'cur, even in severe win- 
 ters, and one or two may be expected m ordinary winters, in 
 January, for " January thaws " are proverbial. They are usually 
 southeaster, caused by a very large, concentrated, and exceptional 
 irruption of the counter or upper trade, west and north of the then 
 focal path; having a warm area on the!r eastern f on t, corres- 
 ponding to the l:ot area which they present on the same front in 
 the summer months. The one whit h I described in the firs'; 
 chapter, and wl.ich is represented by the diagram on page 24, ij 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 259 
 
 a fair representation of such a storm ; except that, as that one oc- 
 curred in autumn, its path at its commencement was farther to the 
 west than is usual with winter southeast thaws. The thermometer, 
 in the advancing portion of such a storm, will attain an elevation 
 of from 40 to 50, and sometimes more, whatever its previous 
 depression may have been ; and it notunfrequently happens tliat 
 the thermometer is near zero in northern New England when it 
 is at 45 in the same latitude at the Mississippi river, on the front 
 of the storm. But in such cases, the warm area of the advanc- 
 ing storm raises the temperature to 45, when it arrives over New 
 England the following day. 
 
 Warm periods of several days continuance, without distinct 
 storm action, sometimes occur, even in midwinter, especially in the 
 early years of the decade. In such cases, the barometer attains 
 gradually a very high elevation, and it is at such times that I have 
 seen it as high as 31 inches. The thermometer does not then at- 
 tain a sudden and excessive elevation indeed it never does except 
 from intense storm action in our latitudes but it does attain an 
 agreeable elevation, commonly and aptly expressed by the term 
 "mild" Those exceptional states of the weather are produced by 
 an increased volume of counter or upper trade, generally diffused 
 over the whole country, and not concentrated in a large body, or a 
 long band, or upon the usual focal path, so as to make a storm. 
 
 The thermometer may also be watched during the existence of 
 storms, with reference to their continuance. In a northeast 
 storm in the spring of the year and at other seasons, when the 
 focus of the storm is to the southeast of the observer, if the ther- 
 mometer falls and the wind backs into the north, the rain is 
 usually at an end. The wind will continue to back to the N.W., 
 and it will soon after light up in that quarter, and fair weather 
 return as the storm passes away to the eastward. If, however, it 
 veers back to the N.E. it will continue. In those northeasters 
 where the focus is over the observer, or to the north of him, the 
 cessation of the rain is usually accompanied by a rise in the ther- 
 mometer, and a temporary lull in the wind, followed by the wind 
 afterwards coming out from the west and hauling slowly into the 
 
260 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 northwest. A similar lull sometimes occurs in southeasters with 
 a fall of the thermometer. The rain is then over. If the wind 
 has been very heavy from the southeast, this lull will be followed 
 by a sudden change to the northwest. This is most common in 
 the intense hurricane storms which come up the coast. In a ma- 
 ' jority of the southeasters, the wind hauls gradually round through 
 the southwest and west to the northwest, the thermometer rising 
 gradually. 
 
 A very sudden change in the thermometer is frequently expe- 
 rienced when a belt of showers is passing over us with or with- 
 out a change of wind to the northward. The southerly wind 
 usually lulls before the precipitating body of the cloud reaches us, 
 and in many though not perhaps the majority of instances 
 there is a heavy gust from the westward preceding the fall of rain 
 and continuing during that fall. Such gusts are frequently ac- 
 companied by a very considerable fall in the temperature. 
 
 All the conditions which have a southerly wind, and a warm or 
 hot area on their easterly or southeasterly sides, have northerly 
 winds and a cool or cold area on their westerly or northerly sides. 
 Changes in the thermometer in a few hours are sometimes very 
 great. It is impossible to describe in adequate terms the impor- 
 tance of understanding and heeding this fact, for it is thus that 
 the sudden changes from heat to cold are produced. Let it be 
 understood that the frame which is now sweltering with all its 
 pores open, in a humid atmosphere of 85 or perhaps 90 on the 
 hot side of a condition, will, as a matter of course, and by the 
 operation of perfectly intelligible and unalterable laws, in a few 
 hours be exposed to the chilling temperature of 60 or 65 under 
 the cold side of it, and the additional chill occasioned by a rapid 
 evaporation in its peculiar dry air. And let it be understood that 
 it is by such changes, so occurring and so capable of being fore- 
 casted, but which are unregarded, that a great majority of the 
 diseases which bring suffering and death to our dwellings, are pro- 
 duced. A word to the wise is said to be sufficient, but how many 
 parents are wise for their children, to protect them against these 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 261 
 
 fatal changes ? How many are wise for themselves, and aim to 
 understand the inevitable change, and guard against its influence ? 
 
 In the hope of exciting your attention to this matter as it de- 
 serves, let me direct it to the following diagram, copied from a 
 work by Dr. Torrey, which represents these sudden changes in 
 a striking and accurate manner. The Dr. took first the monthly 
 and annual temperature at Key West, which is an island at the 
 southern extremity of the Peninsula of Florida. He first rep- 
 resents the isothermal line of 76, which is the mean annual tem- 
 perature of the place, by a dotted line. He then represents by 
 a large white line the mean monthly temperature, which is at 68 
 in the month of January, and rises gradually, though somewhat 
 irregularly to 81 in July, and descends again to 68 in January. 
 Crossing this line, are the connected perpendicular lines, showing 
 the extreme changes from cold to hot which occur in each month. 
 The changes are not very great at Key West. But in contrast 
 with them, he gives a representation of the annual temperature 
 and monthly changes at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, projected upon 
 the diagram in like manner. These projections represent the 
 temperature and changes at extreme points, and the temperature 
 and changes at the place where the reader resides, if between the 
 two, will vary in a corresponding degree. But he may see at a 
 glance how very great these changes are in all parts of the coun- 
 try, and during every month, and the importance of watching 
 them and guarding against their fatal influences. The horizontal 
 lines represent degrees of Fahrenheit. 
 
 And in this connection let me say, that it is after one of these 
 belts has passed, and after its northerly wind has blown for a day 
 or two, that we have our unseasonable frosts. That is the time to 
 look out for them in August and September. In a majority of 
 cases the dreaded '* first frost," does not occur early in September, 
 unless the northerly wind continues two days; but it does sometimes 
 come in the first night after the clearing off. Frost makes at the 
 surface of the ground, as soon as my thermometer, hanging 5 feet 
 from the ground, falls below 40, and if the thermometer is at or 
 below 50 at sundown, frost is very probable, if the night is still 
 and clear. After the wind has blown from the northward through 
 
262 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 38. 
 
 SI 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 263 
 
 the day the thermometer falls rapidly after night fall. "Wind or 
 (Cloudiness prevent frost, but both may disappear before morning 
 and frost ensue. 
 
 The third state which is an element in prognostication is the 
 wind. The importance of this element is apparent. The con- 
 ditions themselves are characterized as northeasters, southeaster, 
 etc., by their special and pecu 'iar winds ; and that the southerly 
 winds, according to their freshness and earne tness, are reliable 
 indications of the approach and intensity of the showery condi- 
 tions, we have more than once had occasion to observe. Jfreezes 
 are often local, but there are no fresh, earnest winds, unless created 
 by the influence of some approaching or passing condition, and 
 the quarter from which they blow, and their force, are consequent- 
 ly among the most reliable indications we have. Ordinarily the 
 wind and its direction and force are felt, or indicated by the 
 wind vane ; but it is often observable before it is felt at the sur- 
 face, by its scud, or by sounds. Thus, sounds from the point from 
 which the wind is blowing above, heard with unusual distinctness, 
 are sometimes the very first changes noticed. 
 
 The roar of the surf, or breaking of the waves on the shore, 
 when great bodies of water are disturbed by a precedent storm- 
 wind, often heard before the wind is perceived on the land, I have 
 already alluded to. And thus Virgil : 
 
 "When storms are brooding in the lee ward gulf 
 Dash the swelled waves; the mighty mountains pour 
 A harsh, dull murmur; far along the beach 
 Rolls the deep rushing roar." 
 
 Those of us who live on the shores of Long Inland Sound, or 
 nny of the harbors or coasts of the Atlantic., or the lakes, can 
 realize the truth of the foregoing. I have often heard the roar 
 of the surf before an easterly storm, several hours before the 
 wind was felt at my house three miles from the shore. 
 
 The moaning or whistling of the wind all have noticed. It is 
 not uncommon to hear the expression, " The wind sounds like 
 rain." Jcnner says : 
 
 " The hollow winds begin to blow." 
 
264: THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 And Virgil : 
 
 " The whispering grove 
 Betrays the gathering elemental strife." 
 
 This whispering is the motion of the leaves ; and they are often 
 stirred by a peculiar motion which is not that of wind. Some- 
 times every leaf upon a tree may be seen vibrating with an up- 
 ward and downward motion, when there is not wind enough to 
 stir a twig. This interesting phenomenon is electrical. Trees, 
 and all vegetables, confessedly discharge electricity, and such dis- 
 charges move the leaves, when very active. But the wind soon 
 follows. 
 
 With us, sounds can be heard more distinctly from the east or 
 south, before storms, according to the character of the coming 
 wind. Howard mentions an instance when he heard carriages five 
 miles off. Steamboat paddles, railroad cars, and other sounds, are 
 often heard a great distance. The distance at which the now 
 common steam-whistle is heard, and the direction, is not an unim- 
 portant auxiliary indication of the weather. Howard attributes 
 these peculiar phenomena to the " sounding board," made by the 
 stratum of cloud; but sounds may be heard from the north-west, 
 when there is no condensation, and the wind is from that quarter, 
 and also from the east when it is not cloudy ; and in a level coun- 
 try the village bells often tell the direction of the current of air 
 just over our heads when we do not feel it at the surface. The 
 wind is undoubtedly moving in a rapid, and perhaps invisible cur- 
 rent, not far above us. If from the east or south, it betokens 
 rain ; if from the western quarter, fair weather. 
 
 I need not dwell upon the characteristics of the different winds 
 or their prognostic indications. Those different characteristics 
 and indications have been directly or indirectly before us in every 
 stage of our inquiry, and should have become very familiar. 
 And they must again come under review. 
 
 The next element in prognostication is that of clearness or 
 cloudiness. We look to the movements of the barometer, ther- 
 mometer, and winds, as well as to some other elements not yet 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 265 
 
 considered, to discover the coming of a condition, before it is vis- 
 ible, but in the clouds of a condition, when it comes in sight, we 
 have actual, visible evidence of its approach and character. The 
 first cloud seen is ordinarily the cirrus, which overlies the condi- 
 tion and which is not only first visible because the most elevated, 
 but because it extends in every direction farther than the other 
 strata of a storm. 
 
 All the forms of cirrus are seen in the advance condensation 
 of the conditions, except what might properly have been called 
 the cumulo-cirrus, but what Howard termed the cirro-cumulus, 
 and which you will find represented on page 34, on the left of 
 the diagram, and indicated by two birds. It is a cirrus or incip- 
 ient cirro-stratus, broken up into small, distinct, and separate heaps, 
 resembling fleeces of wool laid apart, near, but not in contact. It 
 is properly called the fleecy-cloud, arid the only one that is, and it 
 occurs independently, in set fair weather only. 
 
 Hence the proverb : 
 
 " If woolly fleeces strew the heavenly way, 
 Be sure no rain disturb the summer day." 
 
 But the early cirrus condensation of the conditions are not 
 always visible. There may be enough of it to affect the bright- 
 ness of the sun, or the moon and stars, or to occasion halos when 
 it is not sufficiently dense to assume the appearance of clouds. 
 It is a turbid or misty condensation rather than visible cloud. 
 Sometimes it is of a smoky character, like that which attends 
 midsummer drouths, or the shorter dry spells of autumn, called 
 Indian Summer, and gives to the sun a blood-red appearance. 
 But ordinarily, when it constitutes the advance condensation of an 
 approaching condition, it changes the appearance of the sky from 
 a deep azure to that " lighter hue " which Humboldt describes as 
 preceding the arrival of the central belt of rains from the south. 
 It was found by Gay Lussac, and has been by other aeronauts to 
 have the form of cloud at the height of 20 to 30,000 feet, when 
 not visible at the earth, except as obscuring mistiness. 
 
 The sun and moon have no immediate traceable effect in pro- 
 
266 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ducing particular storms. Some valuable traditionary signs have 
 been founded upon their appearance, but only as affected by in- 
 terposing condensation. 
 Thus Virgil : 
 
 " The sun, too, rising, and at that still hour, 
 When sinks his tranquil beauty in the main, 
 Will give thee tokens; certain tokens all, 
 Both those that morning brings, and balmy eve. 
 
 ****** 
 When Sol departs, his mighty day-task done, 
 How varied hues oft wander on his brow. 
 
 ****** 
 
 If the ruddy blaze 
 
 Be dimrn'd with spots, then all will wildly rage 
 With squalls and driving showers ; on that fell night 
 None shall persuade me on the deep to urge 
 My perilous course, or quit the sheltering pier. 
 But if, when day returns, or when retires, 
 Bright is the orb, then fear no coming rain. 
 
 And again: 
 
 " Mark, with attentive eye, the rapid sun 
 The varying moon that rolls its monthly round ; 
 So shalt thou count, not vainly, on the morn ; 
 So ihe bland aspect of the tranquil night 
 Will ne'er beguile thee with insidious calm." 
 
 And again of the moon : 
 
 " When Luna first her scatter' d fires recalls, 
 If with blunt horns she holds the dusky air, 
 Seamen and swains predict th' abundant shower." 
 
 And again of the stars : 
 
 "Brightly the stars shine forth; Cynthia no more 
 Glimmers obnoxious to her brother's rays; 
 
 And so too Dr. Jenner : 
 
 " Last night the sun went pale to bed, 
 The moon in halos hid her head. 
 
 Those are all descriptive of the presence or absence of that 
 early, misty, interposing, and obscuring condensation in the upper 
 story, at the height of from 12,000 to 20,000 feet, which spread* 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 267 
 
 out in advance of t'le mo"e dense condensation of the condition ; 
 except perhaps the allusion of Virgil to spots upon the sun near 
 the time of his setting, which he probably meant to be desciip- 
 tive of small patches of cirro-stratus which had assumed visible 
 form. Thin cirrus cloud, whether misty, linear or fibrous, pales 
 the light of the sun, especially at nightfall. Occasionally in the 
 course of the day, when the cirrus is dense, various coronses and 
 halos described in our text books, appear in it ; but the coronre and 
 halos of the sun are too infrequent to be of importance in prognos- 
 t cation. It is otlr i rwi : e with the halos of the moon, alluded to 
 in the last couplet quoted fiom Jenner. They aie worthy of es- 
 pecial notice. 
 
 There is at all times more or less appearance of a circle round 
 the moon, produced by the mistiness of the atmosphere, but dur- 
 ing normal fair weather the circle is smnll and not very distinct, 
 and shades off gradually into the azure. But when the circle is 
 large, perfect, and the rim of it dense and well defined, it is a 
 certain sign that the cirrus in which it is formed is the advance 
 or lateral condensation of a considerable storm. It is best seen 
 when the moon is vertical or nearly so. Occasionally an imper- 
 fect circle may be seen in an isolated, passing' cirrus cloud, but 
 that is of no importance as an indication, except that it m y ex- 
 cite suspicion that a more dense and uniform layer of cirrus of 
 which it is an outlying, advanced portion, may be approaching. 
 
 In relation to the halo around the moon then, look first to the 
 elevation of the circle, and be satisfied that it is in the cirrus con- 
 densation of the upper story ; second, look to its diameter, which 
 should be large ; third, look to the completeness of the circle, show- 
 ing that there is an uniform layer of condensation, and not a mere 
 casual cloud; fourth, look to the density of the outer rim, for that 
 determines the depth of the condensation ; and fifth, to its steady 
 continuance and gradual increase, for they are evidence that it is 
 formed in an extensive, continuing, and deepening stratum. 
 
 Orher sign* have been regarded, founded professedly upon the 
 appearance of the sun, but in reality upon the character and ex- 
 
268 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 tent of its obscuration by condensation, or the visible reflection of 
 his rays from the cirrus or cirro stratus clouds. 
 
 Thus mere is preserved a couplet by Darwin of the appear- 
 ance of the sun at sunrise : 
 
 " In fiery red the sun doth rise, 
 Then wades through clouds to mount the skies." 
 
 This is descriptive of an appearance not unfrequently seen. 
 The thin eastern edge of the storm-clouds of the condition have 
 passed over us to the east at sunrise, but not to the horizon the 
 sun, as it rises, shines upon the under surface of the cirro-stratus, 
 or stratus, and his red rays are reflected and give those clouds a 
 bright red appearance. But the body of the stratus clouds 
 passes on to the east, and the sun rising from the horizon seems 
 to enter and wade through them, until they are sufficiently dense 
 to hide him entirely from view. The counterpart of this takes 
 place in the west when the sun is about to set, and the condition 
 has nearly passed by, and it is about to clear off, and the western 
 edge of the melting stratus or cirro-stratus is above the horkon. 
 The sun then shines under them, tinging them with bright and 
 beautiful colors. It is thus that the beautiful sunsets are produced. 
 And as they are evidence that the body of the condition has near- 
 ly passed by, they are indications of approaching fair weather. 
 These appearances are seen everywhere, but vary somewhat in 
 different climates Dr. Lynes describes such a clearing off sun- 
 set in the southern hemisphere when he was off Cape Corrientes. 
 That the Jews understood this, we know, for on this subject we 
 have an allusion to the weather, by our Saviour while on earth, 
 which, like all such allusions found in the Bible, is of remarkable 
 philosophical accuracy. It is found in Matthew, chapter xvi, 
 verses 2 and 3 : " He answered and said unto them, When it is 
 evening ye say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And 
 in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red 
 and lowering. O, ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the 
 sky," etc. 
 
 The reader will recollect that the Saviour alluded to their abil- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 269 
 
 jty to read the signs of the weather correctly, in connection with 
 their inability to read the signs of the times. 
 
 And there is another old proverb, founded on the contrast of 
 the appearance of the atmosphere in the morning or at evening, 
 the philosophy of which is the same. It is as follows : 
 
 " An evening red and a morning gray 
 Are sure signs of a fair day ; 
 Be the evening gray and the morning red, 
 Put on your hat or you'll wet your head." 
 
 I will allude in this connection to another circumstance which 
 frequently occurs, and has always attracted popular attention. 
 
 When the sun shines clearly, at the ea;t or west, through a 
 small opening in the clouds, the condensing vapor is shown by the 
 diverging streaks of sunlight, just as the fine particles of dust are 
 seen in a dark room, when a few rays of sunlight are admitted 
 through a small aperture. This phenomenon is often observed, 
 and it is said of it " It is going to rain ; the sun is drawing 
 water" 
 
 Virgil alludes to this as seen in the east in the morning, thus: 
 
 " But when beneath the dawn red-fingered rays 
 Through the dense band of clouds diverging break, 
 ****** 
 El does the leaf defend the mellowing grape; 
 Leaps on the noisy roof the plenteous hail, 
 Fearfully crackling. 
 
 In describing the various conditions and the cloud elements of 
 which they were composed, and their approach, and the manner 
 in which they severally become visible, I have said all that it 
 seems important to say in respect to this element of prognostica- 
 tion. Every one has impressions more or less clear upon the 
 subject, derived from experience, even though they have paid little 
 attention to it. There are few who do not sometimes look at the 
 face of the sky and say : " It looks like snow," or " It looks like 
 rain," or " like clearing off" and many by an attentive watching of 
 the clouds, are enabled to form a very accurate opinion. It is 
 not a difficult matter to become acquainted with these appear- 
 
270 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ances, and there is a pleasure in understanding and observing 
 them of which you have little conception. 
 
 Bearing in mind that all the conditions approach from the 
 westward, I will give you a brief resume of the appearances to 
 be looked for. First, as to the season of the year. In winter 
 and early spring, when the focal path is at the south, we look 
 at the southwest for the first appearance of the clouds of the con- 
 dition. They may be looked for at all hours of the day, but if they 
 exist at all, will be seen most distinctly at nightfall. Later, in the 
 spring and early summer, when the focal path has moved to the 
 north, you will look to the west, and in summer and early autumn, 
 when the focal path is north of us, you may look north of west, 
 unless indeed you reside in the Atlantic or New England States, 
 and have reason to look for an approaching hurricane condition, 
 which is coming up the coast, and then you will look south-south- 
 west. The appearance may be that of the misty cirrus which 
 we have described, discoverable by the aid of the sun, moon, or 
 stars ; or the cirrus existing in visible, thready patches or wisps ; 
 or some of the forms of cirro-stratus ; to be followed by the cu- 
 mulo-stratus or thunder head, or the rain-bearing stratus, accord- 
 ing to the season of the year and the character of the condition. 
 Sometimes, though not often, the scud may be seen floating in the 
 southerly or easterly wind, before other cloud condensation is vis- 
 ible except the misty, formless cirrus. Generally, however, the 
 scud are not seen before the cirrus assumes form, and patches of 
 cirro-stratus appear. 
 
 But I must not omit one other means of discovering the ap- 
 proach of a belt of showers, by direct observation. 
 
 When in midsummer, a belt of showers is approaching from 
 the N.W., and the cloud condensation does not show itself above 
 the horizon, before nightfall, you may sometimes discover it in the 
 evening or night, as it is illumined by the flashes of lightning 
 which play on its summits. And before the thunder heads have 
 become visible above the horizon, the flashes of lightning will be 
 seen perhaps, reflected from the milky stratum of cirrus, which 
 will cover that part of the sky, and seeming to come from the 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 271 
 
 atmosphere above the horizon. Some years ago, Lieut Maury 
 issued circulars to the farmers of the western states, making in- 
 quiries relative to the direction and other circumstances of their 
 rain-fall. Among the answers, it was stated by several of them, 
 that they regarded the appearance of lightning in the northwest 
 in the evening, as a certain indication of coming rain. Of the 
 fact of a coming condition you may be assured, by the sign, but 
 whether or not it will precipitate upon your locality you cannot 
 be sure. 
 
 The fifth state or element in prognostication is that of humidity. 
 I had not been accustomed to place much reliance upon this ele- 
 ment when the h Philosophy of the Weather," was written, but I 
 have since satisfied myself that it is an important one. 
 
 The atmosphere undoubtedly contains at all times a consid- 
 erable quantity of watery vapor ; whether combined or uncom- 
 bined with the air or its oxygen, has always been, and is still a 
 debatable question. Certain it is that at times there exists a con- 
 siderable quantity which is uncombined and visible, and equally 
 
 FIG. 39. 
 
272 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 certain it is that at other times, when evaporation has been large, 
 a considerable quantity must be contained in the atmosphere, 
 which, if it is not combined, is at least invisible, and undiscoverable 
 by any ordinary test. More attention has recently been given 
 than formerly, to the subject of evaporation. Mr. Steinmetz has 
 invented what he calls a vaporimeter, to measure the evaporation, 
 which is preferable to any other instrument I have seen. 
 
 The preceding, Fig. 39, is a cut of it. It consists of a cylin- 
 drical vessel, a, mounted on a stand with a hollow glass tube, 
 d, fixed in the side, and inclined so near the horizontal that a slight 
 fall of the water in the vessel e can be measured by a scale on 
 the g'ass tube. It is easily made with a tin cup and a glass 
 tube. The outside end of the latter should have a cover fitted 
 over it to prevent evaporation there. The tube is supported by 
 the arm b. The diameter of the vessel should be 5 inches, and 
 the tube long enough to measure a fall of one or more inches. 
 
 Evaporation, during a year, exceeds the rain-fall in England and 
 doubtless here. It is exceedingly rapid, as we all know, in our 
 N.VV. winds. The excess of evaporation falls in dew. 
 
 Two very important facts are stated by Mr. Steinmetz, and 
 corroborated by others. The first is, that " invariably the greater 
 the evaporation, the less the rain, and vice versa, in every month 
 and on all occasions." The second is, that evaporation decreases 
 during the hot, sultry period which precedes a thunder storm. 
 The importance of these two facts will be seen at a glance when 
 considered in connection with another fact, to wit : that humidity, 
 as measured by the hygrometer, and perceived by our senses, com- 
 mences to increase with the first influence of an approaching con- 
 dition, and continues to increase till the arrival of the rain. If 
 these facts are f-o, and they seem to be established, and so far as 
 I know are unquestioned, we may find in them a key wherewith 
 to unlock the mysteries of condensation and precipitation ; but 
 farther than this, I cannot go now consistently with my avowed 
 purpose, and without trenching upon theoretic ground. 
 
 It seems to have been early assumed, and to be still taken for 
 granted both in England and this country, that the question 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 273 
 
 whether or not rain is to fall upon any given day, depends upon 
 the extent to which the surface atmosphere is saturated with 
 watery vapor, and Mr. Steinmetz believes that the hygrometer is 
 the most reliable instrument with which to prognosticate the 
 weather. In arriving at this belief, he assumes that the condition 
 of the atmosphere is the same from the earth upward, and ignores 
 the existence of that rain bearing counter or upper trade, of the 
 state of which, in relation to vaporization, we can know little or 
 nothing, except from the character of the condensation which floats 
 in it. Substantially all our rain, and most of that which falls in 
 England, is precipitated from that upper trade. The hygrometer 
 cannot tell us directly, at any given time, whether that upper 
 trade is saturated or not, for it is flowing in a distinct and isolated 
 stratum far above the surface of the earth. The question there- 
 fore, whether the surface story is saturated, may have a bearing 
 upon the question whether or no an isolated cumulo-stratus will 
 be formed out of the ordinary scud of that surface story, and drop 
 rain ; but it can have no direct bearing upon the question of 
 whether a condition, involving in its organization all the stories, 
 and distributing in large quantities the rain which it has brought 
 from the tropics, is about to pass over the observer. I believe in 
 the hygrometer therefore, not because it indicates the state of 
 saturation merely, or indicates a fall of rain consequent on the 
 mere saturation of the surface story, but because it indicates the 
 influence of an organized atmospheric condition, which influence 
 produces a humid state of the atmosphere. With these sugges- 
 tions borne in mind, let us examine the hygrometer and its indi- 
 cations. 
 
 Various devices have been adopted at different periods to ascer- 
 tain the proportion or quantity of watery vapor in the atmosphere. 
 The earliest were all founded on the principle that bodies expand 
 or swell by the absorption of water from the atmosphere. Cer- 
 tain substances absorb it more readily than others, such as wood, 
 hair, whalebone, &c., and various kinds of twisted cord. These 
 were arranged so as to move indexes, and called hygrometers. 
 The Dutch u^ecl catgut for this purpose, and made a toy called a 
 weather house, in which, by the expansion and contraction of 
 13 
 
274 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 catgut by the absorption of moisture from the atmosphere, small 
 figures of a man and woman are made to swing out of and into 
 the house alternately, as the catgut expands or contracts. The 
 toys are still found in the market. A twisted beard of the wild 
 oat, and a long hair deprived of its grease, were formerly used 
 for the same purpose. Saussure's hygrometer was made of the 
 twisted hair, and DeLuc's of a piece of whalebone. But in 
 later years, the thermometer has been used by applying ether or 
 water to the bulb, to ascertain the degree of cooling required to 
 effect condensation of the vapor of the atmosphere upon the glass. 
 The point at which the deposition takes place is called the dew- 
 point. The following cut is a representation of the wet bulb 
 hygrometer which is now more generally used than any other, hav- 
 ing a dry thermometer attached for comparison : 
 
 FIG. 40. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 275 
 
 One of the bulbs of the foregoing instrument is covered with 
 a piece of thin muslin, which is connected with the water in the 
 cup by loose cotton threads, and they carry the water to the mus- 
 lin by capillary attraction, and keep it moist. The evaporation 
 from the surface of the muslin depresses the temperature of that 
 thermometer, and the point at which moisture is condensed upon 
 it above is called the dew point. The difference between the 
 thermometers is the complement of the dew point, and the existing 
 humidity is measured by that difference. The greater the humid- 
 ity the less that difference. 
 
 Mr. Steinmetz, in " Sunshine and Showers," expresses the 
 opinion that the hygrometer is a more reliable guide to the future 
 of the weather than the barometer, or any or all other instruments 
 combined. This may be true in England, but I have not sup- 
 posed it to be true, nor do I think it can bo true in this country. 
 Let me, in this place, briefly contrast the climate of England with 
 that of this country. 
 
 The area of England is comparatively small, and she is 
 surrounded by a warm ocean. Her upper or counter trade 
 is much less than ours, and the quantity of rain which she 
 receives in a year is about half that which falls upon our 
 country east of the Mississippi. According to the statement of 
 Mr. Steinmetz, it rains there more or less, upon nearly twice 
 the number of days in the year that it does here, and on a 
 large proportion of the days the amount of rain-fall does not ex- 
 ceed T ^ F of an inch. The island is situated so far north that her 
 proper rainy season does not commence until July, and the prin- 
 cipal proportion of her annual rain-fall occurs in the latter half 
 of the year, as is usual in high northern latitudes. In the first 
 half of the year, considerable storms and belts of showers like 
 those which are common here, rarely occur ; and they are not 
 very frequent in the latter part of the year. From these facts it 
 is obvious that a considerable proportion of their small rain-fall is 
 derived from the surface atmosphere, the ordinary S.W., W. and 
 N.W. scud of their feeble conditions, forming over the ocean to 
 the west, in a nearly saturated atmosphere, assuming a cumulo- 
 
276 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 stratus form as they pass horizontally over the island, and drop- 
 ping dashes of rain. We have something like that in this country 
 in the spring and fall of the year, when the N.W. scud become 
 very dense, and furnish flurries of rain or snow, vaiying from a 
 few moments to half an hour. But not a hundreth part of our 
 rain-fall takes place in that manner, and nearly all of it is derived 
 from extensive, heavy storms of continuous rain, or from wide 
 belts of showers. 
 
 As so large a proportion of their rain-fall is derived from the 
 surface atmosphere, and in such dashes and brief showers, and in 
 consequence of the presence of the Gulf Stream to the west of 
 them, it is very possible that Mr. Steinmetz does not speak too 
 s:rongly in relation to the use of the hygrometer- for there may 
 be an intimate connection between the degree of saturation of the 
 surface atmosphere, and the change of its scud into cumulo-stratus 
 and nimbus. But as a different state of things exists here, and 
 such a saturation of the atmosphere and change of the scud rarely 
 takes place here, it would seem to follow philosophically, that the 
 reliance to be placed upon the hygrometer must be proportionally 
 less, and doubtless it is so. 
 
 Still it may be well for the observer to note the changes of 
 humidity. Doubtless that has something to do with the f. e'ing 
 of oppressiveness and sultriness, felt in advance of a belt of 
 showers, and because it diminishes evaporation from the surface. 
 But this excess of humidity does not always exist in advance of 
 storms, and the principal changes of feeling experienced by men 
 and animals, are due, as we shall see, to electricity. 
 
 There is another peculiarity in the climate of England, and of 
 all northern Europe, which I will notice in passing, although it 
 does not bear precisely upon this point. In the first half of the 
 year, before their volume of upper trade becomes considerable, 
 dry northeast winds are frequent. Here, our northeast winds 
 generally precede storms, but we have something of the same 
 kind of wind, under two circumstances which probably exist alike 
 in both continents. First, we frequently have in the spring of 
 the year, before the rainy season sets in, and when the focal path 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 277 
 
 is to the south and peculiarly concentrated, dry N.E. winds, which 
 are parts of the distant but contracted conditions, for many days 
 in succession. Sometimes the lateral outlying condensation of the 
 condition spreads up over us, and then we call it a dry north- 
 easter. At others, that condensation does not reach us. Second, 
 it frequently happens, when a heavy belt of showers has passed 
 over us, followed by its northerly wind, that that wind will com- 
 mence blowing in the morning from the N.N.E., and sometimes 
 even from the N.E., gradually backing into the N.W. by night- 
 fall. When that occurs, however, it will be observe 1 that the 
 southeasterly progress of the belt is slow. And the tendency to 
 those dry N.E. winds increases with the latitude. There is 
 enough in this occasional and peculiar occurrence of dry N.E. 
 wind to give to Prof. Dove's theory of gyration a seeming sup- 
 port, but the other facts which bear upon it are conclusive of its 
 fallacy. Those dry northeast winds occur in high latitudes only, 
 and north of the then position of the focus or focal path of the 
 conditions. 
 
 There is another observable evidence of the humidity of the 
 atmosphere, indicative of an approaching condition, especially of 
 a belt of showers in summer, and a southeaster in winter ; such 
 as the deposition of moisture upon tumblers and other vessels 
 containing water, and upon flagging or other stones connected with 
 the ground. I remember when a boy, to have seen old people, 
 in order to ascertain what the weather would be next day, blow 
 out their tallow candles, and immediately blow them again, in 
 order to relight them. If the flame was restored easily, they 
 would go to bed with the assurance of fair weather the next day. 
 If the candle would not relight, they expected foul weather. So, 
 I have seen them sit over the remaining coals of a large hickory 
 fire and listen to the crackling among the coals, and in the ashes, 
 to determine by its intensity what the weather would be. Virgil 
 alludes to a somewhat similar sign regarded by the Romans, as 
 follows : 
 
 " Maidens that nightly toil the tangled fleece, 
 Divine the coming tempest ; In the lamp 
 Crackles the oil, the gathering wick grows dim." 
 
278 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 All these depend upon humidity. 
 
 And so do those signs in the collection of Dr. Jenner which 
 relate to the falling of the soot, which is loosened by moisture, 
 and the dampness of the walls and odor of the ditches. Humid- 
 ity prevents the diffusion of odors and concentrates them. 
 
 The cracking of the chairs and tables before a rain is a mistake. 
 They do not crack then, and do in very dry frosty weather. 
 
 The next element is the state of the atmosphere in respect to 
 rain, hail, and snow. In relation to this element, there is little to 
 be said, bearing upon prognostication. All the rales which we 
 have been considering, or are yet to consider, have regard to the 
 probability of the precipitation of one of the three as a result. 
 There are interesting considerations in relation to the formation 
 and occurrence of each, which have no direct connection with the 
 subject of prognostication, and with which all are more or less 
 familiar. 
 
 There is one circumstance, which occasionally occurs before the 
 arrival of the rain cloud, at the place of observation, which may 
 properly be considered in, this connection. I allude to the occur- 
 rence of a rainbow at the west, in the morning. 
 
 Jenner says : 
 
 " The boding shepherd heaves a sigh, 
 For see, a rainboio spans the sky." 
 
 An old almanac had the following verse : 
 
 " A rainbow in the morning 
 Is the shepherd's warning; 
 A rainbow at night 
 Is the shepherd's delight." 
 
 So the proverb was originally made ; but as our ancestors were 
 not shepherds, and had a horror of ocean storms, it was commonly 
 quoted, in this country, in the following form : 
 
 " A rainbow in the morning, 
 The sailors take warning ; 
 A rainbow at night 
 Is the sailor's delight." 
 
 Rainbows are not reflected from clouds, but falling rain, and a 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTKM. 279 
 
 morning rainbow at the west is, of course, evidence that it is 
 actually raining there, and will, in all probability, pass over us. 
 ' Thunder in the morning, rain before night," is a common saying, 
 and a true one. There is a belt of showers, or showery period 
 approaching, of unusual intensity for thunder showers in the 
 morning are rare. The afternoon is their most common period, 
 and they are very apt to appear then, when the morning is 
 threatening. 
 
 It is always an interesting question, and sometimes a difficult 
 one, when we are satisfied that a stormy condition is approaching, 
 to determine whether it will precipitate rain or snow. Rain is 
 the rule, except in high latitudes, and snow the exception, and 
 very much of probability will depend upon latitude the near- 
 ness to midwinter and the character of the winter. Something 
 too of reasonable certainty may be inferred from the appearance 
 af the clouds as the condition approaches. Practical men, who 
 a! e accustomed to regard the face of the sky, arrive at very cor- 
 rect conclusions, in most cases. It is not as easy to describe 
 those appearances, as it is to understand them, when once familiar 
 with them. I can give you a few facts which will aid you in 
 observing for yourself and becoming thus familiar. 
 
 In the first place, the advance cirrus condensation is generally 
 of the linear kind, existing in long threads or bars extending from 
 southwest to northeast, and not in wi^ps or patches as in the sum- 
 mer season. In the second place, the layer of stratus from which 
 the snow is to fall, is smooth and uniform, and of a lightish hue. 
 In the third place, there is at the approach and in the commence- 
 ment of the storm, usually very little wind, and that at first south- 
 west, and afterwards northeast. In the fourth place, the barom- 
 eter usually rises higher before a snow storm, and falls with less 
 rapidity. As contrasted with these, the rain storm in winter is 
 usually discoverable in the west or northwest. The clouds are 
 more irregular, and of a darker color, and the precedent wind is 
 from the southward, and there is more of it. In connection with 
 these, the indications derived from the thermometer are very 
 useful, but of them I have written at length, under the head of 
 
280 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 temperature, in this chapter, and need not repeat what is there 
 said. 
 
 The seventh and last element, is the electric state of the at- 
 mosphere. Our knowledge of electricity is not yet s;ich as to 
 furnish alone any direct evidence of the approach of a condition, 
 but there are many signs which are founded on the indirect effect 
 of electricity, and are relied upon, even in less intense climates 
 than ours. A collection of nearly all the received and credited 
 English signs was made by Dr. Jenner, according to Howard 
 or as Hone says in his " Everyday Book," by Darwin and ar- 
 ranged in rhymes. Some of them, I have already quoted. Near- 
 ly all of them which are of any merit, depend upon electricity. 
 The following is the collection : 
 
 " Dr. Jenner's signs of rain an excuse for not accepting the invitation of a 
 friend to make a country excursion. 
 
 " The hollow winds begin to blow, 
 The clouds look black, the glass is low, 
 The s.oot falls down, the spaniels sleep, 
 And spiders from their cobwebs creep. 
 Last night the sun went pale to bed, 
 The moon in halos hid her head, 
 The boding shepherd heaves a sigh, 
 For see ! a rainbow spans the sky. 
 The walls are damp, the ditches smell; 
 Closed is the pink-eyed pimpernel. 
 Hark! how the chairs and tables crack; 
 Old Betty's joints are on the rack, 
 Loud quack the ducks, the peacocks cry; 
 The distant hills are looking nigh. 
 How restless are the snorting swine ! 
 The busy flies disturb the kine. 
 Low o'er the grass the swallow wings; 
 The cricket, too, how loud it sings ! 
 Puss, on the hearth, with velvet paws, 
 Sits smoothing o'er her whisker'd jaws. 
 Through the clear stream the fishes rise 
 And nimbly catch the incautious flies ; 
 The sheep were seen, at early light, 
 Cropping the meads with eager bite. 
 Though June, the air is cold and chill; 
 The mellow blackbird's voice is still; 
 The glow-worms, numerous and bright, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 281 
 
 Illumed the dewy dell last night: 
 
 At dusk the squalid toad was seen, 
 
 Hopping, crawling, o'er the green. 
 
 The frog has lost his yellow vest, 
 
 And in a dingy suit is dress'd. 
 
 The leech, disturbed, is newly risen 
 
 Quite to the summit of his prison. 
 
 The whirling wind the dust obeys 
 
 And in the rapid eddy plays. 
 
 My dog, so altered in his taste, 
 
 Quits mutton bones, on grass to feast; 
 
 And see yon rooks, how odd their flight ! 
 
 They imitate the gliding kite ; 
 
 Or seem precipitate to fall, 
 
 As if they felt the piercing ball. 
 
 'Twill surely rain; I see, with sorrow, 
 
 Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow." 
 
 Most of the foregoing signs relate to animals, and are undoubt- 
 edly electrical, for the animal creation cannot be supposed to form 
 any conception of an approaching storm except from their feel- 
 ing.-*. The same is true in relation to the signs founded on the 
 feelings of mankind. 
 
 The line 
 
 " Old Betty's joints are on the rack," 
 
 and the lines which Hone added 
 
 " Her corns with shooting pains torment her 
 And to her bed untimely send her," 
 
 conform to common experience. It is well understood that rheu- 
 matic joints, broken bones, inflamed corns, and parts where 
 wounds once existed, and many other ailments, feel the influence 
 of an approaching storm many hours before it reaches us. Many 
 persons are subject to severe headache, which comes on before 
 the approach of a belt of thunder showers, and ceases when it is 
 past. Howe added another couplet which deserves notice. 
 
 " The smoke from chimneys right ascends, 
 Then spreading back to earth it bends." 
 
 The descent of the smoke is attributed to the lightness of the 
 atmosphere, but that is a mistake. I have observed it very care- 
 
282 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 fully, and found it to descend without regard to the elevation of 
 the barometer. I know of no cause to which it can be philosophi- 
 cally attributed except that it is positively electrified, and attracted 
 by the negatively electrified earth. 
 
 The surface atmosphere, near the earth, seems to be always 
 affected electrically by the influence of approaching conditions, 
 and thus to affect men and animals, as stated ; but it is sometimes 
 peculiarly so, especially by the approach of belts of showers. 
 Such a state is commonly described as " muggy," " sultry," " hot," 
 " close," &c. The air of such a state is not necessarily hot, it is 
 undoubtedly humid, but humidity, although it aids in producing 
 it, will not alone account for it. Nearly all the descriptions of 
 the Cincinnati hurricane speak of the air as being " very hot," and 
 some of them as "very close" but the registers of temperature 
 which I have given, show that the thermometer was not above 
 70, which is not hot. No degree of humidity, with the ther- 
 mometer at 70, or at 65, its common spring and autumn range 
 in northeasters could revive the rheumatism in Aunt Betty's 
 joints, or the pain in her corns. The renewal of the pain once 
 felt in broken bones, or the part where wounds once existed, is 
 felt in the dry, warm air of the house, and in bed. 
 
 Men and animals are not alone sensible to this precedent storm 
 influence. Everything which has life feels it, and to a greater or 
 less extent, exhibits the feeling. From an early period, certain 
 plants have been observed to exhibit it in a marked manner. 
 Tenner alludes to this, in the last line of the following couplet. 
 
 " The walls are damp, the ditches smell, 
 Closed is the pink-eyed pimpernel." 
 
 And Mr. Steinmetz speaks of this in the following manner : 
 " There are five plants which have been observed from time 
 immemorial for the signs of the weather the dandelion, the tre- 
 foil, the pimpernel, chickweed, and the Siberian sowthistle. 
 
 " The dandelion is a very common plant, which flowers early, 
 and remains in bloom more or less all the year. The general 
 flowering, however, takes place about the 8th of April, and for 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 283 
 
 a month it bespangles the fields, mixing agreeably with the 
 daisy. The down of the dandelion closes for bad weather, but 
 expands for the return of sunshine ; the down of other plants 
 may be observed for the same indications. 
 
 " The trefoil, according to the great Lord Bacon, grows more 
 upright, with a swelling stalk, against rainy weather ; and the 
 same may be said of the stalks of most other plants, though not 
 so conspicuously as in the trefoil. Before showers the trefoil 
 contracts its leaves, as does the convolvulus and many other 
 plants. 
 
 " The pimpernel is the Anagallis arvensis of LinnaBus, and is 
 found in our stubble fields, and in gardens, flowering in June, 
 and continuing all the summer. When this plant is seen in the 
 morning, with its little red flowers widely extended, we may gen- 
 erally expect a fine day ; on the contrary, when the petals are 
 closed, rain will soon follow. 
 
 ' This is the plant which Lord Bacon seems to refer to under 
 the name of Windcope, and which has also been styled the poor 
 man's weather-glass. 
 
 " Chickweed is said to be an excellent weather-guide. When 
 the flower expands freely, no rain will fall for many hours ; if it 
 so continue open, no rain for a long time need be feared. In 
 showery days the flower appears half concealed, and this state 
 may be regarded as indicative of showery weather ; when it is 
 entirely shut we may expect a rainy day. 
 
 " If the flowers of the Siberian sowthistle remain open all 
 night, we may expect rain next day. 
 
 " We have no doubt that if the subject were systematically 
 studied in daily observation, almost every plant would be found 
 to indicate more or less conspicuously, all coming changes of the 
 weather, and so it is obvious that a new charm or interest might 
 be given to our gardens, aa examination or passing inspection of 
 which, in the morning, " before leaving for town," would lead us 
 to infer whether " we had better take an umbrella or not " a 
 matter of frequent doubt in our changeable climate." 
 
 From this review of the elements of prognostication, and of 
 
284 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 the principal traditionary signs which have come to us fro n our 
 ancestors, I think the -reader will be satisfied that our propositions 
 are proved, and that all those signs which are philosophically true, 
 are founded on one or the other of the seven states or elements 
 which we have considered, and with which I have classed them. 
 f There are a variety of other traditionary signs, which have no 
 foundation whatever, in philosophy or truth. Thus, it is common 
 to look for equinoctial storms at the equinoxes, or when, as the 
 sailors say, the sun crosses the line. This is an absurdity. 
 Storms of like character are occurring every day in the year, in 
 different and numerous portions of the hemisphere. In some 
 portions of the hemisphere, storms never occur. In neither re- 
 spect is there any difference on that day. A storm that then visits 
 any particular locality, especially if a high latitude, may have 
 originated, and probably did originate, several days before. Heavy 
 storms in the eastern states of this country, are as common in 
 all the winter and spring months, as in March, and occur as often 
 on other days in March, as the 20th. The same is true of Sep- 
 tember. A most violent and destructive hurricane (which I have 
 traced,) occurred during this month, (September, 1869,) which 
 originated in the central belt on the 5th and 6th, and passed up 
 north of the West Indies and off the coast, mainly between 70 
 and 75 of longitude, and crossed southeastern INew England on 
 the 8th. Another severe one passed east of Bermuda on the 1 6th, 
 which dismasted may vessels. Another originated in that belt, on 
 the 30th, which came up the coast and extended inland, meeting 
 another from the west, and the two deluged the coast states on the 
 3d and 4th of October. And a condition from the west which 
 passed between the 16th and 20th, was of an ordinary character. 
 Which was the equinoctial ? 
 
 Moreover, the reader who appreciates the developments I have 
 made, and remembers that the equatoj* is a mere imaginary line, 
 will discard the palpable though current fallacy respecting equi- 
 noctial storms. 
 
 There are numbers of other signs, more or less regarded, which 
 have no foundation in philosophy or fact. Of this character are 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 285 
 
 all almanac days or particular days of the month, or week, or 
 other period, the weather of which is assumed to be an indication 
 of what the weather will be at some future time. Without enu- 
 merating or alluding to the other popular signs, let me again 
 assure the reader that all of them, without exception, are fallacies, 
 
 unless CONNECTED WITH, OT FOUNDED ON, ONE OF THE SEVEN 
 STATES DESCRIBED. 
 
 I think that now my reader may form an accurate conception of 
 the extent to which, as an isolated observer, he may prognosticate 
 the weather, and the only means by which it can be done, viz : 
 by a careful and intelligent observation of the changes of state, 
 induced by the approach, presence, or passing by of the various 
 conditions. 
 
 But it may be well to look a little more closely for a brief 
 space, at some material points notwithstanding it may seem like 
 repetition and at some things to which allusion has not been made. 
 
 Assuming first that the normal condition of fair weather exists, 
 several questions arise. The first and most natural question is 
 the one we have considered, viz : when will the next condition 
 come, and when shall we perceive its influence and its changes 
 of state ? There is, as I have said, no reliable regularity of in- 
 terval. The conditions, whether originating in the tropical center 
 of the system, and coming thence to us, or whether originating 
 over our continent, in the upper trade which is sent to us from 
 that center, are organized by some force whose character and 
 manner of operation are not fully understood. When we hear of 
 an existing and distant storm, we can tell within a day, when 
 if it originated east of the Windward Islands, or over the Carib- 
 bean Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico, or Texas, it will pass over 
 any particular point in its path, for we know substantially, what 
 its movement per hour, according to its intensity, will be, and 
 what its course will be at that season of the year. Thus much 
 we shall hereafter certainly know, or the next generation will 
 know, when the telegraph is intelligently used to disclose it. But 
 until die character and manner of operation are fully understood, 
 we cannot tell in advance, when or where a condition will be or- 
 
286 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ganized. The time may come when even that degree of knowledge 
 on the subject, will be attained, but I fear it will not be until our 
 present generation of closet-theorists are gone, and their theories 
 discarded. Just now their control seems absolute. But I have 
 faith to believe that by the next generation, if not by the present, 
 the West India Islands will all be connected by wire, and that 
 important representative points of observation in this country, will 
 be connected in like manner that these wires will be conducted 
 to some convenient place, where a meteorological department or 
 bureau will be organized, and the whole be under the control of 
 capable, practical men, and the organization and progress of the 
 conditions be reported to the country from hour to hour. The 
 advantage of such a system to all our industries, and its assis- 
 tance in the advancement of knowledge, will be beyond present 
 comprehension. 
 
 Such organizations have recently been formed in England and 
 Frair-e, but an ocean, without stations for observers, lies to the 
 west of them, and they have scarcely any opportunity to discover 
 and report in advance. It is otherwise with us. 
 
 Before such a system of observation can be established in this 
 country, however, the practical mind of the country, and especially 
 its Journalists and National Legislators, must come to understand 
 the subject, and appreciate the importance and feasibility of such 
 a telegraph system, and its certain, useful result, if placed under 
 the control of capable, practical observers. The men to organ- 
 ize and successfully conduct such a system are not now to be 
 found among the professed Meteorologists of the country. It re- 
 quires a practical knowledge of the atmospheric system they do 
 not possess and do not seem willing to acquire. 
 
 As matters now stand, therefore, reader, you must be content 
 to be an isolated observer, and look to the changes of state I 
 have described, for evidence of the coming condition. You can- 
 not tell with certainty, before its influence is felt around you, or it 
 is seen, when it will appear. 
 
 Something of probability there is, which may be regarded. 
 That probability depends upon the location of the observer, and 
 the season and character of the year. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 287 
 
 What then is your location with reference to the focal path of 
 the conditions ? Is it anywhere east of the Alleghanies, in East- 
 ern New York, or New England ? Then the probability is that 
 in the months of January, February, and March, the conditions 
 will come as often as once a week in normal years, oftener in 
 some years, and less often in others, particularly in such winters 
 as those described by President D wight. If your position is in 
 any of the northwestern states, the conditions will come less often 
 in normal years, and this it may be well to understand, although 
 it may be repetition. Look back now to the rain chart for the 
 winter season, and see where the rain-fall is for those months. It 
 is trifling in the northwestern states, it is heavy in the Gulf States 
 where the conditions first strike the continent, or commence. It 
 is considerable along the Alleghanies to New England. The con- 
 ditions generally follow up those mountain ranges in the winter 
 season, and their direction is more northerly than it would be if 
 the country was level. The conditions would then curve more to 
 the northeast, and would leave Pennsylvania, New Jersey, South- 
 eastern New York, and New England, with much less precipitation 
 than they now receive. In proof of this, observe how upon the 
 chart the line of seven inches of rain-fall for the winter curves 
 abruptly to the east below the great lakes and where the Alleghany 
 ranges lose their high elevation. Observe again, in the tables, how, 
 when the focal path is carried to the west and north in April, and 
 curves over the more level land west of the Mississippi, it takes 
 its normal, northeast direction, and crosses the mountains and ex- 
 tends to the coast in the same direction. Then the conditions 
 are less frequent and less intense in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
 New York, and New England. It is then to this cause that the 
 spring drouths are due in those states. I have before alluded to 
 the fact that the focal path appeared to extend to the north and 
 west in the spring, over the central states much faster than upon 
 the states east of the mountains. And now you have the prom- 
 ised explanation of it. 
 
 In the state of Pennsylvania and in the states northeastward 
 of it, the conditions may continue to recur during January, Feb- 
 
288 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ruary, and early March, as frequently as in autumn, but after that, 
 for weeks they will be less frequent and less intense. It is rare 
 that there is not a dry time for oat-seeding the latter part of 
 March and the first part of April, and the gentleness of the rains 
 in that section at that season is proverbial. In the western and 
 northwestern states, the conditions are infrequent and weak in 
 the winter months, gradually increasing in frequency and inten- 
 sity as the focal path extends up over them. The middle states 
 become very wet in the spring of the year, wherever the centre 
 of the focal path happens to be, and where it rains almost every 
 day, and it is much more common for seed to rot in the ground 
 there, particularly in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, than in the east- 
 ern and northwestern states. 
 
 Of course wherever the path is focal, the conditions are more 
 frequent. This is true of the spring when the path is ascending 
 west and north. Heavy freshets are common under it, and rare 
 above and below it. 
 
 The path is not so concentrated in its descent in autumn as dur- 
 ing its ascent in spring. The conditions therefore are not as fre- 
 quent, or so concentrated on the path and focal in character in the 
 autumn, as they are in the spring, and for that reason, autumn 
 is much the most pleasant season of the two. 
 
 Then occur the dry, mild, equable " spells," known as the Indian 
 Summer, with which all are familiar. But they alternate with 
 very long and heavy storms. The New England Indians in- 
 formed the first settlers that " winter no come till swamps full" 
 and it is generally so. Winter sets in permanently, and some- 
 times very abruptly, when the focal path has passed south ; and 
 the swamps are filled by those heavy rain-falls while it is grad- 
 ually descending. 
 
 In summer where the focal path has ascended to the north, the 
 conditions are much less frequent than in spring, and if it were 
 not for the provision that very heavy rains should fall in a short 
 time from the summer belts of showers, there would be drouth 
 south of the focal path every year. As it is, there is generally a 
 tendency to it, especially in the early years of the decade. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 289 
 
 Thus much in relation to the frequency of the conditions. We 
 cannot tell without the telegraph, when they will come, until we 
 see them, or their influence is seen or felt in changes of state. 
 The telegraph would not be of much assistance without trained 
 operators, and we cannot have those trained operators under the 
 present scientist method of training young men, and stuffing 
 them with the cluster of fallacies which constitute the Halley 
 system. The telegraph can only communicate advantageously 
 the observations of intelligent men, each having his attention 
 directed to the same and all the important points, and intelligently 
 and reliably communicated to the qualified head of a Bureau. 
 To that end practical training is necessary. The^e truths will 
 ultimately be realized, and the arrival at port of a steamer which 
 has been spoken and telegraphed, will not be calculated with so 
 much certainty as the arrival of a storm, observed days before on 
 its distant path, and all its characteristics reported by telegraph. 
 
 The next question is, what will be the character of the condi- 
 tion? Here we have not only probability but some elements of 
 certainty. Thus, in midwinter, in all the northeastern states, the 
 probability is that the condition will be a northeaster, and accom- 
 panied with more or less snow, and in most cases the N.E. wind will 
 be felt before the storm arrives. In the northwestern states in 
 winter, the conditions are usually snow storms. Nearer to the 
 focal path, there is snow on the north side of them, and rain on 
 the south. At the centre of the focal path there may be either. 
 South of the center it usually rains. The observer therefore can 
 infer the probability from his position, and the observed position 
 of the approaching condensation. There is a difference in the 
 appearance of that condensation also, which it is difficult to de- 
 scribe with accuracy ; but, as a general rule, the lighter and more 
 smooth and uniform the overcasting stratus cloud, the greater the 
 probability of snow the darker and more irregular, the greater 
 the probability of rain. 
 
 Occasionally there is an irruption of the upper trade in large 
 volume, extending or passing north of the focal path, constituting 
 a southeaster, with warm winds upon its tropical side, blowing 
 
290 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 under and across if, breaking up for a time the uniform cold of 
 winter and constituting what is cal'ed a " thaw," followed soon by 
 the cold N.W. wind and winter weather. In open winters these 
 conditions are sometimes frequent. In normal winters, there are 
 usually one or two of them in January, and the same number in 
 February. In some severe winters which I have known, and 
 others which are recorded, they did not occur at all. 
 
 Under the focal path, the conditions will be irregular. East 
 of the mountains and in Virginia, and as low down as Hatteras, 
 probably the wind will be northeast. West of the mountains it 
 will probably be southwest, and in South Carolina and Georgia, 
 probably from some southerly point inland, and some easterly 
 point on the coast, according to the character of the season, and 
 the location of the year in the decade. 
 
 The next question is, what will be the character of the ap- 
 proaching condition with respect to intensity ? I have said that 
 about one-fifth were so weak that they did not precipitate at all ; 
 and there are as many degrees of intensity up to the deluging 
 storm or shower which produces a freshet. 
 
 Something may be learned from the barometer and the extent 
 of its fall, something from temperature when it rises rapidly 
 and high before a belt of showers something from the degree of 
 humidity and very much from winds and scud. The freshness 
 and strength of the wind, and the appearance of its scud, is very 
 much in proportion to the intensity of the condition to which it 
 belongs. This is true of all the conditions but especially of the 
 summer belt of showers. Sometimes the S.W. wind is very 
 light, dying away entirely at night-fall, and commencing again 
 about 8 o'clock in the morning, and the condition correspondingly 
 weak. 
 
 One thing should be here again noted in relation to these sum- 
 mer belts of showers. When they are intense, they precipitate 
 as they pass along, persistently night and day, but in much larger 
 quantities and with more frequent and intense thunder and light- 
 ning where they happen to be passing in the afternoon. When 
 they are of less intensity they sometimes precipitate in the after- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 291 
 
 noon and evening only. At other times, when very weak, the 
 winds will be light and perhaps variable, and there will be no con- 
 densation visible, except the misty cirrus in the early part of the 
 day, but showers will form in the afternoon and evening where 
 the condition may then happen to be. I have frequently seen 
 them thus pass over the country, precipitating where they were 
 vertical, in the afternoon and evening, and showing little conden- 
 sation except that description of cirrus, in the early part of the 
 day. Such was the character of one of the belts described by 
 Mr, Basnett, As a rule, however, the freshness and persistency 
 of the southerly wind, the temperature, and the electric state of 
 the air must be your principal reliance in judging of the intensity 
 of an approaching belt of showers 
 
 So you may regard the presence and appearance of the scud 
 in the southerly wind, running towards the approaching belt of 
 condensation. If very numerous, and large, and rugged at the 
 edges, and moving rapidly, a heavy fall of rain may be anticipated. 
 That description of scud from a southerly or easterly point, run- 
 ning rapidly, are conclusive indications of a heavy rain-fall at the 
 point to which they are running. I have frequently predicted 
 freshets at points north, west, and southwest, when those scud were 
 thus running, and without failure. 
 
 So the length of time, and the freshness and strength with which 
 a southeaster has blown, in advance of the body of a condition, 
 and in winter its warmth and humidity, and at all seasons the 
 number and character of its scud, are indications of the intensity 
 of the body of the condition toward which it is moving The 
 same thing is true of the northeaster. The strength and fresh- 
 ness of the wind which blows towards the focus of the storm, 
 and the number and character of the scud, are all indicative of 
 its strength. When the wind, however, backs into north by east, 
 it is an indication that the body of the storm is to the southward, 
 and will pass by without further precipitation at the point of ob- 
 servation. There are no signs more important and more reliable 
 east of the Alleghanies and so far as I know, west of them 
 than the character of the wind and scud. When fully developed 
 
292 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 they indicate with very great certainty, where the observer has a 
 favorable horizon, the intensity of the force which is situated in 
 the body of condensation, and has created them, and is drawing 
 them to itself. 
 
 The next general question which may fairly be considered with 
 reference to prognostication is how long will the condition, when 
 it has reached you, continue ? This depends very much upon its 
 distinctive character, its intensity, and the season of the year. 
 Very weak belts of showers in summer, or southeaster in autumn 
 which belong to the same class are of short duration. The 
 condensation of a belt of showers may not be more than twenty 
 miles wide, and pass over in less than two hours. I have seen 
 the S.E. edge of one which precipitated lightly, extending from 
 horizon to horizon, across the northwest, at an angle of 45, and 
 in two hours afterwards it had passed to the E. and S.E., and its 
 well-defined northwestern edge was S.E. of the zenith, extending 
 in like manner from S.W. to N.E., the entire N.W., half of the 
 sky being cloudless. That condition was narrow, and had a rapid 
 motion. At other times, I have known those belts of show- 
 ers to be at least 150 miles wide between their southeastern 
 and northwestern edges, having showers in the eastern portion 
 and patches of cumulo-stratus in its central portions, giving 
 dashes of rain, with heavy drops and a darkened atmosphere as 
 they passed along, and having bands of cumulo stratus in the 
 northwestern portion, giving what are termed clearing-off showers, 
 as that northwestern portion passed over to the east, and the sky 
 became clear in the west and northwest. You will see from this 
 that there is great variety in the width of the belts of showers. 
 We have no means of judging of that width with certainty, or 
 whether additional showers are contained in the other parts of it, 
 except by telegraph. But we may know something of it from 
 the character and continuance of the southerly wind, and its 
 scu d the continuance of humidity, and our feelings. The con- 
 dition which passed over Springfield, in August, 1859, was a 
 wide one, but not a very intense one. It was more than 24 hours 
 from the time when its eastern edge became vertical at that place 
 
THK ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 293 
 
 to the lime when its western edge attained the same position. 
 Iii its movement from Buffalo to Springfield, it precipitated most, 
 where its eastern portion which contained the cumulo-stratus 
 was vertical in the afternoon and evening, and least, where that 
 portion was vertical in the early part of the day. The character 
 of the precedent southerly wind and scud, and the length of time 
 which they continued, and the degree of humidity, in connection 
 with the season of the year, formed a very good indication of the 
 length of time which the condition would occupy in passing, and 
 I had no difficulty in describing it in advance. 
 
 The average length of time during which rain falls in south- 
 easters, is about 15 hours, but their condensation also frequently 
 thins out to the westward, very far beyond the precipitating por- 
 tion of it, and it remains cloudy for a much longer period, the 
 wind in such cases hauling slowly around through the S.W. to 
 N.W. Some idea of the length of time for which the cloudiness 
 will remain, may be formed from the rapidity or slowness with 
 which the wind veers in that direction. Where the southeaster 
 is narrow, in the fall and winter months, the N.W. wind blows 
 under the N.W. side of it, and in such cases the shift of wind 
 is very sudden, with a temporary change of the precipitation 
 to snow. In such cases as in the condition passing over Spring- 
 field, Ohio, you may know that the condition has nearly all 
 passed. When one of this class of conditions is met at sea off 
 our coast, and the lull which occurs between the winds is passing 
 over, as it frequently does with us, the mariner supposes that he 
 is in the centre of the storm, but that lull frequently takes place 
 near or at the western edge of the condition, and then when the 
 cloudiness has all passed by, the storm clouds of the condition are 
 seen to the southeastward, and heavy scud are seen to the north- 
 west, while it is clear overhead. In such cases the mariner im- 
 agines or is told by theorists that he sees a " bull's eye " in the 
 centre of the storm. But when the storm is passing over land, 
 we see and know that lull and " bull's eye " to be just what I have 
 described them. And as we see the same storms pass out on to 
 
294 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 the Atlantic, we may safe 1 }' presume that the phenomena are, 
 sometimes at least, of precisely the same character there. 
 
 The northeaster is of longer continuance than any other of the 
 distinct conditions. It is rarely less than 48 hours from the time 
 when the first cirrus condensation is visible and its wind begins 
 to blow, to the time when its wind and rain cease. It is frequently 
 twice as long, and sometimes longer still. In watching for the 
 vortex in early life, with as honest a belief in its existence as 
 any disciple of Halley ever had, expecting sooner or later to see 
 the scud go up perpendicularly or obliquely, I have seen them run 
 continuously and at the same elevation for more than sixty hours, 
 and until the body of the storm cloud or stratus had all passed 
 over to the east. 
 
 The wind not unfrequently blows 48 hours towards an approach- 
 ing northeaster, before its precipitating portion reaches us. It is 
 more difficult therefore to estimate the continuance of a north- 
 easter than any other of the distinct conditions. The cessation 
 of the wind, its backing into the N.N.E. and N., when the focus 
 of the storm is south, or the appearance of a light streak in the 
 south, when the focus of the storm is at the north, are indications 
 that the body of it has passed by. The wind does not in this 
 condition change suddenly to the N.W. It either backs slowly 
 through the north to that point, or veers round by the south, or 
 ceases with a lull, coming directly out from the S.W., according 
 as the focus of the storm is S. or N. or over the observer. From 
 such backing, or veering, or lull, a clearing off may be inferred. 
 
 The length of time which an irregular condition will occupy, 
 it is still more difficult to estimate. The occasional, but very 
 rare, isolated shower which forms in the surface story, like an 
 English shower, will last but a few minutes, and it may be safely 
 calculated that the squall constituted by the coalescing scud of 
 the N.W. wind will not last more than half an hour, but there 
 are irregular conditions which may last for many days, and some- 
 times more than a week. There seems to be a continued supply, 
 in large volume, and a general diffusion of counter or upper trade, 
 more or less evenly all over the middle and eastern states, with- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 295 
 
 out the formation of distinct conditions or strong winds, with 
 alternating areas of cloudiness, fog, rain, or snow, according to 
 the season of the year, the varying volume of the trade, and the 
 topography of the country. Such irregular conditions have been 
 traced over Europe, as well as this country. It is impossible to 
 estimate even approximately the continuance of such a condition, 
 without the aid of the telegraph. 
 
 Before I close this chapter, I will give you the table of Dr. 
 Herschel alluded to, with alterations by Dr. Adam Clark, as 
 found in our almanacs and other popular publications, with my 
 views of it. The following is a copy : 
 
 "HERSCHEL'S WEATHER TABLE, 
 " For foretelling the Weather, through all Lunations of each year 
 
 forever. 
 
 " This table and the accompanying remarks are the result of 
 many years' actual observation, the whole being constructed on a 
 due consideration of the attraction of the sun and moon, in their 
 several positions respecting the earth, and will by simple inspec- 
 tion show the observer what kind of weather will most proba- 
 bly follow the entrance of the moon into any of its quarters, and 
 that so near the truth as to be seldom or never found to fail. 
 
 If the new moon, the first 
 quarter, the full moon or 
 last quarter happens. 
 
 In Summer. 
 
 In Winter. 
 
 Between midnight and 2 in the 
 morning. 
 
 },. j 
 
 Hard frost, unless the wind is 
 S. orW. 
 
 2 and 4, morning 
 
 Cold, with frequent showers 
 
 Snowy or stormy. 
 
 land 6 
 
 Rain 
 
 Rain 
 
 6 and 8 u 
 
 Wind and rain. 
 
 Stormy. 
 
 8 and 10 " 
 
 Changeable. 
 
 Cold rain, if the wind be W , 
 snow if E . 
 
 10 and 12 " 
 
 Frequent showers. 
 
 Cold, and high wind. 
 
 At 12 o'clk noon, and 2pm., 
 Between 2 and 4 p.m., 
 
 Very rainy. 
 Changeable. 
 
 Snow or rain. 
 Fair and mild. 
 
 land 6 
 
 Fair. 
 
 Fair. 
 
 8M 
 
 Fair if wind N W. j 
 
 Fair and frosty, if the wind is 
 
 Nf\v "M "E 1 
 
 
 Rainy, if S. or S.W. | 
 
 Or IN J3j. 
 
 Rain or snow, if S. or S.W. 
 
 8 and 10, 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 Ditto. 
 
 10 and midnight. 
 
 Fair. 
 
 Fair and frosty. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 1. The nearer the time of the moon's change, 
 
296 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 first quarter, full, and last quarter, are to midmgkt,t\ie fairer will 
 be the weather during the seven days following. 2. The space 
 for this calculation occupies from ten at night till two next morn- 
 ing. 3. The nearer to midday, or noon, the phases of the moon 
 happen, the more foul or wet weather may be expected during 
 the next seven days. 4. The space for this calculation occupies 
 from ten in the forenoon to two in the afternoon. These obser- 
 vations refer principally to the summer, though they affect spring 
 and autumn nearly in the same ratio. 5. The moon's change, 
 first quarter, full, and last quarter, happening during six of the 
 afternoon hours, i. e., from four to ten, may be followed by fair 
 weather ; but this is mostly dependent on the wind, as is noted in 
 the table. 6. Though the weather, from a variety of irregular 
 causes, is more uncertain in the latter part of autumn, the whole 
 of winter, and the beginning of spring, yet, in the main, the above 
 observations will apply to those periods also. 7. To prognosticate 
 correctly, especially in those cases where the wind is concerned, 
 the observer should be within sight of a good vane, where the 
 four cardinal points of the heavens are correctly placed. 
 
 The above table was originally formed by Dr. Herschel, and 
 is now published with some alterations founded on the experience 
 of Dr. Adam Clarke." 
 
 The table is clearly empirical. 1. It professes to be founded 
 on " a due consideration of the attraction of the sun and moon, 
 in their several positions respecting the earth." But no other 
 observable, or at least material effect produced upon the atmos- 
 phere by the mere attraction of the sun, or moon, or both, has 
 been detected. Certainly the table makes no reference to, and 
 admits no difference of effect from the Apogee and Perigee posi- 
 tions, although they influence attraction and the tides to the ex- 
 tent of one-seventh or more. If the mere attraction of the sun 
 and moon, which produce the tides, have any effect on the at- 
 mosphere, why not create a tide in it, and why not a greater tide, 
 or greater or less effect on the weather at Apogee or Perigee ? 
 
 2. The table is absurd on its face. What possible difference 
 can it make with the existing conditions, or with the organ- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 297 
 
 ization of new ones, whether the moon arrives at a given point 
 of its orbit a half an hour earlier or later in the day ? None 
 can be conceived of. Yet the table says a difference of half 
 an hour, or an hour, will make the weather fair or foul for 
 seven days ensuing. I cannot imagine a greater absurdity. 
 Again, four of the twelve periods are made contingent on 
 the wind, but the wind is produced by, and does not produce the 
 conditions or the weather. And finally, in relation to the weather, 
 coincidences are remembered, and exceptions are forgotten ; and 
 during the rainy or dry seasons, there are periods when such co- 
 incidences must exist and those are remembered, while the fail- 
 ures are forgotten, or are attributed to some other cause. The 
 table is, I repeat, empirical, and not to be relied on. 
 
 There is very little on the subject of prognostication to be 
 found in the writings of American Meteorologists. 
 
 Prof. Loomis in his recent treatise, has several sections respect- 
 ing predictions of the weather, whicli I copy. As containing 
 what a leading meteorologist teaches his classes, and publishes to 
 be used in our colleges and schools, they require examination. 
 
 The following is an accurate copy of the whole : 
 
 SECTION V. PREDICTIONS OF THE WEATHER. 
 
 303. " The character of the weather at any place is affected 
 by so many circumstances which may transpire at distant parts 
 of the world, and which can be but very imperfectly known to us, 
 that it is impossible to predict, except very imperfectly, what 
 may be expected at a given time and place. To a limited extent 
 however, such predictions are possible. 
 
 304. Predictions founded upon the constancy of climate. Re- 
 lying upon the constancy of climate, which has been established 
 by observation, we may predict the probable general character of 
 any month of the year. 
 
 The climate of a country remains permanently the same from 
 
 age to age. Observations continued for an entire century at 
 
 various places in the United States and Europe, indicate no change 
 
 in the mean temperature of the year, or that of the separate 
 
 14 
 
298 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 months ; no change in the range of the thermometer ; no change 
 in the time of the last frost of spring or the first frost of autumn ; 
 in the annual amount of rain or snow, or in the mean direction 
 of the wind. It is not certain that the climate of any country, 
 in either of these respects, has changed appreciably in 2000 years. 
 By the destruction of forests, the earth is more directly exposed 
 to the rays of the sun ; the moisture of the ground is more read- 
 ily evaporated ; streams more frequently dry up in summer, and 
 drouths become more fi equent and severe. But these changes 
 do not seem to affect in a sensible manner the mean temperature 
 of any place, or the annual amount of rain. 
 
 Assuming then, the established constancy of climate, we can 
 predict beforehand the probable character of any month of the year. 
 Thus, at New Haven, the probable mean temperature of any 
 future January, will be 26. We may be tolerably sure that it 
 will not be higher than 36, nor lower than 17. The thermom- 
 eter in January will never rise above 64, nor sink below 24. 
 The entire annual amount of rain at New Haven will not exceed 
 55 inches, and will not be less than 34 inches. 
 
 305. Conclusions drawn from anomalous months. Moreover, 
 if several months in succession have been unusually warm, or 
 unusually cold, instead of concluding that the climate has perma- 
 nently changed and that the succeeding months will be similar 
 in character, we should rather anticipate months of the opposite 
 description, since the mean temperature of the year fluctuates 
 within very narrow limits, and the longer a period of unusually 
 warm weather continues, the greater is the probability that the suc- 
 ceeding months will be unusually cold. Predictions of this kind 
 are legitimate deductions from scientific data. 
 
 306. Predictions founaed upon the established laws of storms. 
 Since great storms have been found to observe pretty well-defined 
 laws, both as respects the motion of the wind and the direction 
 of their progress, we may often recognize such a storm in its 
 progress, and anticipate changes which may succeed during the 
 next few hours. When it is possible to obtain telegraphic re- 
 ports of the weather, from several places in the valley of the 
 Mississippi and its tributaries, we may often predict with confi- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 299 
 
 dence the approach of a great storm, twenty-four hours before its 
 violence is felt at New York. 
 
 307. Observations of the Meteorological Instruments at a sin- 
 gle place. When we are restricted to observations at one local- 
 ity, our predictions of the weather must needs be more uncertain, 
 and the conclusions to be derived from a motion of meteorological 
 instruments are not the same for all parts of the world. Along 
 the Atlantic coast of the United States, the approach of a violent 
 N.E. storm is generally indicated by the barometer rising above 
 its mean height ; at the same time the wind veers to the N.E. 
 and the atmosphere grows hazy. After the rain or snow com- 
 mences, the barometer begins to fall ; when the barometer reaches 
 its lowest point, the wind changes to N. or N.W., after which the 
 barometer begins to rise. 
 
 If a gale sets in from the E. or S.E., and the wind veers by 
 the south, the barometer will continue falling until the wind be- 
 comes S.W., when a comparative lull may occur, after which the 
 gale will be renewed, and the change of the wind toward the 
 N.W. will be accompanied by a fall of the thermometer as well 
 as a rise of the barometer. 
 
 A considerable and rapid depression of the barometer for in- 
 stance a fall of three-fourths of an inch in twenty-four hours 
 indicates an approaching storm, with rain or snow. The wind 
 will be from the northward if the thermometer is low for the 
 season, from the southward if the thermometer is high. If the 
 barometer falls with a rising thermometer, and increased damp- 
 ness, wind and rain may be expected from the southward. 
 
 A rapid rise of the barometer indicates unsettled weather ; a 
 slow rise indicates fair weather. The result of all rapid changes 
 in the weather, or in any of the instrumental indications, is brief 
 in duration, while that of a gradual change is more durable. 
 
 308. Prognostics from the face of the s%, clouds, $c. When 
 the upper clouds move in a direction different from that of the 
 lower clouds, or that of the wind then blowing, they foretell a 
 change of wind. 
 
 When the outlines of cumulus clouds are sharp, it indicates a 
 
300 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 dry atmosphere, and therefore presages fine weather. Small, inky 
 looking clouds foretell rain. A light scud driving across hazy 
 clouds indicate wind and rain. 
 
 Remarkable clearness of the atmosphere near the horizon, and 
 an unusual twinkling of the stars, indicate unusual humidity in 
 the upper regions of the atmosphere, and are therefore indications 
 of approaching rain. 
 
 Halos, coronas, etc., presage approaching rain or snow. Dew 
 and fog are indications of fine weather." 
 
 And now let us examine this with care, and seek for clear ideas. 
 Section 303, so far as it is a confession of ignorance, is well, but 
 the assertion that the circumstances which affect the weather at 
 any place, "can be but imperfectly known to us" is ill. They 
 can and will be known to the next generation if not to this. But 
 they will not be understood by the present generation of meteor- 
 ologists, if they persist in ignoring developments made by practi- 
 cal men because they conflict with their theories. 
 
 Section 304, asserts the constancy of climate, and that is true. 
 The variations during the decade, and between the different de- 
 cades, caused by variations in the power exerted by the sun, de- 
 pendent in part at least on the presence or absence of spots, ex- 
 plain all the supposed inconsistencies of climate. But to gravely 
 inform a graduating class, that the weather and rain-fall for a 
 given month will probably be within the extreme limits of either 
 during any like month for a century, is not saying very much in 
 the way of prediction. 
 
 The next Section 305, relating to " conclusions drawn from 
 anomalous months," contains a fallacy which is said to be de- 
 duced from " scientific data." What the data can be I cannot 
 conceive. It is not true as a rule, that " several months in 
 succession " which are unusually cold or unusually hot, are fol- 
 lowed by succeeding months of an opposite description, as the 
 following table, showing the mean temperature at stations taken 
 from all parts of the country, and in connection therewith the 
 temperature of the seasons and year during the hottest and coldest 
 years of the period covered by the records respectively, will de- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 301 
 
 monstrate. On examining it and comparing the temperatures 
 with the means, you will see that during i he hottest years the 
 elevation of temperature above the mean, is carried through all 
 the seasons, and in like manner in the cold years the depression 
 is carried through them all and the asserted contrasts or compen- 
 sations do not exist. Comparisons of any two of the seasons, in 
 those or other years, lead to the same result. 
 
 TABLE OF MEAN TEMPERATURES. 
 Fort Sullivan, (Maine.) 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 25 years, 
 1826 
 1823 
 
 40.15 
 41.58 
 38.51 
 
 60.50 
 64.83 
 59.87 
 
 47.52 
 48.88 
 44.66 
 
 23.90 
 2457 
 22.21 
 
 43 02 
 44. 9G 
 41.31 
 
 Range, 
 
 3.65 
 
 Fort Independence. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 17 years, 
 1825 
 1836 
 
 46.02 
 48.74 
 44.69 
 
 68.50 
 71.87 
 67.13 
 
 52.45 
 53.12 
 48.55 
 
 28.63 
 30.60 
 2498 
 
 48.92 
 51.08 
 46.34 
 
 Range, 
 
 4.74 
 
 Fort Columbus. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 33 vears, 
 1825 
 1836 
 
 48.74 
 52.52 
 44.85 
 
 72.10 
 76.62 
 67.74 
 
 64.55 
 56.21 
 49.50 
 
 31.38 
 32.36 
 28.17 
 
 51.69 
 5443 
 47.56 
 
 Range, 
 
 6.87 
 
 Fort McHenry. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 24 years. 
 
 1850 
 1836 
 
 5270 
 51.51 
 49.25 
 
 7432 
 75.73 
 70.50 
 
 56.20 
 59.16 
 52.78 
 
 3424 
 39.44 
 3381 
 
 54.36 
 5646 
 6158 
 
 Range, 
 
 488 
 
302 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Fort Moultrie. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 28 years, 
 1828 
 1841 
 
 65.85 
 68.80 
 63.18 
 
 80.59 
 8388 
 80.26 
 
 68.11 
 
 69.92 
 67.07 
 
 51.76 
 61.96 
 50.64 
 
 66.58 
 71.14 
 63.16 
 
 7.98 
 
 Fort Towson. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 20 years, 
 1839 
 1835 
 
 Range, 
 
 62.39 
 6579 
 61.11 
 
 79.16 
 80.70 
 76.47 
 
 61.27 
 62.12 
 66.98 
 
 43.92 
 44.39 
 41.44 
 
 61.69 
 63.25 
 59.00 
 
 4.25 
 
 Jefferson Barracks. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 26 years, 
 1827 
 1843 
 
 Range, 
 
 56.15 
 69.24 
 
 47.83 
 
 7619 
 
 78.48 
 74.67 
 
 5563 
 
 60.78 
 54.06 
 
 33.85 
 38.58 
 32.35 
 
 55.46 
 69.27 
 52.23 
 
 7.04 
 
 Fort Snelling. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 35 years, 
 
 1830 
 1843 
 
 Range, 
 
 45.57 
 48.49 
 33.49 
 
 70.64 
 75.06 
 66.48 
 
 45.89 
 52.08 
 44.09 
 
 16.07 
 17.81 
 15.28 
 
 44.54 
 
 48.36 
 39.83 
 
 8.53 
 
 Fort Brady. 
 
 
 Spring. 
 
 Summer. 
 
 Autumn. 
 
 Winter. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Mean of 31 years, 
 
 1830 
 1837 
 
 Range, 
 
 37.60 
 40.86 
 29.82 
 
 62.01 
 64.23 
 5737 
 
 4354 
 49.60 
 42.62 
 
 18.31 
 
 18.84 
 15.99 
 
 40.37 
 43.48 
 36.45 
 
 7.03 
 
 Nor is it true, as asserted in that paragraph, that " the mean 
 temperature of the year fluctuates within very narrow limits." 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 303 
 
 None of the records from which the above table was compiled, 
 embraced the cold decade from 1810 to 1820, and several did not 
 include the cold decade from 1830 to 1840. The greatest annual 
 range at New Bedford, which feels the influence of the Gulf 
 Stream, and is very equable, is G degrees, viz : 
 
 1825, - 51.02 
 
 183G, 45.02 
 
 6.00 
 
 If we had accurate registers from the interior as well as the 
 coast, including the cold decades from 1810 to 1820, and 1830 to 
 1840, the extremes of annual range for the whole eastern half 
 of the continent would average more than seven degrees, and 
 that is far from being a " fluctuation within narrow limits." 
 
 Contrasts occasionally occur in the English climate, between 
 open winters and late springs. To such a contrast the English 
 proverb refers : 
 
 " If Janiveer (January) kalends be summerly gay, 
 It will be wintry weather in kalends of May." 
 
 I alluded to them in the "Philosophy of the Weather" But a 
 careful examination of the records since, has satisfied me that 
 they rarely if ever occur here, and never then, or at other seasons, 
 as a rule on which prediction can be founded. Indeed, the devel- 
 opments I have made, show that it is impossible. The seasons 
 are too perfectly controlled by intelligible laws. 
 
 The next Section (306) relates to predictions founded on the 
 established laws of storms, and is all in one sentence, and that in 
 the most general terms. And there is very little else in the body 
 of the work, which bears upon it. It was not possible for the Pro- 
 fessor to say anything and say less, and it is obvious he has no 
 definite or digested comprehension of this branch of the subject. 
 
 With reference to the observation of meteorological instru- 
 ments he has one general remark, and the fact that the barome- 
 ter rises along the Atlantic coast before a northeaster. If he 
 what his language by implication imports that the same 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 thing does not take place elsewhere, he is mistaken. It occurs, but 
 less frequently, west of the mountains and in Canada, and occa- 
 sionally in England. He is also wrong in stating, broadly, that 
 when the barometer reaches its lowest point, the wind changes by 
 the N. to N.W. It does so in the latter part of winter and in 
 the spring, in overland storms, when the focus of the storm is 
 south of the observer. But when the focus passes over the ob- 
 server it usually lulls and comes out at the S.W. or W., and when 
 in summer the focus is at the north, the wind in a majority of 
 instances hauls round by the south to the S. W., and does not go to 
 the N. or N.W. at all. A further discrimination must be made 
 in relation to hurricane storms, which hug the coast. Their 
 northeast winds back into the north when very distinct and violent. 
 
 The next three paragraphs of that section contain English 
 rules, and are in substance and expression substantially identical 
 with some of those given by Mr. Steinmetz. The first of them 
 is sometimes though not always true, where the involved condi- 
 tion is true, viz : that " the wind veers by the south." But it 
 should be added that the wind often changes in such storms to the 
 N.W. without veering through the S.W. The second paragraph 
 is true, with this qualification, that whatever may be true in Eng- 
 land, storms never set in here with the wind from the northward or 
 north of northeast. Nor do they, as a rule, precipitate after the 
 wind has backed from the N.E. into the N. The third paragraph 
 is true but very generally expressed. 
 
 In the subject matter of the 308th Section, the Professor is 
 still less at home. The first paragraph is untrue. The upper 
 clouds in storms are cirrus clouds, and have a direction substan- 
 tially invariable, which, north of 35, is from some point between 
 S.W. and W. The lower clouds or scud float in the existing 
 wind and are characterized by it, and in most instances have a 
 different direction. A change of wind therefore, cannot be pre- 
 dicted on the mere difference of direction between the upper or 
 cirrus, or the middle stratus or storm clouds, and the lower or 
 scud. As a rule, and as expressed by the Professor, who obvi- 
 ously is not a practical observer, it is incorrect and deceptive. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 305 
 
 The author from whom he copied it meant to say that when (as 
 is often the case) the wind is about to change, that change will 
 be indicated by the scud in the new wind, running under the scud 
 of the existing wind, before the new wind indicated is felt at the 
 surface of the earth. It is therefore a contrast between two layers 
 of scud, both in the surface story, and not between a layer of 
 scud and the " upper clouds " of the storm. It is well to look 
 for it when the wind is about to change to N. W. in a southeaster, 
 and it is well to observe carefully the running of the scud in all 
 storms. An occasional glance which requires little time will 
 suffice. It is greatly to be regretted that our professed meteorol- 
 ogists should so generally fail to appreciate the importance and 
 duty of habitual personal observation. 
 
 The second paragraph of that section contains three proposi- 
 tions. The first refers to the smooth rounded form of the cumu- 
 lus clouds, which is a characteristic of the fair weather scud of 
 the N.W. wind. They are concurrent incidents of the fair weather 
 wind of a condition, and do not " presage " anything, unless it is 
 correct to say that they presage an existing concurrent thing. A 
 specimen of them may be seen on page 40, (Fig. 9,) and they are 
 there fully described. What is meant by " small inky looking 
 clouds," referred to in the second paragraph, I cannot conceive. 
 I have seen the expression in some school book, and it appears in 
 Fitzroy's " Weather Guide" but it is not intelligible. " The light 
 scud " referred to in the third clause, " driving " or floating in an 
 incident wind, toward an approaching storm, is an important 
 indication always, but what he means by driving across hazy 
 clouds is not so intelligible. The expression is altogether too hazy 
 and indefinite for accurate comprehension. 
 
 The third paragraph may be true in England where it origi- 
 nated, but it is rarely seen here, and is of very little consequence. 
 Reliance must be placed upon other and more important signs. 
 
 The last paragraph, so far as it relates to halos and coronas, is 
 deceptive. Coronas are not always followed by rain or snow, for 
 they are frequently seen in the lateral outlying cirrus of a storm 
 which is passing by to the south. The same is often true of 
 
306 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 halos. The rules for distinguishing those which do presage ap- 
 proaching conditions, I have already given you. A discrimina- 
 tion of which the Professor has obviously no conception, is nec- 
 essary in relation to halos. 
 
 The rest of the paragraph is not all true. Dew is ordinarily an 
 accompaniment or consequence, instead of a presage of fine weath- 
 er. The absence of it is suspicious, unless it is occasioned by the 
 N.W. wind and scud of a condition which has just passed, contin- 
 uing through the night. Dew is often noticed as it rests in large 
 drops upon the spiders webs, which are built by that insect upon 
 the grass. The popular idea is that the webs are built in antici- 
 pation of fine weather, but it is a mistake. The young spiders 
 build their web-traps in the grass to catch their food, because 
 they are hungry, merely, and the traps may always be found un- 
 less a recent heavy rain has destroyed them. The heavy dew- 
 drops resting upon them, render them visible. And so will a 
 very wet morning fog, or the fog which accompanies southeasters, 
 when they deposit moisture. 
 
 And fog sometimes attends storms, and is often produced by 
 their lateral influence ; and when the storm or belt of showers 
 which induces it is at the N.W. rain may follow it. There is a 
 tendency to fog, at and after four o'clock in the morning, during 
 set fair weather, in summer and autumn, and in valleys. But fog 
 forms in the day time even in winter, in connection with south- 
 east thaws, which aids in melting the snow but is chilly to the 
 senses, and hence the proverb : 
 
 " A winter fog 
 Will freeze a dog." 
 
 Now fog does not occur in winter except in connection with 
 storms. And at all seasons of the year fogs and mists may form 
 before storms on the hills ; and with or during easterly storms at 
 all elevations. The expressions " it set in thick " " it came on 
 thick" before a storm, and "the fog lifted" when about to 
 clear off, refer to such fogs, and are often seen in the logs of sea- 
 men. And when it so " sets in" during a cloudy afternoon, on 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 307 
 
 the land, we anticipate a rainy night ; and when in the forenoon 
 following, " the fog lifts," we know it is about to clear off. 
 
 In view of the developments heretofore made on this branch 
 of the subject, by myself and others, it is to be lamented that such 
 a meagre, undiscriminating, and, in many respects, inaccurate de- 
 scription of the means of prognostication is all that a leading me- 
 teorologist has to offer in his lectures to a graduating class of 
 young men, in one of our principal colleges, and in a treatise 
 intended for use in other colleges and schools. 
 
 There is extant in England another collection of rules, pre- 
 pared for the Board of Trade by Admiral Fitzroy, but it contains 
 nothing of material value to us, which is not embodied in the 
 foregoing development. 
 
 I know of no other collection deserving your notice. 
 
 I have thus given you a concise, but substantially accurate de- 
 velopment of the system as made by the Creator. In doing this 
 I have avoided, as far as possible, the consideration of theories, 
 I have come to regard them, and the men who persistently and 
 against new truths as discovered, promulgate and teach them, with 
 a degree of disgust which I have not been able to restrain. I 
 sinned somewhat myself in that way, in the " Philosophy of the 
 Weather," but I do not intend to so sin again. In my judgment 
 there is no apology to be made for the persistent theorist who 
 does not test his theories by newly discovered truth. Indeed, with 
 our present knowledge or means of knowledge, there is 'no apol- 
 ogy for theorizing at all. 
 
 And here I might with propriety consider my promise fulfilled 
 and close the volume. But it has been my intention from the 
 outset to invite you to accompany me in an inductive considera- 
 tion of the motive force of the system, and its mode of operation, 
 in a concluding chapter, but not, it must be understood, as theorists. 
 I think the practical rnind of the country, trained by business in 
 the logic of cause and effect, peculiarly well qualified to judge 
 correctly, upon the facts, in regard to the nature and character of 
 the force. We will together then enter upon that enquiry in 
 another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The organization and motive force of the system invisible its existence 
 recognized in its effects a knowledge of it to be acquired by inference 
 from the nature of the organizations and their actions. Elements of the 
 tornado and their mode of operation place where it originates manner 
 of formation and form its appearance and substance its apparent man- 
 ner of action in the air its action and mode of operation in contact Avith 
 the earth estimates of the force employed various descriptions of the 
 power of that force operates in two lateral lines or currents. The right 
 hand current crosses the center in advance of the left hand, curves back- 
 wards and ascends over it. The left hand current curves behind the other 
 and rises over it, both together constituting the whirl in the air. These 
 currents thus existing and operating, constitute the law of the tornado. 
 This law of the small is also the law of the great, and is traceable through 
 all the varied atmospheric organizations Traced first in the belts of show- 
 ers and in elliptical storms of the Northern Hemisphere in those of the 
 Southern Hemisphere nearly all storms of that Hemisphere of this char- 
 acter. Critical examination of Col. Reid's chapter on the " Gales of 
 High Southern Latitudes" in every instance he purports to describe 
 the northern half of the gale southern half of a revolving gale not ex- 
 perienced all the gales described by him, were, with a single excep- 
 tion, elliptical that exception a straight line southeaster, corresponding 
 to our straight line northeasters. " Ojo" of the Spaniards, not an indi 
 cation of the center of the storm constituted by a clear interval after 
 the storm clouds have all passed by, and before the scud of the fair 
 weather wind obscure the sky. The same kind of storm's eye visible with 
 us, at least ten times a year, never seen in the center of the storm. All 
 the descriptions cited by Col. Reid, belonged to elliptical storms with lat- 
 eral winds described as such by Mr. Meldrum. Extended examination 
 of the theories of Redfield and Espy. Certain amount of truth in both 
 of them. Some storms elliptical as claimed by Espy others semi-revolv- 
 ing as claimed by Redtield instances and illustrations of both. Hur- 
 ricane of 1821. Hurricane of 1869. Examination of the views of Prof. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 309 
 
 Henry as promulgated in the Patent Office Reports those views crude 
 and untruthful. Intolerance and persistency of meteorologists in rela- 
 tion to this matter. Return to the inquiry what is the force. Exam- 
 ination of the group of the diurnal changes instructive but not conclu- 
 sive. Must find a force that originates the conditions and prescribes 
 their paths unaffected by the rotation of the earth. That rotation does 
 not control or affect the circulation of the atmosphere current theories 
 on that subject all fallacies. But one such force known, and that is elec- 
 tricity General view of that agent and its operations or phases. Vari- 
 ous propositions and illustrations, showing the manner in which it ope- 
 rates in organizing the system and producing the varied phenomena, 
 and in that connection an extended examination of the magnetism of the 
 earth, and how it is constituted. Its associated currents of electricity, and 
 their mode of operation. Particular examination of the manner in which 
 magnetism is diffused over the earth, affecting climate, disease, and the 
 activity and energy of its inhabitants. Appeal to the various classes of 
 practical men to aid in reforming the science and extending the truth. 
 
 The organizing and motive-force of the Atmospheric System is 
 invisible. We recognize its existence only in its effects. A knowl- 
 edge of its nature and mode of operation can only be acquired 
 therefore, by inference from the nature of the special and general 
 organizations we have contemplated, their action, and the result- 
 ing phenomena and effects, aided, perhaps by an analogical view 
 of its mode of operation and effects in other parts of the physical 
 world. 
 
 Let us then look critically and carefully at the structure of the 
 special and general organizations constituting the Atmospheric 
 System, and the mode of operation and phenomena peculiar to 
 each. 
 
 It was sensibly said by a very sensible man Prof. Dana, of 
 Yale College, in commenting, editorially, on the Schuyler Tor- 
 nado, that " throughout nature the small and the great have a com- 
 mon law" which " is often best read in the small" and we will 
 commence with the small. 
 
 The least and most distinct of the atmospheric organizations is 
 the tornado. What are its elements and their mode of operation, 
 or, in other words, what is its law ? To determine this, we must 
 
310 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 analyze those elements, and their mode of concurrent operation 
 and effects. I have alluded to them in a general way, in Chapter 
 3d, but we must now be critical and particular. 
 
 I. FIRST, THEN, AS TO THE PLACE WHERE IT ORIGINATES. 
 
 It forms at the inferior surface of an extensive stratus or cumulo- 
 stratus cloud of the second story, and extends itself downward to 
 the earth. This is invariably true, where its path is narrow, and 
 its form distinct, so far as observation has extended. The rain- 
 bearing clouds of a general storm or of a summer belt of showers, 
 have been present in more than fifty such instances, and in all 
 which are upon record in this country since 1809. Of one which 
 occurred during that year in Cincinnati, described by Dr. Drake, 
 it is said, "A general rain was falling." 
 
 That which occurred at Charleston, September 10th, 1811, is 
 described as occurring in a violent storm of West India origin. 
 That most destructive one at Natchez, in 1840, occurred upon a 
 day which is described as warm and cloudy. That described 
 by Mr. Chappelsmith, at New Harmony, Indiana, April 30th, 
 1852, occurred upon a day which was generally cloudy and threat- 
 ening. One at Brandon, Ohio, Jan. 20th, 1854, is described as 
 the most violent of several partial tornadoes, forming in a widely- 
 extended general storm in which the temperature was very high. 
 The Schuyler Tornado, which occurred in June, 1857, formed 
 beneath the cumulo-stratus of a belt of showers, and so did the 
 New Brunswick Tornado, which occurred in 1838. Many others 
 might be mentioned, but these are sufficient upon the point. 
 
 M. Peltier, in his elaborate work upon Spouts and Tornadoes, 
 has a list of one hundred and thirty-seven, of which ten are said 
 to have occurred in a sky without clouds. None such have 
 been described in this country. And of the ten exceptional cases 
 mentioned by Peltier, some were mere whirlpillars, and in the 
 other cases there was a cumulo-stratus beneath which the spout 
 formed, and which was taken by the observer to constitute a part 
 of the spout. 
 
 As the tornado and water spout form at the inferior surface of 
 rain-bearing stratus clouds of considerable or very great extent, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 311 
 
 more than one may form simultaneously or during the same day. 
 Many of these described by M. Peltier, so occurred, and there 
 have been many such in this country. Thus, the Brandon tor- 
 nado, which has been alluded to, was one of several which oc- 
 curred on the same day in different places, and under the same 
 storm. 
 
 As this tornado occurred in January, during a thaw, and in a 
 storm which extended somewhat above the focal path, I take a 
 few extracts from Prof. I. N. Stoddard's very intelligent descrip- 
 tion of it. 
 
 " The whole breadth of the State of Ohio from S.W. to N.E., 
 was swept on the 20th of January, 1854, by a storm of unusual 
 violence." 
 
 <k Traces of the same storm have been obtained from a point 
 27 miles N.E. of Little Rock, Arkansas ; also from the Western 
 part of Pennsylvania. The whole length cannot be less than 800 
 miles. The breadth I have not been able to determine. At 
 Dubuque, Iowa, on the 20th of January, it was clear and very 
 cold, with the wind from the N.W. At the point named in Ar- 
 kansas, heavy rains from the S.W. occurred on the 19th, followed 
 by a clear and cold atmosphere on the morning of the 20th. On 
 this day, the 20th, the storm passed over Ohio." 
 
 " The temperature became mild on the 19th, and on the next 
 day at noon, the thermometer stood at 70 in Cincinnati, and 68 
 in Oxford, the latter place more elevated than Cincinnati, and 30 
 miles from it N. by W. The barometer fell gradually during the 
 19th, and rapidly on the 20th ; and at 45 minutes past 12 M., the 
 time when the storm began at Oxford, it stood 28.21, lower than 
 at any period during the last twelve months. The air was sat- 
 urated with vapor, and the walls of brick buildings were dripping 
 with moisture. Three strafa of clouds were distinctly observed, 
 the highest cirri light and fleecy, moving toward the N.E., the 
 second, the proper storm cloud, in dark, heavy masses, moving 
 rapidly in the same direction, the third and lowest the scud of 
 sailors, flitting violently past a little east of north. Along the 
 
312 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 track of this wind, there were at different times during the day 
 violent rains, vivid lightning, heavy thunder, and in some places, 
 large hailstones fell though not in great quantity. In the North- 
 eastern part of the state, the storrn assumed the form of a tornado 
 of great violence." 
 
 " It first struck the earth in the S.W. part of Miller Township, 
 Knox County. N. latitude 40 18', Long. 5 30' W. of Wash- 
 ington." 
 
 "Its course in that County was N. 5Gj Ea:t. Traces of it 
 are found in some of the counties further east, where its path 
 gradually curved more towards the ea-t, presenting its convex side 
 to the north. The tornado in Washington County, Penn., on 
 the same day, was not probably a continuation of that in Ohio, as 
 its location was several miles farther south. 
 
 " It appears to have passed over one tier of counties, without 
 touching the earth, and subsequently to have descended again 
 with its original force." 
 
 Such is the description, and the reader is requested to notice 
 in passing, certain facts particularly in relation to this general 
 storm, for I shall allude to them again. 
 
 1st. That this was a winter thaw, extending somewhat above 
 the focal path, but not as far to the N.W. as Dubuque, Iowa. 
 Its heaviest rains ranged from Arkansas on the 19th to the N.E. 
 and in Ohio on the 20th. 
 
 2d. The temperature where the tornado occurred was 68. 
 The barometer fell about an inch below the mean of the place, 
 before the storm. 
 
 3d. The three cloud strata of the general storm under which 
 it occurred, were distinctly observed. The cirrus in the upper 
 story ; dark, heavy masses of stratus and cumulo-stratus in the 
 second story, and the southerly scud in the surface story moving 
 from the S. to a little E. of N. Note carefully the strata as shown 
 by the following diagram. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 41. 
 
 313 
 
 II. SECOND, AS TO THE MANNER OF FORMATION AND FORM. 
 Those have been frequently and sufficiently observed. A few 
 descriptions are all that our limits permit. Towards the end of 
 August, 1838, about 3 P. M., a tornado passed near Providence, 
 Rhode Island. The rain was falling, says Mr. Z. Allen, in a 
 letter to Prof. Hare, with violence, when he saw a black cloud 
 (cumulo-stratus) in the midst of other brilliant and fleecy clouds, 
 assume a terrible aspect and form itself into a black, elongated 
 cone, extending down to the surface of the earth." 
 
 The following is a description condensed from an account by 
 Mr. C. F. Brooks of the Medford, Mass., tornado. 
 
 A very distinct " form " was exhibited by the cloud in this case, 
 
314 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 usually that of an inverted cone, though often that of a double 
 cone or hour glass. Several " concur in saying that the conical 
 point let down from the cloud moved about at short distances, now 
 pushing down to the earth, and now rising from it. Its side 
 motions were compared to those of an elephant's trunk. This 
 action was like the descending tube in a nearly completed water- 
 spout at sea." Its width was from 50 to 70 rods, its course from 
 W.S.W. to E N.E., curving slightly, its rate of motion nearly 
 * fifty miles per hour," duration " five or six seconds." 
 
 The following is a description of the Schuyler tornado, as, 
 observed by Dr. Mower. 
 
 " At Schuyler Corners the phenomena was very intelligently 
 and carefully obse ved by Dr. Mower. He as well as others saw 
 it first nearly north of the Corners, but a little west, then pre- 
 senting the appearance of a huge cone, apex down, suspended by 
 its base/ro?w the cloud, its lower point apparently twenty or thirty 
 rods above the earth, and not more than forty rods from their 
 position to a point directly under it. It passed on to the east, 
 lengthening as it went. Having passed out of sight from an inter- 
 vening house, he changed his position for a moment to gain a new 
 view, and when he again saw it, it had touched the earth. Its 
 course was now attended with a huge cloud of dust, and he could 
 no more see the apex of it. At one time it swelled out in the 
 middle, forming as it were, two cones, base to base, the apices 
 above and below, and a smaller and similar cone, separated from 
 it towards the south ; this second phenomena was traced by its 
 progress upon the earth as noticed further on. He says he saw 
 it ten minutes and it seemed to pass slowly along. It first struck 
 the ground just back of the little hamlet of Schuyler Corners." 
 
 And the following of Water Spouts as seen over the Gulf 
 Stream extracted from a description in Espy's Philosophy of storms 
 page 346. 
 
 "AT SEA, AUGUST 14th, 1836." 
 
 " Captain ! Spouts over the lee bow ! cried the voice of a 
 sailor down the companion ladder, yesterday at 2 P. M., while 
 sailing along the Gulf Stream, in about latitude 25 30'. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 315 
 
 The cry of " Spouts over the lee bow " naturally excited some 
 little alarm among the passengers. The Captain was on deck in 
 a moment. I was anxious to witness the magnificent phenomena, 
 and therefore followed him. On our arrival there, the spectacle 
 presented by the heavens to leeward, was indeed of an imposing 
 and awful character. A dark cloud, which every moment be- 
 came blacker and blacker, was fast extending over the leeward 
 sky. From the lower part of this ominous and stormy curtain, 
 projected three jet black columns, which kept curving and swing- 
 ing backwards and forwards as if they were endowed with life. 
 ******* 
 
 " Brace round the yards ! come, be quick ! Haul aft and load 
 the gun, some hands," cried the Captain, while he himself assisted 
 in performing these important services. Every second was of 
 consequence, a minute or so might have sealed our doom. On, 
 on, went the ship ; and before she turned, we were frightfully 
 near the dreadful spouts. Onward and downward these gigan- 
 tic hose pipes of cloud and water uncoiled. Now they curved 
 like a reaper's hook. Anon, they twisted like a serpent's tail ! 
 I could imagine that two of them were at least a thousand feet in 
 length, with a body as thick as the Washington Monument at 
 Baltimore. Their contortions and convulsions were interesting 
 and wonderful, and I found it impossible to withdraw my atten- 
 tion, even for a moment, from the grand phenomena ; at length the 
 ship was put about, and we began to increase our distance from 
 what we had regarded as a watery death. The spouts straight- 
 ened out, and the lower ends of two of them approached the sur- 
 face of the deep. The sea beneath rose in a hillock of waves, 
 as if attracted or twisted into a rising tumulous by the cloud, or 
 formed by the whirlwind. And now two of the columns were 
 perpendicular, resting upon a mount of foaming, roaring waves 
 a perfect 
 
 " Hell of waters." 
 
 I should say that from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
 feet above the sea, these columns were transparent as crystal, and 
 the water might be seen swiftly traveling up them. This ap- 
 
316 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 pearance lasted for six minutes and a half, the third spout nev^r 
 reaching the sea at all" 
 
 A single extract from Peltier, descriptive of the formation and 
 character of a tornado which occurred at Chatenay, near Paris, 
 will be sufficient on this point. The day was cloudy and the de- 
 scription of weather was that of a summer belt of showers. A 
 sort of combat is described as having taken place between two 
 showers. It is then added : 
 
 " A great agitation then manifested itself in the intermediate 
 parts, and the thunder rolled violently, when all at once, the 
 clouds of the second storm lowered themselves toward the earth, and 
 put themselves in communication with it. At this instant the 
 thunder appeared to cease, and there arose a frightful whirlwind 
 of dust and light bodies, with an extraordinary, confused rolling." 
 * * * * * * # 
 
 " Arrived at the Croix du Freche, the descendent cloud had 
 great dimensions ; it was then a terrestrial spout, well formed, 
 which, according to the account of several inhabitants of Fon- 
 tenay, had the form of an inverted cone, having its base in the 
 upper clouds, and its apex, about seven metres from the earth. 
 The vapors which composed it had a grey tint, and rolled one on 
 the other with great impetuosity, letting some points of their pale 
 light be seen, and causing a confused rolling to be heard." 
 
 Many other similar citations might be made, but these are suf- 
 ficient upon the point. Let its manner of formation at the infe- 
 rior surface of the stratus clouds of the second story, its exten- 
 sion or elongation downwards to the earth, its subsequent alter- 
 nating elevations and suspension above the earth, and the fact 
 which may be added, that when it breaks up action ceases first at 
 the earth and last at the cloud be particularly noted and re- 
 membered. 
 
 III. Let us look now, in the third place, at THE APPEARANCE 
 AND SUBSTANCE OF THE ORGANIZATION. These are variously 
 described by different observers. Its form is uniformly described 
 as that of an inverted or funnel-shaped cone, when it has been 
 narrow (less than a hundred rods) and distinct. When, however, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 317 
 
 the breadth has been much greater, the conical shape has not 
 been so observable. 
 
 In color and substance it differs from ordinary cloud, and this 
 is important. Of the Charleston tornado it is said that * it ex- 
 hibited the lurid appearance, and funnel-shape peculiar to these 
 tornadoes, shifting its position very much." 
 
 An abridged description of that which occurred at New Har- 
 mony, Indiana, April 30th, 1852, is as follows: 
 
 " This is traced from near Paducah, Kentucky, northeast of 
 New Harmony, and from that point 200 miles nearly east to 
 Georgetown, Ky , apparently following the general line of the 
 Ohio river. The day was generally cloudy and threatening, with 
 a low barometer the tornado occurred at 4| P. M. At its point 
 near New Harmony, the track of fallen trees was one-half a mile 
 to a mile in breadth, and the rate of progress calculated at nearly 
 60 miles per hour. The destruction was the work of a moment, 
 and intense electrical energy was apparent, an observer says : 
 ' the cloud appeared on Jire at the bottom, like a large pile of burn- 
 ing brush," others describe it as " a cloud with creen and red 
 flame,'" others "green and blue" 
 
 Mr. Stoddard describes that which occurred at Brandon, as 
 follows : 
 
 " Persons just outside the path describe the storm as a column 
 of vapor or smoke whirling in indescribable confusion, accompa- 
 nied with a deafening roar, so that the thunder, if any, was undis- 
 tinguishable amid the general din and confusion." 
 
 He also describes the one which occurred at Harrison, Ohio, 
 as follows : 
 
 " The storm approached the house nearly from the west, and 
 yet it was struck on the eastern side, by the current from the 
 southeast. The proof of this is explicit. The whirling mass of 
 vapor, attended with a thundering roar, w^as seen by Mr. Graham, 
 approaching from the west ; he shut the door, a few moments of 
 awful suspense followed, then a window over the east door was 
 driven in with a loud report, then the door followed, and the next 
 
318 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 instant the house was torn from its foundations and shivered to 
 fragments." 
 
 Prof. Olmsted thus speaks of the New Haven tornado : 
 
 " The appearance of the storm as it approached was deliber- 
 ately contemplated by numerous observers, who saw it coming 
 over the plain. All describe it as a strange cloud of terrific as- 
 pect, wldte like a driving snow-storm, or light fog, and agitated by 
 the most violent intestine motions. It came suddenly upon them 
 with torrents of water, there was a rush, a crash, and it was 
 gone." 
 
 Prof. Loomis, in an article on the Mayfield tornado, which oc- 
 curred Feb. 24th, 1842, says : 
 
 " Mr. Halsey Gates, standing near his mills in a shed open to 
 the north, saw the tornado pass and observed it very attentively. 
 The entire heavens, he says, were covered with" dense, black 
 clouds, moving with great rapidity. No cloud seemed to descend 
 to the earth, yet the progress of the tornado was marked by a 
 huge column of a dull yellow or smoky tinge" 
 
 And in the same article he thus alludes to two which have oc- 
 curred in the night. 
 
 " The tornado at Morgan, in 1823, is thus described by Deacon 
 Beach. About 8 o'clock the sky became overcast with a daik 
 cloud, attended with plentiful rain and some lightning. The rain 
 suddenly ceased, but the cloud remained, covering the whole heav- 
 ens, and producing intense darkness. The air was perfectly still, 
 after the rain, for about an hour, and the heat unusually great. 
 At half past 9, he heard a roaring, as of very heavy thunder, 
 which called him to the door. Upon opening it he immediately 
 discovered a bright cloud, having precisely the color of a glowing 
 oven, apparently of the size of half an acre of ground, lower than 
 the dark canopy which remained unbroken above, apparently 
 within two or three miles, and moving rapidly in the direction of 
 his house. The brightness of the cloud made the face of things 
 light above the brightness of the full moon. Having turned into 
 the house he was engaged in securing it, when the tornado passed, 
 taking the roof and chamber floor, and many articles from below. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 319 
 
 It was a log house. There was neither hail nor rain during the 
 passage of the tornado, neither flashes of lightning nor distin- 
 guishable peals of thunder, but an intense brightness of the cloud 
 and a continual and tremendous roar. The passage of the torna- 
 do seemed instantaneous, but the light of the cloud continued 
 for more than a quarter of an hour. Deacon B. was able to read 
 in his Bible, which he found many rods from his house, at least 
 ten minu'es after the storm had passed. 
 
 "Judge Griswold saw the same phenomenon. The cloud ap- 
 peared to him funnel-shaped, apex downward, from which a stream 
 of fire apparently issued. 
 
 "The appearance of the cloud, as here described, corresponds 
 very well with the account of the Shelbyville tornado, as given 
 in this Journal, (Vol. xxxi, page 258.) The cloud is said to have 
 been permanently luminous, and of the color of red hot iron." 
 
 Of a list of fifty or more which have occurred in this country, 
 I know of no other which occurred at night except that at Stowe, 
 and that was not observed. It is an important fact that fifteen 
 out of sixteen have occurred in the day time, and in the afternoon. 
 And this was generally true of the great number described by 
 M. Peltier, but it cannot be necessary to cite other instances from 
 our own records or from him. Those given are amply sufficient 
 to exhibit the character of the organization, in relation to form, 
 color, and substance. If all occurred in the night all would 
 doubtless be luminous. 
 
 IV. APPARENT MANNER OF ACTION. Enough has been cited 
 to show its apparent manner of action before coming in contact 
 with the earth or when the contact was broken by contraction, 
 and the apex was drawn up above it. All observers seem to 
 agree in the fact that when occupying that position above the 
 earth, there was a whirling motion distinctly visible, and the apex 
 or extremity shifted about in every direction from a perpendicular 
 line. 
 
 V. We come now to its ACTION AND MODE OF OPERATION 
 AVHEN IN CONTACT WITH THE EARTH, and here we can learn but 
 little from actual observation of its movements at the time. 
 
320 TEIE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 First, because dust, dirt, water, mud, and everything movable, 
 including limbs of trees, leaves, parts of buildings and other ob- 
 jects detached and torn to pieces by its force, were embraced in 
 it, exhibiting to the eye intense internal agitation, and apparent 
 indescribable confusion. Second, because the apex of the spout 
 undoubtedly whisks about at times in various directions while in 
 contact with the earth, thereby creating much of the apparent 
 confusion observable in its effects. Third, because it varies in 
 form and extent, and its lateral motions are more or less masked 
 where the breadth is considerable and the progress rapid. Fourth, 
 because the force is exerted in veins irregularly, sometimes with 
 enormous energy, and at the next instant feebly. Thus, where 
 two buildings have stood near each other, and eqtii-distant from 
 the center of the path, one has been destroyed while the other 
 remained uninjured. And so also, of light objects easily moved, 
 some have been carried away and never found, while others situ- 
 ated near by have been left undisturbed. We must endeavor 
 then to discover their mode of operation at the suiface of the 
 earth, and when in contact, by analyzing their effects in cases 
 where the cone and path were narrow, and at points where there 
 was the least apparent deviation of the apex from a straight line, 
 or other irregularity as it passed along. 
 
 Several of that precise character have been reliably described. 
 That which occurred near New Haven, is one of them. It was 
 carefully examined and charted by Prof. Olmsted, and Mr Haile. 
 Their chart embraced four different sections. I copied and insert - 
 ed a part of one of the sections on page 79. I also copy and 
 insert as much of the rest of his chart as the smaller size of 
 my page will permit. 
 
 The following is Prof. O.'s description of the effects observed 
 in connection with the chart. 
 
 " Let us now trace more particularly those facts which have a 
 bearing upon the laws which govern this storm. 
 
 1. The first great fact that strikes us is, that all the trees and 
 other objects that mark the direction of the wind which prostrated 
 them are, with very few exceptions, turned inwards on both side?, 
 
THE ATMOSPilEBIC SYSTEM. 
 
 321 
 
 Section II. 
 
 xab 
 ^ 
 ^ 
 
 .A 
 
 i^hx 
 =^$ 
 
 -;>C^^"> 
 
 G \ <<- 
 
 FIG. 42. 
 
 I T 
 
 U 1 
 
 Section I. 
 
 2 
 
 4f 
 
 Seeiion. TV. 
 
 Section ]ff. 
 
 15 
 
822 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 towards the center of the track, while near the center, the direc- 
 tion of the prostrate bodies is coincident with that of the storm. 
 
 2. On more minute inspection, we find prevailing a remarkable 
 law of curvature. This is most favorably seen in cornfields, as 
 the prostrate corn indicates the course of the wind at each spot, 
 with great precision. The law is this. Commencing on the 
 northern margin of the track, the stalks of corn are turned back- 
 ward, that is, towards the S.E., proceeding towards the center of 
 the track, their inclination to the south becomes constantly less 
 and less, turning gradually towards the course of the storm, until 
 when we reach the center they lie to the N.E. exactly in the line 
 of the storm. This curvature is in all cases more observable on 
 the northern than on the southern side of the track. In the lat- 
 ter case the stalks of corn lie more nearly at right angles to the 
 course of the storm (but inclining forward,) still, on reaching the 
 center, they turn to the northeast and become coincident with that 
 course, 
 
 3. Numerous examples are seen where the bodies as they fell 
 toward the center of the track, or after they had fallen, were 
 turned farther round towards the direction in which the tornado 
 was moving, that is towards the N.E. 
 
 4. The ruins of buildings that were demolished, are scattered 
 in nearly a right line towards the center of the track, but they 
 frequently are strewed quite across the central parts, reaching, 
 in some instances almost to the opposite margin. In this case 
 they are often found covered with trees and other bodies lying in 
 precisely the opposite direction. 
 
 5. In a few instances, very limited spots are found where the 
 prostrate bodies, as hills of corn, lie in all directions. Examples 
 occur where one portion of the same hill of corn is turned west- 
 ward, and another portion eastward. 
 
 After these general statements we may now have recourse to 
 the accompanying diagram, and review particular cases of the 
 foregoing laws or modes of action. For this representation of 
 the phenomena of the tornado, I am indebted to Mr. A. B. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 323 
 
 Haile, who took the bearings of the various prostrate objects with 
 a compass. In most cases, I have been able to attest the accu- 
 racy of the representations by actual inspection, and in regard to 
 the few instances where my attention has not been particularly 
 attracted to the fact represented, I entertain no doubt of the en- 
 tire accuracy of the delineation. 
 
 The diagram commences at A, (not copied,) at a mulberry 
 grove, half a mile from the spot where the tornado first formed. 
 The dotted line bears N. 50 E. It will be perceived that the 
 trees which lie in the center of the track generally coincide with 
 it, and that those which lie on either side, are turned inwards 
 towards the center. Yet several examples are seen where trees 
 lie pointing outward from the center, both in the middle and in 
 the marginal portions of the track, as at N, Q, R, S. These ex- 
 ceptions, moreover, are all on the north side of the track. Ex- 
 amples of the remarkable law of curvature referred to, as seen at 
 G and O, (see page 79,) where the figures represent the direction 
 of stalks of corn, in two fields nearly a mile distant from each 
 other. It will be observed from the diagram that from the mar- 
 gin, the direction of the stalks inclines more and more inwards, 
 and finally in the center, coincides with the course of the storm. 
 It is also obvious from the figure that this law is more fully de- 
 veloped on the left than on the right side of the track. The same 
 tendency to this curve is exhibited in the scattered fragments of a 
 roof at I. 
 
 The dotted lines connected with the figures of some of the 
 bodies that were thrown down, as at B, D, and F, show the posi- 
 tion in which the bodies first fell, and from which they were moved 
 round into the places they now occupy. In some cases a tree is 
 seen to have commenced falling at right angles to the track, but 
 during its fall to have been twisted round towards the course of 
 the storm. Similar examples are found of limbs bent around the 
 trunks of the trees from which they were partially severed. 
 
 At E are represented the ruins of a building which was com- 
 pletely demolished, and its fragments carried in a right line far be- 
 yond the center of the track. According to Mr. Haile, the frag- 
 
324 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ments in the central parts of the track are arranged in parallel 
 lines, coinciding with the course of the storm, while in places 
 farther from the center, they lie promiscuously. In the parts most 
 remote from the building, the fragments are covered by corn 
 thrown down in the opposite direction. A more striking exam- 
 ple of the same fact is seen near the eastern limits of the tornado, 
 where the fragments of a roof are scattered towards the west, 
 while a tree a few paces from the building is turned directly 
 towards the building, covering a portion of the fragments. 
 
 At C is represented a limited spot in a cornfield where the 
 stalks lie in every direction. While in a few places, at distant 
 points, particular spots seem to have been subjected to a pecu- 
 liar violence, other limited spots exhibit a remarkable exemption 
 from the effects of the tornado. In a garden near H are a few 
 rows of pole beans, apparently untouched by the storm, while 
 within a few feet on either hand, the most violent effects are ex- 
 hibited. Near L a barn was demolished, and a dovecote scat- 
 tered in fragments, while a hen-roost which stood feebly on blocks 
 was unharmed. Large trees in the immediate vicinity were torn 
 up by the roots. A house that stood between I and L, was com- 
 pletely torn in pieces, leaving nothing but the southern half of the 
 ground floor. In the room of this floor, a woman was washing, 
 and another was at work in a basement room immediately below, 
 while her child was asleep in a cradle in a room above, at the 
 northeast angle of the house. They saw the tornado approach- 
 ing ; the woman in the basement ran up and caught her child in 
 her arms, and immediately afterwards found herself and child in 
 an open field a few paces north of the house, the child having been 
 carried only a few feet from the spot where they were, while the 
 mother was carried eighteen or twenty feet farther to the west- 
 ward. The other woman meanwhile was swept off from the floor 
 where she was standing, and carried northward and deposited in 
 the cellar, the floor of the northern half of the house having been 
 borne away along with other parts of the building. None of the 
 persons were seriously injured." 
 
 I refer next to the description, from which I have already cop- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 325 
 
 led, of the Brandon tornado, by Prof. Stoddard. The following 
 are Sections II and III, taken from his chart, showing the man- 
 ner in which the trees were prostrated where the tornado entered 
 successively two different standing forests. A more favorable op- 
 portunity for the exhibition of the precise manner in which the 
 force was exerted could not well exist, the tornado crossing cleared 
 fields and striking perpendicularly into a forest which stood upon 
 rising ground. 
 
 FIG. 43. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 After describing the effects of the tornado upon the village of 
 Brandon, he describes the place where Sections II and III were 
 surveyed, as follows : 
 
 " About one-fourth of a mile east of Brandon it struck a dense 
 forest. At this point a careful survey was made across the track 
 represented by Section II. For nearly three miles its course was 
 mainly through the forest, with intervals of cleared land, uproot- 
 ing or breaking almost every tree, and crushing the buildings 
 which unfortunately stood in its way. Crossing the Newark and 
 Mt. Vernon railroad, it swept over cultivated fields, destroying 
 the few trees which had been left, and razing to the ground a 
 stable and brick house. Three-fourths of a mile beyond this, an 
 open grove of very large trees, mostly oak, stood on rising ground 
 and in the line of the storm's axis. They seemed like an advanced 
 guard, to the forest a little farther in advance. The tornado 
 struck them with appalling fury, and appeared well-nigh irresist- 
 ible. Scarcely one was left standing, some were uprooted, others 
 broken and split into fragments. Near this place where it en- 
 tered the forest another survey was made, (see Sec. III.) 
 
326 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 I take next two sections of the chart of the Harrison tornado, 
 also surveyed, charted, and described by Prof. Stodard. 
 
 FIG. 44. 
 
 Section B is a chart of the Graham place, which the tornado 
 demolished. The topography of the ground was peculiar, and 
 the effects do not precisely correspond with those produced in 
 other parts of the path. The curvature of the right hand lateral 
 currents, was nearer the axis than in other portions of its path, 
 and the house and barn, No. 1 and 2, were stricken by them on 
 the east side and the fragments carried in the direction of the 
 dotted lines. But the distinct and peculiar operation of the lat- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 327 
 
 eral currents, and particularly those upon the north side, are 
 clearly observable. 
 
 In Section C, where the currents struck the edge of a forest, the 
 action of the lateral currents, and especially those which crossed 
 on to .he north side, is distinctly shown. 
 
 We come next to a consideration of the most violent effects 
 produced, and the measure of the force required to produce them. 
 I take fir ->t, an extract from the description of the Schuyler 
 tornado which has been alluded to. 
 
 " But the climax of the storm is yet to be seen. About three 
 hundred feet directly southeast of the apple trees, upon an abrupt 
 eminence, say thirty feet high, there stood a first-class farmer's 
 barn, thirty five by fifty feet with a stone foundation, and with 
 posts sixteen feet high. Its length was east and west, and its 
 roof sloped towards the north and towards the south. The south 
 portion of the roof was carried north over a garden with fruit 
 trees and deposited in a field beyond, some portion 200, some 300, 
 and a large portion at least 500 or perhaps 600 feet from the barn, 
 while the north side was carried just about as far towards the 
 south. A threshing machine of iron and wood, said to weigh 
 400 pounds, was carried 30 feet south-southeast, and a sill or 
 plate of the barn, weighing probably twice as much, lies near it, 
 while huge timbers are beyond it, one 300 feet to the south, nine 
 inches square by twelve feet long. Thus for 500 feet or more all 
 around towards the north, east, and south of this barn, lie its frag- 
 ments, every timber and board removed from the greater portion 
 of the foundation, and even the two inch plank hemlock floor of the 
 basement of the west end of the barn, saturated with water, any 
 one of them a load for two men, were lifted up and thrown to- 
 t/ether in a heap. This it must be understood is at the bottom of 
 the basement some ten feet deep, protected by the stone foundation 
 watt, as it should seem, from the direct action of the wind." 
 
 I copy next, the following from Mr. Stoddard's description of 
 the Brandon tornado : 
 
 " Another mode of estimating the force of the wind may be 
 adopted. Among the oaks previously named as standing on ris- 
 
328 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ing ground, was one, a giant among giants. Its trunk was three 
 feet in diameter and straight, its top symmetrical, and the whole 
 sound to the core. It was shivered to fragments, near the ground. 
 Let us estimate the force necessary to break it. We will call the 
 diameter 2J feet, the height 80 feet, the outline of the top a rect- 
 angle 30 by 40 feet, and let us suppose the whole surface exposed 
 to the wind to equal one-fourth of that included in the outline, 
 or 500 square feet. Under these conditions the resultant of all 
 the forces would act on the tree at a distance of 55 feet from 
 the point of fracture. Taking the strength of oak at the usual 
 standard, a force of 73,636 Ibs. would be required to break the 
 tree. If the surface exposed to the action of the wind be esti- 
 mated at 500 square feet, the pressure upon each square foot 
 would be 147 Ibs. This gives a velocity of 172.9 miles per hour, 
 equal to 253.5 feet per second. This is about one-fourth the 
 velocity of a cannon ball. Though the above estimate gives an 
 enormous force to the wind, yet I cannot perceive that any of the 
 assumptions are exaggerated. The most doubtful point is the 
 amount of surface supposed to be presented to the wind by the 
 limbs, &c. The estimate is believed to be a large one, as the trees 
 were at the time destitute of foliage. 
 
 Other circumstances are not wanting to sustain this view of a 
 high rate of velocity in the tornado. A mass of brick cemented 
 together 4 feet by 3, and one foot thick, containing at least 12 
 cubic feet, and weighing more than 1000 Ibs., was carried 15 feet 
 from the wall of a house. A board was driven 3 feet into a charred 
 oak stump. The writer pulled a shingle from an oak tree which 
 had been driven into it one inch. An estimate of the force in the 
 aggregate, of this tornado, if made clear to the mind by compar- 
 ison with some well-known standard, would excite astonishment. 
 If any one will take the trouble to make the calculation, he will 
 probably assent to the following : A section of it one-half mile 
 wide and 100 feet high, exerted a force equal to half the steam 
 power of the globe. More than 50,000 trees were prostrated or 
 broken by it in less than one-half hour." 
 
 And from the same writer respecting the Harrison tornado. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 329 
 
 '" This storm was remarkable for the occasional exhibitions of 
 extreme violence. The Graham place afforded the most striking 
 examples. The house was not mei ely thrown down, but shivered. 
 A teaspoon was carried half a mile, and a piece of stove 30 rods. 
 A heavy wagon was carried a few rods and dashed to fragments 
 against a tree. A piece of scantling twelve feet long, and three 
 by four inches, was taken thirty rods east, and driven into the 
 ground ihree and a half feet. Four men tried in vain to pull it 
 out, and the writer in connection with Mr. Graham, succeeded 
 only after digging around it to the depth of 3 feet. The earth 
 thus penetrated, was, with the exception of the first six inches, a 
 stiff, yellow clay. What renders this incident more striking 
 was the fact that the end of the scantling was not pointed. The 
 cross section presented a resisting surface of eight square inches, 
 and the whole amount of earth displaced was equal to 336 cubic 
 inches. According to experiments made at the United States 
 Navy Yard, a shot 68 inches in diameter would penetrate earth 
 five feet, nine inches. A shot of 3 inches diameter, nearly the 
 resisting surface of the scantling, would under similar circumstan- 
 ces penetrate three feet, nine inches. This is but three inches 
 deeper than the scantling was driven. While the weight of the 
 timber in question would have been greater than the weight of a 
 three inch shot, on the other hand the form of the end was not so 
 favorable for penetration. What portion of its velocity was due 
 to falling cannot be told with accuracy. As it fell within thirty 
 rods of the building from which it was taken, it could not have 
 ascended to a great height. It entered the ground at about an 
 angle of 45, and if from this we estimate the velocity acquired 
 from falling, to equal one-half of the whole, there is still left a 
 velocity of 500 feet per second, due to the wind. The effects of 
 such a wind would be fearful indeed ; it would move at the rate 
 of 340 miles per hour.'' 
 
 One other extract will suffice in relation to the power and ef- 
 fect of this class of conditions. It is from Prof. Loomis' descrip- 
 tion of the one which occurred at Mayfield, Feb. 1842. 
 
 "The velocity of the wind's motion, however, at points of the 
 
330 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 most destructive violence, was far greater than this A tolerable 
 idea of its velocity may be gained from the distance to which 
 light objects were driven into the ground. Small pieces of clap- 
 boards with square ends were driven into turf land 18 inches, and 
 with sharp ends, two feet. What charge of powder is capable of 
 producing the same effect ? According to the experiments of Dr. 
 Hutton a pound ball of cast iron fired from a gun of 2 inches 
 calibre into solid blocks of elm wood, in the direction of the fibres, 
 penetrated the following distances : 
 
 VELOCITY. PENETRATION. 
 
 With a charge of 2 oz. powder, 800 feet per second. 7 inches. 
 
 " " 4 " " 1200 " " 15 " 
 
 " " 8 " " 1500 " 20 " 
 
 Dr. Hutton estimates the resistance of elm timber 7^ times 
 more than that of firm earth. A pound ball with a velocity of 
 800 feet, should then penetrate the earth 51 inches. The depth 
 penetrated being assumed to be as the square of the velocity, a 
 pound ball fired with the velocity of 550 feet would penetrate 2 4 
 inches. The space penetrated is said to be as the specific gravity 
 of the ball. A wooden ball two inches in diameter, specific grav- 
 ity 75, fired with a velocity of 550 feet, would then penetrate firm 
 earth 24 inches. As this last result is a deduction from princi- 
 ples somewhat doubtful, I desire to verify it by experiments of 
 my own. A six-pcunler was accordingly charged with 1^ Ibs. of 
 powder. Two or three short pieces of oak board, three inches 
 wide and one inch thick, were added, and the gun pointed toward 
 a steep hill, distant about a rod. The boards penetrated the 
 ground a few inches, were badly shivered, and bounded some 
 distance up the hill. A second experiment was tried with nearly 
 the same result. The hill was of usually firm earth but not 
 strong. The greatest penetration did not exceed six inches. 
 Velocity computed 1000 feet per second. According to the 
 former data, the penetration should have been nearly 8 inches. But 
 the ground at Mayfield was saturated with water- I have no pre- 
 cise data for estimating the allowance required by this circum- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 331 
 
 stance. I judge, however, that it would not increase the penetra- 
 tion more than threefold. We arrive then at the conclusion that 
 the clapboards at Maytield were driven into the earth with a ve- 
 locity of 1000 feet per second, or 682 miles per hour" 
 
 Perhaps I ought not to omit the fact alluded to in a general 
 way, in a former chapter relative to the ploughing of the ground 
 by the movement of an iron plough during a tornado at Stowe. 
 The following is a description of it in Prof. Loomis' words : 
 
 u There is another fact which appears to my mind still more 
 remarkable. A very heavy cast iron plough was lying between 
 the two houses C and D ; a massive iron chain was attached to 
 it, and there was little wood work about it. This plough was 
 dragged along about four rods and ploughed into the ground in 
 several places. In one spot it appears to have been carried al- 
 most entirely around, removing all the turf from a space about 
 four feet square, and throwing up the earth to the distance of six 
 feet. The plough was broken so as to be worthless." 
 
 This fact is quite as astonishing as any of the other almost 
 incredible facts contained in the foregoing extracts. 
 
 A few words in passing relative to the places where they occur 
 and their frequency An examination of the many conditions of 
 this description which have been recorded in the newspapers, as 
 well as the forty or fifty which have been described in scientific 
 books, or other publications, will show, that although occurring 
 occasionally over all the eastern states, in the Atlantic system of 
 conditions, nearly all have occurred at or south of the then loca- 
 tion of the focal path. In the two or three cases mentioned 
 where they have occurred north of the focal path, as at Brandon 
 and Harrison, Ohio, they have occurred during very warm and 
 intense southeast thaws. Thus of four which have occurred at, 
 or in the immediate vicinity of Natchez, Mississippi, all have oc- 
 curred in May. About the same number which have occurred in 
 the valley of the Ohio, have occurred in the same month or in 
 April. And they have visited the states north, northwest, and 
 northeast of that valley later in the season, and in the summer 
 after the focal path had passed up over or beyond them. Under 
 
332 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 that focal path, or southerly of it, they have occurred every year 
 since the country was settled, and will continue to occur while the 
 atmospheric system remains as now. 
 
 It is impossible to estimate satisfactorily the average number 
 which have occurred in each year. The forests of the Mississippi 
 valley are scarred with them. Five are known to have occurred 
 in different states on the 15th of August, 1787, and several 
 formed under the same belt of showers in which the New Bruns- 
 wick tornado appeared on successive days, as the belt drifted to 
 the eastward. Probably an average of ten a year would be a 
 low estimate. Some of them have been very destructive to hu- 
 man life, and they constitute one of the dangers of the east, as 
 earthquakes do to California, and perhaps the greater danger of 
 the two. They do not occur in the Pacific system. 
 
 Their rate of progress over the earth varies with their size and 
 intensity. That described by Mr. Chappelsmith, which was 
 about one mile in width, and had a connection with the earth for 
 240 miles, moved with an estimated velocity of 60 miles an hour, 
 prostrating trees at the rate of 7000 per minute. The progress 
 of the greater number where the width has been less than 100 
 rods, has been at the rate of from 30 to 45 miles an hour. 
 
 Let us now review and examine the facts thus stated, and de- 
 duce from them inductively, the mode in which the organizing 
 and sustaining force operates, constituting the law of the organ- 
 ization. 
 
 Turn now first to page 81, and examine Prof. Loomis' chart of 
 the effects produced by the tornado at Stow, Ohio. We see at a 
 glance by the arrangement of the prostrated trees that the force 
 was exerted laterally on each side of the supposed central line, 
 R, S. The general effect is obvious, and the exceptional cases 
 are few and easily accounted for. It is not necessary to dwell 
 upon it. Prof. Loomis sums it up in the following sentence : 
 
 " We have then, I think established that there were two pow- 
 erful currents of wind blowing from the opposite sides of the 
 track ; that is, within a few rods of each other, and with such 
 violence that the stoutest oaks fell before it." 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 333 
 
 Turn now to a representation of a part of the track of the 
 New Haven tornado, as inserted on page 79. Here we have the 
 same result, as shown by the manner in which the corn was pros- 
 trated in the cornfield, and by the direction in which the trees 
 fell, and the fragments of a building were carried from the right 
 hand side of the path. We have also some prostrated trees on 
 the left hand side of the path, with their tops toward the center, 
 and some trees also, and the fragments of other buildings carried 
 exceptionally and obliquely outward to the northwest. It will be 
 seen hereafter that these exceptions are perfectly consistent with 
 the general effect we are considering. 
 
 Turn now to the remainder of Prof. Olmsted's chart, and we 
 will commence with Section I. Here we have first, on the right 
 of the track at the lower corner, the debris of buildings thrown 
 inwards toward the center ; then we have at E the representa- 
 tion of a building destroyed, and the fragments carried inwards 
 toward the center and across to the opposite side of the path ; 
 then we have at F trees thrown inward and forward ; at G corn 
 prostrated toward the center, and further on, near K, another 
 building destroyed and its fragments thrown toward the center of 
 the path. On the left-hand side of the path, in this section, we 
 see the corn prostrated toward the center, the trees also, farther 
 on, and the contents of the building, I, in like manner. The same 
 exhibitions of force are seen in Section II, on either side the 
 track, with the exception of two trees thrown to the westward. 
 In Section III we have the same exhibition with a similar excep- 
 tion at Q. The same may be said, in a single sentence, of Sec- 
 tion IV. 
 
 Turn now to Sections II and III of Prof. Stoddard's chart of 
 the Brandon tornado. On these we need not dwell ; they show 
 the same operation of the force. 
 
 Turn next to Prof. Stoddard's chart of the Harrison tornado. 
 On Section B of that chart we see the same state of things on 
 both sides of the center, with a curving of the force at the Gra- 
 ham place, where buildings 1'and 2 were demolished, similar to 
 
334 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 that shown at Q of Prof. Olmsted's chart, and substantially the 
 same result is also observable in Section C. 
 
 Without dwelling upon this very plain matter, we may state as 
 our first deduced proposition, that the organization and motive force 
 of the tornado operates in two lateral lines of force, or currents, 
 tending towards a central line. 
 
 Turn again to the diagram of Prof. Loomis on page 81. The 
 house of Mr. Sanford, D, was utterly destroyed by a vein or con- 
 centration of the force which crossed the central line from the 
 right hand side, and the fragments were strewed in the direction 
 of the barn, N. 29 E. from the house. The members of the 
 family were carried in the same direction, and found in the de- 
 bris. "An ox cart, before the storm, was standing close by, and in 
 the rear of Mr. Sanford's house, and was loaded with potatoes. 
 The cart was lifted up by the wind ; it soon turned a somerset, so 
 as to empty the potatoes upon the ground, and nearly all in a 
 heap. The cart itself was dropped a few rods behind the barn, 
 and at a distance of 30 rods from the house. If the cart moved 
 in a straight line, it must have passed directly over the barn. In- 
 deed it is quite probable that such was the case, for the cart struck 
 flat upon one wheel, which buried itself to a considerable depth 
 in the earth." 
 
 We are not informed of the direction in which the fragments 
 of the unroofed buildings on the north side of the track (aijd 
 most of them were unroofed) were carried. But as Prof. Loomis 
 says, "everywhere there is the same evidence of two currents in 
 exactly opposite directions, having passed over precisely the same 
 spot," it is probable that the southern current crossed the center 
 of the track at other places. 
 
 Turn again to the fragment of Prof. Olmsted's chart on page 
 79, and observe how the fragments of the building on the right 
 hand side of the track were carried across the center on to the 
 left hand side, and also how the fragments of the building and 
 some of the trees standing on the left side, are thrown outward 
 and backward by the southerly currents which crossed the center 
 of the path. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 335 
 
 Turn next to the remaining portion of his chart on page 321, 
 and observe how the fragments are carried by the southerly cur- 
 rent across the center at E in Section I, and at M in Section II, 
 and the manner in which the trees are thrown backward and out- 
 ward on the left of the path near L in Section II, at Q, in Sec- 
 tion III, and at S in Section IV. 
 
 Turn next to Section III of Prof. Stoddard's chart of the Bran- 
 don tornado and see the manner in which the southern currents 
 cross the center of the path, and curve backward as they pass out- 
 ward. The fact that they thus passed in advance of the lateral 
 currents of the left side, is shown by the arrows indicative of the 
 left hand current, which have a cross on them, as well as by the 
 simple arrows intended to show the left hand current ; for the cross 
 upon the arrows of the left hand current indicates that the trees 
 which they represent, lay over trees previously prostrated in an 
 opposite direction. The same overlying may be observed near 
 the center on Section II where two such crossed arrows are 
 placed. 
 
 Turn now to Prof. Stoddard's chart of the Harrison tornado, 
 and you may see on Section B the precise manner in which the 
 southerly currents cross the center and curve backward in ad- 
 vance of the left hand currents, on the north side of the path. 
 On this chart-, the action of the currents is unmistakable. And 
 in this connection, I copy the following important suggestion from 
 Prof. Stoddard's account : 
 
 " In conclusion, the writer would take the liberty to suggest to 
 observers that he has found it important to carry his observations 
 beyond the track of greatest violence. Though no trees nor 
 houses may be thrown down, yet valuable evidence to show the 
 mode of action can oftentimes be obtained. 
 
 Mr. Laird's house in the vicinity of the Graham place, was on 
 the left of the axis, but too far from it to suffer any injury. The 
 wind was violent, but left none of the ordinary marks which could 
 determine its direction. Mr. Laird, however, stated to the writer 
 that the wind first blew in the south door, and two men were un- 
 able to shut it. A moment afterwards, and the north door, wh'ch 
 
336 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 had been locked, was violently driven in. The direct and reverse 
 stroke of the loop seem pointed out here. The action of a tor- 
 nado along the axis only, affords but confused data to elucidate 
 the laws which govern it." 
 
 In order that the reader may understand what Prof. Stoddard 
 means by the " direct and reverse stroke of the loop" I here insert 
 a copy of a figure made by him to represent his view of the 
 cycloidal form of the action, but without endorsing it. Our busi- 
 ness now is with the fact that the right hand current does cross 
 the center line in advance of the other as a rule. 
 
 FIG. 46. 
 
 From this further review and examination, we deduce a second 
 proposition, viz : that of the currents thus organized and moving 
 inwards, the right hand or southerly current crosses the center in 
 advance of the other, and curving backwards, ascends over the 
 left hand current, constituting a part of the upward, ascending 
 and visible whirl. The northerly or left hand current curves be- 
 hind the other, having frequently a backward inclination, and be- 
 ing weaker and following the rapidly advancing spout it curves 
 and rises over the right hand current, prostrating or turning trees 
 so that they overlie those previously prostrated by the right hand 
 current, and ascending over the right hand side of the path, con- 
 stituting another portion of the whirl. These currents thus or- 
 ganized and operating when unaffected by the disturbing causes 
 which produced the irregularity, constitute the law of the tornado. 
 
 I have made these deductions from a limited number of instan- 
 ces, but they are instances where the facts were carefully observed 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 337 
 
 by intelligent men, and I know of no instance that is in conflkt 
 with them. The same facts do not appear so clearly in the New 
 Harmony tornado, and for obvious reasons. A mile square of 
 the track of that tornado was surveyed and plotted by Mr. Chap- 
 pelsmith, exhibiting the direction in which every prostrated tree 
 fell, and is a valuable acquisition to the science. But, as we 
 shall see hereafter, there is a tendency in the wider organizations to 
 the straight line gust, rather than the limited whirl, and tLat ten- 
 dency affected the New Harmony tornado. So it undoubtedly 
 was affected by the unusual rapidity of its progress, and it is nat- 
 ural that the law we have deduced should be more or less masked 
 by the causes named. 
 
 We are all familiar with the straight line thunder-gust, a few 
 miles in width only, which occurs beneath the summer belts of 
 showers. And we have seen in the Cincinnati hurricane, which was 
 from 30 to 40 miles in width, and moved with the speed of 70 
 miles per hour, that the lateral currents were from the S.W. on 
 one side, arid the N.W. on the other, as they are in our summer 
 belts of showers, without observable evidence of whirl in either. 
 But notwithstanding the width and speed of the New Harmony 
 tornado, its lateral currents were clearly discernible amid the 
 confusion which other causes produced, although it is not proba- 
 ble that a distinct whirl, embracing the entire organization existed 
 at the surface or above it, at any instant of time. 
 
 AND WE MAY TRACE THIS LAW OF THE SMALL, AS THE LAW 
 OF THE GREAT, THROUGH ALL THE VARIED ATMOSPHERIC OR- 
 GANIZATIONS. 
 
 We have seen that those lateral currents are clearly developed 
 in the wide as well as the narrow belts of summer showers. In 
 the wider and less intense southeaster, and on the margins of the 
 still wider and still less intense northeasters, and in the great cen- 
 tral condition where they constitute the trades. 
 
 Let us look at them, first, as we have seen them developed in 
 belts of showers. That organization, if regard is had to the con- 
 ditions of both hemispheres, is undoubtedly the most frequent of 
 all ; indeed, in the Southern Hemisphere nearly all of their organ- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 izations are of that character. There are upon record a few 
 southeaster, corresponding to our northeasters, in which the wind 
 blew continuously from the S.E., in opposition to the progress of 
 the storm, as it does in our northeasters ; but they are occasional, 
 exceptional, and in high latitudes only. We have seen from the 
 log of the China, that that vessel encountered and ran through 
 five distinct conditions long, narrow, elliptical, and trough-like, 
 wiih N.E. or N.W. lateral winds on the northerly side, and S.W. 
 winds on the southerly side. Through these conditions she held 
 Ler way, averaging 201 miles per day, and in no one of thern did 
 she meet with a storm wind hauling round through the E. and 
 S.E. to the S.W. as she would have done had they been cyclones, 
 but in each and all of them she had the wind hauling from the 
 N. through W. to S.W. or shifting suddenly to the same quarter. 
 
 In Maury's Sailing Directions are given the logs of 130 ships. 
 or voyages around Cape Horn. I have carefully examined those 
 log?. I find four or five instances where, in the vicinity of the 
 Falkland Islands or in the Pacific west of Ion. 78, the wind wen: 
 around from N.E. through E. and S.E. to S.W. But they were 
 all during variable weather without depression of the thermome- 
 ter or serious gale, and not even such an instance occurred in any 
 of the 130 cases between lat. 56 and 59, and east of Ion. 75. 
 Off the Horn and south of it, those 130 vessels all had their storm 
 winds and low barometer from N. to W., and their fair weather 
 winds with rising barometer from S.W., showing a succession 
 of passing elliptical belts witji a wind setting in from some north- 
 erly point and ending at S.W. Col. Reid assumes every one of 
 those belts, and all other passing organizations in the hemisphere 
 to be revolving gales, but it is a mistaken assumption. Let us 
 examine. 
 
 The following is a copy of the cut given by Col. Reid, pur- 
 porting to represent the manner in which the wind changes in 
 what he assumes to be revolving gales at the Horn. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 46. 
 
 339 
 
 It was an easy matter for Col. Reid to sweep a circle upon the 
 map representing a revolving storm, so that in passing from the 
 S.E., a vessel in the vicinity of the Falkland Islands, having 
 a wind N.E. or N., should have the wind veering round from 
 "W. to S.W. as the storm passed over the vessel. He has drawn 
 his line across the circle, to represent the manner in which the 
 storm passed over a vessel. Many similar circles, representing 
 the vessel as in the northerly half of the gale, are scattered 
 through his chapter on the gales of high southern latitudes. But 
 
340 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 not in a single instance does he represent a vessel as having been 
 caught in the southern half of a revolving gale, and having the 
 wind setting in at N.E. and veering round through E., S.E. and S. 
 to S.W. Nor have I met with such an instance in my reading 
 in relation to the gales of that hemisphere. If the gales of that 
 hemisphere are cyclones, the southern half of them is above the 
 earth, and that cannot be. 
 
 As this matter is fundamental and important, I will examine 
 the chapter of Col. Reid, on the Gales of High Southern Lati- 
 tudes in detail. 
 
 He first cites from the record of Capt. Wickham, R. N., who 
 commanded Her Majesty's ship Beagle, whilst surveying the west 
 coast of Australia. His first citation relates to the manner in 
 which the south polar zone of rains extends up over that conti- 
 nent during the northern transit of the zones, and is interesting 
 for that reason. 
 
 " May is the month in which the winter weather fairly sets in, 
 and it rarely happens that the middle of this month passes with- 
 out the rains having commenced. This season seems to vary but 
 little as to the time and manner of setting in. It is ushered in 
 by blowing weather from about N.N.E., the wind gradually veer- 
 ing round to the westward, as it increases in strength. The first 
 of this weather usually lasts from a week to fourteen days, then 
 comes an interval of fine weather generally of a fortnight's dura- 
 tion, and sometimes a month, after which the rains set in more 
 constant, and the intervals of fine weather are shorter. This 
 weather lasts until October, and at times throughout that month." 
 
 We here see the manner in which the south polar zone of rains 
 extends up with the general transit, and that its peculiarities are the 
 same as exist in the northern zone. There is the same interval of 
 fine weather occurring between its first appearance and its steady 
 existence, " the early and latter rain" and sometimes the differ- 
 ence of a month in the time of its disappearance. When the 
 latter is traced out, it will be found to be connected with, and 
 conformed to the irregularity of the transits of the central belt. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 341 
 
 Capt. Wickham sums up the character of the gales on the S.W. 
 coast of New Holland, as follows : 
 
 " The N.W. gales that occasionally occur during the winter 
 months, on the southern parts of the west coast of New Holland, 
 are probably felt as far north as Sharks Bay. They blow with 
 great violence, and are accompanied by dark, gloomy weather and 
 rain. It is then unsafe to be near the land, as the gale that com- 
 mences at N.N.E. invariably veers to the westward, making a lee 
 shore of the whole line of coast, and between W.N.W., and 
 W.S.W. blows the hardest." 
 
 Col. Reid copies from the record of Capt. Wickham, descrip- 
 tions of a number of storms, but they all, with a single excep- 
 tion, commenced with wind from N.E. or N.W., and a falling bar- 
 ometer, and with a cloud bank coming from the west or northwest, 
 ending with the wind southwest and a rising barometer. There 
 was one exception which was evidently a straight line southeaster, 
 corresponding to our northeaster. The record is as follows : 
 
 " On the 8th of the same month, the barometer was 30.05 ; at 
 8 P. M. with fine weather, wind S E. by E. it then commenced 
 to fall, and at 8 P. M. on the 9th, was 29.80, and blowing a heavy 
 gale at S.E., which continued all night and until 8 P. M. on the 
 10th, at which time it became more moderate, and the barometer 
 began to rise." That was clearly a straight line southeaster 
 which did not veer, and not a revolving gale. 
 
 The last case cited was exactly like the northeasters of the 
 northern hemisphere where they commence at N.E. in opposition 
 to the progress of the storm, and blow in a straight line for 36 
 hours or more, and cease when the storm has passed by. Such, 
 precisely, was the southeaster described by Capt. Wickham. 
 
 If the reader will remember that the storms of the southern 
 hemisphere travel to the S.E instead of the N.E., that the lateral 
 storm winds are on the northerly or tropical side, and the lateral 
 fair weather winds on the south or polar side, directly the oppo- 
 site of what occurs in the northern hemisphere, he will clearly un- 
 derstand that all the instances, so far, conform to the character of 
 long, elliptical belts, rather than revolving gales. 
 
342 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Col. Reid next cites from the record of Sir J. Ross, of two 
 voyages to the south seas, with an account of one or more storms 
 which commenced with the wind from a northeily point, veering 
 through the W., and ending in S.W. One of these was in lat. 
 62 42', and another in 65 48'. Not a storm is cited from either 
 voyage of Sir J. Ross which set in from the N.E. or E., and veered 
 through the S.E. to S.W. Col. Reid next cites from Capt. Fitz- 
 roy with relation to the storms on the western coast of South 
 America, and I copy a part of the citation. 
 
 " There is much less difference between the climate, the pre- 
 vailing winds, and the order in which they follow ; the tides and 
 the currents on the outer coasts of Chiloe, and at the west entrance 
 of Maghalaens Strait, including the intermediate coasts, than 
 persons would suppose, who judge only from their geographical 
 positions. Northwesterly winds prevail, bringing clouds and rain 
 in abundance. Southwesters succeed them, and partially clear the 
 sky with their fury ; then the wind moderates and hauls into the 
 southeast quarter where after a short interval of fine weather, it 
 dies away. Light airs spring up from the N.E., freshening as they 
 veer around to N., and augment the store of moisture which they 
 always bring. From the N. they soon shift to the usual quarter, 
 N.W., and between that point and S.W. they shift and back, 
 sometimes for weeks before they take another turn round. When 
 the wind backs (from S.W. to W.N.W., &c.) bad weather and 
 strong winds are sure to follow. On that coast the wind never 
 backs suddenly, but it shifts with the sun (with respect to that 
 hemisphere) very suddenly, sometimes flying from N.W. to S.W. 
 or S. in a most violent squall. Before a shift of this kind there 
 is almost always an opening or light appearance in the clouds 
 TOWARDS THE S.W. which the Spaniards call an eye (ojo), and for 
 that signal the seamen ought to watch carefully. As the sudden 
 shifts are always with the sun, no man ought to be taken aback 
 unexpectedly ; for so long as a northwester is blowing with any 
 strength, accompanied by rain, so long must he recollect that the 
 wind may fly round to the S.W. quarter at any minute. It never 
 blows hard from E. ; rarely with any strength from N.E., but an 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 343 
 
 occasional severe gale from S.E. may be expected, especially 
 about the middle of winter (June, July, August). In summer 
 southerly winds last longer, and blow more frequently than they 
 do in winter, and the reverse. The winds never go completely 
 round the circle ; they die away as they approach E., and after an 
 interval of calm, more or less in duration, spring up gradually be- 
 tween N.E. by E. and N." 
 
 In this extract we have the following facts : first, the north- 
 westerly winds prevail, bringing clouds and rain in abundance, 
 southwesters succeed them, and when they die away, fine weather 
 ensues. Second, the wind' blows steadily from the northward, 
 sometimes hauling slowly from N.W. to S.W., and sometimes fly- 
 ing suddenly from one to the other in a violent squall. Third, it 
 is in the interval between the passing by of the stratus cloud of 
 the storm, and the obscuration of the sky by the scud of the 
 S.W. wind that what is called the ojo or supposed eye of the 
 storm is seen, and it is obvious that this is all there is of it. 
 Fourth, an occasional severe southeaster, precisely like the ex- 
 ceptional one described by Capt. Wickham, corresponding to our 
 northeasters, is experienced. Fifth, IT NEVEK BLOWS HARD 
 FROM E., rarely with any strength from N.E., and it is perfectly 
 evident that a cycloidal storm setting in between N.E. and E., and 
 veering through S.E. to S.W., was never witnessed there by 
 Capt. Fitzroy. All the phenomena point conclusively to the pas- 
 sage of successive long, narrow, elliptical belts, with northerly 
 winds upon their tropical sides, and southerly winds on the polar 
 sides, moving to the southeast and drifting to the east, precisely 
 as they occur in this country, and that the " ojo," of which so 
 much is made, is simply the lighting up, at the close of the storm, 
 in the S.W. just as we frequently see it in the N.W. 
 
 Col. Reid next cites the case of a French vessel in lat. 38 S., 
 long. 22 E., in which it was said the "ojo" was seen. The ship 
 took the gale from the N.E., and it veered round through the 
 N.W. to the W , and then again the "ojo" was nothing more than 
 what we frequently see when the obscuring stratus clouds of the 
 belt have drifted past the zenith, and the heavy westerly scud are 
 
344 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 coming up in the westerly clearing off wind. I have seen hund- 
 reds of just such " ojos " in the course of fifty years, and an 
 average of at least ten may be seen any year, and in any part of 
 this country or off the coast, by any one who will take the pains 
 to look for them, when the storm ends by " lighting up " in the 
 northwest. 
 
 Col. Reid next cites from the record of Capt. Sullivan, R. N., 
 who was employed making a survey of the Falkland Islands. 
 The substance of his observations is contained in the following 
 paragraph : 
 
 " We had, on an average, during the five months I was there, 
 as many days of gales as of moderate weather, the usual round 
 being this : The gale commenced at N. or N.W., and after hav- 
 ing blown for some hours from those quarters drew round to west, 
 then southwest and south. But there were some gales that blew 
 for several days from S.W. without having commenced from the 
 northward of west. Some also commenced at N.E. and blew 
 strong from that quarter for several hours before they drew round 
 to the westward." This, allowing for the different direction in 
 which the storms move in the two hemispheres, is just what takes 
 place in the interior of this country, and all over our hemisphere ; 
 and Capt. Sullivan met with no gales which veered through E. 
 and S.E. to S.W. 
 
 Captain Sullivan had a method of keeping his record of the 
 wind which was peculiar. It was by mapping arrows on an east 
 
 FIG. 47. 
 
 8 10 
 
 Magnetic 
 North 
 
 \ \ 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 345 
 
 and west line, with dotted lines for the days and figures to show 
 the strength of the wind, as shown by Fig. 47. 
 
 Col. Reid drew his imaginary circle around such a record, in 
 mapping the diagram on page 339. But it should be observed, 
 1st, that he tilted up the line, so as to have it slide over the island 
 from N.W. to S.E., and that changed the direction of the wind, 
 and falsified the record. And 2d, that even then, the record 
 showed steady winds from the two points, not gradually veering 
 ones. 
 
 Col. Reid next cites from an account of the voyage of the Al- 
 batross from Van Diemans Land to England, round Cape Horn. 
 When in the South Pacific, and in lat. 48 S., long. 159 W., the 
 master, Mr. J. M. Gill, remarks : 
 
 " It is here where the mariner may study and depend on the 
 barometer. As regularly as the gale veered from the northward 
 to the southward of west, so the column rose, and from the south- 
 ward to the northward, the indicator was depressed." And it is 
 added, ' that light winds, veering to the north and east forebode 
 the day of change." 
 
 There is subsequently a description of a gale in which the u ojo" 
 appears again, and I copy : " The N.W. gale continued to rage 
 with fury until 6 A. M., when it suddenly changed to W.S.W., 
 and blew with increased force. The heavy cross sea, produced 
 by a sudden shift, is described as all foam and spray. The little 
 vessel was then near the gale's center, and here we have an ex- 
 ample of that clear space in the heart of the tempest, the storm's 
 eye." Mr. Gill adds : " The sun having been concealed during 
 the day, now shone out for a few minutes nearly in the wind's eye, 
 with fiery brightness, some of us thought for the last time. The 
 small archway that opened to ivindward through dense masses of 
 cloud, served the purpose of a funnel, and forced the gale over us 
 in gusts, every one of which appeared determined to tear away 
 the few yards of canvass we had set ; strong, stout and new as 
 they were." The idea of an archway in the cloud operating as 
 a funnel for the surface wind is an absurd fancy ; but not more 
 ab urd than the idea that the setting in of a fair weather wind 
 the storm clouds having all passed by, and permitted the sun to 
 10 
 
346 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 appear constitutes the center of the storm. Those archways of 
 clear sky are common when the wind shifts to the N.W., and it 
 lights up in that quarter, the storm c'ouds having passing by. 
 
 Let me now turn your attention to another important and sat- 
 isfactory piece of evidence. And here I cite from the "Handy 
 Book of Meteorology" by Mr. Buchan, the Secretary of the Scot- 
 tish Meteorological Society, published in 1868, page 273. 
 
 " STORMS OP THE INDIAN OCEAN, SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR. 
 Through the activity and well-directed efforts of the Meteorolog- 
 ical Society of Mauritius, the storms of the Indian Ocean have 
 been submitted to a fuller examination than those of any other 
 ocean on the globe. Since the formation of this Society in 1851, 
 it has devoted a large share of its attention to the collecting of 
 Meteorological statistics of the Indian Ocean, and the tabulating 
 of them in chronological order. Upwards of 500 synchronous 
 weather charts have been constructed under the direction of its 
 able and energetic secretary, Charles Meldrum. I have through 
 his courtesy, examined a considerable number of these charts, 
 which, if the isobarometric lines were filled in, would leave noth- 
 ing to be desired. At the meeting of the British Association, 
 held in Dundee, 1867, Mr. Meldrum gave an account of these 
 storms, and it is chiefly from this paper, a copy of which he has 
 kindly sent me, that the following facts regarding them, have been 
 taken. Of these storms there are two sorts, viz : tropical and 
 extratropical storms." 
 
 'EXTRATROPICAL STORMS. These storms occur at all seasons, 
 but are most violent during the winter months, from May to 
 August inclusive, in this respect resembling the extratropical 
 storms of the northern hemisphere. They are generally charac- 
 terized by the presence of two currents of air, the one from the 
 southward and the other from the northward. Sometimes the 
 two currents exist side by side, the one from the N.E., the other 
 from the S.W., each occupying a belt of 5 to 30 in longitude, 
 and stretching from 30 S. Int., as far south as the observations 
 extend, viz : to lat. 45. In the space between the two winds, 
 light airs, calms, and a high cross sea, with heavy rain, thunder 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYST7M. 347 
 
 and lightning, generally prevail, and there the barometer is low- 
 est. The belt of southerly winds lies invariably to the west of 
 the northerly winds, and the two travel laterally to the eastward, 
 preserving their relative position often for several days. Instead 
 of blowing in parallel belts, however, the winds are often in- 
 clined, and sometimes directly opposed to each other. The bar- 
 ometer stands higher and the thermometer lower, in the southern 
 than in the northern gale, being in these respects quite analogous 
 to European and other storms of the northern hemisphere. There 
 cannot be a doubt that the form of by far the majority of these 
 storms, is that of elongated ellipses, or trough-like, their length 
 being very much greater than their breadth. On this account the 
 shifts of the wind are generally sudden from N.E. to S.W. or 
 from N.W. to S.W. The veering is from N.E. to N., N.W.W., 
 and ending at S.W. or S.E. They last from one to seven days, 
 and travel at the rate of fi om 4 to 20 miles an hour their pro- 
 gressive motion being thus generally slower than that of Euro- 
 pean storms. Mr. Meldrum is of opinion that they are not re- 
 volving gales, like the storms which take place in the tropics an 
 opinion with which I am not prepared to concur for the following 
 reasons." 
 
 These reasons are unimportant, and I omit them. They are 
 simply doubts as to the sufficiency of the evidence, such as might 
 be expected from one prepossessed in favor of a different theo-y. 
 
 And now, practical reader, let me beg you to read and re-read 
 that concise description, so perfectly conforming in every particu- 
 lar to our long narrow belts and southeasters, and having the 
 same lateral winds which are found in them. 
 
 It is pleasant to find a meteorologist like Mr. Meldrum, resid- 
 ing on an island in an ocean, and devoting his time as secretary 
 of a meteorological society, to the investigation of storms which 
 render the navigation of that ocean dangerous to an immense 
 mercantile interest, thus arriving at correct results in relation to 
 the extratropical storms of that hemisphere. It is to be hoped 
 that his example may not be lost, and his facts unheeded, by the 
 meteorologists of the northern hemisphere. His description of 
 these extratropical b*.4ts conforms precisely to the character of 
 
348 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 our summer belts of showers, and autumn southeaster as they 
 form and travel to the northeast and drift laterally to the east- 
 ward, in this country and in Europe, with the lateral wind on the 
 tropical side crossing in ont of the belt, and the opposite lateral 
 wind on the polar side, crossing in its rear. Such are, in fact, the 
 gales of the southern hemisphere. 
 
 From about the year 1834 till after the death of Mr. Redfield, 
 the rival theories of Messrs. Redfield and Espy were persistently 
 and strenuously urged by them and their friends, upon the atten- 
 tion of the public. The theory of Mr. Espy assumed, first that 
 there was an inward and upward current in all large cumulo- 
 strati, by which they were constituted, and the following dia- 
 gram is a copy of that by which he illustrated it. 
 
 I have seen thousands of them and never saw any evidence of 
 such a current. He next claimed that the winds in all storms 
 blew in towards a central point or line, and he established the 
 facj; in relation to many of them, and in respect to Fome which 
 were claimed by Mr. Redfield to be cyclones. Mr. Redfield on 
 the other hand claimed that all storms revolved in involute spirals 
 around a center, contrary to the movement of the hands of a 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 349 
 
 watch in the northern hemisphere, and with their movement in 
 the southern hemisphere. Many storms were investigated, and 
 charted by each. The following is a copy of the card of Mr. 
 Redfield, representing the manner in which lie first assumed that 
 the winds revolved in the storms of the northern hemisphere. 
 
 FIG. 49. 
 
 He subsequently modified his views and came to the conclusion 
 that the wind revolved spirally inwaid. A great majority of the 
 storms investigated and charted by Mr. Redfield were ocean 
 storms, but he claimed that the tornadoes were of the same cliai" 
 acter. It cannot be said that Mr. Redfield established the fact 
 that all storms and gales were vorticose, or that any such storm 
 of an extensive character ever occurred upon the interior of this 
 continent or anywhere over the land. So on the other hand it 
 cannot be claimed that Mr. Espy proved that all the ocean storms 
 charted by Mr. Redfield were not cyclones, and that the wind in 
 them blew in toward a central point or line. 
 
 From my own observation of the storms of this country, and 
 an examination of many claimed to be vorticose, I came to the 
 
300 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 conclusion that the theory of Mr. Redfield could not be sustained, 
 and so expressed myself in the " Philosophy of the Weather." 
 Since then, however, I have examined the subject with greater care, 
 and in the light of new developments in relation to the character 
 of the tornado and other storms, and think I can see clearly that 
 the truth lies in the propositions before stated, and that many of 
 the ocean storms investigated by Mr. Redfield were cyclonic, in 
 the sense in which the narrow and distinct tornado is cyclonic. 
 But the great mass of storms, like those we have been consider- 
 ing in the southern hemisphere, are not so. Neither are they 
 centripetal in the sense in which Mr. Espy used the term, for in 
 all our long, elliptical storms and belts of showers, the wind blows 
 from the tropical side across the front and front part of the storm, 
 and from the polar side across the rear, and neither ascend at the 
 center or central line of the storm. When Mr. Espy was in Eng- 
 land, he investigated a storm which crossed the Islands on the 
 6th of January, 1839, and the following (Fig. 50,) is a copy of 
 his diagram of it. It was an extensive storm, and not a belt of 
 showers, and seeming to prove his theory, it made a strong im- 
 pression on my mind. 
 
 Mr. Espy drew his central line from the point of the arrow at 
 No. 24, on the English channel, to the point of the arrow at No. 
 11, off the east coast of Scotland, assuming that the storm 
 traveled in that direction, which would be from S.S.W. to N.N.E. 
 Now I long since became satisfied that storms do not travel in 
 that direction over the British Islands, at that if at any season of 
 the year, and that his central line should have been drawn from 
 the S.W. point of Ireland near 30, to the crossing of the arrows 
 No. 10, from W.S.W. to N.N.E. T, en if the direction of the 
 wind had been given as it in all probability existed, over the 
 North Sea, it would have been found that the wind crossed the 
 front of the storm and curved backward on the North Sea to the 
 east of Scotland, and the map shows but little more than half 
 the storm. Such at least was true of a storm which occurred on 
 the 2d of November, 1863, and which was carefully investigated 
 and charted by Mr. Buchan, and may be found in his work on 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 50. 
 
 351 
 
 Meteorology, facing page 242. In that storm the wind on the 
 tropical side crossed its front and curved to the westward on the 
 north side 'of it. 
 
 The sharpest issue between Mr. Kedfield and Mr. Espy was in 
 relation to the storm of 1821, which was a violent hurricane, 
 which, originating in the West Indies, came up the coast and 
 crossed New England through the center of Connecticut, and the 
 eastern part of Massachusetts. Both agreed that the wind was S.E. 
 on the tropical or southern side of the storm, veering as the storm 
 passed, through S. to S.W. Both agreed too, that the wind was 
 N.W. on the northerly or polar side of the storm, west of the 
 center ; and the sharp point of the contest was whether the S.E. 
 wind which blew across the front and front portion of the storm, 
 curved to the west, becoming an east and northeast wind on the 
 north front ending at N.W. I have not room for the data collect- 
 
352 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 ed by either, but I am now satisfied that the lateral S.E. wind 
 did so curve, and it did so curve in many other storms inves- 
 tigated by Mr. Redfield. 
 
 But it does not follow that those storms were literally whirl- 
 winds. The law of the tornado, as we have deduced it, requires 
 that the S.E. lateral wind after crossing the front of the storm, 
 and curving to the west, on its north front, constituting there a 
 N.E. wind, should rise over the northerly lateral wind of the 
 hurricane, and cease to be felt as a surface wind. There is very 
 much evidence to show that such is the law of that class of vio- 
 lent hurricanes, and that the lull which is spoken of, exists where 
 that N.W. wind of the storm when it is in the tropic, and the N.E. 
 wind when off our coast, rises from the surface to superimpose 
 upon the opposite wind, and before that opposite wind has arrived 
 at the place where it ascends. The lull, in other words, oc- 
 curs where the loop is made by the contrary winds as represented 
 by Prof. Stocldard in the Harrison tornado. 
 
 I have not space for all the evidence. It requires an examin- 
 ation of many storms and of the observations of many observers 
 during their progress. I must content myself with a reference to 
 two or three facts. 
 
 The brig Chas. Heddle, sailed on the 21st of February, 1845, 
 from Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, bound north, and was met 
 in lat. 16 42' S., long. 57 45' E., by a violent hurricane, which 
 was moving slowly to the S.W. She was put before the wind on 
 her bare poles, and scud around the storm five times in as many days. 
 The following diagram (Fig. 51) shows the supposed track of the 
 storm, and path of the Chas. Heddle, as plotted by Mr. Pidding- 
 ton, from the log of the vessel. I have not room for that log. 
 
 Assuming the chart to be substantially correct, the reader will 
 see at a glance the contrast between the path of the vessel on the 
 right hand and left hand sides of the assumed track of the storm, 
 and the similarity between this chart and that made by Prof. Stod- 
 dard to represent the course of the wind in the Harrison tornado, 
 page 336. In both, a loop and not a circle is made upon the west- 
 ern side of the track. In my judgment the Chas. Heddle was, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FIG. 51. 
 
 Ch.HeddleUFel. 
 
 353 
 
 Charles Reddle 
 27 Feb. 1845 
 
 each time, driven across the front of the storm by the left hand 
 lateral wind, which curved backward until it met the opposite 
 lateral wind of the right hand side, when she was driven by that 
 opposite wind back into the left hand lateral wind again. She 
 was then driven by the left hand lateral wind onward and across 
 the front and backward, and was again met by the right hand 
 lateral wind, at a sharp angle, and again driven back to the left. 
 This process was repeated until she was driven out of the storm 
 or until what seems more probable, the storm moving slowly, 
 gradually contracted and dissolved. I think we may clearly dis- 
 cern in this case, that the distinctive law of the small, was the 
 
354 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 law of the great. I could give other similar examples but not so 
 distinctly marked. 
 
 We have seen that there is great variety in the movements of 
 the wind of the various organizations, even of the same class. 
 Hence we have seen that the lateral currents and their movement 
 were distinctly traceable, in the narrow, distinct, and simple tor- 
 nado. They were to a considerable extent masked in the New 
 Harmony tornado, which was a mile in width, and moved at the 
 rate of 60 miles per hour. We have also seen that they became 
 S.W. and N.W. lateral winds in the Cincinnati hurricane which 
 was 40 miles wide, and moved at the rate of 70 miles per hour. 
 It is reasonable to assume, and I think demonstrable, that a sim- 
 ilar variety exists in hurricane storms of the West Indies. There 
 are undoubtedly some which are straight line hurricanes, like that 
 of Cincinnati, moving with rapid and terrible destruction. There 
 are doubtless others which are elliptical, with the lateral winds 
 blowing in towards a central line, and frequently entirely across 
 the front and rear of the storm. Some such were charted by 
 Prof. Espy. There is another class, probably the mo<t numerous, 
 in which the law of the distinctive tornado as we have contem- 
 plated it, was fully developed. Of that class, the following dia- 
 gram (Fig. 52) is a sufficiently accurate representation. It is as- 
 sumed to have formed somewhere to the southeast of its position, 
 within the dotted line where the summer temperature of the Ocean 
 is 80, and to be moving northwest. 
 
 The peculiarity of that class is that the action of the storm 
 commences on the front, with a marked increase in the strength 
 of the N.E. trades, and a gradual veering of the wind on the 
 south front to the N.W., followed by a lull of longer or shorter 
 continuance, according to the speed with which the storm pro- 
 gresses. That the N.W. wind is suddenly succeeded by the equal- 
 ly violent left hand lateral wind from the S.W. As the storm 
 passes on to the N.W., that lateral wind is succeeded by the reg- 
 ular S.E. trade, and pleasant weather. In this class of storms 
 we may see clearly exemplified the " law of the small," as in the 
 distinct tornado. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FlG. 52. 
 
 S55 
 
 Several of this class were investigated and charted by Mr. 
 Redfield. The hurricane of September, 1821, in relation to 
 which Mr. Redfield and Mr. Espy were at issue, I am now sat- 
 isfied, was of this class. From the time it struck the coast of 
 South Carolina, after curving to the N.N.E., and until it passed 
 New York, and entered over Connecticut, the wind upon its left 
 hand front veered to the N.E. as it doubtless had done in lower lat- 
 itudes. When, however, it had entered bodily over the land in 
 New England, it soon lost that distinctive peculiarity, and when 
 it crossed the valley of the Connecticut river, the right hand lat- 
 eral S.E. wind blew up the valley the entire length of it, and 
 across the entire width of the storm during all the time it was pass- 
 ing. As I then lived in the valley, and noticed the storm par- 
 ticularly, that fact went far to induce the belief that it was not, 
 in any sense, a revolving storm. Nor did the lateral, left hand 
 northerly wind continue with any destructive strength, after it 
 entered upon the land in its N.N.E. course except for a limited 
 period in Litchfield County. We have, in the case of that storm, 
 satisfactory evidence that revolving, or to speak more correctly, 
 semi-revolving storms, sometimes lose their semi-revolving char- 
 acter, when they pass on to continents. The fact is demonstrably 
 
356 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 true of all the hurricanes which enter bodily upon the Gulf 
 States, and curve to the N.E. over them, or the Mississippi 
 valley. 
 
 A hurricane substantially similar to that of 1821, passed over 
 Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts, on the 8th September, 
 1869, pursuing a N.N.E. course. I was sitting upon the Court in 
 Hartford on that day, and was interested to observe the approach 
 of the storm. The wind was S.E. in the forenoon, the atmos- 
 phere very clear, and the sky very blue, but there were very 
 large and peculiar scud floating in the fresh S.E. wind, and drop- 
 ping dashes of rain, which I well understood to be the scud of a 
 S.E. wind blowing across the front of a hurricane storm off the 
 coast. I went two or three times in the course of the forenoon 
 into the State Library, from the windows of which a fine view 
 could be had to the east and southeast, for the purpose of observ- 
 ing whether the wind changed to E. and N.E., so as to indicate 
 that the hurricane would pass over us. I called the attention of 
 Mr. Hoadly, the State Librarian, to the character of the scud 
 and their indication that there was a hurricane storm off the 
 coast. The wind and scud did not change their couree, or veer 
 during the forenoon, to the E. or N.E., and I was satisfied that 
 the storm would pass by to the S.E. of us, and gave it no more 
 attention. The wind freshened somewhat in the early part of the 
 afternoon; and during the course of it, and about the time when 
 the gale was focal at Providence, which is about 80 miles to the 
 E. of Hartford, the wind suddenly drew more to the east, and 
 freshened with squalls of rain, and soon after shifted suddenly to 
 about "W. by N., and blew for a half hour or more with consider- 
 able violence, resembling in that respect the action of the Har- 
 rison tornado, at the point of its loop, at the house of Mr. Laird 
 as described by Prof. Stoddard. 
 
 That storm of September 8th, 1869, was very violent in Rhode 
 Island and Massachusetts, and I subsequently watched the marine 
 reports of the New York newspapers, for the purpose of tracing 
 its progress from the tropics. The gale was felt from the north- 
 ward, in Cuba on the 6th, but was not severe. The next notice I 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 357 
 
 found of it was from the report of the Fanny Lincoln at Boston, 
 which took the gale in lat. 29, long. 79 30', on the 7th. The 
 schooner Anna A. Holcomb from St. Martins, had the gale Sep- 
 tember 7th, lat. 31, long. 73, from the S.E., lasting twelve hours. 
 The steamer Saragossa, had the gale on the 7th at Charleston 
 Bar from the N.E. The schooner Emma D. Fenny had the 
 gale September 8th, lat. 33, long. 75, from the N.E. The 
 schooner Ben Borland had the gale September 8th, lat. 35 8', 
 long. 72, from S.S.E. to S.S.W. The schooner Julia D. had the 
 hurricane on the 8th, lat. 36 30', long. 73. The bark Hannah 
 H. had the hurricane on the 8th, lat. 37 40', long. 73. Ship 
 Tamerlane had the hurricane on the 8th, lat. 39 47', long. 70 
 19'. Bark Joanna Kepler had the gale Sept. 8th, lat. 40 25', 
 long. 70 30', from S.S.E. Schooner Hartstein had the gale the 
 same day off Montauk point. And it crossed Rhode Island and 
 Massachusetts in the afternoon and evening of the same day, and 
 the next was felt severely on the coast of Maine and Nova Scotia. 
 These notices are sufficient to show that the hurricane came 
 from the north of Cuba on the 6th, and moved rapidly up in a 
 N.N.E. direction, crossing Rhode Island and eastern Massachu- 
 setts on the 8th, where it was very destructive, unroofing build- 
 ings, throwing down steeples and uprooting trees. Its path lay 
 between long. 75 and 80, at lat. 29 and between 70 and 75 
 at lat. 40. At some points in its progress the wind was N.E., 
 on its left front, but whether all the way while upon the ocean, the 
 accounts are too meagre to enable us to determine. On its right 
 the lateral wind was everywhere from E.S.E. around by the S. 
 After it entered upon Rhode Island the lateral winds were S.E. 
 or W.S.W. I passed from Boston through Providence, and over 
 the Shore Line Railroad home some weeks afterwards, and looked 
 carefully for its effects. Between Boston and Providence, most 
 of the prostrated trees lay with their tops to the N.W. From a 
 little this side of Providence, along the shore the prostrations 
 were nearly all towards the N.E. or E.N.E. I have no doubt 
 but that the hurricane was like that of September, 1821, semi- 
 revolving, pursuing a path about 100 miles farther east, and in 
 
358 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 form like the next preceding diagram, and that it lost that semi- 
 revolving character as soon as it entered over the land upon 
 Rhode Island. 
 
 The European Meteorologists seem generally to adopt the idea 
 that the European gales all revolve, conforming to the theories of 
 Mr. Redfield, Mr. Piddington and others. Prof. Henry and our 
 own meteorologists adopt the theory of Prof. Espy. There is a cer- 
 tain amount of truth in both theories. There is, as we have seen. 
 a class of semi-revolving storms, but they arc not frequent. 
 Nearly all the storms of the Southern Hemisphere and most of 
 those in the Northern, are more or less elliptical, with the right 
 hand lateral wind blowing at right angles or obliquely across the 
 front and front portion of the storm, and the left hand lateral 
 wind blowing in like manner across its rearward portion and rear. 
 The straight line northeasters of the northern hemisphere, and 
 the corresponding straight line southeasters of the southern hemi- 
 sphere, are comparatively infrequent except in a few localities, and 
 under special circumstances. What they are has been sufficiently 
 shown. 
 
 Of the great central organization, little need here be said. It 
 is simple in its elements, and we have hereinbefore analyzed them 
 with care and at sufficient length. 
 
 Having thus as carefully, and critically as our limits permit, 
 examined the structure of the special and general organizations 
 constituting the atmospheric system, and the mode of operation 
 and phenomena peculiar to each, we come now to inquire what 
 inference they authorize in relation to the organizing and motive 
 force of the system. What agent is it that creates the general 
 and special organizations and controls their action and mode of 
 operation ? 
 
 We see that each organization has its law, and that the whole 
 is governed by a controlling agency ; we see too that this agent has 
 IMMENSE POWER ; that it is capable of moving the atmosphere 
 or exerting a force equivalent to moving it, at the rate of 682 
 miles per hour. What power is there in nature adequate to pro- 
 duce such results ? Meteorologists say that it is produced by the 
 
TH3 ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 359 
 
 ascensive force of heated air, but when we come to inquire into 
 the strength of that ascensive force, we find it is but the infinites- 
 imal power, even in air confined so as to prevent the operation of 
 the laws of expansion and diffusion, and when heated 100 above 
 the temperature of the surrounding air, of but ^ of an oz. to the 
 square foot. We further see that some of the greatest exhibitions 
 of that force have been made in limited tornadoes and hurricanes 
 where the temperature of the air was below 70, AND NO CON- 
 TRAST BETWEEN THAT AND THE SURROUNDING AIR EXISTED 
 
 and the exertion of ANY ASCENSIONAL FORCE WHATEVER was 
 UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE. In the light of such facts and all the other 
 facts we have noticed, the Halley theory becomes mere " trum- 
 pery and trash." 
 
 Prof. Henry and a few other meteorologists in this country, 
 undertake to account for the awful exhibitions of organizing and 
 motive force, by attributing it to an increase of ascensive power, 
 derived from the condensation of the vapor of the atmosphere by 
 the expansion of the air, as it attains a higher elevation, and an 
 increase of momentum. The following is his doctrine as bor- 
 rowed from Espy and scattered broadcast over the country in the 
 Patent Office Report for 1858. 
 
 " As a general rule, previous to the commencement of an ex- 
 tended storm, during winter, the surface current is from the S.W. 
 or some southerly direction, the temperature rises, and the pres- 
 sure of the air diminishes as indicated by the fall of the barom- 
 eter. This state may continue for several days, and we think 
 it is produced by the southerly current, increasing in quantity, in 
 velocity and depth, thereby rendering the stratum of air next to 
 the surface of the earth abnormally warm and moist, and conse- 
 quently lighter, while the upper current remaining the same, the 
 atmosphere above the surface of the earth gradually assumes a 
 state of tottering equilibrium. This condition, according to Mr. 
 Espy, is not brought about by the gradual diminution of the den- 
 sity of the lower stratum, but by the increased density of the 
 upper strata, due to the radiation into space of the latent caloric 
 which has been evolved during a previous storm. This instabil- 
 ity or tottering equilibrium will first take place at the far west? 
 
360 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 on the western plains east of the Rocky Mountains, since, as we 
 have said before, the commotions on the western side can slowly 
 be propagated across the high mountain system. A storm then 
 consists of the ascent of the lower current into the upper, and the 
 gradual transfer of the commotion of the air eastward. To take 
 the simplest case, let us suppose the storm to be of circumscribed 
 character, like that of a water-spout or thunder storm. In this 
 case, after the unstable equilibrium has been produced, the slight- 
 est disturbance, such as the passage of the lower current over a 
 slight elevation, or over ground more highly heated than the ad- 
 joining, will tend to establish an upward current. The light, 
 warm and moist air below will be buoyed up with great rapidity, 
 and as it ascends will come under less pressure, and will expand 
 into a larger bulk. If it were perfectly dry it would again be in 
 equilibrium, its bulk would be increased, its density would be 
 diminished to that of the air to which it had ascended, and its 
 temperature would be the same as that of the surrounding stratum. 
 But since it contains moisture, and in expanding becomes colder, 
 a portion of the vapor will be condensed, and in this condensa- 
 tion will give out its latent heat. Hence the air of the column 
 will be warmer than that of the surrounding atmosphere ; it will 
 consequently rise to a greater height, again expand, again become 
 colder ; another portion of vapor will be condensed, and another 
 amount of latent heat evolved, and so on ; the air will rush up 
 with accelerated velocity, and probably gather momentum suffi- 
 cient to carry it to a height greater than that due to its buoyancy 
 alone. The condensed vapor will fall in rain through the base of the 
 cloud ; on either side the air of the storm will be forced out from 
 the uprising column into the surrounding air, and while the pres- 
 sure at the base of the column will be diminished, that on each 
 side will be increased; hence the barometer will be frequently 
 found to rise slightly before the approach of a storm, and to sink 
 rapidly as the center of the uprising column approaches the place 
 of observation." ***** 
 
 The following is the figure and description by which he illus- 
 trated the forego'ng theory in relation to the tornado : 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 FIG. 53. 
 
 3G1 
 
 "The tremendous ascensional power which is exhibited in 
 storms of this kind, although almost exceeding belief, is neverthe- 
 less in accordance with the established dynamical principle of the 
 accumulation of momentum in cases of the continued action of a 
 constant force. We are all familiar with the velocity given to an 
 arrow, by a simple propulsion of the breath along the interior of 
 a blow-gun. In this case, the air presses against the end of the 
 arrow, at first with just sufficient force to move it ; but the mo- 
 mentum it has thus acquired is retained, it receives another pres- 
 sure from the air, retains the effect of this, and so on, until it 
 leaves the other end of the tube with the accumulated momen- 
 tum acquired during its whole passage through the interior of the 
 gun. In the same way the air, as it approaches the uprising col- 
 umn below, commences its ascent with an amount of momentum 
 which is constantly increased by continued pressure behind." 
 
 The foregoing is substantially the theory promulgated, ex-cathe- 
 dra and semi-officially, by the Secretary of the Smithsonian In- 
 stitution, in the Patent Office Report for 1858, and in a lecture be- 
 fore the American Association at Springfield, August, 1859, and 
 endorsed by Prof. Loomis and an associated clique of meteorolo- 
 gists. It is doubtless in their estimation, to use the characteristic 
 
362 TilE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 language of Prof. Henry, " a scientific generalization deduced by 
 the profound reflections of men who think, in contradistinction to 
 those who act"* The italics are his, not mine. But in my judg- 
 ment, and that of many other practical, intelligent men whom I 
 might name, it is inexcusable error. Let us examine it and see 
 if this language is either too strong or in bad taste. 
 
 I. The theory purports to be applicable to winter storms and 
 tornadoes. It assumes an abnormal warm and moist state of the 
 surface atmosphere in all cases, produced by the flowing in of a 
 warm surface current from the tropics. How then, it may be 
 asked, are we to account for the origin and continuance of the 
 cold northeast snow storm, commencing and continuing to the end 
 with a thermometer many degrees below the freezing point ? The 
 question cannot be answered, or the contingency provided for, by 
 the theory, and there is a fundamental error at the start. 
 
 Again, it is untrue, that the warm southerly air which consti- 
 tutes the southern lateral current of the winter storm, flows up 
 from the tropics, covering the country, before the storm originates. 
 It is an incidental, connected, and essential part and element of an 
 organization, as we have already seen and shall presently see 
 again, existing under a portion only, and traveling as part of a 
 whole. The southeast trades sometimes extend up over the West 
 Indies and Gulf of Mexico, and into the Mississippi Valley in 
 midsummer, as we have seen, and as surface winds, but the north- 
 east trades prevail at the surface in the West Indies and Gulf 
 in winter, and the southeast trades which reach us, come not as 
 surface currents, but as the upper trade of the second story, as 
 any one who will take the trouble to act as well as think, may 
 readily see. That upper trade was thus seen by Mr. Fendler, 
 flowing over the surface trade 8,000 or more feet above the level 
 of the sea, coming towards us, as he stood on the mountains of 
 Venezuela. It has been visible in every winter storm which has 
 crossed the country since its settlement. That assumption is also 
 demonstrably untrue. 
 
 II. The next prominent idea of the paragraph is that the exist- 
 ence of this warm stratum of air next the surface, is accompanied 
 
 * Patent Office Report, 1857, p. 421. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 3G3 
 
 at the same lime by an abnormally cold and dense state of all the 
 atmosphere above it, produced by " radiation into space of the 
 latent caloric which had been evolved during a previous storm." 
 
 The idea of an abnormally cold state of the upper atmosphere 
 is sheer assumption unsupported by any fact, and contrary to 
 many known facts, as we shall see. The upper atmosphere or 
 third story is always colder materially than that of the surface. 
 Aeronauts cannot live where its peculiar cloud, the cirrus, forms. 
 Moreover in winter storms the surface atmosphere is not abnorm- 
 ally warm. It is always below the freezing point in continuous 
 snow storms, and sometimes at or near zero. It rarely rises above 
 60 in the focus of winter thaws. There is then no evidence of, 
 nor a possibility of, such an abnormal contrast of temperature as 
 is assumed. And suppose there was, what then? What and 
 wheie is the totter? 
 
 If the upper atmosphere and all of it above is abnormally cold 
 and dense, over an extended surface, will it not press to the same 
 extent and equally on the inferior stratum ? How then can a small 
 portion of either tofter ? That idea is both absurd and untrue. 
 
 III. The next prominent idea is that this tottering equilibrium 
 takes place, and the storm originates on the plains east of the 
 Rocky Mountains. This too is demonstrably untrue. Storms in 
 the winter season do not originate there. Those plains, and all 
 the country east and northeast of them to the 95th meridian, and 
 the northwestern states still further east are in their dry season 
 in the winter, and do not receive an average of more than two 
 inches of rain or snow for the three winter months, as we have 
 seen on the diagram, page 89. Where the storms originate dur- 
 ing that season, and how they travel, has been hereinbefore de- 
 monstrated. Prof. Henry might have learned both if he had con- 
 sulted the charts of Prof. Espy, the Army Meteorological Regis- 
 ter, the Climatology of Mr. Blodgett, or the Philosophy of the 
 Weather. 
 
 IV. The next prominent idea is that a storm is constituted by 
 the tottering ascent of the surface atmosphere into the atmosphere 
 above in consequence of an unstable equilibrium in relation to 
 
364 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 temperature, between the surface stratum and the rest of the at- 
 mosphere above it, and that this i ? a mere mechanical effect a 
 mere " commotion " as he terms it, and that all clouds are pro- 
 duced by condensation consequent upon such ascent. 
 
 That this idea is untrue and absurd, and that such ascent never 
 takes place in large volume or rapidly, is shown conclusively by 
 all the evidence we have accumulated. 
 
 But there is a further view of the matter which should not be 
 overlooked. The theory involves as a consequence, the forma- 
 tion of a single mass or stratum of cloud of uniform appearance, 
 character, and function. The following diagram is also given 
 by him fo show the structure of a winter stoi in : 
 
 But such a storm never existed. No man living or dead ever 
 saw one, or ever will. It is a closet conception. Now let us turn 
 back and look again at a winter storm as produced by the Cre- 
 ator, and as represented by Fig. 41, on page 313, and as I have 
 seen them a thousand times, and note the difference. Read also 
 again the following description by Professor Stoddard of the 
 storm at Brandon, in January, 1854. 
 
 The barometer fell gradually during the 19th, and rapidly on 
 the 20th, and at 12.40 M., the time when the storm began at Ox- 
 ford, it stood 28.21 lower than at any period during the last 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 365 
 
 twelve months. The air was saturated with vapor, and the walls 
 of brick buildings were dripping with moisture. Three strata of 
 clouds were distinctly observed the highest cirri, light and fleecy, 
 moving toward the N.E. the second, the proper storm cloud, in 
 dark, heavy masses, moving rapidly in the same direction the 
 third and lowest, the scud of sailors, flitting violently past, a little 
 east of north. Along the track of this wind, there were at dif- 
 ferent times during the day, violent rains, vivid lightning, and 
 heavy thunder, though not in great quantity. In the N.E. part 
 of the state the storm assumed the form of a tornado of great 
 violence." 
 
 Such is a storm as organized by the Creator. Meteorologists 
 utterly fail to comprehend it. Now note the difference. The 
 storm as it exists in the '"profound reflection " of such meteorolo- 
 gists, consists of an ascending column of a r r, spreading out like 
 an umbrella overhead, with condensation consequent upon expan- 
 sion and reduction of temperature, with a single cloud stratum or 
 mass, of homogeneous character, appearance, and color. The 
 storm of the Creator consists of three strata, each having its pe- 
 culiar cloud-formation, and each description of cloud differing in 
 form, appearance, and FUNCTION. What those strata and their ap- 
 pearance are, you have frequently learned from me, and you now 
 learn from Prof. Stoddard. And it is open to the observation of 
 these men of " profound reflection," if they would but appreciate 
 their duty as public teachers, and become observers of the book 
 of nature which is open before them, that the general storm be- 
 gins, not at the surface of the earth, but in tlie formation of cirrus 
 cloud in the upper story, and long before the surface story becomes 
 warm and moist and the supposed unstable equilibrium occurs. 
 
 V. The next idea is that the tornadoes commence at the sur- 
 face of the earth and in consequence of a limited portion of the 
 surface atmosphere passing over some heated surface, or coming 
 in contact with some " slight elevation " for aught we are told, a 
 horse-block or corn-crib and being in unstable equilibrium, is 
 thereby made to totter (which in common language I suppose 
 means to trip and stagger ) upwards " with great rapidity," its 
 
366 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 vapor condensing, after it arrives in the upper cold stratum, and 
 its progress increasing from the evolution of Latent heat and the 
 acquisition of momentum until it spreads itself out above as rep- 
 resented in the diagram, and thus the tornado is produced. 
 
 Now here we have another of those extraordinary conceptions 
 of a " profound reflection," which is in opposition to all observed 
 truth as heretofore developed, and contains several intrinsic and 
 fatal errors. 
 
 The first is, that the tornado does not commence at tne earth, 
 but forms at the inferior surface of the stratus clouds of the second 
 story, and extends downward to the earth, sometimes reaching it, 
 and sometimes not ; sometimes after reaching it drawing itself 
 back, breaking its connection with the earth, and subsequently 
 elongating downward again, and renewing that connection, and 
 ending by drawing itself up gradually, and ceasing at last, at its 
 place of beginning, the undisturbed stratus cloud. Between a 
 commencement at the cloud, one or two thousand feet above the 
 surface of the earth, and an extension downward, and a com- 
 mencement at the earth, by staggering against some slight eleva- 
 tion and sweating upwards, practical men cannot avoid seeing an 
 irreconcilable and fatal antagonism. Perhaps Prof. Henry does 
 not see it. He will live to see, and I hope correct, his error. 
 
 In the second place, the theory requires for the acquisition of 
 the required tremendous force, a condensation in the upper strata, 
 and the acquisition of momentum by progress there, its ascent 
 through the surface atmosphere being due to the totter or stagger 
 alone. But the greatest exhibition of force is in fact at the surface 
 of the earth, when the distinctly marked apex of the spout comes 
 in contact with it, and before any ascensional force can be organ- 
 ized by the evolution of heat, or any additional force by the or- 
 ganization of momentum, and when there is no force applied but 
 the tripping caused by a " slight elevation," or a " heated spot." 
 Moreover, neither the " slight elevation " nor the heated spot are 
 found at sea, where the water spout is seen desending from the 
 cloud and acting with equal apparent violence. 
 
 These two facts are sufficient disproof of the f th idea also, and 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 867 
 
 it must be apparent to the reader in view of these facts and all 
 the other facts developed in this volume bearing with equal force 
 on the point, that there is not a healthful or truthful spot in 
 any part of the theory, or of the cited paragraphs, and that I 
 have not characterized it too strongly by the language which I 
 used. The figures, too, are caricatures, and that fact, as well as 
 the utter un truthfulness of the descriptions, Prof. Henry might 
 easily have learned by a few weeks actual observation, or a just 
 regard for the testimony of those who had tested them, which he 
 had before him. In sending them to the country untested and as 
 unquestioned truths, he failed, in my judgment, to appreciate the 
 responsibilities of his position. 
 
 Let no man say I am unjust or err in this. Pi of. Henry fills 
 a public office, and is amenable to public criticism. When he 
 sent the Espy an theories to the country with his endorsement, he 
 had before him conclusive evidence of their falsity in the cited 
 work of Prof. Coffin, and observations of Mr. Fendler, in the 
 published assertions of Mr. Redfield, that he found the caloric 
 theory untrue ; in a demonstration of the same fact in the " Phi- 
 losophy of the Weather ' " in the investigations of Hare, Peltier, 
 Faraday, and others ; and in my published statement, that I had 
 watched for the claimed uprising currents for thirty years, and 
 blew they never occurred, but he ignored it all. Such errors, 
 from such men, should be stripped of influence as authority. 
 
 There is a prevalent error upon this subject which should be 
 reformed. There are many intelligent scientists in the country 
 who know and admit that the Halley theory is untrue, and the 
 public deceived, but because its advocates are many and power- 
 ful in position, they shrink in weakness and cowardice from a con- 
 test with it. The late Mr. Redfield was one of those men. For 
 the sake of peace, he avoided all allusion to the cause of storms 
 in his publications, and confined his inquiry to the question, "what 
 are storms," evading the question, " how are storms produced." 
 Near the close of his life, in two notes to his articles on the Cuba 
 Hurricane, he gives us an inkling of his views, and his reasons 
 
368 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 for his reticence. The first occurs in the January number, 1846, 
 page 13, of the American Journal of Science and Arts, in which, 
 after giving an extended account of the winds and cloud currents 
 within the tropics, he adds : 
 
 " These, with a vast extension of similar phenomena, merit the 
 serious attention of those naturalists who rest on the caloric theory 
 of the general and trade winds ; and they seem fully to account 
 for the northwesterly courses of storms in the West Indies." 
 
 Again in the September number of the same year, he says in 
 another note : 
 
 " It may be proper again to state, that the results of the author's 
 inquiries on the courses of winds and their relations to tempera- 
 ture, in different regions and at different elevations, have con- 
 strained him to relinquish the common theory that heat is the sole 
 or main cause of wind or progressive motion in a planetary at- 
 mosphere. He has been aware of the disadvantage in which this 
 avowal may tend to place him, in the minds of many votaries of 
 science whose approbation it would be his happiness to obtain. 
 The proper elucidation of this question, he conceives, will belong 
 to the future." 
 
 And he closed a later article by saying, " That the current 
 theory or hypothesis for explaining the general winds of the globe 
 is essentially erroneous, and defective in its application, and greatly 
 obstructs the path of scientific enquiry." 
 
 Now in my judgment the interest of society demanded that a 
 current theory which obstructed the path of scientific enquiry in re- 
 lation to so important a matter, should be forthwith attacked, and 
 by any and every fact, and by any and every person who pos- 
 sessed the necessary information wherewith to attack it ; and it 
 was the duty of Mr. Redfield, because more than any other man 
 possessed of such information, to grapple with it to the death. And 
 it was a weakness, to hesitate through fear of losing the approba- 
 tion of those who sustained it. 
 
 At any rate such was my conviction and sense of duty as I sat 
 listening to the jumble of fallacies which Prof. Henry detailed in 
 his lecture at Springfield, when there was convincing and con- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 369 
 
 elusive evidence that such was their character, in sight from his 
 position and nrne, and within 2,000 feet of us, and I obeyed the 
 impulse of that sense of duty when I denounced it as such to 
 the audience, and made then and there a challenge which I after- 
 wards renewed in the newspapers in the following form : 
 
 "I desire to renew it (the challenge) in the following precise 
 and distinct form ; I propose to meet Prof. Henry or Prof. Loomis, 
 or both of them, before a board of three persons, mutually chosen, 
 sometime in June or July of next year, for the purpose of discuss- 
 ing the po-ition taken by Prof. Henry in his lecture, and endorsed 
 by Prof. Loomis. On such discussion I will assume the burden 
 of disproving them, by proving the following propositions, viz: 
 
 First, the normal circulation of the atmosphere is not a series 
 of systems as alleged in the lecture, and shown on the diagrams, 
 but consists of one universal, unchanging system, with its base 
 at the atmospheric equator, and its apex at the poles. 
 
 Second, that the assertion that the air, the earth, or the water, 
 are hotter under the belt of condensation between the trades, and 
 where the air is supposed to be rising and sucking in the adjoin- 
 ing air, thereby making the trades, is without foundation. The 
 fact is demonstrably the other way. 
 
 Third, The Halley theory in all its parts and however applied, 
 is shown by conclusive data to be an error. 
 
 Fourth, There is not an " immense amount of latent heat " 
 developed during the formation of a cloud, which heats the air and 
 causes it to rise. 
 
 Fifth, That storms and wind are not produced by currents of 
 uprising air, and the Espyan theory advanced by Prof. Henry and 
 endorsed by Prof. Loomis, is demonstrably untrue. 
 
 And I propose to deposit with the umpires, $500, of which 
 $100 is to be paid over to the Professors or either of them, for 
 each and every one of the foregoing propositions I shall fail to 
 maintain. 
 
 I thus give the gentlemen every advantage ; I ask for myself 
 only an opportunity to present the truth and develop the subject 
 in sucji a manner and under such circumstances, that it cannot be 
 17 
 
370 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 smothered in order to give one man an opportunity to monopolize 
 discovery and ' live in science,' to the detriment of the country." 
 
 That challenge the gentlemen did not accept, and I renew it. 
 
 Doubtless that discussion and challenge placed me at a disad- 
 vantage, as Mr. Redfield expressed it, with the votaries of science, 
 but that, which seems to have been an important matter with him, 
 was unimportant to me. My happiness did not rest on their appro- 
 bation, but then, as ever, in respect to my public conduct, in the 
 consciousness of having done my duty to the community. 
 
 That fearless attack upon a pernicious error, has not been with- 
 out its fruit. In the minds of a great many men, that error then 
 received a death wound ; and I have a stack of letters, many of 
 them from some of the best minds in the country, thanking me 
 for the discussion. Ten years have gone by, and neither in lec- 
 ture nor essay, have those gentlemen or any others, appeared be- 
 fore the public to vindicate the theory. " Truth is mighty and 
 will prevail." 
 
 If, as I think, it conclusively appears from the foregoing ex- 
 amination and all that has been hereinbefore adduced, that there 
 is one general, organized, atmospheric system, consisting of one 
 great central organization with minor, connected systems of 
 special organizations, from which all the atmospheric phenomena 
 result, and the major and minor organizations have a common law, 
 and are organized and controlled by a common force, we come 
 directly to one of the most important unsolved problems of the 
 science. What is that force ? 
 
 That it emanates from or is excited by the sun, we cannot 
 doubt. The annual transits of the system, from north to south 
 and from south to north, are conclusive of that. So are the 
 diurnal changes which follow his path. Right here, let us look 
 at those diurnal changes and learn the lesson which they teach. 
 The following diagram exhibits the character of those changes 
 during a summer day, when no disturbing causes are in opera- 
 tion at the point; no storm existing within influential distance, 
 and there is no unusual intensity or irregular action of the ope- 
 rating force or forces. Let us, I repeat, look carefully at the dia- 
 gram, and see what lesson it teaches. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 371 
 
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372 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 The day may be said to commence in midsummer at 4 A. M. 
 The atmospheric day does at all seasons. At that hour the ba- 
 rometer is at its morning minimum. It has, as we have said, a 
 perceptible diurnal variation of two maxima and two minima. Its 
 periods of depression are at 4 A.M., and 4 P.M., and of elevation 
 at 10 A.M, and 10 P.M. The difference between the elevation 
 and depression is considerable within the tropics, where HumboMt 
 tells us the hour of the day can be known by the height of the 
 barometer, and it decreases toward the poles. At 4 A.M. it is then 
 at one of its minima, and rises till 10 o'clock. 
 
 At, or about the same period, and sometimes when the barom- 
 eter is falling, and previous thereto, there is a tendency to fog in 
 localities subject to that condensation. This tendency is some- 
 times observed at the other barometric minimum, late in the after- 
 noon or early in the evening, but less frequently. The tendency 
 to fog condensation is greatest in this country about the morning 
 minimum. It seems to be owing to the influence of the earth ; it 
 is confined to the surface atmosphere, and is apparently produced 
 by the inductive agency of the negative electricity of the earth. 
 It disappears, v/hether it be high or low fog, about the time when 
 the barometer attains its morning maximum, or about 10 A.M. 
 
 At about that period, when there has been fog, or earlier, when 
 there has not, and sometimes as early as 8 A.M., there is a tendency 
 to trade condensation oirrus in mid-winter, and cumulus in 
 midsummer, and, during the intermediate time, a tendency to 
 cirro-stratus, partaking more or less of the character of one or 
 the other, according to the season. 
 
 Temperature, in summer, commences its diurnal elevation about 
 4 A.M., also, and rises till about 2 P.M. From that time it falls 
 with very little variation till 4 o'clock the next morning. It has 
 but one maximum and one minimum in the twenty-four hours. 
 
 As the morning barometric maximum approaches, and the heat 
 increases the magnetic activity, condensation in the trade ap- 
 pears, or induced condensation in the upper portion of the sur- 
 face atmosphere, that portion near the earth is affected and at- 
 tracted and the " wind rises, 5 ' according to the locality, the sea- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 373 
 
 son, and the activity of the condensation. The tendency to blow 
 increases with the tendency to trade and cumulus condensation, 
 and continues till toward night, when it gradually dies away, unless 
 there be a storm approaching. As the heat increases, and stimu- 
 lates magnetism into activity, the magnetic needle commences 
 moving to the west, its regular diurnal variation, and continues to 
 do so until about 2 P.M., when it commences returning to the east, 
 and so continues to return until 10 P.M., when it moves west again 
 until 2 A.M., and from thence to the east, till 8 A.M. 
 
 Similar variations also take place in the horizontal force, as 
 evinced by the action of the magnetometer needle, and in the 
 vertical force, as shown by the oscillations. So that it is evident 
 that there are two maxima, and two minima of magnetic activity 
 every day, shown by all the methods by which we measure mag- 
 netic action and force more than double at the acme of northern 
 summer transit over that of winter, and proceeding pari passu, 
 with the other daily phenomena evincing the same irregular 
 action which the other phenomena evince. Still another phenom- 
 enon, which has a daily change, is el( ctric tension, or the increase 
 or decrease in the tension of the positive or true atmospheric 
 electricity. 
 
 The following table shows the mean two hourly tensions for 
 three years, at Kew, viz : 
 
 Hours 12 P.M 2 A.M 4AM. 6 A.M. SAM. 10A.M. 
 
 Number of observations G55 784 804 566 . 1,047 1,013 
 
 Tension 226 20.1 20.6 34-2 68.2 881 
 
 Hours 12A.M. 2 P.M 4 P.M. 6 P.M. 8 P M. 10 P.M. 
 
 Number of observations 848 858 878 874 878 1,007 
 
 Tension 75.4 715 69.1 81.8 102.4 104 
 
 From this it will be seen that the tension of electricity is at a 
 minimum at 4 A.M., also, that it rises till 10, falls till 4 P.M., but 
 not as rapidly, rises till 10, falls again till 4 A.M, or the close of 
 the meteorological day having two maxima and minima, as have 
 most of the phenomena thus far considered. 
 
 In order to see what the connections be-tween these ever-present, 
 phenomena are, and their connection with other phenomena, 
 
374 
 
 THE 'ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 and that we may understand their normal conditions, I have traced 
 them approximately in the diagram. 
 
 It is obvious that the other phenomena do not all depend upon 
 temperature merely, if indeed any of them do. 
 
 Temperature has but one maximum and minimum, and that is 
 exceedingly regular, and does not correspond with any other. 
 
 The barometer has two ; electric tension, two ; magnetic activ- 
 ity, two ; condensation, two one the formation of cloud, and the 
 other the formation of fog and dew ; wind, one resembling tem- 
 perature in that respect, but embracing a much less period. 
 
 Fog forms at one barometric minimum, and cloud at another. 
 
 Fog forms at one period of the magnetic variation, cloud at 
 another. 
 
 The formation of cloud corresponds with the greatest intensity 
 of magnetic action, and its associate electricities. But the oscil- 
 lations of the barometer do not correspond with either. And thus, 
 then, we connect them : 
 
 CAUSE 
 
 Increase of magnetic or mag- 
 neto electric activity, as shown 
 by declination and increase of 
 horizontal and vertical force. 
 
 EFFECT. 
 
 Decrease of pressure. 
 Of positive electric tension 
 Of surface condensation, i.e. 
 fog and dew. 
 
 EFFECT. 
 
 Increase of primary con- 
 densation. 
 
 Of wind. 
 
 Of electrical disturbance and 
 phenomena in the trade and 
 its vicinity. 
 
 This connection is equally obvious if the order is reversed 
 thus: 
 
 CAUSE. 
 
 Decrease of magnetic or mag- 
 neto-electric activity. 
 
 EFFECT. 
 
 Increase of pressure. 
 
 Of tension of atmospheric 
 electricity. 
 
 Of surface condensation, i e 
 fog and dew. 
 
 EFFECT. 
 
 Disappearance of primary 
 condensation. 
 
 Of wind, and 
 
 Of electric disturbance in 
 the trade and its vicinity . 
 
 The view which this diagram gives us of the diurnal changes, 
 shows again the absurdity of the Halley theory, and that there is 
 some other force operating upon the atmosphere, and affecting the 
 phenomena beside that of heat. We see an utter want of all 
 connection between the degree of heat and the other changes. 
 This is marked in relation to the barometer, and we have seen 
 before that the annual range of the barometer depended upon the 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 375 
 
 position of the focal path of the conditions, and not upon tem- 
 perature. 
 
 But this group of diurnal changes, although they are instruc- 
 tive, do not solve the problem, and the question still remains. 
 What is the organizing and motive force of the system ? 
 
 That it is not heat, acting mechanically upon the atmosphere, 
 we know. What then is it ? Remember we are seeking a force 
 which organizes and controls the great central condition which 
 creates and continues the trade winds uninterruptedly through the 
 night as through the day, with the storms and the hurricane in 
 their bosoms or without them, to form the basis of other condi- 
 tions, to pursue a stated and prescribed path, and to carry 
 warmth, moisture, and fertility to their appropriate hemispheres. 
 
 And right here we may observe, that the pursuit by the upper 
 trades and of the storms they embosom, of a stated and prescribed 
 path, first to the N.W. in the northern hemisphere, and to the 
 S.W. in the southern hemisphere, curving at the outer limits of 
 the surface trade, and moving thereafter to the N.E. in one hemi- 
 sphere, and the S.E. in the other, are important elements to be 
 regarded in the problem. Is that curvature pursuant to a law of 
 the force, or is it the result of something else ? Meteorologists 
 say that this curvature is produced by the rotation of the earth. 
 
 Thus Sir John Tyndall says : 
 
 " Were the earth motionless, these two currents would run di- 
 rectly north and south, but the earth rotates from west to east 
 round its axis once in twenty four hours. In virtue of this rota- 
 tion, an individual at the equator is carried round with a velocity 
 of 1000 miles an hour. You have observed what takes place 
 when a person incautiously steps out of a carriage in motion. He 
 is animated by the motion of the carriage, and when his feet touch 
 the earth, he is thrown forward in the direction of the motion. 
 This is what renders leaping from a railway carriage when the 
 train is at full speed, almost always fatal. As we withdraw from 
 the equator the velocity due to the earth's rotation diminishes, 
 and becomes nothing at the poles. It is proportional to the radius 
 
376 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 of the parallel of latitude, and diminishes as these circles dimm- 
 ish in size. Imagine then, an individual suddenly transferred 
 from the equator to a place where the velocity, due to rotation, is 
 only 900 miles an hour ; on touching the earth here he would be 
 thrown forward in an easterly direction with a velocity of 100 
 miles an hour, this being the difference between the equatorial 
 velocity with which he started and the velocity of the earth's sur- 
 face in his new locality. Similar considerations apply to the 
 transfer of air from the equatorial to the northern regions, and 
 vice versa. At the equator the air possesses the velocity of the 
 earth's surface there, and on quitting this position, it not only has 
 its tendency northward to obey, but also a tendency to the east, 
 and it must take a resultant direction. The farther it goes north, 
 the more it is deflected from its original course ; the more it turns 
 toward the east, the more it becomes what we should call a west- 
 erly wind. The opposite holds good for the current proceeding 
 from the north, this passes from places of slow motion to places 
 of quick motion, it is met by the earth ; hence the wind which 
 started as a north wind becomes a northeast wind, and as it ap- 
 proaches the equator, it becomes more and more easterly." 
 
 Professor Loomis in his recent treatise, published in 18G8, 
 states it thus : 
 
 " UPPER CURRENT IN THE EQUATORIAL REGIONS. The 
 mean temperature of the surface air at the equator is considerably 
 higher than it is over the parallel of 32, while near the upper 
 limit of the atmosphere, the temperature must be nearly the same 
 in all latitudes. Now air is expanded by heat to the amount of 
 ?^T P art f it bulk for each degree of the thermometer. The 
 atmosphere over the equator must therefore rise somewhat higher 
 than it does over the parallel of 32, notwithstanding the differ- 
 ence in the height of the barometer. If the earth were at rest, 
 the air thus expanded at the equator would flow over at the top, 
 and descend as along an inclined plane, toward the middle lati- 
 tudes. But while in the northern hemisphere, an upper current 
 flows toward the poles, it crosses in succession parallels of lati- 
 tude whose easterly motion is less than its own, and since it re- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 377 
 
 tains the easterly motion which it had at the equator, it has a 
 relative motion from the west, which combined with the first 
 northerly motion, carries it toward the northeast. Thus above 
 the northeast trade winds we find an upper current moving from 
 the southwest. For a similar reason in the southern hemisphere 
 above the southeast trades, the upper current moves from the 
 northwest." 
 
 A substantially similar opinion is expressed by Prof. Henry in 
 his Patent Report compilations. 
 
 These gentlemen occupy distinguished positions as scientists, 
 but we will remember that these views, thus expressed by them, 
 are also traditionary assumptions of the Halley theory, and we 
 can and should fearlessly examine them as such, regardless of the 
 men or their positions. Let me ask you then to look at them and 
 say whether they are not also false assumptions. 
 
 Look first at the looseness of these paragraphs. They all 
 speak of an ascent and flowing over at the equator, meaning the 
 geographical equator, yet elsewhere, they all, including Prof. 
 Henry, speak of this ascent as between the trades, and causing 
 the belt of rains. If there is any ascent at all, upon their prin- 
 ciples, it must be there, but that belt of rains the atmospheric 
 equator as I call it moves north of the geographical equator in 
 summer, and south of it in winter. To say, therefore, that the 
 air ascends at the equator, is to speak loosely and inaccurately, 
 and shows their limited comprehension of the subject. 
 
 Again, as to the fact of the ascent, these paragraphs, and es- 
 pecially that of Prof. Loomis, involve a gross absurdity. He rep- 
 resents the atmosphere within the tropics as fifty miles high, as 
 standing four miles higher there, than at latitude 32 and the 
 atmosphere as flowing over at the top along an inclined plane, and 
 descending toward the middle latitudes. As that inclined plane 
 has a descent of four miles, the elevation of the overflow at the 
 middle latitudes, when it arrives there, must be 46 miles above 
 the earth, or allowing the depth of the overflow to be four miles, 
 the elevation is 42. Of course it could not constitute the upper 
 trade, which Lawson saw at Barbadoes, and Redfield satisfied 
 
378 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 himself by extended inquiry, existed all over the West Indies ; 
 which Fendler saw on the mountains of Venezuela, and which we 
 know comes to us with its vapor and its storms, constituting our 
 second story, and giving us our peculiar climatology and prosper- 
 ity. It is high time that a man of Prof. Loomis' ability to in- 
 vestigate should cut loose from such false and traditionary theories, 
 and look this subject in the face, unprompted and uncontrolled 
 by men who learn and teach or compile by rote. 
 
 But the great question involved in the cited paragraphs, is 
 whether the change of movement to the east is occasioned by the 
 rotation of the earth. And here at the outset we are met by the 
 question which these gentlemen upon their principles cannot 
 answer, and which staggered and convinced Mr. Redfield, viz : 
 what occasions the initiatory movement through 20 of latitude to 
 the northwestward before the curvature to the east commences f If 
 that could be satisfactorily answered we should come to the sharp 
 point which is made by all of them, expressly or by implication, 
 that the storms and currents curve to the east, by reason of the 
 greater motion which they derived from the earth at the place of 
 their origin at or near the equator, than they have when they 
 curve. And the point narrows itself and hinges on the sharp 
 and distinct question, whether at lat. 32 or 35, wherever the 
 storms or currents commence to curve, they " retain," to use the 
 language of Prof. Loomis, the motion eastward derived from the 
 rotation of the earth which they had at the equator, or their 
 place of beginning, and continue to retain it while curving and 
 after. Sir John Tyndal assumes that they do. Disregarding the 
 fact that their first movement is to the northwest, and that they 
 must thereby, or so far lose the velocity they had at the place of 
 origin, unless they can be supposed to carry it, "bottled up for use," 
 he assumes that they move directly north, and would continue to 
 do so to the pole if they did not retain as they reach more north- 
 ern parallels the rotary velocity which they had at their place of 
 origin. The case he puts, and in which the other gentlemen con- 
 cur, presents the question precisely as if the storm leaped at a 
 bound, and over all obstacles which could affect its rotary veloci- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 379 
 
 ty, from the equator to lat. 32, and thus leaping, and thus re- 
 taining its equatorial velocity and assuming that it reaches the 
 earth again at 32, the velocity there being less, it is thrown 
 forward precisely as a man is thrown forward who jumps from 
 a railway train. Now is not this the grossest absurdity of the 
 many contained in that conglomeration of gross absurdities known 
 as the Halley theory ? Let us see. 
 
 Undoubtedly the rotary velocity of the earth is greater at the 
 equator than at 32, and I do not question the accuracy of Prof. 
 Loomis' table of relative velocities, which is as follows : 
 
 "In lat. the velocity eastward is 1036 miles per hour. 
 150 JQOO 
 
 " 30 " " 897 " " 
 
 45 732 " " 
 
 " 60 " " 518 " " 
 
 75 268 " " 
 
 But the question is, does the storm or the current which 
 changes its latitude, retain its primary velocity? Does the 
 steamer which steams from the equator to lat. 30 at the rate of 
 250 miles per day, retain the velocity which it had at the equator ? 
 We know it does not, and that it loses that equatorial velocity in- 
 stant by instant, and inch by inch, as it progresses to the north. 
 It has, wherever it may be, the velocity of the water in which it 
 is imbedded, and of the parallel at which it floats. Does the 
 migratory bird which takes its spring flight from the Gulf coast 
 of our country directly northward to the upper lakes, at a speed 
 of 100 miles an hour, " retain " at the lakes, the rotative velocity 
 which it had at the Gulf ? and when at night it rests its bosom 
 upon the surface of the lake, and folds its wings, is it thrown for- 
 ward by a retained excess of easterly velocity at the rate of 200 
 miles per hour, and as if thrown from a rail car. We know it is 
 not. The atmosphere through which it has projected itself, is an 
 aerial ocean which is retained in its position by the force of grav- 
 ity as effectually as the ocean of water. The rotary velocity of 
 its mass at different parallels, conforms to that of the solid earth 
 
380 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 to which it is bound by an attraction which rotation does not af- 
 fect, in the same manner that the oceans and rivers conform. 
 The bird and the current and the storm imbedded in it and mov- 
 ing north, are held and supported by it on all sides, as the ship is 
 supported by the waters, or the rivers by their banks, arid have 
 at every instant the velocity of their supporting medium, at the 
 parallel, precisely as if attached firmly to the earth. 
 
 The earth, ocean, and atmosphere, and all that they contain 
 form but a part of an entire whole, which revolves as a whole, 
 each particle of each held in its place by the superior force of 
 gravitation, and no particle of either is disturbed in its relation to 
 other particles by friction, or rotative force. If the doctrine 
 had not been deemed an essential part of the Halley theory, it 
 would have been abandoned long ago. 
 
 There are many other considerations which show that the doc- 
 trine cannot be true. The tracks of different storms originating 
 over the same space, frequently differ materially. Some curve 
 at a very low latitude ; others, like those of 1821 and 1869, pur- 
 sue a course almost directly north. Some have a speed of 4 to 6 
 miles an hour ; others of 40, 60, and 70 miles per hour ; and others 
 move at intermediate velocities. 
 
 So too the storms and currents which curve on our continent 
 over northwestern Mississippi, northern Louisiana and Arkansas 
 in midwinter, when the central condition is far south, curve 10 
 or more, and with broader curve, to the northwest in midsummer 
 when that central condition is to the north, for the force which 
 curves them then operates so much further to the north and 
 west. 
 
 No, reader, we cannot, without a disregard of facts and self stul- 
 tification, accept the theories of these men. We must find a 
 force capable not only of originating the currents and the storm, 
 but of directing their pathway through the tropics, the temperate 
 zones, and the arctic circle, unaffected by the rotation of the earth. 
 
 And we must find a force that is capable of producing the 
 minor organized conditions ; of directing their pathway, regulat- 
 ing their intensity and controlling their effects ; a force that ere- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 381 
 
 ates the cirrus in its appropriate stratum, the rain-bearing slratus 
 in its appropriate stratum, the attendant lateral winds and their 
 scud in their stratum, all working together harmoniously and con- 
 tinuously from day to day, scattering warmth, moisture, and fer- 
 tility over an earth, which without such organizations would not 
 be habitable for man. A force not only capable of organizing 
 and controlling the system in all its parts, and in all their ordi- 
 nary modes of operation, but of exerting those irregular and awful 
 manifestations of energy and power which we have contemplated. 
 Now the agency of heat being found insufficient, the question 
 comes up to us, what is this force that thus organizes and con- 
 trols the system with an energy and power without a parallel in 
 the physical world ? Do we know of any such force ? Do we 
 know of more than one ? The answer to these questions is, we 
 know of one, and but one, such force, and that one is electricity. 
 No logic founded on the relation of cause and effect of which an 
 honest mind is capable no honest reflection, however profound, 
 can come to any other result, for no other adequate force is known. 
 Deceive ourselves as we may place confidence in the opinions 
 and authority of other minds as we may to that complexion we 
 must come at last. That agency is sufficient. No other known 
 agent is. Logically and irresistibly we come to the conclusion 
 that this is the cause ; and here we may add, that every fact in 
 nature rightly understood, confirms the view. I have not space 
 remaining to examine in extenso the character of this agent, and 
 the mode in which it operates as the organizing and motive force 
 of the system. Nor is it of practical consequence that I should. 
 If I have developed the system and the operation of its laws and 
 their effects, as discoverable by our senses as matter of fact, and 
 as they bear practically upon our interests, I have done all that 
 I purposed, all that it is practically important to do. An induc- 
 tive examination of the character of this agent and its mode of 
 operation in every particular ca^e, would require a collection and 
 array of facts, and an investigation of its associated relations to 
 heat, light, and magnetism, in order to a correct induction, which 
 would extend this volume beyond any reasonable limit. For 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 such an examination and investigation, I have accumulated much 
 material, and it may be the work of future leisure hours. Yet I 
 do not feel inclined to pass a subject of such engrossing interest 
 unnoticed, and as if I had no conceptions of its mode of opera- 
 tion ; and I will briefly allude, in a few general propositions, to the 
 manner in which electricity may operate in controlling the system 
 and its laws. 
 
 We are far from fully understanding the nature of this element, 
 or of its associated relations to heat, light, and magnetism, yet we 
 know enough of it to be able to trace in a general way, the agency 
 we know it must exert. 
 
 There is electricity in everything, and it is associated with 
 every law of ihe physical world, unless it be the attraction of 
 gravitation, and Faraday never despaired of proving that it was 
 identical, or associated with that. If it is not in itself the vital force 
 of the animal and vegetable creation, it is certainly associated 
 with it, or a component of it, and capable of controlling it. If it 
 does not in itself constitute the law of chemical affinity, of crys- 
 talization, of evaporation and condensation, it is certainly associ- 
 ated with those laws, however they may operate. It is associated 
 with light, if it be not light ; for it will produce the most intense 
 light known. It is associated with heat in all its manifestations 
 and operations, if heat be not a phase or form of it, and its as- 
 sociation with magnetism is such as to leave little doubt that mag- 
 netism is a manifestation of it by one of its modes of operation. 
 
 Manifesting itself in the ordinary operations of nature pri- 
 marily or by association, it is not regarded ; but when it is disturbed 
 and excited into abnormal activity, it becomes the visible and 
 powerful agent we have assumed it to be. Thus, when excited 
 into activity and drawn from the atmosphere by the electric ma- 
 chine it becomes a controllable but immensely powerful and de- 
 structive agent. So, when obtained by the agency of chemical af- 
 finity and decomposition, it becomes the same controllable and 
 powerful agent, but with the slight modification of character per- 
 taining to galvanism. So again, when electricity is communicated 
 in a certain way to soft iron, it confers upon it temporary mag- 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 383 
 
 netism, and if communicated to steel, it attaches itself perma- 
 nently to it, constituting it a magnet with opposite polarities, and 
 with permanent electric currents around it. 
 
 Now with this brief resume of some of the salient points in 
 the character of electricity, so far as we at present understand it, 
 let me state in a few concise propositions the manner in which this 
 agent may, and so far as we can now judge, does organize and 
 control the atmospheric system and its phenomena. 
 
 I. The earth is a magnet, but not a natural magnet. All bodies 
 may be magnetised temporarily by causing currents of electricity 
 to flow around them. A few can be magnetised permanently, 
 and are naturally magnetic. The natural electricity of the earth 
 and the atmosphere, or of any other body, is excited into activity 
 and made to flow in currents, not only by the disturbance of chem- 
 ical affinity, the decomposition of composite bodies, the disturbance 
 of the laminae of crystallization, but also by the unequal heating 
 of them, the currents of electricity originating or being excited 
 in the heated part and flowing to the colder. Electricity so ex- 
 cited and made to flow in currents is termed thermal electricity. 
 
 II. That portion of the earth upon which the sun shines at any 
 given hour of the day, is warmer than the portion which lies so 
 far west of it as to be stilt enveloped in night. According to the 
 law of thermo-electricity, currents must be excited at the place 
 where the earth is being heated, and flow to the west toward that 
 portion of the earth which is coolest. The contrast between the 
 heat of the earth and the atmosphere at 2 P.M., and that portion 
 which is still enveloped in night at 4 A.M. is very great, upon 
 some surfaces not less than 60. The electric currents which are 
 constantly excited by the heat of the sun where it is day, flow 
 around to the west where it is night, and thus form a permanent 
 succession of currents flowing around the earth from east to west 
 as it presents its surface to the action of the sun during its daily 
 revolution. By a central belt of currents encircling the earth 
 within the tropies, thus excited and operating, the earth is consti- 
 tuted a magnet. It is not, as I have said, my purpose to intro- 
 duce here the proof of this. I will simply say that it is not new 
 
384 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 with me, but is a theory of Ampere, and any globular body may 
 be magnetized temporarily, exhibiting all the elements of a mag- 
 net, such as dip, declination, and horizontal and vertical force, by 
 passing currents of electricity around it. Illustrations of this are 
 found in our text books. 
 
 How far the power of the solar rays assist in producing mag- 
 netism by direct action of the magnetic ray, is an unsolved ques- 
 tion. Howard, whom Steinmetz styles the " Father of English 
 meteorology," has the following note in his third volume : 
 
 Magnetism of the solar rays, as found in Milton. 
 
 " The golden sun, in splendor likest heaven, 
 
 Allured his eye ; * * * 
 
 * * where the great luminary, 
 
 (Aloof the vulgar constellations thick, 
 
 That from his lordly eye keep distance due,) 
 
 Dispenses light from far. They, as they move 
 
 Their starry dance, in numbers that compute 
 
 Days, months and years, towards his all-cheering lamp, 
 
 Turn swift their various motions, or are turned 
 
 By his magnetic beam, that gently warms 
 
 The universe, and to each inward part, 
 
 With gentle penetration, though unseen, 
 
 Shoots invisible virtue even to the deep." 
 
 What shall we say to this fine conception of our great poet, 
 now that the philosophers have ascertained by direct experiment, 
 that the violet ray of the solar spectrum is actually capable of 
 rendering a needle magnetic which has never been touched by 
 the loadstone, or by an artificial magnet ? He seems to have 
 had a thought (natural enough in the then state of science,) 
 that the earth revolved from west to east in consequence of a 
 peculiar attraction exercised on its substance by the sunbeams." 
 
 I am not satisfied that this conception of Milton's may not yet 
 appear to be philosophically true. 
 
 III. Parallel currents of electricity have a tendency to con- 
 verge toward each other. Doubtless, the primary central cur- 
 rents flowing to the west, exist under the entire central condition, 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 converging toward the center where the currents are most intense, 
 and where the great central belt of rains is found. 
 
 IV. As the sun in its transits is more vertical, and acts with 
 greater heat'ng power on the summer side of the central belt, the 
 currents gradually become more intense upon that side and less 
 intense on the other, and thus the central condition with its belt 
 of rains follows the sun in its transits, because the sun is con- 
 tinually creating a new focus of intense currents. And for the 
 same reason the central condition continues to move north or 
 
 / 
 
 >c -e* 
 
 
 vp^= 
 
 :^r " / f 2_ZS 2 
 
386 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 south after the sun has reversed his transit, and until it has 
 heated up the waters and earth on the reverse side. 
 
 V. All successive currents of electricity induce secondary cur- 
 rents on each side of the primary one, and they flow in an oppo- 
 site direction to, and parallel with, the primary current. Such 
 currents are produced on either side of the central condition and 
 in the temperate and polar zones ; which gives to the atmosphere 
 and all the conditions contained in it, a tendency or drift to the 
 eastward. 
 
 VI. A second secondary current is sometimes induced by the 
 first secondary, and that too moves parallel with and in an oppo- 
 site direction to its inducing current. Prof. Coffin thinks he has 
 shown that there is a tendency to an easterly movement of the 
 atmosphere, in the arctic and antarctic latitudes. I do not con- 
 sider the evidence sufficient to establish the fact, but if it be true 
 it is doubtless the effect of a second induced system of secondary 
 currents. Supposing it true, however, the systems of currents 
 would be substantially as represented in the diagram, at the ex- 
 reme northern transit. (See Fig. 56.) 
 
 VII. By this method of magnetization there is also produced 
 in or over the earth, a class of lateral currents like those discov- 
 erable in all magnets by the aid of iron filings. The following 
 diagram exhibits the currents as discoverable in a bar magnet, 
 and we may assume it to be true that such lateral currents exist 
 in and over the earth. 
 
 FIG. 57. 
 
 The following diagram exhibits their appearance as observed 
 by Faraday in the globe magnet. It is taken from one of the 
 ,plates appended to the third volume of his " Researches." 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 387 
 
 FIG. 58. 
 
 This is a section through the center of the magnet, and shows 
 the manner in which the lines of force arrange the filings on each 
 side. The reader will observe that round the center of the globe 
 from east to west, shown in this section only at the sides, the cur- 
 rents are clearly exhibited, extending from one side or hemisphere 
 to the other. It should be borne in mind that these are repre- 
 sentations of the manner in which the currents of electricity flow 
 around natural magnets. 
 
 VIII. The magnetic currents or currents of electricity which 
 flow outwardly from the earth, are recognized by us in various 
 ways. Faraday intercepted them by a revolving wire, which, by 
 its revolutions cut them and obtained from the end of the wire 
 currents of electricity, of low intensity but considerable volume, 
 with which he experimented. The flow of these currents is vari- 
 able in quantity, and when the quantity is excessive, the aurora 
 is produced by them in the upper, attenuated hemisphere. Some- 
 times when the quantity is very excessive, constituting what 
 
388 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 Humboldt calls magnetic storms, they produce an aurora in all 
 parts of the atmosphere, and then the telegraphic wires can be 
 worked by them, without a battery. Several such ca-:es have oc- 
 curred in this country within a few years. The working of the 
 telegraph wires by magnetic currents indicates clearly that Prof. 
 Henry erred in attributing to them no force but that of direction, 
 in his meteorological articles, hereinbefore referred to, in which 
 he assumed that magnetism exerted no force except a directive 
 one upon the needle. He failed to comprehend the import and 
 foundation of the views which he attempted to negate. Mag- 
 netism consists of, or has associated with it, electric currents, and 
 all electric currents are lines of force, as Faraday has abundantly 
 demonstrated. Faraday's last volume was published in 1855, 
 and had probably escaped the notice of the Professor. 
 
 IX. All currents of electricity passing through the atmosphere 
 tend to displace it, or to create currents in it. This is abundantly 
 proved by the brush discharge, and in other ways. Thus we at- 
 tribute thunder to the recoil of the air into the vacuum which the 
 current of electricity has occasioned by carrying the air with it 
 downwards in passing through the atmosphere. In substantially 
 the same manner it carries the air upward in the tornado. To a 
 certain extent it is undoubtedly true, that the recoil of the at- 
 mosphere into the vacuum makes the thunder, yet the concussion 
 exerted by the displacing force, especially of its initiatory rami- 
 fications before they unite in a stream, is first heard, and constitutes 
 a part of what we term thunder, and the recoil occasions the 
 heavy pound which seems to descend upon us. The long-continued 
 rolling of thunder dying away in the distance, is reverberation in 
 the chamber between the upper and middle strata of cloud, when 
 the discharge is between these two strata, from one to the other. 
 
 These magneto electric currents are constantly being discharged 
 from trees, and mountains, and every object connected with the 
 earth. They have much to do with animal and vegetable life. 
 The traveler who moves rapidly in a railway car, may be invig- 
 orated by cutting them, while his nervous system will be excited. 
 But if his nervous system is weak, he will become tired by cutting 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 389 
 
 them, though the movement of the car is as easy as a drawing- 
 room. 
 
 X. These lateral currents have much to do in constituting the 
 great, permanent, general movements of the atmosphere ; with 
 the trade winds while surface trades, and when constituting the 
 upper trade or equatorial current. But most of the special and 
 local winds are the result of static electric induction and attrac- 
 tion. 
 
 XI. Evaporation is an electric process, aided by heat, but ex- 
 isting independently of it, for ice and snow evaporate in the arctic 
 regions and everywhere and at all experienced temperatures. 
 The vapor when evaporated is combined with electricity and 
 oxygen, and exists by force of that combination in the atmos- 
 phere, and the disturbance of the electricity and the combination, by 
 static induction or other action, occasions the condensation of the 
 vapor, the formation of vesicles, and the constitution of a cloud, 
 and the diffusion of the electricity thus set free over the surface 
 of the vesicles. All these four are the effect of a disturbance of 
 the electricity of the combination. 
 
 On this point I regret that my limits will not permit me to 
 copy from Meissner's researches on " Ozone, Antozone, the elec- 
 trization of oxygen, and the formation of cloud, etc." He has 
 opened out the subject in a manner which should be followed up 
 by tho^e engaged in such pursuits. His discoveries and those of 
 Faraday in relation to the magnetization of oxygen have laid the 
 foundation for a clear understanding of the processes of evapora- 
 tion, condensation, and the formation of cloud. When scientists 
 get out of the Halley rut, the subject will soon be fully developed. 
 (See Prof. Johnson's review of Meissner's work. American 
 Journal of Science, vols. 37, 38, N. S.) 
 
 XI I . Bearing these facts, in mind, let us glance at the operation 
 of the cause in producing various organizations. 
 
 The trade-winds are probably produced primarily by the lateral 
 magneto-electric currents of the earth. Upon islands which lie 
 near the outer limits of the northern trade in summer, the surface 
 and upper trade constitute distinct strata of a different character. 
 
390 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 When the surface trade is of sufficient volume to cover the eleva- 
 tion of the islands, they have unbroken drouth. As the surface- 
 trade recedes in the fall, and the upper trade comes in contact 
 with the elevations, rain falls upon and to the leeward of them, 
 and the line of rain descends the slopes as the surface trade de- 
 creases in depth. These facts indicate the initiation of the sur- 
 face trade by the permanent magneto-electric currents. As the 
 surface trades pass on beneath the stratum of cirrus condensation 
 which overlies them, they are affected statically, and storms and 
 showers and squalls are produced in them. So the belt of rains 
 is constituted. As they pass on beyond the belt of conden?a;ion 
 if they are in moderate volume, they become clear again, and pass 
 as upper or counter-trades into the opposite hemisphere, but par- 
 tially deprived of their vapor. Arriving in that hemisphere, they 
 are exposed to the static, electric induction of the posithe atmos- 
 phere of the upper story, and the negative electric induction of 
 the earth. Storms or showers are produced as one or the other 
 influence predominates, and operates with sufficient force. Thus, 
 in most of our large, extensive storms, which originate upon the 
 level interior of our country, the incipient condensation is discov- 
 erable in the upper story in the form of cirrus, or in the upper 
 part of the trade-story in the form of cirro-stratus. Subsequently 
 the stratus is formed in the trade-story or its inferior portion, and 
 after that the wind and the scud are by like induction, and by at- 
 traction, produced in the surface story. In this class of cases, 
 the storm is originated by the positive inductive action of the 
 electricity of the upper atmosphere. 
 
 There is a class of cases where the inductive action of the 
 earth is clearly visible in producing condensation and rain, as in 
 the islands referred to, and as upon Table cloth mountain at the 
 cape of Good Hope, and in all other cases where the upper trade 
 is intercepted by mountain ranges. There are undoubtedly in- 
 stances, where the entire surface story is surcharged with vapor, 
 that showers and dashes of rain are produced by the inductive 
 action of the earth. This is frequently true in England, but it 
 is not common here. As a rule, our general storms are initiated 
 
THE ATMOSPI1KK1C SYSTEM. 391 
 
 in the great central condition or in the polar zone, by the positive 
 electricity of the upper story, acting by induction upon the upper 
 trade of the second story, surcharged with the vapor of evapora- 
 tion from the ocean surface where it originated. That the earth 
 may at the same time act inductively upon the inferior surface of 
 the upper trade where the country is level, may be true, and it 
 probably is true when the storm is passing over considerable ele- 
 vations, and is particularly true in respect to our summer belts 
 of showers. 
 
 Induced electric excitement is felt, as we have seen, far in ad- 
 vance of all storms. It influences animal and vegetable life, as 
 we have seen. It checks and stops evaporation, and disturbs the 
 combination of electricity with the vapor of the atmosphere, pro- 
 ducing partial condensation, and increasing humidity. It is a 
 mistake to assume that the increase cf humidity, as indicated by 
 the hygrometer or by its deposition on surfaces, is owing to an 
 actual increase of the amount of water in the atmosphere. Evap- 
 oration decreases before an increase of humidity is apparent, and 
 humidity goes on increasing long after evaporation has ceased. 
 Tiiis increase of humidity is, as I have said, the effect of electric 
 induction, disturbing the electricity of the vapor, and causing the 
 apparent increase of humidity. There is, in fact, no sudden in- 
 crease of the quantity of vapor in the air, it is simply an increase 
 of that which is uncombined. 
 
 The electric induction which thus causes humidity, and affects 
 the feelings of men and animals, may be from the more or less 
 perfectly formed cirrus in the upper story, or from the earth, af- 
 fected by the still distant but approaching storm. 
 
 I do not think we have yet arrived at a satisfactory solution of 
 the cause of the barometric oscillations, and I think it quite as 
 likely as not, that it will ultimately appear that they are occa- 
 sioned by electric induction also. There is, as we have seen, in 
 the finest weather, a group of diurnal changes, coincident with the 
 electric and magnetic changes, and apparently independent of 
 temperature. There is also an obvious tendency to the forma- 
 tion of the atmospheric conditions in the afternoon, and after the 
 
392 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 maximum of temperature has been attained. This is so, when 
 the trade current is in large volume, and the temperature is mod- 
 erate or uniform, and the sun obscured by constant cloudiness. 
 We have seen that the barometric changes are coincident with 
 the electric and magnetic ones. I am aware that scientists now 
 attribute the diurnal barometric changes to changes in the tension 
 of the vapor of the atmosphere. I think it by no means certain 
 that the cause assigned is the true one. And it is probable that 
 the tension of vapor is an electric effect, but I have not now 
 space for a discussion. It belongs properly to an examination of 
 the mode in which electricity produces and controls other atmos- 
 pheric phenomena, and must be left for future inquiry. Certain 
 it is that the changes in the barometer and in the feelings of ani- 
 mals and plants, are in advance of thermometric or hygrometric 
 changes which can account for them. 
 
 The advocates of the Halley theory have used every art and 
 endeavor to make it appear that all the intense exhibitions of 
 electric action which it is conceded attend all intense atmospher- 
 ic conditions are incidental results, and not operative as a cause ; 
 and yet they concede that when a cloud is formed, electricity is 
 set free during the act of condensation, and diffuses itself over the 
 globules or vesicles so that the cloud becomes a highly charged 
 electric body. If electricity was not in combination with the 
 vapor before its condensation, how could it be set free as a 
 consequence of condensation ? That it was so combined then, 
 must be conceded. Is it any the less philosophical or logical to 
 say that when the combination is disturbed by inductive action 
 upon the e'ectricity of the combination, the vapor must be con- 
 densed ? And if, as I think, it is well established that the con- 
 densation consists in the formation of an infinite number of small 
 vesicles which electricity can form and cold cannot, I think it 
 very clear that the formation of cloud is an electric inductive 
 process, as I have assumed, and that in all extensive storms the 
 primary inductive action is by the positive electricity of the upper 
 story, and the forming process may generally be observed upon 
 the advance portion of the storm. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 393 
 
 This forming process may also be observed on the easterly side 
 of a belt of showers as it drifts to the eastward. The following 
 diagram exhibits the location of a belt of showers near the focal 
 path in summer. 
 
 FIG. 59. 
 
 The belt thus exhibited has a drift and a forming movement to 
 the eastward, both of which have been heretofore illustrated. 
 But let us re-examine for a moment. 
 
 Two hundred miles more or less to the eastward of the eastern 
 edge of that belt the atmosphere is in a normal state, and beyond 
 the influence of the approaching belt. A few hours later and 
 when the belt has approached nearer, its influence begins to be felt. 
 And how ? First, evaporation ceases the hygrometer begins (o 
 show an increase of humidity, and the barometer falls. There is 
 a rise of temperature, and the air begins to feel sultry and close, 
 and commences to move toward the belt. Men, animals, and 
 plants begin to feel the influence thus exerted. Heads, which 
 are accustomed to ache, when thunder showers are approaching, 
 begin to ache. Now the Halley theory cannot account for these 
 18 
 
394 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 changes. They are clearly the effect of electric induction and 
 influence, extending from beneath the belt of cloud, and operating 
 through the earth or the atmosphere. As the belt approaches, 
 these states all increase in intensity the barometer falls more rap- 
 idly the air grows more sultry its humidity increases the de- 
 position of moisture increases headache increases the wind also 
 increases in strength, and patches of scud form and float along 
 horizontally in it a few hundred feet above the surface of the 
 earth, where the difference of temperature is trifling, and they 
 could not be and obviously are not produced by the cold of ascen- 
 sion or expansion, for they are in distinct patches. The scud of 
 the winds are also a refutation of the Ilalley theory. 
 
 All thus go on until the belt of showers appears above the 
 northwestern horizon, and thereafter reaches the place. Then the 
 belt of condensation may be observed, made up of masses of cu- 
 mulo-strati, with an advance condensation agitated by lateral 
 currents in which new curnulo-strati are continually forming, in 
 part by induction upon the atmosphere in its front, and in part by 
 the aid of the surface atmosphere which it attracts to itself. 
 Sometimes that surface wind and its scud, when in small volume, 
 may -be seen losing themselves in the advance forming mass, at 
 other times when in large volume passing in part under and across 
 the entire belt, as they did at Springfield, in August, 1859. 
 
 By the forming process and the drift, the belt will make an 
 easterly progress of 12 or 15 miles an hour, and sometime.-; more, 
 according to its intensity and the season of the year, although the 
 masses oP condensation move E.N.E., and on the next day it 
 may have the position represented by the most eastern of the two 
 belts upon the diagram, Fig. 60, having passed in the manner 
 described over the space between the two repre ented locations. 
 I let the representation of its location on the first day remain, 
 and add its location on the next, that they may be compared. 
 
 Upon the space over which it has passed there is a cool, clea;-, 
 dry, northwest surface wind, a rising barometer, and a change 
 in all the phenomena of the previous day. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYsTEM. 
 FlG. 60. 
 
 395 
 
 The woolen manufacturer had no occasion to take any precau- 
 tions to prevent the action of electricity upon the wool, as it ran 
 through his machines, on the day when the belt was approaching, 
 and when the atmosphere was humid But on the next day, 
 when the belt had passed by and the atmosphere became dry and 
 was left full of free electricity by the deposition in rain of the 
 vapor with which it had been combined, he finds it necessary to 
 neutralize that electricity by a supply of moisture in his card- 
 room from sprinkling, or the letting in of steam. And that cool^ 
 dry northwest wind will evaporate the moisture from pools by the 
 aid of its electricity, with a rapidity which it could not do if de- 
 prived of its electricity, and by the aid of heat alone. 
 
 There is always more or less cirrus formation over the belt of 
 showers, though sometimes existing in the form of misty cirrus 
 only. Doubtless that misty formation aids in the induction which 
 produces the belt, but I am inclined to think that in that class of 
 conditions the principal induction is from the earth. Certainly 
 the principal discharges of electricity are disruptive or explosive 
 discharges strikings as they are called from the clouds to the 
 
396 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 earth, the earth being negative, and the inferior surface of the 
 cloud stratum being positive. Such disruptive discharges to the 
 earth indicate that the earth is then the inducing body, and draws 
 to itself the positive electricity which its induction accumulates 
 in the base of the cloud. 
 
 There is another kind of electric discharge termed the convcc- 
 tive discharge, which is in a continuous current or stream without 
 disruption or explosion. This is the most common method by 
 which the negative electricity of the surface atmosphere and of 
 the earth is discharged upward to the clouds. It is by such a 
 discharge that the tornado, the hurricane, and the straight line 
 gust are produced. The manner, as I think, is this : When the 
 counter or upper trade of the second story is in unusual volume, 
 and unusually charged with vapor, its electricity is disturbed by 
 induction from the positive electricity of the upper story, and its 
 stratum of cirrus clouds. The negative electricity of the trade 
 is attracted into, and accumulated in the upper portion of the trade- 
 story, and the positive electricity repelled and accumulated in the 
 lower portion. That acts inductively upon the surface atmos- 
 phere and the earth, which become highly electrified negatively, 
 humid, and sultry, and the surface atmosphere commences dis- 
 charging its electricity convectively into the cloud. This discharge 
 initiates the tornado. Gradually the discharge commences farther 
 and farther from the cloud, the current is polarized, forming a 
 whirl composed of double currents, and as the electricity of the 
 atmosphere is thereby discharged, the currents originate lower 
 down until their place of origin is from the surface of the earth, 
 and the effects of its violence are experienced there as hereinbefore 
 fully described.* 
 
 MEISNER has shown enough to establish the identity between 
 the Antozonic or Atmizonic mist produced by electricity, when 
 passed through moist air, and the strange, white, peculiar mist or 
 cloud of the tornado. And the production of Antozone and its 
 
 *NOTE. While these pages were being printed, a terrible tornado occurred at Cave City. 
 Kentucky, in the night, which is described by eye witnesses as composed of " Electric 
 Spirals." See N. Y. Herald, January 22, 1870. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 397 
 
 peculiar odor by the lightning of thunder showers has long been 
 known. It was formerly supposed to be a sulphurous odor. So 
 the production of a like mist or vapor and even cloud, snow, and 
 ice crystals by the currents of the earth, when sufficiently excited 
 and intense to produce the Aurora in a marked degree, are well 
 known. This connection and effect are evidence of identity that 
 cannot be disregarded, and we may have it, not only in the tornado, 
 but in the peculiar white scud of the thunder shower, flitting 
 across in front of the dark mass of cloud beyond. So we may 
 trace it in the careful description of intelligent observers in every 
 form of atmospheric condition. On this point I could add fifty 
 citations if I had space for them, but they must be left with a 
 mass of other material for a future occasion. 
 
 In all cases of convective discharge -from the atmosphere or 
 earth to the clouds, produced by induction from the cloud, the 
 currents assume polarity and constitute the opposite, lateral cur- 
 rents of the atmospheric conditions. The straight line hurricane 
 and the straight line thunder gust are produced in the same way. 
 The lateral currents produced by polarization may often be seen 
 crossing each other in t\\Q forming advance of the thunder shower, 
 and the straight line gust may be seen to be constituted by the 
 attraction of the cloud drawing the atmosphere after it, and for- 
 ward and upward to where that forming process is going on. 
 "Where the progress of the cloud and the forming process is slow 
 the lateral currents are visible as they occur, and traceable by 
 their effects. Where the progress of the cloud belt and the form- 
 ing process are rapid, they are not so clearly visible or traceable. 
 
 In these intense conditions, veins of violence and of compara- 
 tive inaction are traceable ; but this is perfectly intelligible. The 
 same thing is true in all storms and violent winds. The gust 
 which threatens with destruction at one instant, and would, if it 
 continued for any length of time, destroy, goon ceases almost en- 
 tirely, succeeded very soon by others. These alternations are com- 
 mon in all storm winds. The gusts are constituted by portions of 
 the atmosphere, more highly electrified and more strongly attract- 
 ed than the portion which follows. So we see that the scud 
 
398 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 formed in the surface atmosphere by the induction of the cloud, 
 and drawn towards and under it by attraction, are formed in por- 
 tions which contain larger quantities of vapor, and move more or 
 less rapidly, according to their size and density. They doubtless 
 often move much faster than the less intensely electrified atmos- 
 phere by which they are surrounded, 
 
 Here we have another fact utterly inconsistent with the Ilalley 
 theory. That theory calls for a steady, and not a fitful or gusty 
 ascent of the heated air ^steidy and not ^fitful, gusty or puffy 
 influx of the surrounding air. But we all know that nothing like 
 such steady influx is ever experienced, and that verygreat altern- 
 ations of strength and moderation attend all violent winds. Ir- 
 regular action by puffs and gusts is always present. 
 
 But it is time to draw this chapter to a close. I greatly re- 
 gret that I have not space for other facts, and for citations from 
 Howard, Hare, Ampere, Peltier, Faraday, Meissner, and other 
 distinguished men who have investigated this branch of the sub- 
 ject. I must close by repeating that the facts, illustrations, and 
 citations accumulated upon this branch of our inquiry, and from 
 which I have deduced the foregoing propositions, would fill a small 
 volume. At some future day, if the cause of truth should require 
 it, I may separately and more fully develop it. 
 
 There is one other topic, intimately connected with the clima- 
 tology of our country, which I ought not to pass unnoticed. 
 
 The magnetism of the earth is not uniformly diffused over its 
 surface. It is concentrated in excess in two lines, or rather on 
 two areas upon opposite sides of the globe, known as lines of no 
 variation, or lines upon which the magnetic needle points to the 
 north. Departing either way from this line of no variation, the 
 needle declines towards it, and ceases to point directly north. 
 This line of no variation commences at the magnetic pole on the 
 northern part of this continent in lat. 72, Ion. 97, extending south f 
 bearing to the east, entering the Atlantic Ocean above Charles- 
 ton, crossing the eastern portion of South America, and pursu- 
 ing the same course to a south, antarctic, magnetic pole. Thi:; 
 course is shown, as well as the position of the magnetic equator, 
 by the diagram, Fig. 61. 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 399 
 
 Upon this diagram, the dip of the needle at different parts of 
 the earth, is also shown by the arrows. In the northern hemis- 
 
 phere, this dip is shown by the inclination of the point of the 
 arrow. In the southern hemisphere it is shown by the inclina- 
 tion of the feathered end of the arrow. The location of the mag- 
 netic equator, where neither end of the arrow dips, is shown by 
 the arrow which maintains its horizontal position. The arrows 
 represent the position which is taken by a freely suspended mag- 
 netic needle at the points upon the earth's surface where they are 
 respectively placed. 
 
 There is another corresponding line or area of no variation, ex- 
 tending from another magnetic pole on the opposite side of the 
 earth, in the northern part of Asia, southerly to another magnetic 
 pole within the antarctic circle. All the facts or peculiarities 
 which apply to one of these lines or areas, is equally true of the 
 other. 
 
 These areas of no variation are also areas of greater magnetic 
 intensity. Thus, the intensity which is represented by 2, in the 
 vicinity of our magnetic pole, is but .74:3 at the magnetic equator 
 on the line of no variation in the South Atlantic. 
 
 The first important fact to which I will allude, is that the mag- 
 netic poles are poles of cold, and that all the isothermal lines of 
 the hemisphere are affected by this area of no variation, and 
 
400 
 
 THE ATMOSPHERIC: SYSTEM. 
 
 greater intensity. The following diagram shows the situation of 
 these poles of cold and their effect upon the temperature of the 
 earth, as shown; by tho isothermal lines or lines of equal temper- 
 ature. It is a view, of the earth as seen from above the North 
 Pole. 
 
 FIG. 62. 
 
 In the above cut the isothermal lines are Centigrade. The 
 zero of the Centigrade thermometer is the freezing point of water. 
 or 32 of Fahrenheit. The boiling point of water is 100 Cen- 
 tigrade, or 212 Fahrenheit, A degree of Centigrade is equal to 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 401 
 
 one degree and four-fifths, Fahrenheit. The line of the cut, 
 therefore, is 32 of Fahrenheit the line of 5 above is 41 Fah- 
 renheit the line of 5 below is 23 Fahrenheit, and so on. 
 The dark lines are isothermal lines, and the dotted lines are lines 
 of latitude. 
 
 The isothermal lines as shown upon the diagram, are undoubt- 
 edly affected by the warmth of the oceans, the elevations of the 
 land and other causes, but the connection between the magnetism 
 of the earth and its temperature is clearly traceable. 
 
 The connection between the two is still more clearly traceable 
 in the connection which exists between the magnetic intensity 
 of the lower latitudes, and the various atmospheric phenomena. 
 The greater the magnetic intensity, other things being equal, the 
 more intense the phenomena. 
 
 The magnetic intensity of the eastern part of our continent 
 under and near the line of no variation is much greater than that 
 of Europe or of the Pacific coast. In fact, magnetic intensity 
 decreases from one line of no variation to some point near midway 
 between the two lint s, and then increases again until the other line 
 is reached. Thus the intensity which is about 1.8 in Warren, 
 Ohio, in lat. 41.16, Ion. 72.57, decreases to 1.774 at New Haven, 
 Conn., and to 1.348 at Paris. The intensity decreases in like 
 manner as we follow the same latitude west from Ohio, on to the 
 Pacific Ocean. Now while all the atmospheric phenomena in 
 Ohio are intense, and tornadoes and thunder gusts are so prover 
 bially common as to be mentioned in our elementary works, they 
 are comparatively less frequent as you go east over Europe, and 
 magnetic intensity decreases. So on the other hand as we go 
 west, we find that all the more violent phenomena, dependent 
 upon the intense action of electricity, are scarcely known upon 
 the Pacific coast, and the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, and 
 understand the cause of that characteristic which gives the ocean 
 its name. The influence of that excess of magnetism, and mag- 
 neto-electricity, in intensifying our climate, our diseases, and the 
 energies and activity of our people in the Atlantic States, is a 
 most suggestive fact in relation to our climatology, and as evi- 
 
402 THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 
 
 dence in relation to this branch of our subject. But I cannot 
 dwell upon it. 
 
 In closing the volume, I desire to make a brief appeal to sev- 
 eral classes of practical men. If the contents of it are true, and 
 I think I know the first seven chapters to be substantially so, and 
 I believe the last is so also, then an entire and radical revolution 
 in the so-called science of meteorology is inevitable, and but a 
 question of time. Whether that shall be early, so as to benefit 
 the present generat'on or not, depends upon the extent to which 
 the leading classes of practical men shall realize, and perform their 
 duty in the premises. Nothing but opposition is to be expected 
 from the men who now make meteorology a specialty, and little 
 aid I fear, from the great body of scientists, who, although fair 
 and worthy men and passive recipients and supporters merely of 
 the H alley theory, are controlled to an extent they scarcely ap- 
 preciate, by a minority who are actively and persistently engaged 
 in sustaining it. 
 
 Let me then appeal in the first place to the members of Con- 
 gress to each of whom a copy of the book will be sent to ex- 
 amine it with care, and give the country a telegraphic weather 
 system, founded on the developments made in relation to the 
 paths of the storms, at the various seasons of the year. Such a 
 system, if employing a few intelligent observers, at representative 
 points accessible to the telegraph lines, on cross sections of the 
 paths of the storms, and at proper distances, and reporting to 
 a central bureau twice each day the slate of things on their re- 
 spective cross sections, would not be a very cumbrous, nor a very 
 expensive thing. The benefit of it, if properly organized, and 
 placed under the control of men who understand, or who will in- 
 form themselves fully and practically in relation to the matter, can 
 scarcely be over-estimated. But the European systems are not 
 models for us, for the paths of our storms and our climatology 
 differ essentially from theirs. 
 
 I appeal secondly to the Journalists of the country, who also 
 are a power in the land, and accustomed to weigh and discuss 
 great questions, to consider whether they do not also owe a like 
 
THE ATMOSPHERIC SYSTEM. 403 
 
 duty to the community with myself and others in relation to the 
 matter, and ask of them an examination of the book, and a full 
 expression of their views, that discussion may be had, the truth 
 eli cited and defended, and the smothering process be no longer 
 possible. 
 
 And I appeal finally to the great body of professional and prac- 
 tical men in the country, to give this matter attention, and see 
 whether an early and radical change in our colleges and schools 
 and text books, is not imperatively called for by the interests of 
 education and knowledge, and all the other material interests of 
 the country, and if so, to institute such measures as may be nec- 
 essary to effect that change. LET TKUTII PREVAIL. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
NOTE I. 
 
 SINCE the foregoing pages were in type Congress has passed the 
 following Resolution : 
 
 JOINT RESOLUTION to authorize the Secretary of War to provide for 
 taking meteorological observations at the military stations and other 
 points in the interior of the continent, and for giving notice on the 
 northern lakes and seaboard of the approach and force of storms. 
 Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary 
 of War be, and he hereby is authorized and required to provide for 
 taking meteorological observations at the military stations in the inte- 
 rior of the continent, and at other points in the States and Territories 
 of the United States, and for giving notice on the northern lakes and 
 on the seacoast, by magnetic telegraph and marine signals, of the ap- 
 proach and force of storms. 
 
 This is well as far it goes. But the Agricultural interest is quite as 
 important as the Marine, and would be quite as much benefited by a 
 proper weather telegraph system. Other special interests would be 
 greatly subserved, and a great general interest gratified. We need, 
 therefore, and sooner or later must have such a system. A few repre- 
 sentative stations, on lines cross-sectioning the focal paths of the condi- 
 tions of the Atlantic System, as I have developed them, reporting through 
 a central Bureau twice a day, in season for the morning and evening 
 newspapers, would suffice. No other benefit of equal importance is, 
 or can be conferred by Government for less money. 
 
 NOTE II. 
 
 I was aware of the memoir and tables of Wolf when I wrote the 
 pages respecting Sun Spots, but I had good reason to doubt the correct- 
 ness of the tables, and of the principle on which they are constructed, 
 and as the tables of Schwabe are sufficiently accurate and reliable, 
 and for a considerable period, I made them alone the basis of my 
 investigation. 
 
 (405) 
 
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