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REPORT
EIGHTEENTH MEETING
;r^„,ftjWi7^>
BRITISH ASSOCIATION
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE;
HELD AT SWANSEA IN AUGUST 1S48.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1849.
PRINTED BY RfCHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
CONTENTS.
Pa^e
Objects and Rules of the Association v
Places of Meeting and Officers from commencement viii
Table of Council from commencement x
Treasurer's Account xii
Officers and Council xiv
Officers of Sectional Committees xv
Corresponding Members xvi
Report of Council to the General Committee xvi
Recommendations for Additional Reports and Researches in Science xxii
Synopsis of Money Grants xxiv
Arrangement of the General Meetings xxix
Address of the President xxxi
REPORTS OF RESEARCHES JN SCIENCE.
A Catalogue of Observations of Luminous Meteors. By the Rev.
Baden Powell, M.A., F.R.S. &c., Savilian Professor of Geometry,
Oxford 1
On Water-pressure Engines. By Joseph Glynn, F.R.S.,M. Inst. C.E.&c. 11
On the Air and Water of Towns, By Robert Angus Smith, Ph.D.,
Manchester 16
Eighth Report of a Committee, consisting of H. E. Strickland, F.G.S.
Prof. Daubeny, Prof. Henslow and Prof. Lindley, appointed to
continue their Experiments on the Growth and Vitality of Seeds ... 31
Fifth Report on Atmospheric Waves. ByW. R. Birt 35
On Colouring Matters. By Edward Schunck, Ph.D 57
IV CONTENTS.
Page
Oil the advantageous use made of the gaseous escape from the Blast
Furnaces at the Ystalyfera Iron Works. By James Palmer Budd 7.5
Report of progress in the investigation of the Action of Carbonic Acid
on the Growth of Plants allied to those of the Coal Formations. By
Robert Hunt S4'
Supplement to the Temperature Tables printed in the Report of the
Britisii Association for 1847. By Professor H. W. Dove, Cor. Memb.
of the British Association; containing 84' additional Stations 84-
Remarks by Professor Dove on his recently constructed Maps of the
Monthly Isothermal Lines of the Globe, and on some of the principal
Conclusions in regard to Climatology deducible from them ; with an
introductory Notice by Lieut.-Col. Edward Sabine, Gen. Sec 85
On the Progress of the investigation on the Influence of Carbonic Acid
on the Growth of Ferns. By Dr. Daubeny 97
Notice of further progress in Anemometrical Researches. By John
Phillips, F.R.S 97
To the Assistant-General Secretary 98
Second Report on the Gaussian Constants. By Adolphe Erman 98
Report relative to the expediency of recommending the continuance of
the Toronto Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory until De-
cember 1850, adopted by a Committee of the British Association at
Swansea, August 1848, consisting of the following Members: — Lord
Wrottesley, Chairman, the Dean of Ely, Rev. Dr. Lloyd, Pre-
sident of the Royal Irish Academy, and Lieut.-Col. Sabine 99
OBJECTS AND RULES
THE ASSOCIATION.
OBJECT S.
The Association contemplates no interference with the ground occupied by
other Institutions. Its objects are, — To give a stronger impulse and a more
systematic direction to scientific inquiry,^to promote the intercourse of those
who cultivate Science in different parts of the British Empire, with one an-
other, and with foreign philosophers, — to obtain a more general attention to
the objects of Science, and a removal of any disadvantages of a public kind
which impede its progress.
RULES.
ADMISSION OF MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES.
All Persons who have attended the first Meeting shall be entitled to be-
come Members of the Association, upon subscribing an obligation to con-
form to its Rules.
The Fellows and Members of Chartered Literary and Philosophical So-
cieties publishing Transactions, in the British Empire, shall be entitled, in
like manner, to become Members of the Association.
The Officers and Members of the Councils, or Managing Committees, of
Philosophical Institutions, shall be entitled, in like manner, to become Mem-
bers of the Association.
All Members of a Philosophical Institution recommended by its Council
or Managing Committee, shall be entitled, in like manner, to become Mem-
bers of the Association.
Persons not belonging to such Institutions shall be elected by the General
Committee or Council, to become Life Members of the Association, Annual
Subscribers, or Associates for the year, subject to the approval of a General
Meeting.
COMPOSITIONS, SUBSCRIPTIONS, AND PRIVILEGES.
Life Members shall pay, on admission, the sum of Ten Pounds. They
shall receive gratuitously the Reports of the Association which may be pub-
lished after the date of such payment. They are eligible to all the offices
of the Association.
Annual Subscribers shall pay, on admission, the sum of Two Pounds,
and in each following year the sum of One Pound. They shall receive
gratuitously the Reports of the Association for the year of their admission
and for the years in which they continue to pay without intermission their
Annual Subscription. By omitting to pay this Subscription in any particu-
lar year. Members of this class (Annual Subscribers) lose for that and all
future years the privilege of receiving the volumes of the Association gratis :
but they may resume their Membership and other privileges at any sub-
sequent Meeting of the Association, paying on each such occasion the sum of
One Pound. They are eligible to all the Offices of the Association.
VI RULES OF THE ASSOCIATION.
Associates for the year shall pay on admission the sum of One Pound.
They shall not receive gratuitously the Reports of the Association, nor be
eligible to serve on Committees, or to hold any office.
The Association consists of the following classes : —
1. Life Members admitted from 1831 to lSi5 inclusive, who have paid
on admission Five Pounds as a composition.
2. Life Members who in 1846, or in subsequent years, have paid on ad-
njission 'I'en Pounds as a composition.
3. Annual Members admitted from 1831 to 1839 inclusive, subject to the
payment of One Pound annually. [May resume their Membership after in-
termission of Annual Payment.]
4. Annual Members admitted in any year since 18S9, subject to the pay-
ment of Two Pounds for the first year, and One Pound in each following
year. [May resume their Membership after intermission of Annual Pay-
ment.]
5. Associates for the year, subject to the payment of One Pound.
6. Corresponding Members nominated by the Council.
And the Members and Associates will be entitled to receive the annual
volume of Reports, gratis, or to purchase it at reduced (or Members') price,
according to the following specification, viz. : —
1. Gratis. — Old Life Members who have paid Five Pounds as a compo-
sition for Annual Payments, and previous to 1845 a further
sum of Two Pounds as a Book Subscription, or, since 1845 a
further sum of Five Pounds.
New Life Members who have paid Ten Pounds as a com-
position.
Annual Members who have not intermitted their Annual Sub-
scription.
2. /4t reduced or Members' Prices. — Old Life Members who have paid
Five Pounds as a composition for Annual Payments, but no
further sum as a Book Subscription.
Annual Members, who have intermitted their Annual Subscrip-
tion in any subsequent year.
Associates for the year. [Privilege confined to the volume for
that year only.]
Subscriptions shall be received by the Treasurer or Secretaries.
MEETINGS.
The Association shall meet annually, for one week, or longer. The place
of each Meeting shall be appointed by the General Committee at the pre-
vious Meeting ; and the Arrangements for it shall be entrusted to the Offi-
cers of the Association.
GENERAL COMMITTEE.
The General Committee shall sit during the week of the Meeting, or
longer, to transact the business of the Association. It shall consist of the
following persons : —
1. Presidents and Officers for the present and preceding years, with au-
thors of Reports in the Transactions of the Association.
2. Members who have communicated any Paper to a Philosophical Society,
which has been printed in its Transactions, and which relates to such subjects
as are taken into consideration at the Sectional Meetings of the Association.
BULBS OF THE ASSOCIATION. vii
S. Office-bearers for the time being, or Delegates, altogether not exceed-
ing three in number, from any Philosophical Society publishing Transactions.
4. Office-bearers for the time being, or Delegates, not exceeding three,
from Philosophical Institutions established in the place of Meeting, or in any
place where the Association has formerly met.
5. Foreigners and other individuals whose assistance is desired, and who
are specially nominated in writing for the meeting of the year by the Presi-
dent and General Secretaries.
6. The Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and Secretaries of the Sections are ex
officio members of the General Committee for the time being.
SECTIONAL COMMITTEES.
The General Committee shall appoint, at each Meeting, Committees, con-
sisting severally of the Members most conversant with the several branches
of Science, to advise together for the advancement thereof.
The Committees shall report what subjects of investigation they would
particularly recommend to be prosecuted during the ensuing year, and
brought under consideration at the next Meeting.
The Committees shall recommend Reports on the state and progress of
particular Sciences, to be drawn up from time to time by competent persons,
for the information of the Annual Meetings.
COMMITTEE OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
The General Committee shall appoint at each Meeting a Committee, which
shall receive and consider the Recommendations of the Sectional Committees,
and report to the General Committee the measures which they would advise
to be adopted for the advancement of Science.
All Recommendations of Grants of Money, Requests for Special Re-
searches, and Reports on Scientific Subjects, shall be submitted to the Com-
mittee of Recommendations, and not taken into consideration by the General
Comniitree, unless previously recommended by the Committee of Recom-
mendations.
LOCAL COMMITTEES.
Local Committees shall be formed by the Officers of the Association to
assist in making arrangements for the Meetings.
Local Committees shall have the power of adding to their numbers those
Members of the Association whose assistance they may desire.
OFFICERS.
A President, two or more Vice-Presidents, one or more Secretaries, and a
Treasurer, shall be annually appointed by the General Committee.
COUNCIL.
In the intervals of the Meetings, the affairs of the Association shall be
managed by a Council appointed by the General Committee. The Council
may also assemble for the despatch of business during the week of the
Meeting.
PAPERS AND COMMUNICATIONS.
The Author of any paper or communication shall be at liberty to reserve
his right of property therein.
ACCOUNTS.
The Accounts of the Association shall be audited annually, by Auditors
appointed by the Meeting.
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MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
II. Table showing the Names of Members of tlie British Association who
have served on the Council in former years.
Acland, Sir Thomas D., Bart., M.P., F.R.S.
Acland, H. W., B.M.
Adamson, J., F.L.S.
Adare, Viscount, M.P., F.R.S.
Airy, G.B., D.C.L., F.R.S., Astronomer Royal.
Ainslie, Rev. Gilbert, D.D., Master of Pem-
broke Hall, Cambridge.
Ansted, Professor D. T., M.A., F.R.S.
Arnott, Neil, M.D., F.R.S.
Ashburton, Lord, D.C.L.
Babbage, Charles, F.R.S.
Babington, C. C, F.L.S.
Baily, Francis, F.R.S.
Barker, George, F.R.S.
Bengough, George.
Bentham, George, F.L.S.
Bigge, Charles.
Blakistou, Pevton, M.D., F.R.S.
Brewster, Sir David, K.IL, LT,.D., F.R.S.
Breadalbane, The Marquis of, F.R.S.
Brisbane, Lieut.-General Sir Thomas M., Bart.,
K.C.B., G.C.H., D.C.L., F.R.S.
Brown, Robert, D.C.L., F.R.S.
Brunei, Sir M. I., F.R.S.
Buckland, Very Rev. William, D.D., Dean of
Westminster, F R.S.
Burlington, The Earl of, M.A., F.R.S., Chan-
cellor of the University of London.
Bute, The Marquis of, K.T.
Carson, Rev. Joseph.
Cathcart, Tlie Earl, K.C.B., F.R.S.E.
Chalmers, Rev. T., D.D., Professor of Di-
vinitv, Edinburgh.
Christie, Professor S. H., M.A., Sec. R.S.
Clare, Peter, F.R.A.S.
Clark, Rev. Professor, M.D., F.R.S. (Cam-
bridge).
Clark, Henry, M.D.
Clark, G. T.
Gierke, Major Shadwell, K.IL, R.E., F.R.S.
Clift, William, F.R.S.
Colquhoun, J. C, M.P.
Convbeare,Vei-vRev. W. D, Dean of Llandaff,
'M.A., F.R'.S.
Corrie, John, F.R.S.
Currie, William Wallace.
Dalton, John, D.C.L., F.R.S.
Daniell, Professor J. F., F.R.S.
Dartmouth, The Earl of, D.C.L., F.R.S.
Daubenv, Professor Charles G. B., M.D.,
F.R.S.
De la Beche, Sir Henr)' T., F.R.S., Director-
General of the Geological Survey of the
United Kingdom.
Dillwyn, Lewis W., F.R.S.
Drinkwater, J. E.
Durham, The Bishop of, F.R.S.
Egerton, Sir Philip de M. Grey, Bart., F.R.S.
Eliot, Lord, M.P.
Ellesmere, The Earl of, F.G.S.
Estcourt, T. G. B., D.C.L.
Faraday, Professor, D.C.L., F.R.S.
Fitzwilliam, Tiie Earl, D.C.L., F.R.S.
Fleming, W., M.D.
Forbes, Charles.
Forbes, Professor Edward, F.R.S.
Forbes, Professor J. D., F.R.S.
Fox, Robert Were, F.R.S.
Gilbert, Davies, D.C.L., F.R.S.
Graham, Rev. John, D.D., Master of Christ's
College, Cambridge.
Graham, Professor Thomas, M.A., F.R.S.
Gray, John E., F.R.S.
Gray, Jonathan.
Gray, William, jun., F.G.S.
Green, Professor Joseph Henry, F.R.S.
Greenough, G. B., F.R.S.
Grove, W. R., Esq., F.R.S.
HaUam, Henry, M.A., F.R.S.
Hamilton, W. J., U.P., Sec.G.S.
Hamilton, Sir William R., Astronomer Royal
of Ireland, M.R.I.A.
Harcourt, Rev. William Vernon, M.A., F.R.S.
Hardwcke, The Earl of,
Harford, J. S., D.C.L., F.R.S.
Harris, Sir W. Snow, F.R.S.
Hatfeild, William, F.G.S.
Henslow, Rev. Professor, M.A., F.L.S.
Henry, W. C, M.D., F.R.S.
Herbert, Hon. and Very Rev. William, Dean
of Manchester, LL.D., F.L.S.
Herschel, Sir John F.W., Bart.,D.C.L., F.R.S.
Heywood, Sir Benjamin, Bart., F.R.S.
Heywood, James, M.P., F.R.S.
Hodgkiu, Thomas, M.D.
Hodgkinson, Prof. Eaton, F.R.S.
Hodgson, Joseph, F.R.S.
Hooker, Sir William J., LL.D., F.R.S.
Hope, Rev. F.W., M.A., F.R.S.
Hopkins, William, M.A., F.R.S.
Horner, Leonard, F.R.S., F.G.S.
Hovenden, V. F., M.A.
Button, Robert, F.G.S.
Hutton, William, F.G.S.
Ibbetson, Capt., F.G.S.
Inglis,SirRobertH.,Bart.,D.C.L.,M.P.,F.R.S.
Jameson, Professor R., F.R.S.
Jenyns, Rev. Leonard, F.L.S.
Jerrard, H. B.
Johnston, Professor J.F. W., M.A., F.R.S.
Keleher, William.
Lardner, Rev. Dr.
Lee, R.,M.D., F.R.S.
Lansdowne, The Marquis of, D.C.L., F.R.S.
Latham, R.G., M.D., F.R.S.
Lefevre, Right Hon. Charles Shaw, Speaker
of the House of Commons.
Lemon, Sir Charles, Bart., M.P., F.R.S.
Liddell, Andrew.
Lindley, Professor, Ph.D., F.R.S.
Listowel, The Earl of.
Lloyd, Rev. Bartholomew, D.D., Provost of
Trinity College, Dublin.
Lloyd, Rev. Professor, D.D., F.R S,
MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
XI
Lubbock, Sir John W., Bart., M.A., F.R.S.
Luby, Rev. Thomas.
LyeU, Sir Charles, M.A., F.R.S.
MacCullagh, Professor, D.C.L., M.R.I.A.
Macfarlaue, The Very Rev. Principal.
MacLeay, William Sharp, F.L.S.
MacNeiU, Professor Sir John, F.R.S.
Meynell, Thomas, Jun., F.L.S.
MUler, Professor W. H., M.A., F.R.S.
Moillet, J. L.
Moggridge, Matthew.
Moody, T. H. C.
Moody, T. F.
Morley, The Earl of.
Morpeth, Viscount, F.G.S.
Moseley, Rev. Henry, M.A., F.R.S.
Mount Edgecumbe, The Earl of.
Murchison, Sir Roderick L, G.C.S., F.R.S.
NeiU, Patrick, M.D., F.R.S.E.
Nicol, D., M.D.
Nicol, Rev. J. P., LL.D.
Northumberland, The Duke of, K.G., M.A.,
F.R.S.
Nortliampton, The Marquis of, V.P.R.S.
Norwich, The Bishop of. President of the
Linnaean Society, F.R.S.
Ormerod, G. \V., F.G.S.
Orpen, Thomas Herbert, M.D.
Owen, Professor Richard, M.D., F.R.S.
Oxford, The Bishop of, F.R.S., F.G.S.
Osier, Follett.
Palmerston, Viscount, G.C.B., M.P.
Peacock, Very Rev. George, D.D., Dean of
Ely, V.P.R.S.
Pendarves, E., F.R.S.
PhilUps, Professor John, F.R.S.
Porter, G. R., Esq.
Powell, Rev. Professor, M.A., F.R.S.
Prichard, J. C., M.D., F.R.S.
Ramsay, Professor W., M.A.
Rennie', George, V.P.&Treas.R.S.
Rennie, Su- John, F.R.S.
Richardson, Sir John, M.D., F.R.S.
Ritchie, Rev. Professor, LL.D., F.R.S.
Robinson, Rev. J., D.D.
Robmson, Rev. T. R., D.D., M.R.LA..
Robison, Sir John, Sec.R.S.Edin.
Roche, James.
Roget, Peter Mark, M.D., F.R.S.
Ross, Capt. Sk James C, R.N., F.R.S.
Rosse, The Earl of, President of the Royal
Societv.
Royle, Professor John F., M.D., F.R.S.
Russell, James.
Sabine, Lieut.-Colonel Edward, R.A., For.
Sec.R.S.
Sanders, William, F.G.S.
Sandon, Lord.
Scoresbv, Rev. W., D.D., F.R.S.
Sedgwick, Rev. Professor, M.A., F.R.S.
Selby, Prideaux John, F.R.S.E.
Smith, Lieut.-Colonel C. Hamilton, F.R.S.
Staunton, Sir George T., Bart., M.P., D.C.L.,
F.R.S.
Stevelly, Professor John, LL.D.
Strang, John.
Strickland, H. E., F.G.S.
Sykes, Lieut.-Colonel W. H., F.R.S.
Symons, B.P.,D.D., late Vice-Chancellor of
the University of Oxford.
Talbot, W. H. Fox, M.A., F.R.S.
Tayler, Rev. J. J.
Tavlor, John, F.R.S.
Taylor, Richard, jun., F.G.S.
Thompson, WiUiam, F.L.S.
Traill, J. S., M.D.
Turner, Edward, M.D., F.R.S.
Turner, Samuel, F.R.S., F.G.S.
Turner, Rev. W.
Vigors, N. A., D.C.L., F.L.S.
Vivian, J. H., M.P., F.R.S.
Walker, James, F.R.S.
Walker, J. N., F.G.S.
Walker, Rev. Robert, M.A., F.R.S.
Warburton, Henry, M.A., M.P., F.R.S.
Washington, Captain, R.N.
West, WUUam, F.R.S.
Wheatstone, Professor, F.R.S.
AVhewell, Rev. William, D.D., Master of
Trinity College, Cambridge.
Williams, Professor Charles J. B., M.D., F.R.S.
Willis, Rev. Professor, M.A., F.R.S.
Winchester, Tiie Marquis of.
Woollcombe, Henrv, F.S.A.
Wortley, The Hon.' John Stuart, B.A., M.P.,
F.R.S.
Yarrell, WiUiam, F.L.S.
Yarborough, The Earl of, D.C.L.
Yates, James, M.A., F.R.S.
BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE
THE GENERAL TREASURER'S ACCOUNT from 23rd of June
RECEIPTS.
£ s. d. £ s. d.
To Balance brought on from last Account 169 15 2
To Life Compositions at Oxford and since 200
To Annual Subscriptions Ditto 207
To Associates' Subscriptions at Oxford 495
To Ladies' Tickets Ditto 203
To Book Compositions 2
To Dividends on Stock (£4500 three per cent. Consols) 18 mos. 196 12
To received from Sale of Publications : —
Copies of the 1st volume 2 10 6
2nd volume 3 5 8
3rd volume 2 15
4th volume 1 13 4
5th volume 1 16 10
6th volume 2 9
7th volume 3 5
8th volume 4 11
9th volume 5 12
10th volume 4 13 8
11th volume 3 5 3
12th volume 2 18 6
13th volume 10 7 4
14th volume 8 18
15th volume 62 2
16th volume 10 2 10
Lithograph Signatures 12
British Association's Catalogue of Stars 63 16 11
Lalande's Catalogue of Stars 34 4
Lacaille's Ditto 5 13
232 15 6
To Balance due to the General Treasurer 10 13 10
Ditto Local Treasurers 3 9 5
14 3 3
Less, Balance in Banker's hands 4 15 5
Leaving Balance against the Account of 9 7 10
£1715 10 6
G. R. PORTER
JAMES HEYWOOD
,}
Auditors.
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.
184.7 (at Oxford) to 9th of August 1848 (at Swansea).
PAYMENTS.
£ s.
For Sundry Printing, Advertising, Expenses of Oxford Meeting,
and Sundry Disbursements by Treasurer and Local Trea-
surers
Paid Balance of Printing, 15th Report (14th vol.)
Printing, &c. 16th Report (15th vol.)
Engraving, &c. for 17th Report (16th vol.)
Salaries to Assistant General Secretary and Accountant ,
Paid by order of Committees on Account of Grants for Scientific
purposes, viz. —
Researches on Atmospheric Waves 3 10
Vitality of Seeds 9 15
Completion of Catalogues of Stars 70
Researches on Colouring Matters 5
Acid on the Growth of Plants 15
Maintaining the Establishment at Kew Observatory : —
Balance of Grant of 1846 42 11
Part of Grant of 1847 129 4
448
1
1
81
1
7
508
6
2
28
375
9
103 5 9
171 15 11
£1715 10 6
OFFICERS AND COUNCIL,
OFFICERS AND COUNCIL, 1848-49.
Trustees (permanent).— Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, G.C.S'.S., F.R.S.
John Taylor, Esq., F.R.S. The Very Reverend George Peacock, D.D.,
Dean of Ely, F.R.S.
President. — The Marquis of Northampton, V.P.R.S,
Vice-Presidents. — Viscount Adare. The Lord Bishop of St. David's.
Sir H. T. De la Beche, F.R.S. The Very Rev. The Dean of LlandafT.
Lewis W. Dillwyn, Esq., F.R.S. W. R. Grove, Esq., F.R.S. J. H. Vivian,
Esq., M.P., F.R.S.
President Elect.— Rev. T. R. Robinson, D.D., M.R.I.A., F.R.A.S.
Vice-Presidents Elect. — The Earl of Harrowby. The Lord Wrottesley,
F.R.S. Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, Bart., D.C.L., M.P., F.R.S. Charles
Darwin, Esq., M.A., F.R.S. Professor Faraday, D.C.L., F.R.S. Sir
David Brewster, K.H., LL.D., F.R.S. Rev. Professor Willis, M.A., F.R.S.
General Secretary. — Lieut. -Col. Sabine, For. Sec. R.S., Woolwich.
Assistant General Secretary. — John Phillips, Esq., F.R.S., York.
General Treasurer. — John Taylor, Esq., F.R.S., 2 Duke Street, Adelphi,
London.
Secretaries for the Birmingham Meeting in 1849. — Charles Tindale, Esq.
William Wills, Esq. Bell Fletcher, Esq., M.D. James T. Chance, Esq.
Treasurer for the Meeting at Birmingham. — James Russell, Esq.
Council. — Professor Ansted. Major Shadwell Clerke (deceased). Prof.
E. Forbes. Prof. T. Graham. G. B. Greenough, Esq. W. J. Hamilton,
Esq. James Heywood, Esq. Prof. E. Hodgkinson. Leonard Horner,
Esq. Robert Hutton, Esq. Capt. Ibbetson. Sir R. H. Inglis, Bart. Dr.
R. G. Latham. Sir Charles Lemon, Bart. Sir Charles Lyell. Sir C.
Malcolm. Prof. Owen. G. R. Porter, Esq. Dr. Roget. J. Scott Russell,
Esq. William Spence, Esq. H. E. Strickland, Esq. Lieut. -Col. Sykes.
Rev. Professor Walker. The Dean of Westminster. Prof. Wheatstone.
Rev. Dr. Whewell.
Local Treasurers. — W. Gray, Esq., York. Rev. E. Hill, Oxford.
C. C. Babington, Esq., Cambridge. William Brand, Esq., Edinburgh.
J. H. Orpen, LL.D., Dublin. William Sanders, Esq., Bristol. ,
Liverpool. , Newcastle-on-Tyne. James Russell, Esq., Birming-
ham. Professor Ramsay, Glasgow. ■ , Plymouth. G. W. Ormerod,
Esq., Manchester. William Clear, Esq., Cork. J. Sadleir Moody, Esq.,
Southampton. John Gwyn Jeffreys, Swansea.
Auditors — Major Shadwell Clerke (deceased). James Heywood, Esq.
G. R. Porter, Esq.
OFFICERS OF SECTIONAIi COMMITTEES. XV
OFFICERS OF SECTIONAL COMMITTEES AT THE
SWANSEA MEETING.
SECTION A. MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE.
President.— -LorA Wrottesley, F.R.S.
Vice-Presidents.— The Dean of Ely, F.R.S. Rev. Dr. Whewell, F.R.S.
Lord Adare, F.R.S. Sir D. Brewster, F.R.S.
Secretaries. — Dr. Stevelly. G. G. Stokes.
SECTION B. CHEMICAL SCIENCE, INCLUDING ITS APPLICATION TO
AGRICULTURE AND THE ARTS.
President, — Richard Phillips, Esq., F.R.S.
Vice-Presidents.—"^. R. Grove, Esq., F.R.S. Dr. Faraday, F.R.S. Dr.
Percy, F.R.S. John Dillwyn Llewelyn, Esq., F.R.S.
Secretaries. — Thomas Williams, Esq., M.D. Thomas H. Henry, Esq.,
F.R.S. Robert Hunt, Esq.
SECTION C. GEOLOGY AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
President Sir H. T. De la Beche, C.B., F.R.S., Pres. G.S.
Vice-Presidents. — G. B. Greenoiigh, Esq., F.R.S. The Dean of Llandaff,
F.R.S. The Dean of Westminster, F.R.S. Sir Philip Egerton, Bart.,
F.R-S.
Secretaries. — Starling Benson, Esq. Professor Oldham, F.R.S. Pro-
fessor Ramsay, F.G.S.
SECTION D. ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, INCLUDING PHYSIOLOGY.
President. — L. W. Dillwyn, Esq., F.R.S.
Vice-Presidents. — L. L. Dillwyn, Esq., F.G.S. W. Spence, Esq., F.R.S.
G, Benthara, Esq., F.L.S. N. Wallich, M.D., F.R.S.
Secretaries. — E. Lankester, M.D., F.R.S. R. Wilbraham Falconer, M.D.
A. Henfrey, Esq., F.L.S.
SUBSECTION OF ETHNOLOGY.
Vice-Presidents.— B.. G. Latham, Esq., M.D., F.R.S. Rev. J. M. Tra-
herne, F.R.S. Dr. C. Meyer. Dr. Hodgkin.
Secretary. — Geo. Grant Francis, Esq., F.S.A.
SECTION F. — STATISTICS.
President.— J . H. Vivian, Esq., M.P., F.R.S,
Vice-Presidents.— Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., M.P., F.R.S. Thomas Tooke,
Esq., F.R.S. Lieut.-Col. W. H. Sykes, F.R.S.
Secretaries. — Joseph Fletcher, Esq. Capt. Robert Shortrede.
SECTION G. MECHANICS.
President.— The Rev, Professor Walker, M.A., F.R.S.
Vice-Presidents. — Joseph Glynn, Esq., F.R.S. John Scott Russell, Esq.,
F.R.S.E. John Taylor, Esq., F.R.S.
Secretaries. — R. Arthur Le Mesurier, Esq., M.A. William Price Struve,
Esq.
REPORT — 1848.
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.
Professor Agassiz, Neufchatel.
M. Arago, Paris.
Dr. A. D. Baclie, Pliiladelpliia.
Professor H. von Boguslawski, Bres-
lau.
Monsieur Boiuigny (d'Evreux), Paris.
Professor Braschinann, Moscow.
Chevalier Biinsen.
Charles Buonaparte, Prince of Canino.
M. De la Rive, Geneva.
Professor Dove, Berlin.
Professor Dumas, Paris.
Dr. J. Milne-EcUvards of Paris.
Professor Ehrenberg, Berlin.
Dr. Eisenlohr, Carlsruhe.
Professor Encke, Berlin.
Dr. A. Erman, Berlin.
Professor Esmark, Christiania.
ProfessorForchhammer,Copenhagen.
M. Frisiani, Milan.
Professor Henry, Princeton, United
States.
Baron Alexander von Humboldt,
Berlin.
M. Jacobi, St. Petersburg.
Professor Jacobi, Konigsberg.
Professor Kreil, Prague.
M. Kupffer, St. Petersburg.
Dr. Langberg, Christiania.
M. Leverrier, Paris.
Baron de Selys-Longcliamps, Liege.
Dr. Lamont, Munich.
Baron von Liebig, Giessen.
Professor Link, Berlin.
Professor Matteucci, Pisa.
Professor von MiddendorfF, St. Pe-
tersburg.
Piofessor Nillson of Sweden.
Dr. (Ersted, Copenhagen.
Chevalier Plana, Turin.
M. Qiietelet, Brussels.
Herr Pliicker, Bonn.
Professor C. Ritter, Berlin.
Professor H. D. Rogers, Philadelphia.
Professor H. Rose, Berlin.
Professor Schumacher, Altona.
Baron Senftenberg, Bohemia.
Dr. Siljestrom, Stockholm.
M. Struve of St. Petersburg.
Dr. Svanberg, Stockholm.
Dr. Van der Hdven, Leyden.
Baron Sartorius von Waltershausen,
Gotha.
Professor Wartmann, Lausanne.
Report of the Proceedings of the Council in 1847-48, presented to the
General Committee at Swansea, Wednesday, August 0, 1848.
Report of the Council to the General Committee.
1. With reference to the subjects on which tlie Council was requested by
the General Committee, assembled at Oxford, to make applications to Her
Majesty's Government and to the Court of Directors of the East India Com-
pany, the Council has to report, that similar resolutions to those of the General
Committee having been passed by the Council of the Royal Society, appli-
cations in accordance with ti'.em were made by the Presidents of that Society
and of the British Association, acting conjointly, and were favourably received.
On the subject of the first resolution, the Council understand from Lord
Auckland's reply, that the Board of Admiralty will appropriate a suitable
vessel for the purpose of an investigation into the Phaanomena of the Tides,
as soon as the most advisable plan for her employment shall have been deter-
mined upon, and proper instructions suggested. With respect to the second
resolution, the Court of Directors of the East India Company have issued
orders for carrying into regular and continued operation the tide observations
on the coasts of Western India and Scinde ; — and with respect to the third
resohition, the Court of Directors liave placed the standard bar and scale of
the Indian arc of tlie meridian at the disposal of M. Struve, and have per-
mitted him to take it with him to Russia, in order that it may be there com-
REPORT OP THE COUNCIL. XVll
pared with the similar instruments which have been employed in the measure-
ments of the Russian arc of the meridian,
2. The Council have been informed, that a deputation from the Philoso-
phical Society of Birmingham has been appointed to present, at this Meeting,
an invitation from that Society and from other public bodies at Birmingham,
to the British Association, to hold the Meeting of 1849 in that town.
3. The Council have received from Mr. Phillips, Assistant General Se-
cretary, a communication entitled "Reasons for thinking that the Annual
Meetings of the British Association ought not to be restricted to places which
present formal invitations and guarantees of expenses." Considering the
importance of the subject, and the respect due to the opinions of so experi-
enced and zealous a friend of the Association, the Council have deemed it
desirable that Mr. Phillips's communication should be brought to the notice
of the General Committee on the occasion of presenting this Report : but
having been apprised that an invitation is. to be brought forward at Swansea
to hold the Meeting of 1849 at Birmingham, and regarding this invitation
as likely to be very favourably received, it has not appeared to the Council
desirable to take any other present steps in reference to the subject of Mr.
Phillips's communication, than that of bringing the communication itself to
the notice of the General Committee. (See page xxi).
4. The Council have added the following names to the list of Correspond-
ing Members of the British Association : —
M. Struve of St. Petersburg.
M. Leverrier of Paris.
Charles Buonaparte, Prince of Canino.
The Chevalier Bunsen.
Professor Nillson of Sweden.
Professor Esmark of Christiania.
Dr. Van der Hoven of Leyden.
Dr. J. Milne-Edwards of Paris.
5. The Council have deemed it desirable to take into serious consideration
the expediency of maintaining for a longer period the establishment at Kew ;
for this purpose they reappointed the Committee whose former report on the
same subject was submitted to the General Committee at Southampton in
1846, and they now submit to the General Committee a second report from
the same Committee. The Council have also to express their concurrence
in the opinions contained in that report, with respect to the services which
have been rendered to science by that institution, even on the limited scale
on which alone it has been in the power of the British Association to maintain
it ; and to the probability that ere long the interests of science and the re-
quirements of the public service will call for a Government establishment,
having for its purpose some of the important objects originally contemplated
by the observatory at Kew. The Council also concur in the opinion ex-
pressed by the Committee, of the. expediency of deferring for the present a
memorial to Her Majesty's Government on the subject.
Report of the Kew Observatory Committee.
The Committee appointed to consider the subject of the Kew Observatory
having obtained from Mr. Ronalds a report on the actual state of the building,
the instruments and other property of the Association therein deposited, as
well as respecting the observations and experiments made there up to the
present time, are enabled to state to the Council as respects the former, that
1848. c
xviii REPORT — 1848.
they are in a satisfactory condition, the building having undergone recently
(on the representation by Mr. Ronalds to the Commissioners of Woods and
Forests, in September 1847, of their necessity) such external repairs as suffice
for its preservation, and that the instruments, such as are actually in use, are
in good order and accomplishing the purposes of observation for which they
have been constructed. An inventory of them has been furnished to the
Committee by Mr. Ronalds, who is at present engaged in making out a com-
plete catalogue of all the property of the Association on the premises.
In reporting on the scientific objects accomplished since their last report
in 1846, they consider that they cannot do better than to extract such por-
tions of Mr. Ronalds's reports above mentioned as bear upon this head.
" The journal of ordinary observations has proceeded as usual ; fourteen
observations per diem have been pretty constantly set down of electric ob-
servations.
" In the course of August 1846, many of the magnetic photographs were
submitted to a rigid comparison with the corrected readings of the Greenwich
magnet, and the result was officially declared to be ' highly satisfactory.'
" In the same month Dr. Banks brought an experimental specimen of his
registering anemometer to Kew, and tried it at the north-eastern angle of the
electric observatory.
" In September the third volume of Observations and Experiments was
completed and carried to the Southampton Meeting of the British Association.
" In December 184G, having by experience (since the beginning of August
1845) found that my preliminary expeiiments, made upon a thermometer, a
barometer, and an electrometer, each placed in the same camera or micro-
scope alternateli/f fidly warranted the cost of constructing apparatus of a
durable and convenient character for eacli instrument, I began to make (at
Chiswick) the photo-registering barometer, now at Kew, and spent several
months in its completion. It is furnished with a compensating apparatus
(on the principle of the gridiron-pendulum), whereby the necessity of a cor-
rection for temperature is certainly to a great extent, if not completely,
avoided ; it has one of Newman's standard tubes, and the image of the sur-
face of the mercury itself is employed totally unencumbered by any ball, plug,
float, or machinery of any kind ; the mercury is therefore as free to act in
this as in any standard barometer. And it can be at any time used without
the compensating apparatus, if that should be deemed objectionable. The
same time-piece moves this and the magnetic apparatus.
"In May 1847, the magnetic apparatus was improved by the substitution
of new lenses by Ross in lieu of Voightlander's. This enlarged the scale of
declination.
" In January 1847, a complete electrical apparatus, exactly similar to mine
in the dome at Kew for ordinary observations, was begun by Mr. Newman,
by order of the East India Company, for the Bombay Observatory, and after-
wards sent. Drawings were lent, instructions given, and electrometers made
to correspond exactly with the Kew instruments.
*' In November 1846, drawings relative to Mr. Scott Russell's experiments
on the forms of vessels arrived at Kew, and I afterwards tried hard to get
possession of the models themselves (in pursuance of a resolution of the As-
sociation), but without success.
" In May 1847, Mr. Hunt's actinometer arrived at Kew.
"In June 1847, the fourth volume of observations was completed and car-
ried to the Oxford Meeting.
" At this meeting some conversation, &c. occurred about establishing an
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. XIX
electro-meteorological and tnagnetical observatory at Alten, in Finmark, and
proposing to furnish some electrical apparatus from Kew and of my own, but
nothing has been achieved in this way.
"In September 1847, repairs of the building becoming more urgent, I
addressed a third application to the Woods and Forests through Mr. Phillips,
and a new estimate for complete external and internal repairs was made,
amounting to £271. The Commissioners, Mr. Milne, Mr. Burton, and Mr.
Phillips, then visited the Observatory, examined it, and the apparatus, &c.,
and very soon afterwards all such repairs were executed as were fully suffi-
cient to render it at least wind- and water-tight, which rendered a great
service to the magnet.
" In November 1847, the magnetical apparatus was improved by the ad-
dition of a second condensing lens, placed beyond and very near to the index,
and by an adjustment for the height of the lamp.
" At about the same time the barometric apparatus was improved by like
means.
" In December 1847, the apparatus for registering photographically the
electricity of the atmosphere now established at the south window of the
south upper apartment (in pursuance of the experiments made in July and
August 1 845 et seq.) was in course of construction, and was completed in
February 1848.
" I took much pains in the course of several months prior and subsequent
to this time to arrange a system whereby photographic papers might be put
into the microscopes (or camera) daily, and sent to Mr. Henneman's establish-
ment, in Regent-street, to be there fixed and calotyped, and the positive
impressions thence distributed to any meteorologists whom the British Asso-
ciation might think proper to appoint to receive them. These endeavours
have been zealously promoted by Mr. Malone, and will become, I trust,
useful.
" We now arrive at a circumstance which I (of course) cannot but esteem
of importance. In Mr. Glaisher's remarks on the weather during the quarter
ending December 31, 1847, for the Registrar-General's Report (at p. 2), he
says, in reference to the Greenwich electrical apparatus, — ' It is a fact well-
worthy of notice, that from the beginning of this quarter till the 20th of
December, the electricity of the atmosphere was almost always in a neutral
state, so that no signs of electricity whatever were shown for several days
together, by any of the electrical instruments,' &c. At this notice I sent to
Greenwich an abstract from our journal of the maxima and minima of the
two-hourly charges of the conductor during the same period, by which it
was seen that the electricity of the atmosphere at Kew was iiever in a neutral
state then, and I found that so low a charge was never observed during that
time as has been observed in other periods. These circumstances were can-
didly stated in the next report. It was thought that this discrepancy be-
tween the two conductors, &c. might arise, wholly or in part, from the great
length of the conducting wire, which extends from the top of the mast at
Greenwich to the magnetic observatory, where the electrometers are placed.
Both theory and experiment fully confirm my belief that this was the chief
cause of the difference, and is the cause of a want of constancy in signs at
Greenwich. (A few experiments upon my own conductor with a long wire
have lately confirmed the fact still more.)"
On this report the Committee have to remark with satisfaction, as on
scientific objects usefully and availably carried out, — 1st. On the photogra-
c 2
XX REPORT — 1848.
phic self-registering processes which Mr. Ronalds has applied to the several
objects of magnetic and meteorological observation — processes which (with-
out reference to, or comparison witli, what may have been doing simulta-
neously elsewhere or by others) appear to the Committee of much value and
importance to the future progress of meteorological and magnetic inquiry ;
and, 2ndly, on the valuable series of electrical observations which have
now been made during five years, and during the last three and a half at
2-hourly intervals day and night uninterruptedly, with observations also at
sunrise and sunset. As these observations afford what it is presumed are not
to be found at all, or at all events not for so long and consecutive a series,
distinct numerical values of the electrical tension comparable at least inter se,
tlie Committee have considered that they ought to undergo regular and
complete reduction and discussion, with a view to eliciting from them the
laws of the phaenomena ; and on this subject they have conferred with Mr.
Birt, who has submitted to them a plan of reduction which they regard as
satisfactory, and which he is willing to execute on a grant of £50 being made
to him for that purpose ; a sum which they consider not excessive, and which
they strongly recommend the Council to propose to the general body at the
ensuing meeting.
On the subject of the comparability of these results with those obtained,
or to be hereafter obtained at Greenwich or elsewhere, it certainly would be
desirable that some distinct series of comparative trials should be made ; and
the Committee would have considered the execution of such a series an im-
portant practical object to be accomplished during the next year of the con-
tinuance of the observatory, but for considerations which it is now their duty
to state.
Tlie question as to the expediency of continuing the present expenditure
of the establishment has occupied the anxious attention of the Committee,
conceiving that the Council, by making mention of it in their resolution of
April 14, is desirous of having their opinion on this head. In endeavouring
to form a sound one, they have taken into consideration the state of the
funds of the Association, and also the circumstances of the establishment
itself, which they are of opinion cannot for the future, or even for a single
additional year, be carried on in a manner satisfactory to the Association oti
so low a scale of expenditure as that which, by a fortunate conjunction of
personal circumstances eminently favourable, has hitherto been found prac-
ticable ; and thai in fact, to carry out fully some of the most important
objects which have all along been contemplated in its occupation by the
Association, a very considerable increase of outlay would, in their opinion,
be annually necessary. Such increase however, in the actual state of the
funds of the Body, they are by no means prepared to recommend — since
they perceive that even the present expenditure (could they guarantee that
it shall not be exceeded) must prove a drain upon those funds for which the
amount of scientific advantage to be expected from it on a scale of action so
limited, will not be held an adequate return. Entertaining this view of the
matter, and conceiving it equally inexpedient either to attempt to raise by
private subscription an annual amount adequate to the object, or to apply
to Government for aid (although they consider it by no means impossible
that ere long the exigences of the public service may require an establish-
ment, having for its object some of the most-important of those contemplated
in this), they see no course open but to recommend its discontinuance from
the earliest period at which it shall be found practicable, leaving it to the
k
REPORT OP THE COUNCIL. XXI
Committee to ascertain (should the Council adopt this view) the most fitting
mode of procedure for resigning it into the hands of Government, who have
so liberally allowed the Association its temporary occupation.
* Signed on the part of the Committee,
J. F. W. Herschei.
Reasons for thinking that the Annual Meetings of the British Association
ought not to be restricted to places which present formal invitations and
guarantees of expenses.
1. '• By the rules of the Association, the General Committee has the duty
of appointing the place, time and officers of the annual Meetings.
2. " By custom, this power has been limited to places which present invita-
tions, to times suitable for those places, and to officers more or less indicated
by local circumstances.
8. " The practice of obeying local invitations has been productive of good
and evil : good by the spontaneous awakening of many important places to
scientific activity ; evil by the introduction of elements of display, temporary
expedients, and unnecessary expense. These have somewhat impaired the
efficiency of the Meetings, by withdrawing attention and consuming time
which could ill be spared from the essential business of one scientific week.
4. " It is the opinion of the writer, that the balance of good and evil in
this practice will become less and less favourable to the Association as time
goes on ; that by its operation the Meetings of the Association are likely to
be made more dependent on commercial and other extrinsic considerations
than on advantages of locality ; that places in the highest degree desirable
to be visited may not present invitations and guarantees ; that invitations
which it may be difficult to refuse may be pressed from places quite unsuit-
able for the Meeting ; and that, finally, the Association may be reduced,
not seldom, to the necessity of suspending its Meetings, or of seeing them
poorly attended by unwilling members, unfruitful of knowledge and unpro-
ductive of money.
5. " He thinks the proper way to prevent these misfortunes is to declare
that in making arrangements for the future Meetings, the General Com-
mittee will be guided by general considerations, and will regard as only one
of the elements for its decision, the circumstance of special invitations from
particular localities.
6. " And he thinks that this declaration should not be delayed beyond the
Swansea Meeting, where we may speak from the vantage-ground of a very
unanimous invitation from a place of singular attractions.
" He farther remarks that this plan will throw no discredit on invitations,
which, as part of the elements for fixing on the places of Meeting, will still be
acceptable and influential. Places presenting them, will still have the ad-
vantage, and often the preference, which such proof of scientific activity may
deserve. The invitations will perhaps be as numerous after, as they have
been before the change.
" There is no change necessary in respect of the previous arrangements,
which must still include inspection of the localities, consultation with resi-
dents, &c. before the General Committee can be called on to decide.
" He will now say a few words on the financial part of this question.
" The system upon which the Association has been worked of late years,
produces an expenditure of nearly £750 for the local expenses of rooms,
printing, clerks and messengers, &c. at each Meeting. Of this £500 has
been raised by local contributions, and the remainder paid by the British
XXU REPORT — 1848.
Association. This expenditure is not nil necessary. It arises in part from
the system of accepting invitations and requiring guarantees. He estimates
that £500 will be fully sufficient, if placed under his own management, to
conduct a full meeting of the Association at a place previously selected. He
even thinks £<l-00 might be enough, if the sections be reduced to five (by
uniting A and G), and care be taken in the appointment of clerks, messengers
and printers.
" To provide for this expense, the Association must find the means of de-
voting £150 a year (at least) in addition to its present annual payments.
But will this be all spent in vain ? all lost ? He thinks not. There is in the pre-
sent system of raising local funds, a circumstance not to be overlooked which
is productive of much loss to the Association. By raising so many hundred
pounds at each place in the way of contribution to local expenses, there is
really abstracted much from the contribution to the general purposes of the
Association. Only a certain sum can be raised in the place, and the larger
the contribution required for local objects, the fewer are the members, and
the smaller the receipts of the Association. Gentlemen who might have
paid £l 0, pay £2 ; those who might have paid £2, are content with paying
£1 ; and in some cases the very demand of a local contribution has driven a
member from the ranks of the Association.
" Again, by selecting for our place of meeting a central accessible point in
an interesting district, where science has food and life, we may expect to
secure a large local attendance of new members, and yet not lose our friends
from a distance. But it has happened that a meeting by invitation has been
so ill attended from public occurrences and peculiarities, as to cause a
loss of many times £150 to the Association Treasury.
"Finally, as by this plan we do not preclude ourselves from the advantage
of accepting invitations from the universities and large towns, but on the
contrary can afford to wait for the years which may be most convenient to those
places, there seems no objection of much strength to forbid the trial of it.
" In this case he would call attention to Derby, as centrally situated, very
accessible, in a very interesting country which has not been visited, and by
no means deficient in scientific activity. Derby affords abundant accommo-
dation."
Recommendations adopted by the General Committee at the
Swansea Meeting in August 1849.
Involving Application to Government.
That the President and General Secretary be authorised to apply to Her
Majesty's Government for the continuation of the Meteorological and Mag-
netical Observatory at Toronto, up to the 31st of December 1850.
Involving Grants of Money.
That Mr. Birt be requested to undertake the Reduction and Discussion
of the Electrical Observations made at Kevv, with the sum of £50 at his
disposal for the purpose.
That the sum of £100 be placed at the disposal of the Council, for the
expenses of Kew Observatory.
That Sir H. T. De la Beche,Sir William Hooker, Dr. Daubeny, Mr. Hen-
frey, and Mr. Hunt, be requested to investigate the action of Carbonic Acid
on the growth of Plants allied to those of the Coal-formation, with the balance
of the original grant (£5) at their disposal.
RESEARCHES IN SCIENCE. XXIU
That Mr. Spence and Mr. T. V, Wollaston be a Committee for the pur-
pose of assisting Mr. Newport in drawing up a Report on Scorpionidae and
Tracheary Arachnidse, with the sum of £10 at their disposal.
That Professor E. Forbes and Professor T. Bell he a Committee for as-
sisting Dr. T. Williams in drawing up a Report on the state of our knowledge
of British Annelidge, with £10 at their disposal.
That H. E. Strickland, Esq., Dr. Daubeny, Dr. Lindley, and Professor
Henslow, be requested to form a Committee for conducting Experiments on
the Vitality of Seeds, with £10 at their disposal.
That Professor E. Forbes, and the other members already named on the
Committee for Dredging, with the addition of Colonel Portlock and Dr.
Williams, be requested to continue their investigations, with £10 at their
disposal.
That Dr. Lankester, Mr. R. Taylor, Mr. W. Thompson, Mr. Jenyns,
Professor Henslow, Mr. A. Henfrey, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart., and Mr.
Peach, be requested to continue their superintendence of the drawing up
of Tables for the Registration of Periodical Phaenomena, with £5 at their
disposal.
That certain Bills, amounting to £13 10s., on account of Anemometrical
Observations, formerly carried on at Edinburgh, be paid; and that the
Anemometer be transferred to the Assistant-General Secretary, at York.
Not involving Grants of Money, or A implications to Government.
That Dr. Schunck be requested to continue his Investigations on Colouring
Matters.
That Dr. Andrews be requested to prepare a Report on the Heat developed
in Chemical Action.
That Mr. R. Hunt be requested to prepare a Report on the present state
of our Knowledge of the Chemical Influence of the Solar Radiations.
That Professor E. Forbes, Dr. Playfair, Dr. Carpenter, and M. A. Han-
cock, be a Committee to report on the Perforating Apparatus of Mollusca.
That Mr. Mallet be requested to continue his preparation for a Report on
the Facts of Earthquakes.
That Mr. G. G. Stokes be requested to prepare a Report on Physical
Optics, in continuation of Dr. Lloyd's Report on that subject.
That the communication of Dr. Percy on the Extraction of Silver by the
wet way, be printed entire in the next Volume of Transactions.
That the Communication by Mr. Joseph Glynn, on Hydraulic Pressure
Engines, be printed entire in the next Volume of Transactions.
That a Communication by Mr. J. P. Budd, on the advantageous Use made
of the Gaseous Escape from the Blast Furnaces of Ystalyfera,be printed entire
in the Transactions.
That the Assistant General Secretary be authorised, on consultation with
Professor Powell, to insert in the next Volume of Transactions, such portions
of Professor Powell's Communication on Luminous Meteors, as may be ne-
cessary to complete the recorded observations of that Phaenomenon.
That the Committee appointed in 1838, for determining the resistance of
Railway Trains, be re-appointed, for the purposes of repeating those ex-
periments at the high velocities, and in the altered circumstances of Railways
at the present time, — the following Gentlemen to form the Committee, viz. :
— Mr. Hardman Earle, Mr. George Rennie, Mr. Edward Woods, Mr. T.
Froude, Mr. J. Glynn, Mr. Wyndham Harding, and Mr. J. S. Russell.
That the Assistant General Secretary be requested to form a complete List
Xxiv REPORT — 1848.
of all the Recommendations that have been made by the Association, accom-
panied by a Report of the manner and extent to which these recommenda-
tions have been carried into effect ; to be printed and placed in the hands of
the Committees of Sections.
In consequence of the Report vfhich the General Committee has received
from the Council on the subject of the Kew Observatory, the General Com-
mittee concur with the Council in regretting that the means at the disposal of
the British Association are insufficient to carry out on the extended scale
which would be required for that purpose, the important objects which were
contemplated by the Institution at Kew ; they also concur in the expediency
of discontinuing the endeavour to accomplish their objects with means which
are confessedly inadequate.
The General Committee has granted the sum recommended to be em-
ployed in the reduction and discussion of the important and unique series of
Electrical Observations which have been made at Kew under the superintend-
ence of Mr. Ronalds, and they further remit to the care and conduct of the
Council the steps which are necessary to be taken for the discontinuance
of the Kew Observatory.
The General Secretary having suggested the expediency of inserting in the
Rules of the British Association a paragraph to the effect that those Gentle-
men who have held the office of President of the Association, should be ex-
officio members of the Council, —
The General Committee request that the Council will take this suggestion
into their consideration, and report their opinion thereon to the General Com-
mittee at its first Meeting in Birmingham.
Synopsis of Grants of Money appropriated to Scientific Objects by the
General Committee at the Sivansea Meeting in August 1848, with
the Name of the Member, who alone or as the First of a Com-
mittee, is entitled to draw for the Money.
Kew Observatory. £ s. d.
At the disposal of the Council for defraying Expenses 100
Mathematical and Physical Science.
Bills incurred for Anemometrical Observations at Edinburgh. . 13 10
BiRT, W. R. — Discussion of Electrical Observations 50
Geology.
De la Beche, Sir H. T. — Influence of Carbonic Acid on
Vegetation 5
Natural History.
Strickland, H. E Vitality of Seeds 10
Lankester, Dr. — Periodical Phaenomena of Animals and Vege-
tables •. 5
Spence, W. — Report on Scorpionidae and Arachnidse 10
Forbes, Pref. E. — Dredging Committee 10
Forbes, Prof. E. — Report on British Annelidae 10
Total of Grants £213 10
OENEEAL STATEMENT.
XXV
General Statement of Sums which have been paid on /Account of Grants for
Scientific Purposes.
1834.
Tide Discussions
£
20
1837.
Tide Discussions 284
Chemical Constants . . 24
Lunar Nutation 70
Observations on Waves. 100
Tides at Bristol 150
Meteorology and Subter-
ranean Temperature . 89
VitrificationExperiments 150
Heart Experiments .... 8
Barometric Observations SO
Barometers 11
1838.
Tide Discussions 29
British Fossil Fishes . . 100
Meteorological Observa-
tions and Anemometer
(construction) 100
Cast Iron (strength of) . 60
Animal and Vegetable
Substances (preserva-
tion of) 19
1835.
Tide Discussions .... 62
BritishFossil Ichthyology 105
£167
1836.
Tide Discussions .... 163
BritishFossil Ichthyology 105
Thermometric Observa-
tions, &c 50
Experiments on long-
continued Heat .... 17 1
Rain Gauges 9 13
Refraction Experiments 15
Lunar Nutation 60
Thermometers 15 6
£434 14
£918 14 6
1 10
Brought forward 308
Railway Constants .... 41
Bristol Tides 50
. 75
Growth of Plants .
Mud in Rivers 3
Education Committee . . 50
Heart Experiments .... 5
Land and Sea Level . . 267
Subterranean Tempera-
ture 8
Steam-vessels 100
Meteorological Commit-
tee 31
Thermometers 16
s.
1
12
6
d.
10
10
6
7
5
£956 12 2
Carried forward £308 110
1839.
Fossil Ichthyology .... 110
Meteorological Observa-
tions at Plymouth . . 63
Mechanism of Waves . , 144
Bristol Tides SH
Meteorology and Subter-
ranean Temperature . 21
VitrificationExperiments 9
Cast Iron Experiments . 100
Railway Constants .... 28
Land and Sea Level . . 274
Steam-Vessels' Engines. 100
Stars in Histoire Celeste 331
Stars in Lacaille 11
Stars in R.A.S. Catalogue 6
Animal Secretions ....
Steam-engines in Corn
^ wall
Atmospheric Air 16
Cast and Wrought Iron. 40
Heat on Organic Bodies 3
Gases on Solar Spec-
trum 22
Hourly Meteorological
Observations, Inver-
ness and Kingussie . . 49
Fossil Reptiles 118
Mining Statistics 50
£1595
10
2
18
6
11
4
7
7
2
1
4
18
6
16
6
10
10
50
1
.0
7 8
2 9
11
XXVI
REPORT — 1848.
£ s. d.
1840.
Bristol Tides 100
Subterranean Tempera-
ture < 13 13 6
Heart Experiments. .. . IS 19
Lungs Experiments .. 8 13
Tide Discussions 50
Land and Sea Level . . 6 11 1
Stars (Histoire Celeste) 242 10
Stars (Lacaille) 4 15
Stars (Catalogue) 264
Atmospheric Air 15 15
Water on Iron 10
Heat on Organic Bodies 7
MeteoroIogicalObserva-
tions 52 17 6
Foreign Scientific Me-
moirs 112 1 6
Working Population ..100
School Statistics 50
Forms of Vessels .... 184 7
Chemical and Electrical
Phaenomena 40
Meteorological Observa-
tions at Plymouth . . 80
Magnetical Observations 185 13 9
£1546 16 4
1841.
Observations on Waves. 30
Meteorology and Subter-
ranean Temperature . 8 8
Actinometers 10
Earthquake Shocks .. 17 7
Acrid Poisons 6
Veins and Absorbents. . 3
Mud in Rivers 5
Marine Zoology 15 12
Skeleton Maps 20
Mountain Barometers. . 6 18
Stars (Histoire Celeste). 185
Stars (Lacaille) 79 5
Stars (Nomenclature of) 17 19
Stars (Catalogue of) . . 40
Water on Iron 50
Meteorological Observa-
tions at Inverness . . 20
Meteorological Observa-
tions (reduction of).. 25
Carried forward £539 10
£ s. d.
Brought forward 539 10 8
Fossil Reptiles 50
Foreign Memoirs .... 62
Railway Sections .... 88 1 6
Forms of Vessels .... 193 12
Meteorological Observa-
tions at Plymouth . . 55
Magnetical Observations 61 18 8
Fishes of the Old Red
Sandstone 100
Tides at Leilh 50
Anemometer at Edin-
burgh 69 1 10
Tabulating Observations 9 6 3
Races of Men 5
Radiate Animals 2
£1235 10 11
1842.
Dynamometric Instru-
ments 113 11 2
Anoplura Britanniae .. 52 12
Tides at Bristol 59 8
Gases on Light 30 14 7
Chronometers 26 17 6
Marine Zoology 1 5 Q
British Fossil Mammalia 100
Statistics of Education. . 20
Marine Steam-vessels'
Engines 28
Stars (Histoire Celeste) 59
Stars (British Associa-
tion Catalogue of) ..110
Railway Sections 161 10
British Belemnites .... 50
Fossil Reptiles (publica-
tion of Report) ... . 210
Forms of Vessels 180
Galvanic Experiments on
Rocks 5 8 6
Meteorological Experi-
ments at Plymouth. . 68
Constant Indicator and
Dynamometriclnstru-
ments , 90
Force of Wind 10
Light on Growth of Seeds 8
Vital Statistics 50
Vegetative Power of
Seeds 8 1 11
Carried forward £1442 8 8
GENERAL. STATEMENT.
XXVH
£. S. d.
Brought forward 1442 8 8
Questions on Human
Race 7 9
£1449 17 8
1843.
Revisionof the Nomen-
clature of Stars .... 2
Reduction of Stars, Bri-
tish Association Cata-
logue 25
Anomalous Tides, Frith
of Forth 120
Hourly Meteorological
Observations at Kin-
gussie and Inverness 77 12 8
Meteorological Observa-
tions at Plymouth . . 55
Whewell's Meteorolo-
gical Anemometer at
Plymouth 10
Meteorological Observa-
tions, Osier's Anemo-
meter at Plymouth . . 20
Reduction of Meteorolo-
gical Observations . . 30
Meteorological Instru-
ments and Gratuities 39 6
Construction of Anemo-
meter at Inverness .. 56 12 2
Magnetic Co-operation . 10 8 10
Meteorological Recorder
for Kew Observatory 50
Action of Gases on Light 18 16 1
Establishment at Kew
Observatory, Wages,
Repairs, Furniture and
Sundries 133 4 7
Experiments by Captive
Balloons 81 8
Oxidation of the Rails
of Railways 20
Publication of Report on
Fossil Reptiles .... 40
Coloured Drawings of
Railway Sections ... , 147 18 3
Registration of Earth-
quake Shocks 30
Report on Zoological
Nomenclature 10
Carried forward £977 6 7
£.
s.
d.
Brought forward
977
6
7
Uncovering Lower Red
Sandstone near Man-
chester
4
4
Q
Vegetative Power of
Seeds
5
3
8
Marine Testacea (Habits
of)
10
Marine Zoology
Marine Zoology
Preparation of Report
on British Fossil Mam-
10
2
14
11
malia
100
20
Physiological operations
of Medicinal Agents
Vital Statistics
36
5
8
Additional Experiments
on theForms of Vessels
70
Additional Experiments
on theForms of Vessels
100
Reduction of Observa-
tions on the Forms of
Vessels
100
Morin's Instrument and
Constant Indicator . .
69
14
10
Experiments on the
Strength of Materials
60
£1565
10
_2
1844.
Meteorological O bserva-
tions at Kingussie and
Inverness 12
CompletingObservations
at Plymouth 35
Magnetic and Meteoro-
logical Co-operation. . 25 8 4
Publication of the Bri-
tish Association Cata-
logue of Stars 35
Observations on Tides
on the East Coast of
Scotland 100
Revision of the Nomen-
clature of Stars.. 1842 2 9 6
Maintaining the Esta-
blishment in Kew Ob-
servatory 117 17 3
Instruments for Kew Ob-
servatory 56 7 3
Carried forward £384 2 4
XXVIU
REPORT— 1848.
5.
2
d,
4
17
6
11
10
Brought forward 384
Influence of light on
Plants 10
Subterraneous Tempera-
ture in Ireland 5
Coloured Drawings of
Railway Sections .... 15
Investigation of Fossil
Fishes of the Lower
Tertiary Strata .... 100
Registering tlie Shocks
of Earthquakes, 1842 23
Researches into the
Structure of Fossil
Shells 20
Radiata and Mollusca of
the ^gean and Red
Seas 1842 100
Geographical distribu-
tions of Marine Zo-
ology 1842 10
Marine Zoology of De-
von and Cornwall .. 10
Marine Zoology of Corfu 10
Experiments on the Vi-
tality of Seeds 9 3
Experiments on the Vi-
tality of Seeds. . 1842 8 7 3
Researches on Exotic
Anoplura 15
Experiments on the
Strength of Materials 100
Completing Experiments
on the Forms of Ships 100
Inquiries into Asphyxia 10
Investigations on the in-
ternal Constitution of
Metals 50
Constant Indicator and
Morin's Instrument,
1842 10 3 6
£981 12 8
1845.
Publication of the British
Association Catalogue
ofStars 351 14 6
Meteorological Observa-
tions at Inverness .. 30 18 11
Magnetic and Meteoro-
logical Co-operation 16 16 8
Carried forward ^£399 10 1
f
s.
d.
Brought forward 399
10
I
Meteorological Instru-
ments at Edinburgh
18
11
9
Reduction of Anemome-
trical Observations at
Plymouth
25
Electrical Experiments
at Kew Observatory
43
17
8
Maintaining the Esta-
blishment in Kew Ob-
servatory
149
15
For Kreil's Barometro-
graph
25
Gases from Iron Fur-
naces «
50
Experiments on the Ac-
tinograph
15
Microscopic Structure of
Shells
20
10
Exotic Anoplura . .1843
Vitality of Seeds.. 1843
2
7
Vitality of Seeds. . 1844
7
Marine Zoology of Corn-
wall
10
Physiological Action of
Medicines
20
Statistics of Sickness and
Mortality in York . .
20
Registration of Earth-
quake Shocks ..1843
15
14
8
£831
9
9
1846.
British Association Ca-
talogue of Stars, 1844
211
15
Fossil Fishes of the Lon-
don Clay
100
Computation of theGaus-
sian Constants for 1 839
50
Maintaining the Esta-
blishment at Kew Ob-
servatory
146
16
7
Experiments on the
Strength of Materials
60
Researches in Asphyxia
6
16
2
Examination of Fossil
Shells
10
2
15
Vitality of Seeds.. 1844
10
Vitality of Seeds.. 1845
7
12
3
Marine Zoology of Corn-
wall
10
Carried forward £6b5 15 10
GENERAL STATEMENT.
£
s.
d.
Brought forward
605
15
10
Marine Zoology of Bri-
tain
10
Exotic Anoplura. .1844
25
Expenses attendingAne-
mometers
11
7
6
Anemometers' Repairs .
S
G
Researches on Atmo-
spheric Waves ....
3
3
3
Captive Balloons ..1844
8
ly
8
Varieties of the Human
Race 1844
7
6
3
Statistics of Sickness and
Mortality at York . .
12
£685 16
1847.
Computation of theGaus-
sian Constants for 18 3 9 50
Carried forward £50
£ s. d.
Brought forward 50
Habits of Marine Animals 10
Physiological Action of
Medicines 20
Marine Zoology of Corn-
wall 10
Researches on Atmo-
spheric Waves 6 9 3
Vitality of Seeds 4 7 7
£100 16 10
] 848.
Researches on Atmo-
spheric Waves .... 3 10 9
Vitality of Seeds 9 15
Completion of Catalogues
of Stars 70
On Colouring Matters . 5
On Growth of Plants . . 15
£103 5 9
Extracts from Resolutions of the General Committee.
Committees and individuals, to whom grants of money for scientific pur-
poses have been entrusted, are required to present to eacli following meeting
of the Association a Report of the progress which has been made ; with a
statement of the sums which have been expended, and the balance which
remains disposable on each grant.
Grants of pecuniary aid for scientific purposes from the funds of the As-
sociation expire at the ensuing meeting, unless it shall appear by a Report
that the Recommendations have been acted on, or a continuation of them be
ordered by the General Committee.
In each Committee, the Member first named is the person entitled to call
on the Treasurer, John Taylor, Esq., 2 Duke Street, Adelphi, London, for
such portion of the sum granted as may from time to time be required.
In grants of money to Committees, the Association does not contemplate
the payment of personal expenses to the Members.
In all cases where additional grants of money are made for the continua-
tion of Researches at the cost of the Association, the sum named shall be
deemed to include, as a part of the amount, the specified balance which may
remain unpaid on the former grant for the same object.
General Meetings (in the General Meeting-Room, Park Street).
On Wednesday, August 9th, at 8 p.m., the late President, Sir Robert
Harry Inglis, Bart , F.R.S., M.P. for the University of Oxford, resigned
his Office to the Most Noble the Marquis of Northampton, President of the
Royal Society, who took the Chair at the General Meeting, and delivered
an Address, for which see p. xxxi.
XXX REPORT — 1848.
On Thursday, August 10th, at 8 p.m., John Percy, Esq., M.D., F.R.S.,
delivered a Discourse on the Metallurgical Operations of Swansea and its
neighbourhood.
On Monday, August 14th, at 8 p.m., William Carpenter, Esq., M.D.,
F.R.S., delivered a Discourse on Recent Microscopical Discoveries.
On Wednesday, August 16th, at 3 p.m., the concluding General Meeting
of the Association was held, when the Proceedings of the General Com-
mittee, and the grants of money for scientific purposes were explained to
the Members.
The Meeting was then adjourned to Birmingham in September 1849*.
* The Meeting is appointed to commence on Wednesday, the 12th of September, 1849.
ADDRESS
BY
The Most Noble the Marquis of NORTHAMPTON,
Pres.R.S., F.S.A., HoN.M.R.I.A., F.L.S., F.G.S.
Gentlemen, — In addressing you on the present occasion, I cannot but feel
the disadvantageous situation in which I am placed as compared to my friend
Sir Robert Inglis, who has just yielded to me the honourable situation of
your President.
I am not, as he was last year, addressing you in an ancient and venerable
seat of academic discipline, where the very aspect of the surrounding buildings
proclaimed the long residence of learned leisure and elegant taste ; — where,
during the lapse of very many centuries, science and learning have made their
abode, and where religion has consecrated their union. There, in that Oxford
which has sent forth so many labourers for the cultivation of knowledge, —
where the divine, the statesman and the philosopher have taken their early
lessons in those arts which were to make their names household words among
their countrymen — there, where the Royal Society had its cradle, the British
Association might well anticipate a generous welcome, and more than that,
an audience fit though not few, and not only favour but assistance in its
pursuits ; — assistance from a Daubeny, a Powell, a Buckland and others who
were among its earliest supporters and members. In going, indeed, to Ox-
ford the Association did not go to fresh fields and pastures new. Its visit
tiras no experiment, for it had already gone to the friendly banks of the Isis,
and found there a kind and warm reception when it was itself but young ;
when it had not already received the marked patronage of the British public,
and when favour and kindness were the more valuable.
The British Association has now arrived at a part of our Sovereign's domi-
nions where it cannot enjoy similar advantages. Remote from the metropolis.
XXxii REPORT — 1848.
remote from the chief seats of English learning, remote also from those great
highways of communication by which modern ingenuity has almost accom-
plished the extravagant wish of annihilating space and time, Swansea can-
not with reason expect a meeting numerous as those of York, and Cambridge,
and Oxford, and still less like those that have congregated at Liverpool and
Glasgow. Deprived, however, of the advantages to which I have alluded,
Swansea still possesses some attractions, and can advance some special
reasons why, sooner or later, it would be the duty of the British Association
to select it for its place of meeting. Among these, I should select as one of
the most important a consideration which is in some sense an objection ;
namely, the fact that its inhabitants are in a corner, as it were, of Great
Britain — that they are separated from the highways of steam. It is one of
the objects of the British Association to visit all parts of Great Britain ; — to
carry the torch of science everywhere, not only to enlighten but to receive
fresh light from every portion of the island. Had Swansea been as ac-
cessible from Bristol as Bath is, a visit to Bristol might have sufficed for
Swansea also, just as a visit to Southampton may be considered a visit to
Portsmouth also.
Unless, however, the Association had come to Swansea itself. South
Wales would have remained unvisited, and a large geographical portion of
the island would have been left unknown to the Association in its corporate
capacity.
Again, Wales comprehends an important and separate portion of the island;
a people to whom at one time the whole of it belonged — a people speaking
a diiFerent and more ancient language, civilized when the Saxon and Norman
ancestors of the proud London, and Oxford, and Cambridge of modem times
were heathens and barbarians — a people who had seen among them a Julius
Caesar and a Constantine. These considerations will be of great interest at
least to the Ethnological Section of the Association.
To the mineralogist and geologist, again, the mineral riches of Wales, to
which England is so much indebted for its manufacturing prosperity and
political importance, will be no small attraction. Moreover, the chemist and
mechanician will be anxious to witness the ingenious processes by which iron
and copper are here, on a gigantic scale, separated from their ores. These
reasons are amply sufficient to account for, and indeed to demand, a visit
from the Association, — without mentioning the warm invitation that we have
received, the kind hospitality that we have been promised. To those mem-
bers of the Association who were at Southampton and Oxford it would be
quite superfluous to allude to the eloquent terms in which the advocate of
Swansea, Prof. Grove, like a potent magician, or like a representative of the
I
ADDRESS. XXXlll
Bard and Druid of ancient Britain, summoned us to the shores of the- Bristol
Channel.
When I acknowledge, however, that there are abundant reasons why the
Association should sooner or later visit Swansea, I have not therefore said
that that visit ought to have taken place this year. On the contrary, there
is one reason why it would have been better had it been postponed to a later
period. In that case it would probably have had a more efficient President
than myself. Wholly unconnected as I am with this place, I cannot think
that I should have been called on to preside had I not still continued to hold
the high and honourable office in the Royal Society which I am about in a
few months to resign.
Indeed ray present position in the Royal Societ'v is the only reason that
could justify me in accepting the invitation, — and I must candidly say that I
think it sufficient. I can conceive nothing more important to both societies,
in some of their chief functions, than a close union of feeling, and when occa-
sion calls for it a union of action also. Thus their influence is enabled to
bear with greater weight on the Government of their own country, — and in
one instance at least, it has done so, through their own, on the Governments
of other countries also.
It has been the habit of my predecessors in this chair, on occasions similar
to the present one, to advocate the claims of the British Association on the
goodwill of their countrymen, and to state the services that it has performed
to the cause of knowledge. They have pointed not only to the papers read
and discussions held in our different Sections, but also to the Reports drawn
up with the greatest care by men of the highest abilities and eminence during
our vacation. They have indicated the important scientific investigations
and experiments carried on at our request and at our expense, and which
would not have so soon, if at all, been carried on had the British Asso-
ciation not existed. They have summoned as witnesses in favour of the
Association the band of illustrious foreigners who have joined our ranks, and,
making themselves Englishmen for the time, have given us the honour of
their presence, the assistance of their science and the pleasure of their friend-
ship. Finally, my predecessors have been able proudly to advert to the ser-
vices performed by our Government at the request of the Association, backed
on several occasions by the Royal Society. They have had it in their power,
for instance, to advert to the reduction of catalogues of stars, to the cession
of the Royal Observatory at Kew, to the expedition of Sir James Ross, and to
the great combination for inquiries on terrestrial magnetism. This has been
the sort of argument, overwhelming as it seems to me, that my predecessors
were at first called to adopt. I cannot think that more than this slight allu-
1848. d
XXxiv REPORT— 1848.
sion is required from me. The British Association has now existed eighteen
years ; — it has visited the chief universities and the most important commer-
cial towns of the empire, with the exception of London, which is excluded by
our provincial character ; — it has everywhere received the most kind, the most
generous encouragement : — it may therefore well consider itself as established
in public favour, and requiring neither justification nor defence.
My friend Sir Robert Inglis, in his admirable address at Oxford, gave you
an elaborate account of the discoveries of the year in most of the branches of
knowledge, — including much indeed that could hardly, in strictness, belong
to such narrow limits. I shall not endeavour to follow his example. Indeed,
I do not think that it is at all necessary that such a course should be an an-
nual one, however advisable from time to time. I think it would be a fatigue
to you were I to pursue it. Besides this, I know my own physical strength
would not be equal to so long an address, and that were I to attempt it I
should incapacitate myself for the performance of my duties for the rest of
the week. There are, however, some points to which I think it right to
allude.
First, then, I will refer to the great system of inquiring into terrestrial
magnetism now carrying on by our own and other Governments, at the
united request of the British Association and the Royal Society. I am re-
joiced to be able to say, that in spite of the politically disturbed state of the
continent of Europe, those inquiries have not been suspended, — and I hope
they will be continued to the period which was proposed for them by the
Magnetic Congress at Cambridge, It was then proposed that they should be
brought to a close at the end of next December. I trust; however, that the
valuable inventions by which at Greenwich and at Kew magnetical disturb-
ances are noted by self- registering instruments will secure still more ample
information than we shall have already attained at the termination of the
present year.
The next subject to which I must advert, is the Observatory at Kew,— .
and I do so with a mixture of pleasure and of pain. I have said pleasure
and pain. I advert to it with pleasure on account of the important scientific
observations that have been there made, — the detail of which will, probably,
be laid before you. I advert to it with pain, as the expenses of keeping it
up have been so great that it will not be within the power of the Association
to continue to do so much longer.
Among the contents of our last volume I think it right to refer to what
may be considered in a great degree a novel feature, — the ethnological por-
tions that occupy a very considerable space. The names of their authors
will be a sufficient guarantee of their value. Among these we find one who
ADDRESS.
represented the Government as well as the deep learning of his country — a
gentleman who, having commenced his literary career by aiding a Niebuhr,
and having since brought before the world a laborious work on the mighty
sovereigns of ancient Egypt, has now come among us with a valuable essay
on the general philosophy of language. I will not occupy your time by
further allusion to these ethnological communications, — but I think it pro-
per, in addressing you from the chair, to add a word of caution. It is one
of the most important and essential rules of the British Association that party
politics and polemics be entirely excluded from our proceedings. It is, how-
ever, vain to deny, unless their authors are put on their guard, that there is
danger that these forbidden topics may steal into ethnological papers. There
is also another danger, namely, that they may become too historical or too
literary. Against similar risks my predecessors have felt themselves called
on to warn the Statistical Section, and I hope I may be excused for follow-
ing their example, when there is a similar danger.
It must be very gratifying to geologists to see a mathematician so eminent
as Mr. Hopkins apply a mind accustomed to the severest studies to the most
important and difficult subjects of geology, — as we have seen in his report
and his papers on the theories of earthquakes. The question itself is one of
the greatest difficulty, — one that has exercised the talents and divided the
opinions of the ablest philosophers, — one that requires for its solution the
aid of many sciences. It is therefore one particularly fitted to be presented
to a meeting like this where men of every science are present. In itself,
this may be considered as giving a direct and sufficient answer to those who
ask what is the use of the British Association.
At our meeting at Southampton, Sir John Herschel, in words of singular
poetic beauty, first intimated, as I believe, to an English audience, the re-
markable astronomical discovery which so soon after was announced to the
■whole world, and which added an unknown planet to our system. I had the
honour, as President of the Royal Society, to give to M. Leverrier the medal
awarded to him by our Council, — my predecessor in the chair had the satis-
faction of receiving at Oxford both Leverrier .and Adams — the two gentlemen
who had simultaneously, though without concert, pursued the same original
and laborious investigation in search of the great celestial globe that dis-
turbed the course of Uranus. Of the two discoverers of Neptune, I fear that
I cannot hope to see here the illustrious countryman of Laplace ; Mr. Adams
perhaps may honour Swansea with a visit. Certain I am that you. Gentle-
men, would delight to welcome the two philosophers whose names will now
shine together like a twin star so long as astronomy shall be considered the
sublimest of sciences.
d2
XXXvi REPORT — 1848.
In our last volume is a communication of a highly interesting and instruct-
ive nature on the microscopic structure of shells, by Dr. Carpenter, for the
illustration of which by numerous excellent plates the Association has gone
to a considerable expense. I believe this to be a most judicious expenditure.
The subject is one of the highest interest, not only in itself, and as affording
the means of identifying fragments of shells in rocks where they are rare,
but also in connexion with the analogous inquiries of Prof. Owen into the
structure of teeth. The microscope seems every day to rise into increased
importance as a scientific instrument, affording the physiologist the same
means of penetrating into the depths of organization that the telescope gives
the astronomer to pierce into the depths of space. I am sure you will be
glad to know that a public body, the Trustees of the British Museum, have
paid Dr. Carpenter the compliment of appointing him to a lectureship founded
in the most liberal manner by the late Dr. Swiney. I believe. Gentlemen,
you will yourselves have the pleasure of hearing him give an oral exposition
of his investigations.
I am sure. Gentlemen, that the members of the British Association must
have derived the liveliest satisfaction from what I may call one of the princi-
pal events in science that has occurred since our last meeting ; — I mean the
publication by Sir John Herschel of the results of his arduous labours at the
Cape of Good Hope. We cannot indeed associate our body in any way with
that great scientific enterprise. It was undertaken at no suggestion from us
or from any other scientific society. Its author was influenced alone by his
own love of science and by the desire to complete the labour of his illustrious
father ; and I believe that in truth the son had more to do with it than the
philosopher, — and science will be proud that it was so. Though, however,
we cannot derive any glory to the British Association from Sir John Her-
schel's brilliant success in the Southern Hemisphere, we may still be proud of
him as one of our earliest members, — as one to whom we bade adieu on the
banks of the Cam at our third meeting, then welcomed again at our fifteenth
as our President, Welcome, indeed, his presence must be on whatever
occasion he may come amongst us !
Although the British Association did not take any active part in the re-
commendation of the Expedition sent out by the Government under Sir John
Franklin, and have therefore not the same immediate interest in its success
that they had in Sir James Ross's Expedition into the South Polar region,
yet I am sure that we must all feel the most anxious desire for the safety of
our gallant countrymen. I wish it was in my power to give you any satis-
factory information on this point. Alas ! I cannot do so. I can do no more
than express the hope that the same gracious Providence which shielded Sir
ADDRESS. XXXVU
James Ross amid the Antarctic icebergs may stretch out its arm and bring
back again our brave navigators.
Europe, Gentlemen, has now seen a general peace established with only-
partial interruption for the long and unaccustomed period of thirty-three years.
Happily, science has made its way while the sun of prosperity has shone, —
for the prosperity of science depends much more on peace and order than on
favour and patronage. Favour and patronage have, however, not been
wanting. It is fortunate that the followers of science have so done, for times
have arrived when it would be idle to expect similar progress. It may be
flattering and honourable to literature and science to see a great nation
choose her rulers among her poets and astronomers, but to poetry and astro-
nomy it is undoubtedly an evil. Who can regret the compelled retirement
from public life that enabled Milton to write his great, his divine poems }
Who can rejoice that a very different ambition should have taken Newton
from the studies that gave the world his 'Principia'? Who can tell how
much his Mastership of the Mint may have retarded the advancement of
science .'' There cannot be a doubt that many a master mind will now be led
away from pursuits the most congenial to it by the absorbing and prompting
demands of poUtical necessity. Still less can it be doubted that the indus-
trious ants of science who laboriously bring to her granaries their numerous
though small additions, — who, in truth, accumulate facts destined for ma-
terials for the greater minds that reason and systematise, — these industrious
labourers, I say, will be employed in very different ways. The something
new which will be sought by them will be political and not scientific : the
balloting box will be more attractive than the crucible, — the sword of the
partisan than the hammer of the geologist. These considerations induce me
to fear that we have no right to expect our Meeting will this year be ho-
noured by the presence of many of our friends from abroad, even if the
distance of this locality did not interpose material difficulties in their way.
It is not, however, for the sake of accounting for the absence of illustrious
foreigners that I have made these remarks. It is rather for the purpose of
observing, that happily philosophers of this country have no such excuse for
idleness or remissness in carrying on their usual scientific labours. On the
contrary, they have the stronger reason for doing so. They ought to re-
member that while England is exempt from the unhappy disturbances of
other countries, the sacred flame of science is especially confided to them by
the same gracious Providence that protects their happiness, their freedom,
their sovereign, their laws, their independence.
Like our soldiers and our sailors, like the ministers of the laws of the land
and the expounders of the laws of morality and religion, the inquirers into
xxxviii REPORT — 1848.
those other laws -which regulate His creation, — the searchers out of the
means by which the knowledge of His laws may benefit his creatures,— have
duties to perform which it is criminal in them to neglect : doubly criminal,
if to them it be given in an especial degiee to perform those duties by a
special exemption from the evils which oppress their fellows elsewhere.
In England, these duties devolve, in particular branches of knowledge, on
particular societies ; but in science in general, and in all its ramifications,
they rest in a more especial manner on the Royal Society and on that which
now I have the honour of addressing. To the former I have nothing to say
in this place. To the latter it is my present duty to address myself. To you,
then. Gentlemen, I say heartily, that it would not become you to rest on your
oars, or to look at the goodly volumes that contain your Reports and record
your proceedings, and to say, " We have done enough." You have not done
enough. You are bound by the engagement you have taken in becoming mem-
bers of this noble body — you are bound to Sir David Brewster, its originator
—to Mr. Harcourt, its legislator — to Lord Fitzwilliam, who took the honour-
able but perilous post of its first President, and to those officers who have so
zealously served it, to do your best for its continued prosperity. Now, Gen-
tlemen, in considering how this object is to be attained, we must look not only
to what it has achieved and to its present popularity, but also to the other side
of the question, if there be another side. I am sorry to say there is another side.
You are all, or most of you. aware, that for many years our pecuniary
funds were increasing, and that we made large grants of money for scientific
purposes. You must also be aware from whence those funds arose ; namely,
from the annual and life subscriptions of our members. Our annual sub-
scriptions are now of a very limited amount ; being almost entirely confined
to those members who join us in different localities, many of whom only pay
in a subscription for one year. It is true that we have funded a portion of
our life-subscriptions ; but a considerable part of them has been applied to
scientific grants, — more perhaps than we were strictly justified in so applying.
The consequence has been, that for several years our expenditure has ex-
ceeded our income. It would be vain to dissemble, and idle to deny, the
inevitable consequence of such a continued excess. There is only one me-
thod, without deviating from our accustomed mode of action, by which we
can remedy this serious evil. It is one, fortunately, that is consistent with
our prosperity in other respects. We must return to some of those great
seats of population and industry where we have a fair prospect of a large
temporary accession to our members, and through them of a large addition
to our funds. I am happy to say that we have reason to anticipate an invi-
tation from at least one such place for the ensuing year.
I
ADDRESS. XXXIX
However this may be, Gentlemen, I cannot but believe that, were it ne-
cessary or considered advisable, an appeal to the generosity of those friends
of the Association who have followed its progress from year to year would
not be made in vain.
I cannot conclude this address without expressing the gratitude of the
Association for the great liberality that has been exhibited by the Corporation
and inhabitants of Swansea for our reception. It has, on this occasion, been
shown in many ways of a most unusual nature for the convenience of the
scientific guests that are here expected. I know that all this must have
been done at a very heavy expense, clearly proving that the inhabitants of
South Wales duly appreciate the importance of scientific pursuits. One of
our Vice-Presidents, Mr. Dillwyn, whose eminence in the pursuit of natural
history has been a great inducement for our visit to Swansea, has greeted
our arrival with an important volume on the Fauna and Flora of the neigh-
bourhood, of which he has kindly placed a considerable number of copies to
be used for the advantage of gentlemen most interested in botany and phy-
siology. The edifice in which I address you is consecrated to religion ;
thereby intimating the belief that science, when followed in a right spirit, is
a pursuit not unworthy of those who are believers in the World's Book as
well as inquirers after the material works of the Almighty ; — intimating also
the hope that the British Association will ever seek after knowledge in a
Christian spirit of kindness and humility, for the benefit of man and the glory
of God,
I
REPORTS
THE STATE OF SCIENCE.
A Catalogue of Observations of Luminous Meteors. By the Hev.
Baden Powell, M.A., F.R.S. S^c, Savilian Professor of Geo-
metry, Oxford.
(A communication ordered to be printed among the Reports to the Association.)
In the Volume of Reports of the British Association for 1847 I have given a
very imperfect list of observed luminous meteors, as far as I could collect
them, for the several years subsequent to the termination of M. Quetelet's very
complete catalogue (Nouv. Mem. Acad. Bruxelles, tom. xi.). With a view to
enlarging and carrying on this design from year to year, I have been desirous
to form at least the nucleus of a collection of all observations of this kind
under the auspices of the British Association ; and my wishes have been re-
sponded to by numerous correspondents, from whose valuable communications,
as well as the data furnished by several journals, I have been enabled to
draw up the annexed catalogue ; which includes a few observations of earlier
years, but is more full for the later ; reaching down to the present time. It
is now offered to the British Association as presenting a condensed view of
existing observations collected in one record : the- original documents, as
communicated to the author, are collected in the Appendix, and references
are made to the sources of information in other cases. To any such cata-
logue doubtless many additions may remain to be made ; and it is hoped that
such contributions will be forwarded to the author at Oxford, who will embody
them in a continuation of the catalogue at a future time.
Table of Luminous Meteors.
Date.
Description.
Place.
Observer.
Reference.
1833.
Sept. 17
1838.
Mar. 17
1841.
Mar. 22
Aug. 10
1842.
Aug. 9
Four meteors, with an aurora..
York
Prof. Phillips ...
Idem
Lowe'sAtmospheric
Phenomena, 174.
Ibid. 233.
Ibid.
MS.
Ibid. 156.
Lowe'sAtmospheric
Phenomena, 367.
Kensington ...
Durham
Plymouth
Gosport
Malvern
Cambridge ....
Several; small
Prof. Chevallier
Prof. Phillips ...
H. Maverly, Esq.
Prof. Phillips* .
Mr. J. Glaisher..
Several ; some brilliant
Numerous. 80 in 3 hours, with
an aurora.
24 in an hour (one observer)...
Aug. 9....
Oct. 4
1848.
* Bulletin de I'Acad. Roy. Appendix, No. 70.
REPORT 1848.
Date.
1843.
Aug. 9 ...
13 ...
Oct. 16 ...
Nov. 10-12
Nov. 18 ...
1844.
Jan. 20 ..
Aug. 8, 9
Oct.
Nov.
13 .
184.').
Jan. 31 .
Feb. 5 .
April 24 .
24 .,
June 18 .
Ju]y 16 .,
29 .,
Aug. 10 .,
10 .,
10 .,
10 ..
Sept. 7
Oct. 28-30..
31
Nov. 2-7
4, 6, 14.
Dec. 9
Feb,
3 .
1846.
10 .
11 .
12 .
21 .
Description.
Many meteors
Many meteors
Many; one large
A small white mass, dispersed
with an explosion in day
time ; clear sky.
A brilliant meteor
Many
Many
Very numerous and bright.
Many
One; brilliant
Many; very brilliant
Four ; large.
Several; large
Several
One; large and brilliant
The same. Form not defined
no explosion.
Luminous appearances at sea,
and in Syria.
One; large
Very near Earth
100 in one hour
Place.
Cork
Nottingham .
Ibid
Austria
Nottingham...
Ibid
Dry burn
Durham
Nottingham.,
Ibid
Birmingham ,
Nottingham . .
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Greenwich
Great numbers in Cassiopeia;
Cygnus, &c.
One; large
Cloudy; but light of meteor
seen.
0" 22"° ; one ; large and bright;
changed colour; coruscations;
another, smaller.
{A valuable and detailed!
table of observed places l
by stars, &c. J
Some of the most remarkable
are —
Several ; one large
Many ; nine in six hours ....
One or two each night
Large ones
10'' 15'" ; remarkable ; bright ;
and six smaller.
One meteor, with an aurora ;
licrht of meteorinereasedwhen
crossing the aurora.
One; large
9 P.M.; large and brilliant ,
One ; large
Ditto. Motion horizontal
9'' 6° P.M. Two large globular
meteors near together.
ceigmm ....
Nottingham.
Paris?
Dijon
London
Oxford..
London, Re-
gent's-park.
}■ Bombay
Nottingham.
Mentz
Caraman
Nottingham..,
Ibid
CoUioure .
Observer.
Prof. PhUlips ..,
Mr. Lowe
Id
Mr. G. T. Vigne
Mr. Lowe
Id
Mr. Wharton
Id
Mr. Lowe ...
Id
Reference.
MS.
Appendix, No, 6.
Ibid. No. 7.
Ibid. No. 1.
Ibid. No. 8.
Ibid. No. 9.
Ibid. No. 2.
Ibid.
Ibid. No. 10.
Ibid.
Mr. Onion 'Atmos. Phen. 351
Appendix, No. 11
Mr. Lowe [Appendix, No. 12.
Id jibid. No. 13.
Id Ibid. No. 14.
Id Ibid. No. 19.
Sir J. Herschel,. Atmos; Phen. 230.
A Correspondent Appendix, No. 3.
[Brussels, 352,
Bulletin, R. Acad.
Appendix, No. 20.
L'lustitut, 288.
Mr. Lowe
M. Coulvier Gra-
vier.
M. Perrey
Many Observers
Prof. PoweU ...
Mr. Hind.
Prof. Orlebar,
M.A.
Mr. Lowe.
A Correspondent
M. de Roquette,
Mr. Lowe
Id
M. Berge and
others.
Ibid. 211.
Journals.
Proc. of Ashmolean
Society, No. 22.
Atmos. Phen. 231.
Observations at the
Meteor. andMagn
Observatory, Bom-
bay, 4to, 1845
p. 170.
Atmos. Phen. 127 ;
Appendix, No. 15.
Appendix, No. 15.
Comptes Rendus,
1846, i. 739.
Appendix, Nos. 32,!
33.
Ibid. I
Comptes Rendus,
1846, i. 739.
A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 3
Description.
6''45'"p.M.; one; large. Discuss
ed by M. Pettit, and inferred
to be a satellite to the Earth
Meteor feU and set fire to a
building.
Several
One; bright; ascending from
horizon to zenith.
A few
Light and explosion ; others re-
ported a large meteor.
9i> 30™ P.M. ; one ; large. M.
Pettit calculates path, and
concludes it to be a satellite
to e.
Others
Many
(Cloudy at Oxford).
Number of meteors in ^ hour,
observed at several times on
each night, varying from 1
to 6 in -J^ hour.
Ten from 9" 15™ to 10'' 15" ..
One ; very brilliant
One; brMiant
Ditto
A few
One, with an aurora ; light in
creased in crossing aurora.
One ; brilliant
Place.
10 P.M. Large ; moving N. from
zenith ; train curved, and ser-
pentine afterwards.
Same observed
Same. Illumination over sky
zigzag train ; no explosion.
Similar appearance
Ditto
One; large; QI'IS'^p.m
The same.
One; large; 8'' 45" p.m. Ditto
8 P.M.
Several ; motion horizontal . . .
6'' 15"' P.M. Two ; brilliant ; in
one the train collapsed.
One brilliant meteor, with co-
ruscations, &c.
7'' 30™ P.M. ; large
"' 5™ P.M. ; a luminous globe.
Several
One; brilliant
Cazeres
Nottingham .
Dijon
Ibid
St. Apre
Nottingham..
Ibid
Ibid
Nottingham..
Observer.
M. Pettit, &c. ,
Id.
Reference.
Mr. Lowe
Id
Id
Mr. M'Connell.
MM. Bianchi,
Voisins, &c.
Mr. Lowe..
M. Perrey
Id
M. Moreau
Mr. Lowe .
Id
Id
Id
Paris Dr. Forster
London
Nottingham,
Wiltshire,
Warwickshire,
Cambridge ..
Farnborough,
Kent.
RosehiU, Ox-
ford.
Paris
St. Germains &
other places
Ferte sous
Jouerre.
Nottingham...
Dijon
Many ; one large
London,
Wales.
Dijon
Ibid
Nottingham...
Avranches,
Dijon.
Nottingham...
Correspondent to
Mr. Lowe.
Many Observers,
Rev. J. Ventris...
Sir J. Lubbock...
Rev. J. Slatter...
M. Cadart ...
M. Chasies,
M. Grutey.
M. Rigault
Mr. Lowe .
M. Perrey .
Many Observers
M. Melline ..
M. GeofiFroy..
Mr. Lowe
M. Jelinski,
M. Perrey.
Mr. Lowe ...
Comptes Rendus,
1846, i. 739 ; ii.
704.
Ibid. 739.
Appendix, No. 31.
Ibid. No. 21.
Ibid. No. 36.
Ibid. No. 5.
Comptes Rendus,
1847, ii. 259.
Appendix, Nos. 16,
17.
Comptes Rendus,
1847, ii. 478.
Ibid.
Ibid. 549.
Appendix, No. 38.
Ibid. No. 39.
Ibid. Nos. 40, 41.
Ibid. No. 18.
Comptes Rendus,
1846, ii. 550.
Atmos. Phen. 233
Appendix, No. 22.
Journals.
Ibid.
Phil. Mag. XXX. 4.
Ibid. xxxi. 368, and
Appendix, No. 4.
Comptes Rendus,
1846, ii. 718.
Ibid. 814. 834.
Ibid.
Appendix, No. 42.
Comptes Rendus,
1846, ii. 985.
Journals.
[1846, ii. 986
Comptes Rendus,
Ibid.
Appendix, No. 43.
Comptes Rendus,
Ibid.
Appendix, No. 44.
b2
REPORT — 1848.
Date.
Description.
Place.
Observer.
Reference.
1847.
Jan. 11, 15...
Feb. 11 ...
Many
One ; brilliant .
Nottingham.
Versailles ....
Mr. Lowe
Mar. 17
May 31
June 21
Au?;. 7
Several ; two remarkable ,.
Several; large
Ditto. Some with au aurora
(light increased in crossing
aurora').
One; brilliant
Nottingham.
Ibid
Ibid
Mr. Lowe.
Id
Id
Paris
M. Desdouits ...
10
17
19
Several; large
Numerous ; thirtv or forty in
half an hour; S.W.
Fifteen from 9^ 55™ to 10" 25",
and at intervals till ll*" 30"
about as many ; often two and
three together ; S.W.
One; brilhant
Nottingham.
Dry burn ....
Oxford
Q*" 18™ P.M. several. Discussions
and calculations by LeVerrier
and others.
Oct. 11 Two meteors
18 10''30™p.M.; one; brilUant
Nov. 1
12, 13..
12, 13..
12, 13..
17
19
19 .
Dec. 12 .
1848.
Jan. 4 .
Feb. 7 .
20 .,
Mar. 9 .,
April 1 ...
6 ...
23
28,29,30
30 ...
May 2,3,5,7
11
23
Julv 12
29
Numerous ; some large
Several
Numerous
Several; large
One; large
4'' 30"" A.M. One ; very remark
able ; large ; slow motion
twice stationary in descend,
ing from zenith to horizon
therefore course probably ser
pentine.
One; large; 7" 51"" p.m
Many
Several
One'; brilliant
Several, with an aurora (light
increased in crossing aurora)
A. luminous appearance ; passed
off and disappeared without
exploding.
Several; some brilliant
One seen in daylight, 7'' 5" p.m
Numerous from 10'' to 12''p.m
Several
One; brilliant; train separated
into two parts.
Several
A train of light descending ver-
tically.
One ; small
One ; large ; slow ; with a train.
10 P.M ; bright with train and
sparks.
Lu.xembourg.
Dieppe.
Bruges
Paris . .
Nottingham.
Dryburn ....
Benares
Nottingham.
Nottingham.
Near Oxford.
Paris
Nottingham...
Nottingham...
Ibid
Ibid
Near Oxford...
Nottingham...
Oxford
On the Clyde..
Nottingham...
London, Re-
gent's-park.
Nottingham...
Wootton, near
Oxford.
Nottingham...
Nottingham...
Bradfield,
Berks.
Mr. Lowe
Mr. Wharton ..
Prof. Powell
M. Desdouits
M. Nell de Bre-
aute.
Dr. Forster
M. Laisne ,
Mr. Lowe ..
Mr. Wharton
Correspondent to
M. Arago.
Mr. Lowe ....
Id
Mr. Symonds.
M. Laugier
Mr. Lowe...
Mr. Symonds
Mr. Lowe
Mr. Symonds ..
Id
Mr. Lowe
Mr. F. Barnard.
Mr. Lowe
Mr. P. Duncan.,
Mr. Lowe
Id
Rev. C. Marriott.
App., Nos. 23, 24.
Comptes Rendus,
1847,1.307.
Appendix, No. 25.
Ibid. No. 26.
Ibid. No. 27.
Comptes Rendus,
1847, i. 765.
Appendix, No. 28.
Appendix, No. 58.
Proceedings of Ash-
molean Society,
1847, No. 8.
Comptes Rendus,
1847, ii. 508.
Ibid. 316 and 461.
Appendix, No. 59.
Comptes Rendus,
ib. 629.
Appendix, No. 29.
Appendix, No. 60,
Comptes Rendus,
1848, i. 7. '
Appendix, No. 30.
Ibid. No. 31.
Ibid. No. 62.
Comptes Rendus,
1847, ii. 733.
Appendix, No. 45.
Ibid. No. 46.
Ibid. No. 47.
Ibid. No. 48.
Ibid. No. 63.
Ibid. No. 49.
Ibid. No. 64.
Ibid. No. 65.
Ibid.Nos.50,51,52
Ibid. No. 66.
Ibid. 53-56.
Ibid. No. 67.
Ibid. No. 57.
Ibid. No. 68.
Ibid. No. 69.
A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 5
APPENDIX.
Details referred to in tlie Catalogue, from the original Records of Observations
of luminous Meteors, communicated to Professor Powell by the Authors.
No. 1. Extract from a letter from G. T. Vigne, Esq. to Prof Powell.
" About the 10th or 12th of November IS^S, I was descending the Da-
nube .... near what is said to be the bridge of Severus about 5 p.m.
I heard a loud report like that of a musket ; the day was clear with-
out a cloud ; I saw a perfectly white cloud or mist, evidently the result of the
explosion, slowly dispersing in no particular shape, in three or four minutes.
I should say it was about a mile or a mile and a half above the earth, and
distant about four. No part of it seemed to descend ; it dispersed as it were
from a stationary nucleus. When I first saw it, the white cloud might be
about as large as the end of your finger held up at about twelve or eighteen
inches from the eye."
2. See Durham Advertiser, August 16th, IS^*. No moon ; clear atmo-
sphere. Many meteors on the 8th ; more on the 9th ; very numerous and
brilliant on the 10th. Nearly all in parallel directions from N.E. to S.W.
Many in trains, apparently at great elevations. 11th, 12th, 13th cloudy;
Hth clear, but no meteors.
3. Extract from the Malta Mail, see 'Times,' August 18th, 1845.
June 18th, at 9''30'"p.m., brig Victoria, in lat. 36° 40' ; long. 13° 44' E. ; in
a sudden calm after wind. " An overpowering heat and stench of sulphur.
At this moment three luminous bodies issued from the sea, about half a mile
from the vessel, and remained visible ten minutes."
At Ainab on Mount Lebanon, on the same day, half an hour after sunset,
was seen " a meteor composed of two luminous bodies, each apparently five
times as large as the moon, with streamers or appendages from each joining
the two ; in the Avest ; remained visible for an hour, taking an easterly course,
and grjidually disappeared."
Both accounts sent by a correspondent to Prof. Powell, but it does not
appear whether the latter is from the same source as the former ; or on what
original authority either rests.
4. Extract from a letter to Prof. Powell from the Rev. J. Slatter, of Rose-
hill, near Oxford.
" I saw it [the meteor of Sept. 25th, 1846] at the height of about 50° ; it
seemed to move along a meridian line, and rather to decline in height as it
moved northerly, but not more than might be the effect of perspective if it
moved parallel to the earth; it passed over the zenith of London. Taking the
longitude of the place of observation as 4" 55^ W., the value of P=6'1 55
mile, the distance due west of the meridian of London=about 45*65 miles,
and the height of the meteor from the earth is 54*4 miles.
" It appeared less than half the diameter of the sun ; which would give a
diameter of 500 or 600 yards. At a rough guess its velocity might be 25
miles in a second."
5. Mr. David C. M'Connell, in a letter to Prof. Powell, mentions that on
the 3rd of June 1846, at 8 p.m., at Moreton Bay, on the Brisbane River, South
Australia, about 27° S.lat. and 152° 30' E. long., being within doors, he saw
a light and heard an explosion like that of a cannon at a distance in a still
clear night. Many natives stated that they had seen a bright body like the
moon passing from east to west. It is also added that it passed at an altitude
of about 75° to the south, and the explosion was heard when the meteor was
about 30° from the western horizon.
6 REPORT — 1848.
It was also ascertained that 10 miles west from the place nothing was heard ;
10 miles S.W. the meteor was seen and the explosion heard ; as it was also
to 25 miles S.E.
Extract of a letter from E. J. Lowe, Esq. to the author : —
"My dear Sir, — There is one circumstance in connexion with falling stars
that I could never understand, which is this : when a falling star crosses an
auroral beam or arch it instantly brightens ; this I have not only noticed on
one day, but on four or five different ones when this phaenomenon has taken
place during a display of aurora ; indeed on every display since the period
when I first noticed them brighten, the same has again occurred. This is a
fact worthy of further notice. It appears to me that the falling stars and
aurora borealis must be at the same elevation above our earth, and if so, we
shall then be better enabled to calculate the height of aurora. I am inclined
to imagine that an aurora has never yet been accurately measured, for to do
so we must suppose the arch a single one, and it is probable that we each
observe under diff'erent circumstances. — Edward Joseph Lowe."
To this was appended the following : —
Meteors copied from ' Treatise on Atmospheric Phoenomena ' seen by the
Author.
6. 184;3. August 13th. From S"" to 9^ many falling stars, especially near
Cassiopeia, Cygnus, and Ursa Major.
7. 1843. October 16th. From 6*^ to B** many caudate meteors crossed
the sky ; one of more than ordinary dimensions passed from the constella-
tion Pegasus through Cygnus, Lyra and Corona Borealis, and faded away
in Bootes near Arcturus, leaving a brilliant stream of light behind it for a
few seconds.
8. 1843. November 18th, 11 •'20'". Observed a beautiful caudate meteor ;
first noticed it near Sirius ; it passed through $ Orionis, Bellatrix, Aldebaran,
Hyades, Pleiades, /3 and y Arietis, between a and /3 Andromedse, and faded
away near /3 Pegasi. Its disc appeared as nearly as possible about three times
the size of the apparent disc of the planet Jupiter.
9. 1844. January 26, 11"^ 45"". Many falling stars, especially near Orion,
Gemini and Canis Minor.
10. 1844. October 18th. Many falling stars, chiefly near Cetus, Aries and
Ursa Minor.
11. 1844. November 11th, 7^ A falling star; fell from /3 Andromedse
to a Ceti.
12. 1844. November 13th, 9^^. Saw four large meteors. The first fell
from /3 Cassiopeia to »; Tauri ; second, from rj to /3 Tauri ; third, from Ca-
pella to y Tauri ; and the fourth from Pegasus to »; Tauri.
13. 1845. January 31st, 12'' 14"". A large caudate meteor of a red
colour traversed the interval between Cor Leonis and Procyon, leaving a
brilliant light behind it for about a second after its disappearance. At
22h 37m a meteor passed from Cor Caroli to Arcturus. At 12" 44"" a beau-
tiful blue meteor fell from the Pole-star to a little north of Cassiopeia. 12**
54™ another red meteor passed about 6° east of ?j Ursa Majoris.
14. 1845. February 5th, 5**. Several falling stars.
15. 1845. December 3rd, 8'' 23'". A small meteor fell from the constel-
lation Cygnus, through a very brilliant auroral arch (see Atm. Phen.p. 127),
at a, Pegasi, which left a trail of light behind it for the space of a second ;
A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 7
the light wlien it crossed the auroral arch became instantly more brilliant,
and remained visible longer in the arch than in any other portion of its track ;
it vanished about 5° beyond the auroral arch. Many other falling stars were
visible during the evening, but no other crossed the arch.
On this day a large meteor of a globular form burst over the town of
Mentz at a height of only 150 feet from the earth. It gave out a brilliant
light, followed by an immense quantity of black smoke. (From the Athe-
naeum or Lit. Gazette.)
16. 1846. July 25th. All night many falling stars.
17. 184-6. July 30th. At night many falling stars, especially in the Great
Bear. 9^ S". One of the most brilliant of them fell through the two stars to
the north of the Pointers, i.e. A and v Draconis.
18. 1846. September 10th, 9^ 45™. A falling star passed through an
auroral arch at a Andromedae ; it instantly brightened as it crossed the phse-
nomenon. The case of suddenly brightening occurred twice more, viz. at
9** 54", when a falling star crossed the arch at a Pegasi ; and at 9^ 56"^ 40%
when another meteor passed through the phsenomenon, also at a Pegasi.
Several falling stars were also noticed in Ursa Major. I conceived that the
falling stars moved with greater rapidity this evening than I had noticed them
do before. The falling stars were of a pale blue colour, of small size, and
had luminous tails.
19. 1 845. April 24th, 9^ 32"". Noticed a small falling star in Ursa Major.
At 9'' 35™, the night, which was very dark, suddenly became light as day,
and the objects, near and distant, were visible as plainly as in broad daylight;
immediately a magnificent meteor of a blue colour was seen traversing the
interval from the zenith to 30° S. by E. of it (the zenith). Its apparent size
was very nearly equal to that of the moon's disc, and perfectly round in form,
but its brilliancy far surpassed that luminary ; its intensity of light could not
possibly have been less than three times that of our satellite. No train of
light was left behind it, and the meteor, after moving 30° in the direction of
S. by E., which it accomplished in less than three seconds, exploded near
<p Leonis Majoris, and moved in small fragments of light for the space of 1°,
and then became suddenly extinguished. It appeared of no considerable
height in the air. The meteor passed through the stars 21, 30, 40 and 41
Leonis Minoris ; 95, 96, X) 59, tt, and 75 Leonis Majoris. (This meteor was
seen in Greenwich Park by Sir John Herschel, who calculated its height to
have been 90 miles ; see Atmos. Phsen. p. 230.)
20. 1845. July 29, 8^ 16™. A meteor resembling a large spark from a
candle was seen in a N., slightly W. direction ; it was extremely bright, but
not larger in appearance than the Pole-star. This meteor appeared to be
very little elevated above our earth. I have never before noticed one which
appeared so low down in the atmosphere. I should say a hundred yards was
the greatest height it could be ; it had not the appearance that meteors gene-
rally have, but resembled a spark drawn from an electrical machine.
21. 1846. May 29th, ll** 5™. A brilliant caudate meteor of a red colour
fell from the star ^ Ophiuchi, through 23, cr and a Ophiuchi, through
Herculis, and faded away near a Lyrae. The course was one in which these
meteors are not often observed to travel, being from the direction of the
horizon into the zenith.
22. 1846. September 25th. A very grand meteor at about ten o'clock;
when first noticed at Nottingham it was about 20° E. of the zenith, and fell
in a S.E. direction. I regret I did not see this fine meteor.
y REPORT — 1848.
Meleors tiot hitherto recorded, except afeio ofthein, in dieteorological Reports.
23. 1847, January 11th. Many falling stars.
24'. January 15tb, 12''. Several falling stars.
25. March'nth, 8** 30™. Several falling stars ; at this hour two fell ; the
first from Rigel, the second from a Orionis through s Orionis.
26. May 31st. From 10^ several large caudate meteors.
27. June 21st, ll'' 30". Tolerable-sized meteor fell from 7° south of
a Caniura Venaticorum to -/ Cephei. 11*" 50™. Another from 5 Ursse Ma-
joris through y Ursse Majoris. 1 1** 51". Small one through Coma Berenices.
1 1*^ 57". One through Dubhe, and another through y Ursse Majoris, and
another through the i?ole-star ; all three within 30". On this occasion several
of these stars fell through an auroral arch visible at tlie time, and when doing
so they invariably brightened, and appeared to linger in the arch ; probably
the fact of being instantly more brilliant would make them appear to the eye
lingering.
28. August 9th. Several large caudate meteors. 9^. One from a Lyrae to
Adrisded.
29. November Isc. All evening many small stars, and about S^ several
caudate ones in and near Lyra. 7*^ 59™. Blue meteor from a Lyrae to y
Cygni. 7'' 59™ 30^ From J Lyrae to Atair. 8'' 11™. From /3 Cygni through
Delphinus.
30. November 13th. Several large falling stars. 10^ One through Draco
and Hercules.
31. November I7th, 9*^ 3™. Caudate meteor from Lyra to Aquila.
32. 1846, February 11th, lO'' 30". A large straw-coloured meteor fell
from the zenith through Capella and the Pleiades.
33. February 12th, 10^ 3™. A star shot across the sky at an altitude of
30° for upwards of 30° parallel with the horizon, leaving a trail of light of
nearly 10° behind it as it progressed ; it commenced in the Great Bear and
went easterly ; several others of small size were noticed.
34. March 22nd. Few small falling stars.
35. May 29th, 10''. A falling star fell from Serpentarius, and disappeared
near e Lyrae.
36. May 30th. Few falling stars.
37. July 29th. Many falling stars.
38. August 25th, 9^^ 17™. A large meteor of a straw-colour fell in N.W.
When first seen it was passing through Cor Caroli, and it faded away in Leo
Major, near the star 9. It was about four times the size of the disc of Ju-
piter, and was very brilliant, and left a trail of light behind it. It faded
away very suddenly.
39. August 26th, 10''. A meteor fell from r] Ursae Majoris, and disap-
peared 5° below Cor Caroli ; the stream of light left behind lingered some
time before disappearing.
40. September 5th. A few falling stars.
41. September 20th. Some falling stars.
42. October 16th. Several falling stars shot parallel with the horizon.
43. November 18th, 7''. Several falling stars.
44. December 21st. Many falling stars; some of them of a tolerable
size : they were mostly in Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Taurus.
One at 9^ larger than the rest, passed through the Pleiades and e Orionis.
45. 1847, December 12th. Many falling stars noticed in the constellations
Orion, Taurus, Gemini and Auriga. At 7'' 50™, one three times the appa-
A CATALOGUE OF OBSERVATIONS OF LUMINOUS METEORS. 9
rent size of Jupiter, with a blue tail, fell slowly from the star /3 Tauri
through Bellatrix.
46. 184;8, January 4th, 6^. p.m. Several small falling stars.
47. February 7th, ll'^. A brilliant meteor of a red colour, and about
twice the apparent size of Jupiter, fell from about 2° below that planet.
48. February 20th, 11'' 40°'. Several falling stars were noticed in Ursa
Minor. At 11'' 47"° one fell from about 5° above Alderamin, and when it
crossed a ray of aurora (which passed through this star at the time) it in-
stantly brightened. The phaenomenon of suddenly becoming bright when
crossing auroral beams I have noticed in several former displays, and espe-
cially when crossing the magnificent auroral arch of 1845, December 3rd.
This is a fact worthy of particular notice.
49. April 1st, 11'' IB"". A brilliant blue meteor fell from Jupiter between
Castor and Pollux. 11'' 19'° 30^ A smaller one fell from Jupiter through
Cor Caroli ; several others were noticed.
50. April 28th, 10'' 15°'. Small falling star fell from the two stars e and
i; Aquilte to Atair, and moved rather slowly; at 11'' SO'" another small star
wpnt on the same track.
51. April 29th, 9'' 45°'. Meteor from Draco through Rastaban. 9'' 55".
Small meteor through the Polar star, 10'' 10°'. Small falling star through
Draco from a Draconis.
52. April SOth, 11'' 10°'. Falling star fell through Rastaban.
53. May 2nd, 11'' 49™. A small falling star fell from v Cygni.
54. May 3rd, 11'' 30". Several falling stars noticed, of small size, prin-
cipally in Caroli. At 11'' one larger than the rest fell from Cor Caroli.
55. May 5th, 11'' 23". Small falling star fell from y Lyrae through
j3 Cygni to a Delphini.
56. May 7th, 10''. Falling star from y Lyrae to e Aquilae. 10'' 40".
Falling star from /3 Cephei through /3 Cassiopeiae.
57. May 23rd, 12'' 3". Small star fell from a Cygni to 80 (tt 1) Cygni ;
this moved rapidly and soon disappeared ; no trail of light.
58. See Durham Advertiser, August ISth, 1847.
Time of observation, 11 to 1 1| p.m. Number 30 to 40 ; generally ranging
E.N.E. or N.E. to W.S.W. or S.W., having luminous streaks.
59. From the Bruges Journal, October 11th, 1847, communicated by
Dr. Forster.
" Cette nuit, a 7 minutes avant 2 heures, M. Forster 6tant encore a ses
observations astronomiques, a vu un meteore jaunatre qui prit naissance a
2° 30' S.S.O. de laplanete Mars et se dirigeant vers le O.N.O.jusqu'a I'hori-
zon, et laissant apres lui une longue trainee de lumiere ; 1' 40" apres il vit
un autre meteore tout pres de 1' horizon se dirigeant vers la meme direction,
mais ayant pris naissance au mid), il etait d'une clarte bleuatre."
60. 61. See Durham Advertiser, November 19th, 1847.
November 12th and 13th, nights partly cloudy, yet at intervals clear.
Several meteors between 6 and 7 p.m. on the 12th, but very few afterwards
or on the 13th ; mostly from E. to W. One bright like a star of first mag-
nitude at 6'' 5" across Pisces. Motion slow with a train from E. to W.
62. The following is the substance of Mr. Symonds' verbal statements to
Professor Powell.
1847. November 19th. 4f^ a.m. he saw a remarkable meteor of large ap-
parent diameter, passing slowly down from about the zenith, where it was
first observed, towards the S.W. .
10 REPORT— 1848.
At about 45° elevation it became stationary, and remained so for seven
minutes, Mr. S. observing the time bj^ his watch, for which there was suffi-
cient light. It then continued its descent till about 20° elevation, when it
became stationary again for a like time. It then descended till lost to view
by the intervening trees, Szc,
63. ISiS. March 9th, l'' ^o"" a.m. Cloudy. Mr. Symonds, at Wytham
Park, near Oxford, saw a slight luminosity in the atmosphere apparently be-
tween the observer and the clouds. It moved horizontally from E. to W.,
and as it advanced enlarged and assumed the appearance of a curved band,
with its convexity towards the west, towards which it moved parallel to itself
till it acquired a luminous head at the lower part, and then disappeared :
the whole lasted 22 seconds.
64. 1848. April 6th, 7*^ 5"" p.m. The same gentleman saw near Oxford a
bright meteor shoot across the zenith from N. to S., though it was then day-
light.
65. 1848. April 23rd, from 10*^ to 12'' p.m. The same observer, passing
down the Clyde in a steamer, saw an unusual number of meteors.
66. From a letter to Professor Powell from F. Barnard, Esq., dated
8 Cross-street, Islington, May ist, 1848.
At 7"^ 30°* P.M., April 30, the writer, in company with a friend in Regent's
Park, saw a meteor descend from the zenith about half-way to the horizon,
when his friend saw it separate into two parts and disappear; to himself it
seemed to disappear simply. It lasted two or three seconds ; direction nearly
S.W. It was still daylight. There had been a remarkable yellow fog in the
morning. Its size appeared, " about that of a Roman-candle ball,"
67. P. B.Duncan, Esq., late Fellow of New College, Oxford, in a note to
Professor Powell, observes that the peculiarity of the appearance which he
witnessed. May 10th, at half-past ten, near Wootton (Woodstock), was a lumi-
nous stream descending vertically. He had seen many inclined or horizontal.
68. Extract from a letter from E. J. Lowe, Esq. to Professor Powell.
" I hasten to inform you of the large meteor seen here last night (July 12th,
^h j-m p,M,) which crossed beneath the moon. The meteor was very nearly,
if not quite, a fourth the size of the moon, and when first seen was 5° to the
south of that luminary ; and at an altitude above the horizon, when first seen,
of about 5° less than that of the moon. It moved in an angle with the S.W.
horizon of about 45° towards the west horizon. This meteor was remarkable
on account of the slowness with which it travelled; it must have occupied
from 3" to 4" in moving about 20°. Its colour was an intense blue, and the
meteor left a trail of light which gave only from the blue mass pale-red
sparks of large size ; some larger than first magnitude stars. The meteor
was of a peculiar shape, being that of a cone ; unfortunately a tree prevented
my viewing its disappearance; the tree was only 10° in diameter, therefore
must have vanished within 10°. It required three minutes to get a full view
of the spot where it must have vanished, and then all traces of the phaeno-
menon had disappeared. The meteor appeared to cross near or over the
only star visible below the moon and to the west of it ; this star 1 took to be
a Libra, from its position and size.
" At 11'^ 47™ a meteor of the size of a second magnitude star moved from
Corona Borealis to Benetnasch ; it was of a blue colour, and moved exceed-
ingly rapid. Others were noticed during the night ; I did not see them."
69. Extract from a letter to Prof. Powell from the Rev. C. Marriott, Fellow
of Oriel College, dated Bradfield, Berks, July 29th, 1848.
" Within half a mile of this place, about ten to-night, I saw a shooting-star
as bright as Venus, and drawing a bright train as if of sparks or globules, I
ON WATER-PRESSURE ENGINES. H
could not say which, they vanished so rapidly. It appeared a few degrees
below the Pole-star, or a little to the eastward, and descending towards the
western horizon, hit the lowest of the Pointers, and disappeared a few degrees
beyond it."
70. In this communication (to M. Quetelet) the author remarks that the
" Zenithal line parallel to which the greatest number of meteors were directed,
was from N.N.E. to S.S.W. nearly as observed in the previous year, [at Ply-
mouth]. Others passed to the northward, and on combining the M'hole it
resulted as a general view, that the movements appeared to originate about a
point N.E. of the zenith, near Cassiopeia, and that the meteors passing south-
ward were more numerous than those proceeding to the north." — Bull, de
I'Ac. Roy. deBruxelles, 1842, p. 324-326.
On Water-pressure Engines.
By Joseph Glynn, F.R.S., M. Inst. C.E. ^c.
(A communication ordered to be printed entire among the Reports to the Association.)
At the last meetrng of the British Association in Oxford, I read a report on
the Turbine as a means of obtaining mechanical power, with a rotary motion
from falls of water in circumstances where a water-wheel could not be em-
ployed. The report I propose to submit to the present meeting relates to
another mode of employing the power of waterfalls in a manner essentially
different, but not less useful and important, which appears to have been too
much neglected in this country, considering the advantages to be derived
from it in hilly districts for the drainage of mines. The paper on the Tur-
bine is printed in the last volume of the Transactions ; the present paper,
which may be regarded as another branch of the same subject, describes the
application of high falls of water to produce a reciprocating motion by means
of the pressure-engine, as has before been done with respect to the produc-
tion of a rotary motion by means of the Turbine.
The first invention of the water-pressure engine, like many other mecha-
nical contrivances, appears to belong to Germany, and most probably had its
origin in Hungary, where so many ingenious machines actuated by water
have long been used. In the pressure-engine the power is obtained from a
descending column of water acting by its weight or hydrostatic pressure
upon the piston of a cylinder, to give motion to pumps for raising water to
a different level, or to produce a reciprocating motion for other purposes.
In mountainous districts, so often containing great mineral wealth, water-
falls may be found of a much greater height than can be practically brought
to bear upon water-wheels ; and the stream is often too small in quantity to
produce the desired effect on a water-wheel within the ordinary limits of
diameter. In such situations the pressure-engine is well-adapted to derive
great mechanical power from a fall of water for working pumps and ma-
chinery for draining mines.
The Germans appear to have made successive improvements upon their
original engines, and to have extended, from time to time, their usefulness
and application, of which two important examples may be given.
The one is at Illsang in Bavaria, at the salt-works, which are situated in
the southern part of the kingdom. These works are supplied from a mine of
rock-salt in the valley of Bergtesgaden and from the salt springs at Reichen-
hall, where the salt was formerly purified by solution and evaporation ; but
as this operation could not be carried on with advantage on account of the
scarcity of fuel, the saturated brine is now conveyed by a line of pipes seven
inches ia diameter, through which it is forced from stage to stage for a
12 REPORT — 1848.
distance of about sixty miles by a series of nine pressure-engines, acted upon
by falls of water from the hills, and each of them working a pump.
A description of these engines will be found in the Proceedings of the
Institution of Civil Engineers, and an excellent drawing, by Mr. W. L.
Baker, of one of the best engines of the series, constructed by M. de Reichen-
bach, will be found in the collection of that institution. This engine has a
cylinder of twenty-six inches in diameter, with a stroke of four feet, making
in regular work five strokes per minute ; it is made entirely of brass and is
an excellent machine, both in design and workmanship. Very few working
parts are visible, and it acts almost without noise ; the sliding valves, or
rather sliding pistons, which regulate the engine's action, being also moved
by water-pressure.
The other example, at Freyberg in Saxony, is an engine constructed by
MM. Brendel in the year 1824, for draining the Alte Mdrdgrube mine. It
has two single acting cylinders attached to opposite ends of a working beam
by means of arched heads and chains ; the cylinders are open at top, and
have strong piston-rods of timber. The pressure of the water acts alter-
nately under the piston of either cylinder and forces it upwards, whilst the
piston of the cylinder at the other end of the beam is depressed by the
weight of the pump-rods. A bell crank attached to each piston-rod gives
motion to the pump-rods, each working twenty-two pumps, placed one above
the other, lying at an angle of forty-five degrees, and dividing the lift of each
set of pumps into twenty-two heights or stages of about thirty feet. The
engine is placed 360 feet underground. The cylinders are of cast-iron,
eighteen inches in diameter, with a stroke of nine leet; and the useful effect
was computed by M. von Gerstner to be seventy per cent, of the power ex-
pended. A section of one of the cylinders, showing the mode of working the
valves, has been sent me by a friend at Wiesbaden, and an excellent drawing
of this engine by Mr. Baker will be found at the Institution of Civil Engineers.
The first water-pressure engine used in England was erected by Mr. Wil-
liam Westgarth, at a lead mine belonging to Sir Walter Blacket, in the
county of Northumberland, in the year 1765.
The cylinder of this engine was equal in length to the whole height of the
fall of water ; it was open at the top, and the water ran into the open top of
the cylinder by a trough ; the piston worked in a bored chamber, at the
lower end, of ten inches in diameter, and was attached by a chain to the
arched head of an engine beam placed above, the opposite end of the beam
suspending a wooden rod, which passed down the pit to work the pump.
The column of water always pressed upon the top of the piston, but by
admitting water below the piston the pressure was neutralized, and the
piston was raised by the weight of the descending pump-rods. On closing
the communication with the underside of the piston and discharging the
water from the cylinder bottom, the pressure of the column again acted
upon the piston and sent it down. By a simple and self-acting piece of me-
chanism, similar to the working gear of the steam-engines of that time, the
orifices were alternately opened and shut, and the reciprocating motion of
the engine continued.
A detailed account, with drawings of this engine, was submitted to the
Society of Arts in the year 1769, and printed in the fifth volume of the
Society's Transactions in 1787. The description and drawings, from which
a model was then made, were given by Mr. Smeaton : the Society voted fifty
guineas to Mr. W'estgarth, and presented a silver medal, with their thanks, to
Mr. Smeaton for his excellent account of so valuable an invention.
I have carefully examined these interesting memorials of the early encou-
ON WATER-PRESSURE ENGINES. 13
ragement given to inventive genius by the Society of Arts, which continues
with renewed energy its career of public utility under the presidency of
Prince Albert. I am satisfied, not only from the evidence which the ma-
chine itself offers, differing as it does entirely from any of the German en-
gines, but from the written testimony of Mr. Smeaton, that Mr. Westgarth's
pressure-engine was his own invention ; and that he borrowed no part of it,
either in plan or in detail, from anything then or previously existing on the
continent. His idea appears to have been taken from the single-acting,
open-topped atmospheric engine of the period ; substituting the pressure of
a column of water for the pressure of the atmosphere.
The liberality and goodness of heart which distinguished Mr. Smeaton, no
less than his high talent and skill as a civil engineer, appear conspicuously
in the correspondence alluded to, from which 1 have thought it requisite to
give the following extracts : —
"Austhorpe, April 29, 1769.
" I had the pleasure of seeing the first complete engine of this kind at
work in the summer of 1765, for draining or unwatering a lead mine belong-
ing to Sir Walter Blacket, at Coldcleugh in the county of Northumberland ;
since which time that machine has been shown to all those who had the
curiosity to see it. Mr. Westgarth has now erected four others in the dif-
ferent mines of that neighbourhood, one of which I have seen, and all
attended with equal success."
In a subsequent letter Mr. Smeaton says, —
" Mr. Westgarth was induced to think of applying for a patent for the
exclusive privilege of using this invention, but previous thereto he was pleased
to advise with me concerning it, being at that time frequently in these parts
of the country as an agent of Greenwich Hospital.
" Much as I admired the ingenuity of Mr. Westgarth's invention, I dis-
suaded him from the thoughts of a patent, as it would take a length of time
to be sufficiently known, and the number of cases in which it could be pro-
perly applied were not sufficient to afford such a number of premiums as
might defray the expense of a patent, with a prospect of advantage to him-
self and family.
" I therefore recommended it to him, as the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce were, by handsome premiums
and bounties, encouragers of all useful inventions and improvements, to com-
municate his invention to them, that it might be made public, in confidence
that he would obtain a bounty for the same of such value as to the Society
should seem meet ; and in consequence hereof I gave him a representation of
the utility of his invention, with which in the year 1769 he applied to the
said Society, and obtained a bounty upon condition he delivered to the
Society a working model and a draught, showing the construction of the
engine ; but as the death of Mr. Westgarth, which happened not long after,
prevented the usefulness of the machine from being so successfully spread,
as it doubtless otherwise would have been, and as some of the most essential
parts of the machine cannot be seen in the model without its being taken to
pieces, and the drawing not being accompanied with any literal explanation,
nor the details of it sufficiently made out, at the request of the Society I
have now supplied these defects, that it may be published in such a manner
that the utility of it may be seen, and the means of making and applying it
be explained."
It appears that on seeing Mr. Westgarth's engine, Mr. Smeaton suggested
to him that if the engine instead of the great lever or balance-beam were
made to work with a wheel, and instead of the long spear going down the
14 REPORT — 1848.
descending pump trees, the pistons were made to communicate with the
main chain through a collar of leathers or stuffed collar, that then the whole
of the machinery would stand together just above the level or sough, and
there Avould take up less room, as the work might in general be comprehended
within the limits of the shaft ; and the descending pipe might also be of a less
bore and be fixed in a corner of the shaft, and therefore be upon the whole
much more convenient for underground works ; and in this mode the latest
engines of Mr. Westgarth were actually constructed with success. So that
little was wanting, except the perfection of modern workmanship, to render
the engine complete, although it was not made direct-acting, as the engines
recently made generally are.
Mr. Smeaton constructed a water-pressure engine in 1770 at Temple
Newsam, Yorkshire, to work a pump for supplying Lord Irwin's residence.
It was of course of small size, and the pressure being communicated to the
cylinder by an inclined pipe bringing the water from some distance, he modi-
fied and improved the plan of Mr. Westgarth, closing the cylinder top and
using the piston-rod with a stuffed collar, still however retaining in its original
form, or nearly so, the ingenious slide valve devised by Mr. Westgarth.
This Mas a cylindrical hoop or ring, sliding for a short distance up and
down upon a pipe, which it encircled, the pipe having two sets of openings
separated by a horizontal bridge or partition. The valve was inclosed in a
box attached to the branch pipe of the cylinder, and sustained the pressure
of the column equally in all directions ; and it was rendered water-tight by
strips of leather.
When the upper openings in the pipe were exposed above the valve, the
water entered the cylinder below the piston, but when the lower set of aper-
tures was opened by raising the cylindrical valve, the water escaped from the
cylinder, the position of the valve at the same time shutting off the further
entrance of the water and its pressure upon the piston. The openings were
in the first instance square holes, but afterwards they were made in the form
of a lozenge or rhombus, with the acute angle upwards, so that the water
might enter or be shut off more gradually.
After Mr. Smeaton's time the water-pressure engine seems to have re-
mained in abeyance, and I am not aware that any more of them were made
until Mr. Trevitheck revived their use. The great improvements made in
the steam-engine by Mr. Watt caused water-engines of all kinds to be neg-
lected ; and even water-wheels were in many cases replaced by steam-engines
as their substitutes. Water power went out of fashion, and was generally
considered to be too precarious and expensive, as compared with steam, to de-
serve much attention from engineers.
Lately, however, more enlarged views have been taken respecting water
power, and the subject has been more studied and better understood. Instead
of depending on the uncertain flow of streams and rivers, sometimes flooded
and sometimes dried up, water has been stored in vast reservoirs, collecting
the surplws rain from higher ground and ensuring a constant supply at all
seasons, thus rendering water power both certain and cheap. The Bann
reservoirs in Ireland and tiie Shaws water-works in Scotland may be taken as
examples of this kind well-worthy of imitation.
Mr. Trevitheck constructed several water-pressure engines, one of which
was erected in Derbj'shire in the year 1803, and is still, I believe, at work at
the Alport mines, near Bakewell, to which it was removed from its original
situation, not far distant.
Through the kindness of Mr. John S. Enys of Penryn, I have been fa-
voured with extracts of letters from Mr. Trevitheck to Mr. Davies Gilbert,
ON WATER-PRESSURE ENGINES. 15
referring to the " great pressure-engine in Derbyshire." In one of these,
dated January 10th, ISO*, he says, " It has been at work about three months
and never missed one stroke, except when they let a tub swim down the
descending column."
This it appears damaged the cylinder cover, which was speedily repaired
and the engine again set in motion ; for in a subsequent letter he complains
of non-payment for his foreman's attendance and travelling expenses and for
the wages of the men he sent, adding, " If they found fault with the engine
there would be some reason for not paying, but they say it is the best in the
world."
The cylinder of Mr. Trevitheck's engine is, I believe, thirty inches in
diameter.
In 1841, our respected Treasurer, Mr. John Taylor, advised the application
of another and more powerful engine at the Alport mines, which was made
under my direction at the Butterley Works. This was the most powerful
engine that had been made: the cylinder is 50 inches in diameter and the
stroke 10 feet. It is worked by a column of water 132 feet high, acting
below the piston and lifting by direct action a weighted plunger pole 42
inches in diameter, which raises the water from the mine to a height of 132
feet, so that the proportion of power to effect is as the area of the piston to
that of the plunger, namely, 1963 to 1385, or full 70 per cent, (see the three
figures, Plate I.).
I received a letter a short time ago from Mr. Darlington, who has the care
of the machinery at the mines, and who fixed this engine, in which he says
the engine has never cost them £12 a-year since it was erected.
The usual speed is about five strokes per minute, but it will work at the
rate of seven strokes without any concussion in the descending column ; the
duty actually done being then equal to 168 horses' power, of 33,000 lbs.
raised a foot high in a minute. Thus, the area of the plunger, 3 feet 6 inches
in diameter, is 9*621 square feet XlO feet, the length of stroke, X 7 strokes
per minute =673*4'7 cubic feet of water raised 132 feet high in a minute;
and 673*47 cubic feet of water x62'5lb3., the weight per foot, X 132 feet in
height =5,556,127, which, divided by 33,000, gives 168^, say 168 horses'
power. The pressure upon the piston from a column of water 132 feet
high, reckoning 27 inches of water equal to a pound, is about 58 pounds on
the square inch, or rather more than 50 tons pressure on the area of the piston.
Thus, the area of the piston, 50 inches in diameter, is 1963 square inches
X58lbs. = 113,854, and this divided by 2240, the number of pounds in a
ton, gives 50*8, say 50 tons..
This engine was erected early in 1842, and has been at work without
intermission for more than six years. On one occasion, when I made inquiry
about it, I was told that it had been constantly going for the last seventeen
weeks, and nobody had seen it during the time.
An excellent model of this engine will be found in the museum of Econo-
mic Geology, made by Mr. Jordan, since so well known by his invention for
carving wood by machinery.
It will be observed that after the large valves are closed, the pressure is
continued upon the piston to complete the stroke. This was at first done by
means of cocks at the sides, but as the friction of these caused some little
trouble, Mi-. Darlington substituted some small pistons to shut off the water
at the termination of the stroke, and at the same time made the openings a
little larger.
Mr. Taylor has since, I believe, had another engine of the same size made
for a lead mine in Wales, and the result has been equally satisfactory.
16 REPORT 1848.
I beg leave to submit this subject to the Association as one worthy of notice,
observing that in this case, as in all others where water acts by its gravity or
pressure, those machines do the best duty where the water enters the machine
without shock or impulse and quits it without velocity. We then obtain all
the available power that the water will yield, with the least loss of effect,
and this result is best accomplished by making the pipes and passages of
sufficient and ample size to prevent acceleration of the hydrostatic column.
Description of the Figures.
The three figures given in Plate I, show an elevation, plan and section of
the water-pressure engine at the Alport Mines. The arrows show the
entrance and escape of the water which works the engine. The influx and
efflux are regulated by two sluices, which are raised by screws, and determine
the speed of the engine and of the up and down strokes of the piston.
On the Air and Water of Towns.
By Robert Angus Smith, Ph.D., Manchester.
Having been requested to examine into the variations in composition of the
air and water of towns, I send the observations which I have made upon the
subject.
It has been long believed that the air and the water have a most import-
ant influence on our health, and superstitions have therefore constantly been
attaching themselves to receptacles of the one and emanations of the other.
The town has always been found to differ from the country ; this general
feeling is a more decisive experiment than any that can be made in a labo-
ratory. Although men of high standing have been found to deny that any
difference exists between the air of the worst towns or the most crowded
rooms and that of the open country, it seems to be only a proof, that men
accustomed to experimental inquiry are apt to forget the value and force to
be attached to those apparently less rigorous observations whicii the senses
are constantly and unconsciously making, and to believe only that which can
be demonstrated by the grosser processes of a laboratory. Most men would
be satisfied of the impurity of an atmosphere through which a blue sky could
never be seen of a blue colour, or where a bright cloud appears of a dingy
brovvTi ; but there are men who take this air into glass receivers, and because
they detect no new substances or strange compounds, they deny that there is
any peculiarity. I have known persons from the highlands of Scotland who
felt in going into Glasgow as we do when going into a glass-house or forge,
and who could not be persuaded to stay, unless they remained long enough
to find some advantages before unknown to them. The inquiries made by
the Sanitary Commissioners have completely established the fact that crowded
towns are dangerous places; and although it is still an open question whe-
ther a well-regulated town or country life be the more healthy, it is suffi-
ciently established that our towns have subjected themselves to many dangers,
which we in self-defence are feeling compelled to try to avert, by acting ac-
cording to natural laws as far as their acquaintance has been made.
Most persons must have felt that a rapid entrance into a large town,
especially a manufacturing town, was also an entrance into another climate.
An inhabitant of the sea-coast or of the hills perceives it rapidly, and the
effect on them is often decidedly bad ; to those accustomed to it a fen-
hours are found to be enough to cause them to forget the atmosphere whicli
in their holiday excursions had caused them such delight. We are apt in
I
ON THE AIR AND WATER OF TOWNS. 17
these cases to assign other reasons for the feeh'ngs experienced, and to
attribute much to the change of scene and occupation ; and 1 have read it
not long ago asserted, that the air in the streets of London and of the tops
of distant hills probably differed only in the temperature.
Priestley found that after shutting up a mouse in air a considerable time
it seemed to become weak and to be slowly dying, but if he put a fresh
mouse into the same air at this period it instantly died. We can bear the
gradual deterioration with ease, but we often find ourselves surprised at the
state of the air in which we find our friends sitting, perfectly unconscious of
any want of attention to their sanitary state.
The air has often been called a general receptacle for all impurity ;
Nature has made it a universal purifier by giving it so large an amount of
free oxygen. It is oxygen which purifies, and bodies which are impure
have a tendency to volatilize, after which they become pure.
No doubt the air of a town contains a portion of all exhalations which
arise in a town. Tliese are such as come from living bodies in the first
instance ; exhalations which can never be got rid of, but which it is probable
are not at all dangerous, unless accumulated. There are also exhalations
from the refuse matter of animals, and from combustion of fuel. These are
the chief points. Various manufactures give out various effluvia, and no
man that has walked through a large town with attention can have failed to
perceive that no street is entirely free from effluvia, and that every one
seems to have a peculiarity of its own.
The smell is a delicate guide to this, and although custom causes us to
forget that odour to which we are much exposed, a frequent change gives
us still more acuteness, and both houses and streets may fairly be com-
plained of when the inhabitants are little aware of it.
That animals constantly give out a quantity of solid organic matter from
the lungs may readily be proved by breathing through a tube into a bottle,
when the liquid or condensed breath will be collected at the bottom of the
bottle ; or by breathing through a tube into water, when a solution of tlie
same substance will be found in the water. This would scarcely require
proof if we considered that breath so frequently has an organic smell ; per-
haps rather it always has an organic smell, and when it is bad the smell is
often offensive, containing decomposing organic matter.
If this condensed breath be put on a piece of platinum, or on a piece of
white porcelain and burnt, the charcoal which remains and the smell of
organic matter will be conclusive. If it be allowed to stand for a few days
(about a week is enough), it will then show itself more decidedly by be-
coming the abode of small animals. These are rather to be styled animal-
cules, and very small ones certainly, unless a considerable quantity of liquid
be obtained : they may be seen with a good microscope. Animalcules are
now generally believed to come from the atmosphere and to deposit them-
selves on convenient feeding-places ; that is, they only appear where there
is food or materials for their growth, and they prove of course the existence
of that continuation of elements necessary for organic life. At the same
time their presence is a proof of decomposing matter, as their production is
one of the various ways in which organized structure may be broken up.
Such a liquid must of course be an injurious substance, giving out constantly
vapours of an unwholesome kind.
I mentioned some time ago that 1 had got a quantity of organic matter
from the windows of a crowded room, and I have since frequently repeated
1848. c
18 REPORT — 1848.
the experiment. This matter condenses on the glass and walls in cold
weather, and may be taken up by means of a pipette. If allowed to stand
some time, it forms a thick, apparently glutinous mass ; but when this is
examined by a microscope, it is seen to be a closely-matted confervoid
growth, or in other words, the organic matter is converted into Confervae, as
it probably would have been converted into any kind of vegetation that
happened to take root. Between the stalks of these confervae are lo be
seen a number of greenish globules constantly moving about, various species
of Volvox, accompanied also by monads many times smaller. When this
happens, the scene is certainly lively and the sight beautiful ; but before
this occurs the odour of perspiration may be distinctly perceived, especially
if the vessel containing the liquid be placed in boiling water.
My analyses of this body are not yet ready, further than that it contains
the usual organic elements.
If air be passed through water a certain amount of this material is ob-
tained, but 1 have found it difficult to pass a sufficient quantity through.
If it is made to pass rapidly, absorption does not take place, and evaporation
of the water is the consequence ; if it passes slowly, it requires many weeks
to pass a hundred cubic ieet through a small quantity of water. I continued
the experiment for three months, but although I obtained sulphuric acid,
chlorine, and a substance resembling impure albumen, I did not get enough
to make a complete examination ; and indeed this could not be expected, as
I found that in that time less than a thousand gallons of air had passed
through.
When this exhalation from animals is condensed on a cold body, it in
course of time dries up, and leaves a somewhat glutinous organic plaster ;
we often see a substance of this nature on the furniture of dirty houses, and
in this case there is always a disagreeable smell perceptible. I have no
doubt that this is a great cause of the necessity for constant cleaning, which
experience has found and made to be a very general practice in England and
elsewhere. In other words, it is a reason why that which is not cleaned becomes
dirty, a question which I have often felt great difficulty in answering.
Water is necessary to the spontaneous decomposition of animal matter,
and it is probable that in a warm climate this coating of walls and furniture
would not be so dangerous as with us, where everything is exposed to
tnoisture a considerable part of the year. In a warmer cUmate it will pro-
bably be diffused more into the atmosphere, and not be so much retained as
it is by the moisture which dissolves it or to which it attaches itself.
It will probably be found that this substance is not poisonous if taken
into the stomach, but it is known to be poisonous breathed into the lungs,
as we know crowded rooms are. The quantity is small that we do breathe,
but at the same time we must remember that it is diffused in air, and has
therefore a surface as extended as the volume of the air in all probability ;
and we know that a cubic inch of sulphuretted hydrogen will scent at least
some hundred cubic feet of air.
As this substance of which we speak is organic and contains carbon hy-
drogen and nitrogen, with other elements, it is capable of oxidation ; and it no
doubt is continually undergoing oxidation in the air, probably forming car-
bonic acid, water and ammonia. It is also not unlikely that this is a greater
source of the ammonia of the atmosphere than the mere foetid decomposition
of animal matter, which does not occur to a large extent in nature, provision
being made for its removal by animals, and by vegetation especially.
ON THE AIR AND WATER OP TOWNS. 19
Organic matter in contact with water constantly gives off an odour of some
kind, and especially if heated, so that it would appear as if steam or vapour
were capable of taking up much more than that which we call volatile
matter.
If organic matter be allowed to decompose in the air it gives out carbonic
acid, ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, and probably other gases. Priestley
has shown that if it decomposes in water it gives out an inflammable gas.
If however it be exposed to the action of soil, other circumstances being
favourable, it is converted partly into nitric acid.
None of these cases occur purely in our towns, but all of them occur to
some extent. Carbonic acid and ammonia occur in all reservoirs of refuse,
and sulphuretted hydrogen occurs also in abundance. It was once very
perceptible in London, as Sir Kenelra Digby complains much of the
state of the streets, when silver could not be kept clean in his day. This
may be observed now in many towns, and is in fact not uncommon. This
is a disagreeable smelling gas, and wherever it is abundant will be easily
detected by the nose. It may be detected readily in many courts and alleys,
also at the mouths of sewers, and in some parts of the Irwell and Medlock
at Manchester, where they are filled with organic matter and alkaline and
earthy salts. Ammonia generally accompanies it so as to diminish its bad
eflFects.
Ammonia itself is probably of no injury unless in excessive quantities, and
may be considered as one of the most wholesome forms in which nitrogen
and hydrogen, as gases, pass into the air. A decomposition such as this occurs
ordinarily in towns, as there is a certain exposure to air always.
In cases where there is no exposure, or at least when the substance is in
water, inflammable gases are produced, as Priestley has shown and Liebig
has to some extent explained. It would seem as if, when decomposition
commenced, oxidation of one portion necessarily took place, leaving the
other portions without oxygen, unless in cases where an abundance
could be obtained. Dalton found the gas from the floating island at Der-
wentwater to contain carburetted hydrogen and nitrogen. The carbon and
the hydrogen are deprived of oxygen entirely, whilst more oxidized
bodies, as carbonic acid and humus, are left, the latter body to be in time
entirely oxidized, as Liebig has shown. Whether the nitrogen comes off
alone or as ammonia, the same division of a substance into oxidized and
deoxidized occurs as we see in the fermentation of sugar, where carbonic
acid a body oxidized, and alcohol a body to a great extent deoxidized, occur.
We have only to suppose compounds of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen,
coming from decomposing matter, to show us the great danger. It is not to
be trusted that these bodies always appear in the mode of combination men-
tioned here ; their modes of combining are various, and these elements
form the most active poisons known to us.
A certain amount of moisture is almost essential to the escape of odour from
many bodies ; it probably arises from two causes. The vapour of wa^er is
a vehicle for organic matter, and water favours decomposition in bodies, so
that as they decompose the vapour is given out. From whatever cause, it will
be found that moisture rapidly facilitates the escape of odour. Mineralogists
avail themselves of this when they breathe on a mineral and then ascertain
the smell. The moisture of an evening, or even artificial moisture, causes
the flowers to give their scents, and the moist state of the atmosphere belore
or after a shower causes also a great fragrance in a flower-garden. But
whilst this is caused the same laws are operating for injurious effects,
c2
20 KEPORT — 1848.
wherever there is a reservoir of putrid matter, for then the exhalations
are also abundant, and bubbles may be seen to rise from filthy water. It
is not improbable that the state of the atmospheric pressure may cause this,
as Mr. E. W. Binney has shown that the gases in coal-pits are caused to
escape rapidly during a lowering of the barometer. Bodies that are
moist will therefore give out more organic vapours; if there be abun-
dance of water, as in a lake, the vapours would to a great extent be dis-
solved, even if the same kind of decomposition were to proceed as in merely
moist or marshy ground. We might expect then that soil, if moist, will
give out, not pure vapour of water, but water with organic matter in it.
Wet soil is a little acid generally, and if very acid is bad land, sour as it is
called ; but if made alkaline either by the direct adding of ammonia, or by
decomposition producing ammonia, it becomes fertile. If any alkali be
added which gives out ammonia by decomposing the humate of ammonia in
the ground, the same state of fertility is attained. This end is generally
attained by adding lime. This state of almost neutrality of the soil is also
regulated by nature, and a fertile alkalinity obtained by the rapid decompo-
sition of organic matter through moisture and heat. In this alkaline and
warm state more vapours will of course be given off, and the ammonia will
assist in the removing of organic matter into the air. How far this occurs
on sowed land has not yet been seen by me satisfactorily ; but on peat land
the ammonia formed is abundant in hot weather, so much so as to be per-
ceptible directly by the senses, and to take with it in solution a large quan-
tity of humus and salts of humus, containing food for plants, as I showed in
a paper to the Philosophical Society of Manchester.
I mention this to show how organic matter may be lifted into the air,
and why hot weather promotes it ; also I wish to show how various this
matter must be in its properties, as all vegetable solutions give out a certain
amount of matter from tliem.
To ascertain if organic matter were really to be got from such vapours
from land, I collected some dew by condensing it on a glass cylinder, and
allowing it to drop into a glass below. The fewness of the evenings fa-
vourable for the purpose this year has of course retarded me. I saw plainly
however that the substance thus obtained from the dew was very different
from that obtained by condensation in a warm room ; whereas that from a
crowded room was thick, oily, and smelling of perspiration, capable of de-
composition and productive of animalcules and confervae ; the dew was
beautifully clear and limpid. When boiled down the odour was not dis-
agreeable, and I may say not remarkable ; but when the small portion of
solid matter which remained dissolved in it was exposed to heat, the smell
was that of vegetable matter with very little trace of any nitrogenized
substance. It was also rather agreeable than otherwise. The dew was
collected in a flower-garden, and I have no doubt in favourable weather of
being able, in dissimilar situations, of getting it of different characters. It is
not improbable that the matter in the dew may be a measure of the amount
in the atmosphere ; if so, the decided difference between that of the country
and that of crowded rooms is to be remarked, and may probably form a
good guide towards a knowledge of comparative purity of atmosphere.
In walking along the fields on an evening when there is much dew, it
may be observed how much effect a dry soil has ; indeed I might almost
say the climate of a field will be found to vary almost every yard. Every
cause of cold, the formation of a drain, the lowness of any spot, its being
higher or more level or more sheltered, is indicated by this delicate ther-
ON THE AIR AND WATER OF TOWNS. 21
morneter, the rise of vapour and the perception of cold. If we ascend
higher the same is seen on a larger scale — on miles instead of yards. A
house may be in a clear atmosphere and the lawn before it in an impene-
trable fog. One foot in height makes a difference, and one foot also of level
distance, if the ground should differ in quality. The damper places give us
a feeling of freshness, and cause also a slight irritation of the nose. Every
wall causes a certain amount of dampness ; and even in a windy day, a
leafless hedge will protect one side from evaporation. In these respects
therefore we may say truly, that every field or house in the country, as well
as I believe every house in the town, has its own peculiar climate.
The effect of wetness on the atmosphere of a town is very great ; if we
observe the smoke on a dry day we find that it rises, and if there be a little
wind it is carried out in distinct black lines, leaving the air below compara-
tively pure. If the day be dull and wet, the smoke instead of being carried
away is poured out directly into the streets, and a spectator at a short
distance sees a basin of black fluid, if the town be in a valley, or a heap
gradually diminishing towards the circumference as it falls into the adjacent
country. It may be replied that the diffusion of gases would prevent this,
but again it may simply be said that it does not prevent it. Besides, the
smoke is not to be considered as a gas, the black portion is carbon and tar.
If the carbon is wet, it becomes, like all other spongy bodies when filled
with water, heavy, and of course falls down. The carbonic acid will no
doubt be diffused more, but it also is strongly attracted by water, and must not
be viewed as a pure gas, such as oxygen or nitrogen. Probably this is the
reason of the very disagreeable state of our towns in damp gloomy weather ;
it is such weather as does not allow the town to be ventilated. The same
does not occur on a thoroughly wet day, when the matter is carried fairly
down into the streets, and a certain freshness is perceived.
Rain amidst smoke is just such a liquid as we might expect ; it is a
mixture of soot in a finely-divided, apparently dissolved state. It is how-
ever not dissolved, and by boiling down may be got free. It is not easy
to tell exactly the composition of the rain ; for although I have examined
it and obtained many products in it, so much may be said to come from
other sources when water is collected near houses or near the ground, that
I have often suspected some source of error. However, I think if we take
that rain which is collected on a very wet day, after many hours of continued
pouring without wind, we may consider that we have got the purest speci-
men. This was collected frequently, and having obtained it so often I am
now satisfied that the dust really comes down with the purest rain, and that
it is simply coal ashes. No doubt this accounts for the quantity of sul-
phates and of chlorides in the rain, and for the soot, which are the chief
ingredients. This rain is also often alkaline, arising probably from the
ammonia of the burnt coal, which is no doubt a valuable agent for neutral-
izing the sulphuric acid so often formed. It must however be frequently
acid with sulphuric acid, although I have not found it so, as I have traced
sulphurous acid in the atmosphere frequently, walking through some miles
of streets to come to its source. The source however is not easily obtained,
because I believe it does not fall till at some distance.
The rain-water at Manchester is about 2^ degrees of hardness, harder in
fact than the water from the neighbouring hills, which the town intends to use.
This can only arise from the ingredients obtained in the town atmosphere.
But the most curious point is the fact that organic matter is never absent,
although the rain be continued for whole days. This matter is capable of
22 REPORT — 1848.
promoting animalcular life to some extent, and small specimens may be
seen moving solitary in it. If allowed to stand in a bottle, this may be
more clearly detected. On this matter I must say more at a future
time.
My chief wish is to show that the general notions entertained by persons
as to the air of towns are not without the support of what is called scientific
observation, although at the same time the effects on life are greater than
chemists by any observations could have made out.
Vogel and others have found organic matter in the atmosphere; and
Dr. Southwood Smith, in looking for matter which might produce fever,
found an organic substance, I believe, in some of the streets of London. I
give only in detail what I have myself observed.
If this matter should from any cause be exposed to a decomposition more
rapid than usual, we have before us a state of things worse because more
general than a bad sewer, and can account for many diseases. I am there-
fore disposed to think of it as Lord Bacon thought of the cause of jail
fever : — "Out of question such smells consist of man's flesh or sweat putre-
fied. There may be great danger of such compositions in great meetings
of people within houses ; for poisoning of air is no less dangerous than
poisoning of water. And these empoisonments of air are more dangerous
in meetings of people, because the much breath of people doth further the
reception of the infection." — Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum,
The state of the air is closely connected with that of the water ; what the
air contains the water may absorb, what the water has dissolved or absorbed
it may give out to the air. Whatever the rain meets with in its course from
the surface to the wells of a town is, if soluble, dissolved in the water. The
enormous quantity of impure matter filtering from all parts of a large town
into its many natural and artificial outlets, does at first view present us with
a terrible picture of our underground sources of water. But when we
examine the soil of a town, we do not find the state of matters to present
that exaggerated character which we might suppose.
I have often been struck with the extent to which water may purify itself.
At Bala, on the hills, the water is brown ; in the lake it is still coloured,
but in its course it becomes beautifully clear. A still stronger instance
may be observed on the hills beyond Bolton, the water in which is of a deep
brown: when it falls into the reservoirs just below it ceases to be very
dark, although still too brown for agreeable use ; but when it has run a few
miles it ceases to be remarkable, and is often perfectly pure. I was struck also
with the fact that filters do not become dirty in proportion to the amount
of impurity which they seem to remove. The sand at the Chelsea water-
works contains only 1-43 per cent, of organic and volatile matter after being
used for weeks, and cannot be considered as impure in a high degree.
In 182? Liebig found nitrates in twelve wells in Giessen, but none in
wells two or three hundred yards from the town (Annales de Chimie,
vol. XXXV.). Berzelius made similar observations at Stockholm. In 1846 and
1847 I examined about thirty wells in Manchester, and found none free
from nitrates ; many contained a surprising quantity, and were very nau-
seous (Mem. of the Chem. Soc).
Wells in the country generally contain organic matter, and in the town
the organic matter is oxidized into nitric acid, as if it required a certain
intensity to promote the action. It is very probable that this acid is an
effect of restricted oxidation, occurring as it does with such excess of
organic matter, and, although near the surface, still under hard pavements
ON THE AIR AND WATER OF TOWNS. 23
and soil where there is also little flow of water. It might however be viewed
as an oxidation, with excess of oxygen also where the large extent of surface
presented by the porous materials gives an increased facility for oxidation,
or rather presents compressed oxygen, so as to be more effective.
It will be of interest to know what becomes of the carbon and hydrogen
in these cases, if they are removed together. These nitrates do not occur
to any extent in purifying large bodies of water, nor do they occur in
filtering through rocks or sand as in nature, but they occur in more close
situations, under streets and houses and in undrained ground, according as
it is saturated with animal matter. It is found in sewer water, in the Thames
water, and in all dirty streams into which sewers empty themselves : perhaps
the reason of its not being found in larger quantities in streams from drained
land is simply the want of animal matter, or it may not be formed more
rapidly than the plants can use. It is found however in wells which are
situated in well-manured gardens, and in all wells at the backs of houses,
without any exception, yet met with by me.
The wells of private houses, and we may say wells generally, are placed
in that spot which of all others is the worst, the cesspools and the wells
always too near, generally close to each other. I was first led to examine
this from a complaint made in Manchester, where a case of this kind fur-
nished water of an oily appearance, containing about 90 grains of matter in
a gallon, and being excessively disagreeable. The same well was examined
in summer, and the matter had risen up to nearly an ounce in a gallon. The
well was of course not St for use in this state.
In the same neighbourhood was a churchyard, and around it I examined
five wells, one of them especially, sufficiently far removed from cesspools to
make me believe that the churchyard was the only cause of the impurity.
The wells of London all cdntain nitric acid to a certain extent, but they vary
exceedingly in the amount. The following have only a small quantity : — Ex-
change, Rood Lane, Eastcheap, St. Paul's Churchyard, Tower Hill, Covent
Garden, Lincoln's-Inn Court, St. Clement's, Strand, Aldgate Pump, and Bow
Church. It seemed to me from the situation of the old well at Clerkenwell,
that it was very well fitted for obtaining nitrates, and on examination it was
found to be exceedingly well-filled with earthy salts, containing 148 grains
of solid matter to the gallon, of which several were nitrate of lime. The
water of this neighbourhood would contain about 20 grains to the gallon in
a natural state, if we may judge from the water generally found in the valley
of the Thames.
Another well in North Street, Tottenham Court Road, was examined, as
from the state of the drainage I expected it to contain a considerable quan-
tity of earthy salts. Here also I was not deceived, having got 130 grains of
sulphates, chlorides and nitrates in a gallon ; the water itself a fluid which I
could not swallow.
There is then a constant formation of nitric acid under towns. It is a
little surprising that organic matter, properly so called, should not be found
in those wells ; the nearest to a source of organic matter do actually con-
tain the least, because in these cases it is more readily converted into
nitric acid, which may very properly be called here oxidized organic matter.
At the same time also it must be remembered, that the nitrates decompose
any organic matter present if heat be applied, so that no blackening of the
residue can be perceived. Those wells of London first mentioned do not
contain much of these salts, but suflBcient to deprive them of organic matter,
24 REPORT — 1848.
as no vegetation is to be perceived in them, even by a microscope, after a long
period. If however a mere trace of nitric acid be found, as in the well of
Tower Hill, a green matter deposits on standing. This perfect freedom from
animal or vegetable growth is a groimd for suspicion also of nitrates being
present, as there generally is a little green matter found in the purest waters,
unless they pass througli great depths of sand or gravel, as in the new red
sandstone, wliere the water, if taken from a deep well, is entirely free from
everything but inorganic salts.
The fact of some of the wells being freer than others from these salts is a
proof of a dependence on the state of the soil, and I doubt not that the drain-
age has the greatest effect on the change made. Some of the mud taken from
under a street in Manchester, where a sewer had been allowing some moisture
to ooze out, was found to contain nitrates also in considerable quantities, but
the sand and gravel below was nearly dry and perfectly free from nitrates.
Although it is very probable that nitric acid is formed most readily in the
sand, yet it is also more rapidly carried away, and after much rain we cannot
expect to find such a soluble salt remaining.
As to the source of this acid, I made some experiments last year for the
Metropolitan Sanitary Commission, which I may here relate. My object was
to get an idea of the nature of filtration. A jar, open at both ends, such as
is used with an air-pump, was filled with sand, and some putrid yeast, which
contained no nitric acid, was mixed with pure water and poured on the sand,
allowing it to filter through. The product of nitric acid was abundant, so
much so, as when boiled down to give it out at once, on the addition of pro-
tosulphate of iron and sulphuric acid, making the red fumes of the peroxide
of nitrogen apparent without the aid of any very refined test.
Charcoal was tried for the same end ; it did not answer, although allowed
to act for two months ; it was put into a large Hessian crucible, and the
liquid allowed to trickle through the crucible and charcoal together.
Ox-flesh was in this manner oxidized into nitric acid, after allowing it to
putrefy. This result could be obtained by means of an ordinary household
filter, if the time allowed were long enough and other conditions favourable.
The same was done on a smaller scale, by allowing nitrogenous organic
matter to stand over spongy platinum.
No doubt this is a very important provision of nature for the prevention
of the evil consequences of putrefaction ; it is the complete destruction of all
dangerous gases and the perfect purification of the most impure substances ;
whether it be advisable to drink water having much of this oxidized matter in
it is another question. We see however in this the two great agents of sanitary
improvement at work for us, the air and the water acting through the soil;
whatever goes tlirough such an ordeal is made pure. The drainage of a
country is therefore that which removes the evil effects of decomposition, as
well as the excess of moisture.
The action of air and water on surface is then a powerful one, and pro-
bably is capable of doing many marvellous things with the substances given
to it to treat. The effect produced on sulphuretted hydrogen is no less de-
cided. A bottle of strong sulphuretted hydrogen was poured upon the sand-
filter, and sulphuric acid was the result, with sulphates formed of bases
which it had washed out of the sand. Sulphuret of ammonium fihered
through sand contains sulphuretted hydrogen no longer, and will not blacken
lead, so powerful is this kind of oxidation.
Water from a pump in a yard not far from me, gave out a disagreeable
ON THE AIR AND WATER OP TOWNS. 25
smell of sulphuretted hydrogen, which filled the neighbouring houses. This
I found the persons accustomed to filter and to drink : the sulphur was con-
verted into sulphuric acid, and the water was actually made quite pure.
These are no doubt some of the advantages of a filter ; if so, we are then
to consider that a filter acts according to its cubic dimensions and not by its
surface only. If the porous rocks have thus the power of oxidizing sulphur
and nitrogen, we may then ask, have they not also the power of oxidizing
carbon? Hydrogen is no doubt oxidized, the ammonia being broken up so
as to form oxides, as nitric acid and water.
We see that natural filtration, with abundance of room and free move-
ments, dissipates the organic matter, and nitric acid too, if ever formed.
The time allowed for filtration being so short, that is, the time from the
falling of the rain to the appearance of the pure water from the spring, we
cannot suppose that vegetation accomplishes the purification, whilst there is
no deposit of impurity apparent to account for the change. It seems to me
that the action of the compressed air on the surface of bodies is sufficient to
answer this question, and that this matter is removed by a process of oxi-
dation. It was Saussure who showed that humus can unite oxygen and
hydrogen ; Liebig has shown that humus is constantly capable of combining
with oxygen, and calls it a constant source of carbonic acid. When then we
see water not very free from organic matter enter a rock and come out free
from organic matter and sparkling with carbonic acid, leaving no visible
organic impurities behind it, we may safely conclude that the oxidation of
the carbon has effected it ; this then is a higher degree of purification than
the oxidation of the nitrogen, which is probably allowed to go free.
Processes such as these are going on constantly wherever water is filter-
ing. On land generally such things must be constantly occurring. The
ditch-water of our fields is a very different water from the river-water into
which it runs, or even of the drains a few feet only below it. Some water
taken from a ditch in the neighbourhood of Manchester became in a few
days a complete mass of life, and the many specimens of animalcules in such
water make it a good subject of study. Water from a drain three yards deep
does not however contain this immense quantity of organic or organizable
matter, depositing only some green matter, partly animal, partly vegetable.
When water flows from hills or elevated land in a river-course, it under-
goes changes according to the nature of the bed, and also according to the
number of towns on its banks. As an instance of this, I will follow the
river Thames from its sources to London Bridge without giving the details
of analysis here, but the character of the changes as known to me.
Water from the Seven Springs or from Thames Head or Andover Ford,
proceeding as it does from the rock, is in the perfectly oxidized state of
which we have been speaking ; it contains a great deal of carbonic acid and
of lime in solution. When allowed to stand, it preserves its great purity (or
clearness of appearance rather) any length of time, not appearing to change.
Such water as this requires no managing; it would be a good thing if it
could at once be introduced into houses ; it is in fact spring-water from the
rock, and such water is known to be always good, unless the rock contain de-
leterious substances. Rocks of course are found which give out a water much
freer from lime than the water of the Thames sources ; such, for example, as
those between Lancashire and Yorkshire. At a place called Swineshaw on
one of these hills a stream gushed out from the hard and insoluble rough
rock of this place, having the purity of average distilled water, with a spark-
ling appearance and agreeableness to the palate which distilled water never
26 REPORT— 1848.
has. It is under one degree of hardness of Clark's test. No doubt there
are other streams as good, and the whole of that and similar districts gives
the most beautiful water. The same may be said of a great deal of the
water of North Wales, and in such places as have very insoluble rocks. I
said as pure as the average distilled water ; it may not be known to all per-
sons, that a number of distillations are necessary in order to obtain pure
water. For this purpose, a water from a great depth, or a spring-water
from a rock is best to use, as there is less volatile and prganic matter in it ;
the first distillation of the usual waters about Manchester giving a very im-
perfect product.
Purity of water and fertility of soil are not to be expected together, if we
may judge from the facts above. Freedom from both inorganic and organic
matters is got only in water from very insoluble rocks, vv'hich are not the
fittest for vegetation ; or it is got where there is much sand or gravel con-
taining little soluble matter, and of course little food for plants. If however
these strata be together, as soon as the water comes from the insoluble to the
soluble it will change.
The Thames water is at first pure, as far as freedom from organic matter
occurs, and takes its course through a rather level country. 'I'he stream is
soon filled with plants ; and at Kemble the water has already taken up some
organic matter, enough to form a slight green deposit on standing. The
water here is still beautifully clear, and is good water; it is 15*5 degrees
of hardness.
When we come down to Pangbourne, the water cannot be said to have
become much worse ; it is still so pure as to require a considerable time to
form a deposit, and that only small, containing a few plants and some small
animalcules from j-gVo ^^ 30^00 °'^ ^" J"ch. Here there is a slight but still
decided trace of organic matter from animals. There has been an increase
in the hardness also.
Grains of Soap,
Seven Springs 12'75 of hardness 262
AndoverFord 13'88 „ 283
Thames Head at Kemble .. 15*5 „ 312
Church at Cirencester .... 15*7 „ 315
Reading 16-5 „ 340
Pangbourne was only 15*4 in November 1 847 ; the others are of February
1848, when the water was harder down to London. There is seen here an
increase in hardness, and there is also an increase in soluble salts not con-
tributing to the hardness. At Seven Springs the hardness is equal to the
whole amount of insoluble salts and a fraction more, which may arise from
an excess of carbonic acid.
Grains.
At Seven Springs inorganic matter in a gallon 12"25
At Pangbourne 22-33
At Reading 23*n4
At Windsor animalcules begin to show themselves more prominently in
the water, and these rather large Hydatina. There are also at Reading and
Oxford some of the smaller green Naviculae, and several other smaller green
Bacillaria. Oxford water had more of these than Reading, and also a large
amount of matter in solution ; it is probable that the soil through which the
Isis flows is rather different from the other part of the Thames. The river
was rather high at the time.
From Richmond downwards the case is much altered, and the water, although
ON THE AIR AND WATER OF TOWNS. 27
clear, gives after a time a brown flocculent deposit, entirely distinct from the
mud deposit, which has been carefully removed beforehand. This flocculent
deposit contains many animals, large and gelatinous-looking; also below Chel-
sea, and chiefly below Hungerford-market, little eels," Vibrio Jluviatilis," about
^th of an inch long. The sideof the vessel in which the water stands is covered
with another precipitate quite distinct, not flocculent but hard, of a light brown,
and chiefly towards that side of the vessel which is exposed to a moderate
light. This precipitate is often mistaken for oxide of iron, which it strongly
resembles, and to which it may probably owe its colour ; but it may be known
to differ from a simple oxide by the addition of muriatic acid, which gives
it a beautiful green colour. When seen through the microscope, the colour
will be found owing to the little dots of green which mark the polygas-
tric character of these animalcules. These little creatures (chiefly I believe
the " Navicula futva") are covered with a crust of silica, and by boiling in
muriatic acid the silica may be separated from the other portions which are
soluble. In this way phosphoric acid, lime and magnesia may be separated
with ease ; and this will, I think, be found one of the best modes of collecting
the phosphoric acid from water of this kind. The quantity of silica is very
great, as the number of these little loricated animalcules prove. Life of this
kind may at once be considered as a proof of the presence of all those ele-
ments essential to animal life generally, as these animalcules do not appear
unless in the wreck of other animals or vegetables, whose requirements as to
food are well known to be confined to certain elements. The abundance of
silica is not from the upper part of the Thames, but no doubt from the sewers,
proceeding from the decomposition of wheat, oats, &c., and may be viewed
as a necessary consequence of the consumption of bread or any grasses
used by cattle.
There is then a great deal of matter in a state capable of being converted
into living forms ; this matter is not in suspension merely, but in solution
also. A large quantity of organic matter is precipitated in contact with clay
and mud in the Thames, but a great deal is also in clear solution. This
matter must be organized of course to some extent, and probably contains
albumen ; it seems to me that it is albumen which I have found in it, cer-
tainly a body much resembling it. The same may be obtained where many
large animalcules appear ; probably the quantity will be found the same
whether the animalcules be formed or not. The clear solution becomes a
mass of growth very soon, if the matter contained in it be organisable. Or-
ganic matter may exist in a state in which, even under favourable circum-
stances, animalcules are not formed, as I have found to be the case with
some kept for some months in water. A similar thing may take place with
the Thames water at London ; if kept in close jars of earthenware no change
is produced in the organic matter ; as soon as removed into glass bottles, a
rapid change occurs, and a lively scene is produced of animals and vegeta-
bles. Kept in the dark, the water dissolves much organic matter and be-
comes yellow ; the water over the living matter is clear, or, in other words,
the dead matter is to some extent soluble in water ; living matter is of course
not capable of having its parts broken up by mere water, and is insoluble.
This growing of plants and animals is therefore a good mode of cleansing
water, when space and time are abundant, as in the larger operations of
nature, but unfitted for waterworks, where neither are very ample. The
mode of cleansing used by water-companies is one employed by nature also,
as all the water which falls on the soil is filtered by passing through ; that is
to say, it first becomes exceedingly impure, being filled with matter from
28 REPORT — 1848.
the surface, and gives a part of this out again in passing through the soil.
Water becomes hard very rapidly on the surface of some land, and it is
strange how it adheres to its standard of hardness, remaining for a great part
of the year the very same. A rapid shower, producing a sudden overflow of
a ditch in a field, was found to be composed of water of twelve degrees of
hardness and sixteen grains of solid matter to a gallon ; this same specimen
also swarming with life.
I supposed, and others have done so also, that a shower would produce a
stream of water softer than what slowly trickled through the ground ; but on
examining the water at Longendale in rainy weather it had actually risen two
degrees. The Thames was also considerably softer in November 1847, after
some dry weather, than in February 1848 after long rain. At Chelsea, in
November it was 13"44 degrees of hardness, taking 275 grains of soap test;
in February 14"94, taking 302 grains. It would appear that rainy weather
softened the ground, and so made the matter more soluble, or the winter
frosts broke up the ground and attained the same end. This latter reason
is agreeable to the general opinion concerning the use of a frost, and the fact
may also be taken as a corroboration of the opinion. The hard water will
of course be better able to feed land with its soluble manures ; or, if we
choose to express it otherwise, the plants will more readily feed, finding the
food more soluble.
However true it be that all soil filters water, it is no less true that any ad-
mixture of clay is detrimental. The clear streams are found in rocky coun-
tries, and, as was before mentioned and well-known generally, on barren land.
We have seen that the water of the Thames at London is capable of de-
composing with the disagreeable products alluded to, and when put in casks
for sea use we hear of a fermentation, with the formation of nauseous va-
pours, and of an inflammable gas. We have already seen that Priestley found
inflammable gas from organic matter decomposing in water, and, in fact, it
is a thing universally observed. Priestley said, however, what is not so much
observed, that the air from the decomposition of a cabbage in the dark
was inflammable, whereas that in the sun produced very little inflammable
air, and was not so offensive in smell. The fermentation of water may in
fact be looked upon as a simple proof of great organic impurity. Organic
matter will decompose either by going into inorganic gases, as in the dark,
or into organized bodies of another description, if there be light to favour
growth. These considerations bring us to the mode of storing water, and
of supplying water to houses. If there be a large supply of water in a
reservoir, it will, if impure, clear itself by vegetation, according to what we
have seen by experiment, and as is seen in nature. In this case a reservoir
must not be underground but in the light ; strong light and great warmth
seem too much to assist chemical solution, the reservoirs should therefore
not be so shallow as to allow this. However, there are probably few cases
where water is to be so long stored ; as to the usual cases, it may be said,
that unless long storage is allowed, it is better that there should be as little
as possible, unless the water is to be filtered before delivery. The reason
of this is, that the course of purification of impure water is the worst state
of all ; even filtered water will not bear standing, because it also tends to
purify itself still more by giving out in some form or other all its organic
contents ; and it is remarkable how the apparently purest water will deposit
impure matter.
The same thing may be said of water stored on a smaller scale, as for private
houses, there is no way of keeping it clear. If kept dark and cool the
i
ON THE AIR AND WATER OF TOWNS. 29
change is retarded, and tliis is the best way for small quantities. It would
be the best way for large quantities also if it were perfectly pure, as then no
change whatever could occur.
But even when water is to be kept a day only there is an objection to
cisterns in most cases. If there be a little impurity deposited, the daily
increase soon makes it a great impurity ; and although the fact of the im-
purity remaining in the cistern be a sufficient proof that it has not been
drunk or otherwise used, yet such a reservoir of impurity is constantly apt
to be giving off some offensive matter. If the impurities be of the kind
common in Thames water, and in the water of many of the companies, or in
the Manchester water, or that of some other towns, they are of a kind
capable of producing animals very disgusting, and large enough to be seen
sometimes by the naked eye. If even nothing but a green matter is per-
ceptible, this is unpleasing in itself, besides never being alone, but inhabited
by numerous little creatures visible with a microscope, although not so dis-
gusting as those to be met with in the flocculent precipitate of the Thames
water. Underground cisterns in London, when supplied with very pure
water, contain in them some of the most disagreeable of these living forms ;
and although apparently a good method of keeping water cool, it is a plan
to which the impossibility of cleaning is a great objection. Even stone cis-
terns, however clean stone in itself may be, are often filthy receptacles of
water, for which not the stone but the water is to blame. If wood be used
pure water can never be obtained ; and the enormous amount of crenic acid
formed, with the peculiar smell of rotten wood, which happens even in new
barrels, form great objections. The reddish flocculent matter is also not
without inhabitants, for which it affords a good shelter.
If I come to the conclusion that water should either be kept in large
quantities or kept constantly running, it may be said this was known to
every one ; true, but when this happens, it is the business of science to ex-
plain why it is so ; and if this be not done, there are constantly found some
who deny the general impression until a proof be obtained.
Dr. Clark, who has done so much towards giving the country in general
an interest in the purification of water, advises also the alkalinity of the
water to be taken at the same time as the hardness. I have found it more
convenient to take the fixed contents in a gallon of water. By comparing
this with the hardness, we find the excess of impurities not affecting the
hardness. To do this and take the alkalinity also, would probably be the
best mode of treatment. In the springs at the source of the Thames the
fixed matter and the hardness are equal, or nearly so, whilst in the Thames at
London, the fixed matter rises as high as twenty-six grains per gallon, whilst
the hardness is fifteen degrees. This gradual increase of salts not affecting
the hardness is a good indication of the rate of impurity in the progress of
the river, and is a great cause of making it a less agreeable draught.
From experiments which I have made on the cause of vapidness in water,
I am led to believe that the salts of alkalies are some of the most common
agents. Dr. Clark has shown the great influence of temperature on the
taste of water, but it seemed to me not enough to explain the frequency of
the occurrence of tasteless water.
Water with carbonic acid in it did not taste vapid when raised slowly to
100° Fahr., the acidity being sufficient to prevent it, as I believe.
Lambeth water boiled and cooled could not be made to taste as well as
water which had not the same amount of salts in it.
Pangbourne water, although excellent, when boiled down so as to saturate
30 REPORT — 1848.
the salts which are not precipitated by boiling, tasted even when cooled ex-
cessively vapid.
Soda-water with alkaline salts, when boiled, is excessively disagreeable.
Twenty grains of common salt cause a gallon of water to taste vapid, and two
grains and a half of saltpetre or nitrate of potash have a still stronger effect.
The nitrate of lime in the water of towns mixed with the common salt
gives an extremely nauseous taste to water, and causes it also to taste some-
what soft, although possessing such a large amount of matter as I have
mentioned. Acids control this taste ; carbonic acid, we have seen, prevents
vapidness. A few drops of any acid render water pleasanter in a warm day.
Acidity is strongly allied to coolness of the taste, as general experience
shows. Acid drops and oranges in hot rooms are used for this reason, and
vinegar also by travellers in hot climates. A few drops of any acid, vitriol,
for example, are used by the workmen in chemical works to improve the
water in warm weather.
Alkalies cause water to appear soft. Beer which is called hard is acid,
and becomes soft by adding soda ; this is common.
The salts of lime seem to be the only salts which do not easily render
water disagreeable.
I may conclude this paper with a short summary of what I have said about
water and air.
Summary. — 1. That the pollution of air in crowded rooms is really owing
to organic matter, not merely carbonic acid.
2. That this may be collected from the lungs or breath, and from crowded
rooms indiflerently.
3. That it is capable of decomposition, and becomes attached to bodies
in an apartment, where it probably decomposes, especially when moisture
assists it.
4. That this matter has a strong animal smell, first of perspiration, and
when burnt, of compounds of protein, and that its power of supporting the
life of animalcules, proves it to contain the usual elements of organized life.
5. Organic matter of dew contains less nitrogen.
6. The slightly alkaline state into which soil is put at certain periods of
the year, give it a facility for emitting vapours ; whilst all vapours of water
from organic matter contain organic matter,
7. Water purifies itself from organic matter in various ways : by forming
nitrates, as in sewers, and in the neighbourhood of cesspools and church-
yards, under streets, in manured grounds, and other repositories of organic
animal matter.
8. This may be done in a laboratory on a small scale, where animal mat-
ter, by means of a sand-filter, may be converted into nitric acid.
9. In the larger operations of nature the carbon also is oxidized.
10. Sulphuretted hydrogen is also oxidized on a small scale by a filter,
being converted into sulphuric acid.
11. A filter therefore, as an oxidizing agent, acts in proportion to its
cubic contents.
1 2. Water falling on the surface of the ground gets rapidly saturated with
organic matter ; but in passing through the soil gets filtered and the matter
oxidized, making the porous soil and the air the great agents of purification
in a country ; whilst drainage will act by removing organic impurity as well
as mere water.
13. All wells near houses and all wells in towns contain nitrates, which
may be easily traced to sewers or accumulations and outlets of refuse.
ON THE GROWTH AND VITALITY OP SEEDS.
31
14. The alkaline salts of towns increase the vapidness of water. They
abound in river-water which receives the refuse of towns, and cannot be
filtered out. The difference between the hardness of water and the amount
of water per gallon gives a measure of impurity, as it indicates other than
the lime salts, whilst the lime salts affect least the taste of the water.
15. A slight acidity removes vapidness, and produces a perception of cool-
ness in the mouth.
16. Water can never stand long with advantage, unless on a very large
scale, and should be used when collected or as soon as filtered.
Eighth Report of a Committee, consisting o/" H. E. Strickland, Esq.,
Prof. Daubeny, Prof. Henslow, and Prof. Lindley, appointed
to continue their Experiments on the Growth and Vitality of Seeds.
A PORTION of all the kinds of seeds collected in 1845 has been sown this
year, together with those of a few additional genera collected in 1847.
The results will be seen by reference to the following Table : —
Name and Date when gathered.
No.
sown.
No. of Seeds of each
Species which vege-
tated at
Ox-
ford.
„.^ , Chis-
Hitcham, ^(.jj
Time of vegetating
in days at
Ox- „.^ , Chis-
ford. Hitcham. ^..^
1845.
1. Ailanthus glandulosa
2. Alnus glutinosa
3. Alonsoa incisa
4. Beta vulgaris
5. Browallia data
6. Chrj'santhemura coronarium
7. Cytisus albus
8. Eccremocarpus scaber ..
9. Fagus sylvatica
10. Fumaria spicata
11. Gaillardia aristata
12. Gleditschia triacanthos . .
13. Iris, sp
14. Knautia orientalis
15. Lopezia racemosa
16. Lymnanthes Douglasii ..
17. Petunia odorata
18. Schizopetalon Walkeri ..
19. Secale Cereale
20. Spartium Scoparium
21. Tagetes lucida
22. Verbena Aubletia
23. Viscaria oculata
24. Xeranthemum annuum ..
25. ZeaMays
26. Zinnia grandiflora
1847.
27. CardiospermumHalicacabum
28. Cerastium perfoliatum ..
29. ChEenostoma polyantha . .
50
150
100
75
50
150
100
100
100
100
100
20
25
50
150
50
150
50
200
200
150
100
150
100
100
100
25
100
100
74
132
14
33
29
6
38
1
69
12
10
10
10
13
42
13
11
35
28
9
14
7
13
13
32
REPORT — 1848.
Miss Molesworth, of Cobham, Surrey, has contributed about fifty small
packets of seeds gathered in the years 1842, 1844, 1845 and 1846, which have
been sown at Oxford ; the results of which are registered in the annexed
Table.
Name and Date when gathered.
1
1
■§
>
i
Name and Date when gathered.
S
6
1
1
i
15
21
16
41
53
50
10
62
3
15
26
1
1
3
31
73
1842.
1. Delphinium, sp
200
100
200
100
50
80
60
200
200
200
100
150
100
100
25
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
6
150
25
25
1
15
91
3
23
36
20
95
31
6
11
32
53
11
3
35
6
18
9
1845.
100
25
200
20
100
200
200
80
100
100
30
200
100
30
200
8
30
100
100
60
100
100
100
100
100
100
1844.
2. Isatis tinctoria
1846.
3. Tagetes patula
29. Zinnia elegans
4. Vicialutea
5. Delphinium intermedium ....
6. Calandrinia grandiflora
7. Allium senescens
31. Linum perenne
32. Silene pendula
33. Calendula officinalis
8. Kitaibelia vitifolia
34. Onopordon Acanthium ......
35. Chenopodium Botrys... .
1845.
9. Arabis hirsuta
36. Lavatera trimestris
10. Tagetes patula
37. Arnopogon Dalechampii
38. Nemophila atomaria
11. Plantago cynops
12. Scandix brachycarpa
39. Amsinckia angustifolia
40. Tropaeolum peregrinum
41. Coreopsis Drummondi
42. Momordica Elaterium
43. Althjea cannabina
13. Silene Armaria alba . .
14. Linaria bipartita
15. Centrophyllum tauricum
16. Tragopogon porrifolium
ir. Androsace macrocarpa
18. Lasthenia glabrata
44. Calendula maritima
45. Scrophularia vernalis
19. Iberis umbellata
20. (Eaothera, sp
47. Eucharidium concinnum
48. (Enothera tenella
21. Linaria Spartea
22. Borkhausia foetida
49. Sisyrinchiura burmudianum .
23. Lathyrus sativus
24. Argemone grandiflora
25. Vicia grandiflora
51. Silene quadridentata
26. Antirrhinum calycinum
A few beans gathered in 1792. from Professor Lindley, were also sown,
but none of them vegetated.
The depot at Oxford now contains seeds of no less than 209 genera, which
constitute 56 natural families.
It has now become difficult for persons to procure annually in one locality
the seeds of genera which represent additional natural families. We conse-
quently beg again to solicit the assistance of persons interested in the subject ;
and m order that such persons may readily see whether any kinds that may
be obtamable by them would be available for the continuation of these ex-
penments, we subjoin a list of the natural families and genera of which we
already possess seeds.
1. Amarantace.«. 6, Fagus.
1. Amarantus. 7. Quercus.
2. AmARYLLIDACE^. 4. ARTOCARPACE.ffi.
2. Alstroemeria. 8. Morus.
3. AmENTACE^. 5. AsPHODELACEiE.
3. Alnus. 9. Allium.
4. Betula. 10. Asparagus.
5. Carpinus. H. Asphodelus.
ON THE GROWTH AND VITALITY OF SEEDS.
33
6. Balsaaiacea:.
12. Impatiens.
7. BignoniacejE.
13. Catalpa.
14. Eccremocarpus.
8. BORAGINACE^.
15. Cerinthe.
16. Cynoglossum.
17. Echium.
9. Campanulace^.
18. Campanula.
10. Capparibace^.
19. Cleome.
11. CaryophyllacejE.
20. Buffonia.
21. Dianthus.
22. Gypsophila.
23. Saponaria.
24. Silene.
25. Viscaria.
12. CELASTRACEiE.
26. Ilex.
13. Chenopodiace^.
27. Beta.
28. Chenopodium.
14. COBiEACEiE.
29. Cobaea.
15. COMPOSITJE.
30. Ageratum.
31. Ammobium.
32. Arctium.
33. Arnopogon.
34. Aster.
S5. Bidens.
36. Barkhausia.
37. Buphthalmum.
38. Calendula.
39. Callichroa.
40. Callistemma.
41. Carthamus.
42. Catananche.
43. Centaurea.
44. Chrysanthemum.
45. Cichorium.
46. Cladanthus.
47. Cnicus.
48. Coreopsis.
49. Galinsoga.
50. Gaillardia.
51. Helenium.
52. Helianthus.
53. Kaulfussia.
54. Knautia.
55. Lactuca.
56. Lasthenia.
18.
57. .Madia.
58. Oxyura.
59. llhagadiolus.
60. Rudbeckia.
61. Sanvitaiia.
62. Scorzonera.
63. Sphenogyne.
64. Stenactis.
65. Tagetes.
66. Tragopogoi).
67. Xeranthemum.
68. Zinnia.
16. ConiferjE.
69. Juniperus.
17. ConvolvulacejE.
70. Convolvulus.
18. Crucifer^.
71. Biscutella.
72. Brassica.
73. Bunias,
74. Crambe.
75. Erysimum.
76. Heliophila.
77. Hesperis.
78. Iberis.
79. Koniga.
80. Lepidium.
81. Lunaria.
82. Malcolmia.
83. Mathiola.
84. Schizopetalon.
85. Vesicaria.
19. CUCURBITACE^.
86. Bryonia.
87. Cucurbita.
88. Momordica.
20. DrpsACEiE.
89. Dipsacus.
21. EUPHORBIACETE.
90. Euphorbia.
91. Ricinus.
22. P'iCOIDEiE.
92. Mesembryanthemum.
93. Tetragonia.
23. Gramine^.
94. Avena.
95. Hordeum.
96. Phalaris.
97. Secale.
98. Triticum.
99. Zea.
24. HYDROPHYLLACEiE.
100. Eutoca.
101. Phacelia.
34
REPORT — 1848.
25. HYPERICACEiE.
102. Hypericum.
26. iRIDACEi^E.
103. Gladiolus.
104^. Iris.
105. Tigridia.
27. Labiace^.
106. Betonica.
107. Elsholtzia.
108. Leonurus.
109. Nepeta.
28. LeguminosjE.
1 10. Acacia.
111. Cercis.
112. Cytisus.
113. Dolichos.
114. Faba.
115. Gleditschia.
116. Lathyrus.
117. Lupinus.
118. Medicago.
119. Melilotus.
120. Orobus.
121. Phaseolus.
122. Pisum.
123. Psoralea.
124. Scorpiurus.
125. Spartium.
126. Tetragonolobus.
127. Trifolium.
128. Trigonella.
129. Ulex.
130. Vicia.
29. LiNACEiE.
131. Linum.
30. LiTHRACEiE.
132. Cuphea.
31. LoASACEiE.
133. Barton ia.
134. Loasa.
82. Lymnanthace;e.
135. Lymnanthes.
33. MagnoliacejE.
136. Magnolia.
137. Liriodendron.
34. MALVACEiE.
138. Gossypium.
139. Malope.
140. Malva.
35. NYCTAGINACEiE.
141. Mirabilis.
36. Onagrace^.
142. Eucharidium.
143. Godetia.
144. Lopezia.
37. PalmacejE.
145. Phoenix.
38. Papaverace^.
146. Argemone.
147. Eschscholtzia.
148. Glaucium.
149. Papaver.
39. Phytolace/e.
150. Phytolacca.
40. Plantagine^e.
151. Plantago.
41. PoLEMONIACEiE.
152. CoUomia.
153. Gilia.
154. Leptosiphon.
155. Polemonium.
42. POLYGONACE^.
156. Polygonum.
157. Rumex.
43. Portulace^.
158. Calandrinia.
159. Talinum.
44. PuiMULACEiE.
160. Anagallis.
45. RANUNCULACEiE.
161. Aconituni.
162. Adonis.
163. Anemone.
164. Helleborus.
165. Nigella.
166. Paeonia.
167. Ranunculus.
168. Thalictrura.
46. ROSACEJE.
169. Cotoneaster.
170. Crataegus.
171. Potentilla.
47. Scrophulariace^.
172. Antirrhinum.
173. Browallia.
174. Collinsia.
175. Digitalis.
176. Linaria.
177. Schizanthus.
178. Veronica.
48. Sesame^e.
179. Martynia.
49. SOLANACE^.
180. Alonsoa.
181. Capsicum.
182. Datura.
183. Hyoscyamus.
184. Nicandra.
185. Nolana.
186. Petunia
r
ON ATMOSPHKRIC WAVES. 35
187. Solanum. 199. Ligusticum.
188. Verbascum. 200. CEnanthe.
50. TEREBiNTHACEiE. 201. Pastinaca.
189. Ailantus. 202. Petroselinum.
51. TROPiEOLACEjE. 203. Sium.
190. Tropaeolum. 204. Smyrnium.
52. UmbellacejE. 53. UrticacejE.
191. ^thusa. 205. Cannabis.
192. Angelica. 54. VALERiANACEiE.
193. Bupleurum. 206. Valeriana.
194. Caruna. 35. Verbenace^e.
195. Conium. 207. Hebenstreitia.
196. Daucus. 208. Verbena.
197. Foeniculurn. 56. ViolacejE.
198. Heracleum. 209. Viola.
Contributions of additional seeds addressed toW.H. Baxter, Botanic Garden,
Oxford, will be attended to, and put up in the usual form for experiment.]
Oxford, August 2nd, 1848.
Fifth Report on Atmospheric Waves. By W. R. Birt.
In completing the series of Reports on Atmospheric Waves, a subject which
has occupied my attention under the auspices of the Association during the
last five years, it will be desirable so to arrange the present report that those
points may be prominently exhibited in which any progress has been made
towards the illustration of the desiderata mentioned in my report" of 1846,
pages 162 to 164. These desiderata have reference to the general subject
under two aspects, — that relative to the individual waves, contemplating them
either as atmospheric waves, properly so called, or as a certain arrangement
of aerial currents giving rise to, and intimately connected witli, certain baro-
metric phaenomena, the details of which will be found in the same report,
page 132 to 162; and that relative to the effects either of these waves or
currents as exhibited in certain barometric phaenomena, known more parti-
cularly as the " symmetrical curve of November," or of other barometric
curves possessing certain features which may be distinctly recognized at dif-
ferent stations and traced over extensive tracts of the earth's surface. The
object of the present report will consequently be not so much to carry on the
investigation (the course pursued in former years) as to concentrate our pre-
sent knowledge of the subject, and to indicate still more distinctly the blank
that yet remains to be filled in order to complete our inquiries into these in-
teresting atmospheric movements.
These objects will probably be best attained by bringing together, in the
first place, all the information we possess relative to the individual waves,
those already determined and placed on record in our former reports, and
those which may have been brought to light since, either from an extended
discussion of the observations in our possession at the last meeting of the As-
sociation, or from others received during the period that has elapsed since
that meeting to the present time ; secondly, by determining, so far as the
observations in our possession will enable us to do, the barometric type for
November, especially the period of the symmetrical curve, as illustrative of
36 REPORT — 1848.
that portion of the desiderata having reference to tlie seasonal barometric
types ; and thirdly, by noticing any results that may have been obtained during
the past year of a character nofcontemplated or but slightly indicated in our
former reports, and which have more particularly originated in the observa-
tions of the last return of the November curve.
Table I. exhibits the waves already recognized with references to the re-
ports in which their elements, &c. are given in detail.
The waves designated Nos. 1 and 2 in tliis table passed over Western
Europe during the early part of November 1842. In reporting progress
at the last Meeting of tlie Association, I stated that an examination of the
observations made during the first eight days of November over an area
extending from Ireland to St. Petersburgh and Geneva, appeared upon the
hypotheses either of waves or of parallel currents, fully capable of explain-
ing all the barometric movements during those eight days (Report, 1847,
p. 370). In the remarks which immediately follow, this explanation will
form a prominent feature, as the variations of pressure during the period just
referred to will be traced, especially over Western Europe, and will receive
considerable elucidation from observations made at Alten in Finmark, with
which I have been kindly furnished by Dr. Lee.
In the former reports which I have had the honour to present to the As-
sociation, I have very briefly glanced at two important points connected with
these waves, the great extent of suriace which they cover, and the opposite
barometric pliaenomena produced by the transits of slopes of an opposite cha-
racter. In my report for 1846, j). 163, when enunciating the desiderata that
then presented themselves, allusion was made to the direction of the crest ; and
there appeared to he some dilficulty in finding a ))oint on the earth's surface in
reference to which we could positively pronounce that a crest — v.hich clearly
existed in a certain direction, in another locality not very far removed from
it — had so completely thinned oft', and become so distinctly terminated in a
longitudinal direction as to exert no influence on the barometer. Such phae-
nomena are not exhibited in the British Islands, and it is likely they are but
seldom met with in Central Europe. We must, as remarked on a former
occasion, extend our area of examination ere we can obtain phsenomena that
will enable us distinctly to say that a wave existing in one locality does not
exist, or in any way make itself felt in another.
The area of examination having reference to the discussion of the baro-
metric and anemonal phaenomena during Nov. 1842, which forms the second
part of my report, 1846, pp. 132 to 162, is principally confined to the British
Islands ; there are two stations forming the eastern limits of this area, which,
with regard to Great Britain and Ireland, may be considered as outliers ; they
however enable us to carry forward our investigation by tracing onwards
towards the north-east and east those barometric movements the nature of
which the proximity of the British stations has greatly contributed clearly to
define, so that they can be readily recognized at stations considerably re-
moved from each other : these stations are Christiania and Paris. By com-
bining with this discussion observations at St. Petersburgh and Geneva our
area is still more enlarged, and we are enabled to form a much more accurate
notion of the real extent of the waves and of the phaenomena resulting from
them. By still further enlarging our area of examination, our knowledge
must necessarily become more defined and our conceptions more distinct ;
we shall be prepared to seize on relations which at first may not be apparent,
owing particularly to the decided want of similarity between the phaenomena
hor previous to the Meeting of the
)n or diminution of pressure.
>36erior slope or diminution of pressure following |Citj' :
crest. ^iles
per
Christiania to Paris
Paris to Orkneys ..
Munich to Bardsey
Geneva to Brussels
Christiania to Cork
•58
•9G
•87
31
•57!
[ To face paf/c £G.
Report, 1845, p. 118.
Pieport, 1845, p. 118.
Report, 1845, p. 118.
Report, 1845, p. 119.
Report, 1845, p. 118.
Report, 1845, p. 119.
Report, 1845, p. 118.
Report, 1846, p. 118.
Report, 1846, pp. 161, 107.
Report, 1846, pp. 161, 107.
Report, 1845, pp. 126,127.
Report, 1844, p. 270 (2).
„ 1845, pp. 126, 127.
Report, 1845, p. 127.
Report, 1846, pp. 161, 168.
lined by the author pre
JiheMcetin^foririe As-
D"i8.
=-Slsr^'
LongituJinal direction ot the crcjt
Mean Bn-
T™,.» directum or
liae» of auetQcnlalion or dimiaution of pressiuv.
pmll.
:=;"
-nirs's^-'-
Mean Ba-
P<Jilcrior ilape or Jiniinulion of pronute Wlowiog
Mcao,.
''
^
"■'—
A f 1
fofiXV^
.„c.
MOc
■=-'-
treugb.
Epoch.
.irecoo.
via..
it
1
2
!
n
A'
A'
D- I
Bi
No. 5
No. 4
No. -
No. 9
No. 6
1.'
n.
II'.'
,«„.M„e,.,a,o„..
S.S.W. to tC.N.E.
Nov. 1. Belfast to Paris
Nov. 3. Cork to Orkneyi
Nov. B. Scilly to BanliCy
30 01G
29-975 !
III i« r - 1
A
Report. 1840, p. lis.
Ilcpori, 18t5.p. lis.
Report, ISJj.p. 118.
Report, 1845, p. 119.
Report, 18i5, p. US.
Report, 1845, p. 119.
Report, 1845, p. 118.
Report, 1845, p. 118.
Report, 184G, pp. 161, 16,'.
Report, 184G. pp. 161,167.
Report, 1945, pp. 126. 127.
Report, 1844, p. 270 (2).
„ 1845,pp. 126. 127.
Report, 1845, p. 127.
Report, 1646, pp. 161,168.
Report, 1845, pp. 124 to 123.
Report. 1844, pp. 271 to 277.
Report, 184C' pp. 16*2, 16S.
Report, 1846, pp. 161. 16S.
Report. 1846, p. 162.
Report, 1846, p. 162.
Report, 1816. p. 161.
Report, 1846. p. 162.
Report, 1846, p. 162.
Report, 1847, pp. 358. 369.
Report, 1B47, pp. 358, 364.
Report, 1647, p. 358-
Rcport, 1847. pp. 359, 363.
Report, 1847, p. 364.
30 301
,. 19. Mniiich.
1 i
1811. March 2010 23 ..
^'■"'^
M 1- -M Crecnwieli
: r: :::
30-667
j
,. -JJ. Prague.
1 1
1811. March 20 toA,,rll2
30275
30-290
30-335
"■''"
":';":>;":::;":':.::,
152-
1811. Anril 1
1812. n„. 1 to 7
1812. Nor. 1 10 n
Nov. 5.
Nov. 8.
Nov. 7.
Nov! lo'
Nov. 9.
Nov. 10.
Nov. 13.
Nov. 16.
Nov. 17.
"■is"
Nov. 3."
Nov. 9.
Nov. 9.
Nov. 9.
Nov.'iiV
Nov. 10.
-90
Nivt^S'"':"'^!
1
"zt
Sth. Bishop to St. Catherine's Pnt
Munich to Bardsey
29-408t
„ 9, Paris.
CO
1856 31
Diihlin to Dardsev
London to Chrisliania
""■li"
•09
•72
•57
Christiania'toCork""!." ......
•35
.,
■-.:.:■■••
iioy'.lti.'Krh'[[\[\Z[''.'.Z
„ 12. St. Petersburgh.
36
102
18(2. Nov. 7 10 12
Nov. 10. Belfast to Pari.
20-560
2600
341
18i2. Nov. 12 to 10
Nov. 11. Belfast to Londoo ..
20-960
30-520
30-510
29-960
29590
2»-9.-.0
Paris to Cbristiania
Orkneys to Paris
Nov. 15.
Nov. 18.
•04
-"
Z
„ 15. Orkneys.
„ l9. St. Petersburgh.
1812. Nov. 20 to 24
1812. Nov. 21 to 22
1812, Nov. 23 to 21
18.10. Nov. 2 10 17
1816. Nov. 4
Nov. 22. Cork to Orkneys
StornowaytoArbjoalh
Nov. 22.
•15
Nov. 21.
No'v.'il',
1-12"
..
„ 2t. Pnris.
Not. 21. Btlfau
1, ..::;:"■
Nov. 1.
-10
Jers.y to Limcriek.
30-352
N.IV. 6.
Nov. 11.
From the S.W. towards Arbroath
1 . i ■
-29
1 1
T«B1E
VII — Elements of ivavca as tletermined from llie
discussion of olist-rvalions over the larger ar
a incliideil by Cork ant] Lougan, Altcn and Geneva.
No. 2,
A- 1
No. 4
Nov. 5. Cork to Alten
Nov. 1. Belfast to Geneva ...
30-280
30-300
30520
Nov. 5.
1-580
-889
Lougnn to Allen
-708
■670
288
1577 8-5t
2730 11-22
1812. Nov. 1 to 11
B If t to Geneva
29790
29 449
Nov. 3.
29-110
29-780
L.
....
.. 0. Lougan.
Geneva to St. Petersburgh
St. Petersburgh to Geneva
„ 5. St. Petersburgh. )
Nov. 17. Bclfi..!.
Nov. 2,
„ 19. Munieh. 1
„ 18. Allen. 1
., 20. loogan. j
i:.m,,'r°;r;^,M!M,^!'
c Tallica it may he ai ,,,,11 to
,„..||.il,a. il,c oscillation I. gic
olicit 111 : ■: I.I |- 1. ., 'lice of the lines indicating the
orrl.i.-i i .1. ..... i.ii.ince.areatr^iJ/onjIr.., on
on til.. n 1 . 1 1- i iii|.i- This appears strongly to
rnns»crse direction or lines of augmentation or diminution of pressure of tlic north-westerly systems of waves, disti iguisliing the Scandinavian from that if Cenin!
early so, lo tangents aiiiicrloining to the general ciimlincnr directions of the eoasta orjiniction linesof land and water, bo that the directions uf the waves nf Northern
ulitate the proximity of land and water, as the locality of genesis of atmospheric waves, and i» gready in accordance with the raulu obtained hy Sir John Henchcl
J undertaking the pres
i The velodtf of this wave appears t<
II December 1837. Tlie longitudinal d
r hour (Report, 1843, p. 77).
s of Wales towards the ci
iS situated on the a
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES.
37
presented at distant and especially at extreme stations, and to distingiiish
between those effects, which, altliongh to a certain extent contemporaneous
and similar, may be referred to different sources of production.
By including in the discussion of the observations of 1S42 observations
at Alten in Finmark and at Lougan in Russia, the former being situated
north lat. 69° 50', east long. 23°, and the latter north lat. 48° 35', east long,
39° 21', our area of examination is extended from Ireland to the eastern
borders of Europe, and from Geneva to the northern extremity of the same
continent; it will consequently embrace 47 degrees of longitude and 2S of
latitude.
The table of barometric observations, November 1S42, forming the
groundwork of the discussion, will be found in the volume for 1S46, p. 141;
the readings at St. Petersburgh during the same days at noon, are recorded
at p. 167 of the same volume ; and the following table includes readings for
the same period at Alten, Lougan and Geneva.
Table II.
Barometric readings at Alten, Lougan and Geneva, Nov. 1 to 20, 1842.
Alten,
Lougan,
Geneva,
Date.
3 P.M.
noon.
noon.
Nov. 1
30-138
29-312
30-338
2
•601
-300
30-089
3
•589*
•088
29-884
4
•288
•440
-820
5
30-140
-459
•786
6
29-690
-332
•864
7
•416
-769
29-926
8
•596
29-980
30-011
9
•436
30-106
-080
10
•514
30-001
30-056
11
•453
29-810
29-842
12
•607
-785
29-842
13
•586
-623
30-097
14
•134
•613
-100
15
•092
•599
30-084
16
•303
•676
29-863
17
29-641
•689
29-891
18
30^110
•610
SO-334
19
30-066
•609
•529
20
29-825
•885
30-098
21
•658
•638
29-707
22
•674
•445
•731
23
•539
•294
•865
24
•570
•785
•549
25
•715
•738
•364
26
29-880
29-791
29-271
It will be readily seen from an inspection of this table that the observa-
» Max. on the 3rd at 9 a.m. 30-618.
38 REPORT — 1848.
tions from the two southern stations tolerably agree, although the readings
at Geneva are higher tlian those at Lougan, especially during the first eight
days; but tliere is a marked difference between them and those at Alten.
The first point th;it strikes attention in comparing these readings with those
in the tables, to whicii allusion has been made, is the earlier occurrence at
Alten, namely on the 3rd, of the maximum which characterizes the first
portion of the month, and which is very distinct at all the stations, except
Paris, Geneva and Lougan. The observations at Christiania more nearly
agree with those at Alten in this respect, the maximum occurring on the
4th; and from this it would appear that the pressure proceeded from the
north, and in a direction in which we do not usually observe the progression of
the barometric maxima and minima. The principal epoch of the maximum
for the majority of the stations is the 5th, and this maximum has been re-
ferred to the wave designated " Crest No. 2" in the discussion of Mr. Brown's
observations, and " A° " in my second report (Report, 1845, p. 126). The
direction of this maximum has been well determined on the oth, namely from
Cork past Belfast to the Orkneys (Report, 1846, p. 144). We find at Alten
on the 5th a decided rise of nearly -2 inch on the deep precipitous fall from
the 3rd to the 7th, and this would indicate the continuation of the crest
from Cork to Alten. From these considerations it is evident that the maxi-
mum of the 3rd at Alten must have been due to an entirely different wave
from any we have already noticed. The curve that most approaches Alten
in tlie rise at the commencement of the month is that of St. Petersburgh ; and
it is worthy of remark, that the essential features of this rise, and the check
it experienced before the transit of the maximum, are transmitted to St. Pe-
tersburgh a day later than they were observed at Alten. In fact the three
northern stations, Alten, St. Petersburgh and Christiania, participate in this
rise, the subsequent fall being considerably modified at Christiania and St.
Petersburgh by the transit of crest No. 1.
The barometric rise at the commencement of the month in the north of
Europe, to which allusion has just been made, strongly indicates the advan-
cing slope of a wave which did not affect the barometer in Central Europe ;
and this wave being peculiar to the northern part of Europe, and stretching
over the Scandinavian peninsula, may probably, and with some propriety, be
designated as a member of a system of Scandinavian waves. We shall there-
fore characterize it in the future parts of this discussion by the symbol a,
restricting this character to these northern waves. It does not ap])ear to have
extended longitudinally much beyond Christiania to the south-west, for we
do not find that decided rise of the barometer, even at the Orkneys, which
characterizes northern Europe. We have consequently a distinct termina-
tion of the crest in a longitudinal direction, the locality of which may be in-
dicated by a line passing towards the south-east between the Orkneys and
Christiania.
We have already briefly referred (Report, 1847, p. 369) to the opposite
barometric movements in certain localities, arising from the transit of oppo-
site slopes, either of the same wave or of successive waves of the same sy-
stem, and these phscnomena, which are very distinctly marked in the instance
given, furnish us with an explanation of similar phaenomena in other loca-
lities. The curves of Alten and Lougan (fig. 1) present similar phaeno-
mena to those of Geneva and St. Petersburgh ; the movements are opposite,
and in this respect more decided, for we have two periods of opposite move-
ments at Alten and Lougan. We have consequently the half breadth of this
Scandinavian wave given from Alten to Lougan, 1592 miles ; first, when the
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES.
3»
anterior slope extended from Alten to Lougan, the crest transiting Alten,
while the anterior trough passed Lougan ; and second, when the posterior
Fig. 1.
November 1842.
9
r"^
\
/
V ..
AUcn
\
\
i r.
^ r\"--
Lougan .,
r\/ V ^
/ \ / >lUen
29-00
Opposite barometric curves at Alten and Lougan.
Points of opposition, Nov. 3, maximum, Alten.
„ „ Nov. 3, minimum, Lougan.
„ ,, Nov. 9, maximum, Lougan.
„ „ Nov. 9, minimum, Alten (?)
slope covered the area, the crest having arrived at Lougan, at which time in
all probability the posterior trough was vertically over Alten. The decided
opposition of the curves also enables us to determine with considerable preci-
sion all the elements of the wave. It appears highly probable that tlie two
subordinate maxim.a of the 8th and 10th in the Alten curve resulted from
waves in the trough of this Scandinavian wave, and that its true minimum
occurred on the 9th ; this would give nearly equal intervals for the trans-
mission of the anterior slope and crest from Alten to Lougan, the posterior
slope on the 9th stretching from Lougan to Alten. Upon this supposition
we have the following elements : —
Of the great Scandinavian Wave a.
Designation, a.
Direction of crest W.S.W E.N.E.
Extreme points, anterior slope, Lougan, Alten.
Semi-amplitude from anterior slope, 1592 miles.
. Extreme points, posterior slope, Alten, Lougan.
Semi-amplitude from posterior slope, 1592 miles.
Epoch of anterior trough, Lougan, Nov. 3.
„ crest Alten, „ 3.
„ „ Lougan, „ 9.
„ posterior trough, Alten, ,, 9.
40, REPORT — 1848.
Time of transit of crest from Alten to Lougan, 1 ii hours.
Amplitude of wave in time, 288 hours.
„ „ „ miles, 3184 miles.
Velocity of wave, 1 1 miles per hour.
We have also the following determinations of the altitude of this wave : —
d h
The crest passed Alten Nov. U 21
The posterior trough Nov. 8 21 ?
Interval ^ ^
Altitude of crest at Alten SO'G 1 3
„ posterior trough ^^'S^I ?
„ wave at Alten l'~^<"
Altitude of crest at Lougan 30"109
„ anterior trough 29*038
,, wave at Lougan 1 "07 1
Nov. 2, 21, crest at Alten 30-618
,, 2, 20, anterior trough, Lougan. . . . 29-038
Altitude of wave from anterior trough. . 1-680
Nov. 8, 22, crest at Lougan SO' 109
„ 8, 21, posterior trough, Alten .... 29-341 ?
Altitude of wave from posterior trough . -768
St. Petersburgh, which is situated nearly midway between Alten and Lou-
gan, and not far removed from the line cutting the wave transversely, affords
us an excellent mean of testing the accuracy of the views advanced relative
to the great Scandinavian wave. The following table exhibits the progression
of the crest across Lapland and Russia, and the distribution of pressure on
each side as it transits.
Table IIL
Barometric altitudes and differences arising from the transit of the Scandi-
navian wave across Lapland and Russia in 1 842.
November 3 to 9.
Date.
Alten.
Diif.
St. Petersburgh.
Diff.
Lougan.
Nov. 3.
30-589^
-317
30^272
M34
29-138
4.
.OggM
•100
•188
-748
•440
5.
30-140
•089
•22 9^*'
•820
•409
G.
29-690
•466
30-156'*'
•784
•372
7.
-416
•517
29-933*^
•159
29-774
8.
•596
•399
-995
•030
30-025*'
9.
•436
•470
•906
•189
-095"
Alten to St. Petersburgh 740 miles
St. Petersburgh to Lougan 860 „
The readings at Alten are at 3 p.m.
„ „ St. Petersburgh, 3 p.m.
,, „ Lougan, 4 p.m.
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES.
41
It may probably assist our conception of the transit of tin's wave if the po-
sition of the crest for each day is particularized as under : —
Nov. 3. Crest passing Alten. This crest evidently possessed considerable
breadth, for we find only a diminution of 0-317 inch pressure from Alten to
St. Petersburgh, 740 miles ; from St. Petersburgh to Lougan, 860 miles, the
dip is very much greater, ri34 inch above three times.
Nov. 4. Crest between Alten and St. Petersburgh. In consequence of the
broad crest these stations are nearly on a level, the dip from St. Petersburgh
to Lougan still very considerable, 0"748 inch.
Novr5. St.Petersburgh, the highest point ; the crest not yet arrived ; dip
from St.Petersburgh to Alten, 0-089 inch ; from St. Petersburgh to Lougan,
0-820 inch.
Nov. 6. The crest rapidly approaching St. Petersburgh, which it transits
most probably this day ; the anterior slope still presents considerable steep-
ness ; dip from St. Petersburgh to Lougan, 0-784 inch ; Alten is only 0-318
inch above Lougan.
Nov. 7. The crest has now clearly passed St. Petersburgh; this station is
slightly raised above Lougan, but the dip to Alten has become considerable,
0*517 inch.
Nov. 8. The direction of the dip is reversed, being from Lougan to Alten
increasing.
These phsenomena are rendered very apparent to the eye in the diagram,
fig. 2.
The great Scandinavian wave presents very distinctly at Alten the well-
known characteristic of the north-westerly system of waves, namely, that of
a considerable and precipitous fall as the posterior slope passes ; this fall is
only interrupted by the crest of wave No. 2 on the 5th.
Fig. 2.
1842, Nov. Nov. 1842.
31 inch
39 inch.
St. Petersburgh.
29 inch.
Lougan.
Distribution of pressure on the line from Alten to Lougan, from Nov. 3, the epoch of the
transit of the Scandinavian wave at Alten ; to Nov. 9, the epoch of the transit of the crest
at Lougan. Barometric altitudes half the natural scale.
In addition to the determination of this large Scandinavian wave, with its
elements and phases, the additional observations at Alten, Geneva and Lougan,
assist us considerably in more distinctly defining and limiting the waves already
brought to light by former discussions. The breadth of the anterior slope of
crest No. 1 (Report, 1846, p. 142) is found to extend beyond Christiania, but
not so far as Alten, and the rise from Christiania to Alten, of -36 inch on the
1st of November, clearly indicates the posterior slope of a wave preceding
crest No. 1. The anterior slope of crest No. 1 is also more distinctly
manifested by the observations at St. Petersburgh and Geneva than by
those at Belfast and Christiania, the depression of St. Petersburgh below
42 REPORT — 1848.
Geneva being '89 inch. We have consequently two sections of the ante-
rior slope of crest No. 1, that from Geneva to St. Petersburgh cutting the
wave more transversely than the other. These observations also enable us to
determine with more precision the longitudinal direction and extent of this
crest, for we now trace it from Belfast across the centre of England, through
France to Geneva. It appears to have been depressed in France by the
anterior trough of crest No. 2.
While we thus have the anterior slope of wave No. 1 covering the northern
parts of Central Europe, and being distinctly terminated on a line parallel
to its crest, passing through or beyond St. Petersburgh and to the north of
Christiania, so that from the crest to this hne the pressure diminishes, we
have the posterior slope of the preceding wave passing off towards the
north-east, as shown by the Alten observations, which exhibit a greater
pressure than those at Christiania. We have also, crossing these waves, two
anterior slopes, one in Scandinavia and Russia, extending from beyond Alten
to the north-west to beyond St. Petersburgh to the south-east. It is this
slope that produces a considerable rise in the barometer at Alten, and from
this station to St. Petersburgh it measures '69 inch. This anterior slope
is distinctly terminated longitudinally by a line passing between the Orkneys
and Christiania. The other anterior slope alluded to is that of the wave
designated crest No. 2 ; it appears to be terminated on this day by its an-
terior trough in the neighbourhood of Paris. The crest is considerably to
the north-west of Great Britain and Ireland.
On the 2nd of November we find the posterior slope of the wave preceding
crest No. 1, more distinctly developed at Alten with its proper wind S.E. ;
we also find the N. W. and S.E. parallel currents fully established from Great
Britain and Ireland to Alten, as under : —
Posterior slope of wave-crest No. 0* S.E. at Alten.
Anterior slope of wave-crest No. 1. N.N.W. at Christiania.
Posterior slope of wave- crest No. 1. S.E. Great Britain and Ireland.
The anterior slope of the Scandinavian wave from Alten to St. Peters-
burgh is very distinctly developed on the 2nd, possessing, although not to so
great an extent, the marked diminution of pressure towards its anterior
trough which obtains between St. Petersburgh and Lougan on the Srd.
Nov. 3. The crest of the Scandinavian wave now transits Alten and its
anterior trough Lougan, so that we have the whole of European Russia and
Scandinavia covered by its anterior slope. The wave-crest No. 1 appears to
occupy a position nearly coincident witli the line terminating this wave longi-
tudinally ; and the wave-crest No. 2, which receives its greatest development
in Central Europe, approaches from the north-west, so that the three waves
contribute to produce high barometric readings in the north-west of Europe,
the area of greatest pressure, as indicated by readings above 30 inches, ex-
tending from Alten and St. Petersburgh across the Scandinavian peninsula
and Scotland to the north of Ireland.
Nov. 4. The Scandinavian wave rolls onward towards the south-east,
depressing the barometer at Alten and raising it at Lougan. The wave-
crest No. 2 of Central Europe approaches from the north-west, raising the
barometer in Great Britain and Ireland. The wave-crest No. 1, a south-
westerly wave, still crosses the Scandinavian peninsula, keeping up the
* This symbol is employed to designate the -wave preceding the south-westerly waves
determined by the discussion of Mr. Brown's obser\'ations. See Report, 1846, pp. 140 to 160.
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES. 43
barometer in that part of Europe ; its presence is very distinctly marked,
Alten, Christiania and St. Petersburgh being nearly on a level : the order of
altitudes is as follows : —
Christiania 30'37
Alten 30-29
St. Petersburgh 30-22
We have consequently the area of greatest pressure approaching the central
parts of Europe from the north-west ; the Scandinavian wave, which raises
the barometer in the north-east, being considerably in advance of that of
Central Europe, crest No. 2, which contributes to the rise in the south-west.
Nov. 5. On this day we have the turning-points of tlie opposite curves,
Geneva and St. Petersburgh (see fig. 10, pi. 27, Report, 1847) ; they clearly in-
dicate the half-span or semi-amplitude of the wave-crest No. 1, the crest being
vertically over St. Petersburgh (max.) while the trough transits Geneva (min).
The semi-amplitude is consequently 1365 miles, and the velocity of the
crest, as determined from the epochs of its passing Geneva and St. Peters-
burgh, 1 4-22 miles per hour. This wave appears to have been rather larger
than its successor, wave-crest No. S or B°, the elements and phases of which
are given on p. 124, Report, 1845.
The rise at Alten on this day, on the steep posterior slope of the Scan-
dinavian wave, enables us to extend the line of crest No. 2 from Cork, the
extreme south-western station, to Alten, the extreme north-eastern ; and the
reduced reading at Alten, 30-14, clearly indicates that the greatest swell
occurred in Central Europe : the readings along the crest are as follows : —
Cork, 30-32; Belfast, 30-55 ; Orkneys, 30-52 ; Alten, 30-14.
From these numbers we learn that the greatest swell occurred in the north-
east of Ireland, and that the wave thinned off very considerably towards
Alten, being perceptible as a subordinate m.aximum only. Had not wave-
crest No. 2 extended to Alten, the barometric differences between Alten
and St. Petersburgh would have been much greater. The crests Nos. 1 and
2 intersected to the north-west of Norway. See Report, 184G, p. 167.
The area of greatest pressure has much the same direction as on the 4th,
extending from the south-west of Ireland across Scotland and the Scandi-
navian peninsula to St. Petersburgh. The greater swell of the wave-crest
No. 2 in the neighbourhood of Ireland and Scotland contributes to the high
barometric readings ia those localities ; the intersections of crests Nos. I and
2 to the high readings in the southern parts of Norway ; and the intersection
of the Scandinavian crest a with No. 1 to the altitude, as observed at St,
Petersburgh. The distribution of the crests is as follows : —
Scandinavian crest a. .To the west of and approaching St. Petersburgh.
Crest No. 2 Extending from Ireland to Alten.
Crest No. 1 Crossing each of these on a line to the north-east of
that terminating the Scandinavian wave longitu-
dinally.
Scandinavia and Russia are now covered partly by tlie anterior and partly
by the posterior slopes of the Scandinavian wave ; Northern Central Europe
by the posterior slope of crest No. 1, and Western Europe by the anterior
slope of crest No. 2.
The lowest reading on this day, with the exception of Lougan, is Geneva,
29-79, the posterior trough of crest No. 1. It is probable that the troughs
44 REPORT — 1848.
of I and 2 intersect in the neighbourhood of Geneva ; if so, we have for
determining the semi-amplitude of crest No. ii, the following data: —
Semi-amplitude. . . .The anterior trougli being at Geneva.
The crest at Belfast 792 miles.
Nov. G. While the anterior slope of crest No. 2 is most strikingly deve-
loped over Western Europe, extending from Belfast to Geneva, the posterior
slope of the Scandinavian wave, which now transits St. Petersburgh, is also
developed from that station to Alten ; and between these slopes, and crossing
them more or less at right angles, we have crest No. 1 still between
Christiania and Alten, so that we have a considerable elevation of the baro-
meter in Great Britain and Ireland, the extremity of the Scandinavian pe-
ninsula, and at St. Petersburgh. On each side this ridge of pressure the
barometer exhibits lower readings; at Geneva, 29'S6; at Alten, 29"G9; both
at the level of the sea.
The area of greatest pressure has much the same direction as on the 5th,
with this exception, the north-eastern extremity makes a greater progress
towards the south-east than the south-western. This is precisely a conse-
quence of the waves being situated as the observations indicate. The area
of greatest pressure does not result from a single wave-crest, but is due to
■at least three contemporaneous crests in Northern and Central Europe, two
•of these having the same direction, but one being in advance of the other, and
'■the third crossing these nearly at right angles. As the advanced north-west
wave passes off towards the south-east the pressure diminishes in the north-
•east, thus giving rise to the unequal motion of the two extremities of the
area of greatest pressure.
Nov. 7. The barometric movements over western Central Europe are very
small ; in Northern Europe they are greater. In the first area, Western
'Central Europe, the crest No. 2 is transiting ; this crest thins off towards
Northern Europe, and the Scandinavian wave considerably influences the
barometer in this the northern area. Barometric falls in Northern Europe,
iincluding the Orkneys : —
The Orkneys '^1
Alten -27
St. Petersburgli '20
Christiania '19
While the barometric falls at St. Petersburgh and the Orkneys appear to
•have resulted from two different causes, two distinct posterior slopes, the
•fall at Alten appears to have been compounded of these two slopes, viz.
that of the Scandinavian wave and that of crest No. 2. The area is thus
divided into two sub-areas, Alten, Christiania and the Orkneys falling from
crest No. 2, and St. Petersburgh from crest No. 1 and the Scandinavian wave.
During the operation of the causes just alluded to, by which the pressure
ihas been diminished at Christiania and St. Petersburgh, these stations are
brought more to a level with Geneva from the approach of crest No. 3. At
Alten the barometer has been falling principally from the posterior slope of the
Scandinavian wave ; a trough now transits Alten, but from the opposite
curves at this station and Lougan it does not appear to be the posterior
trough of the Scandinavian wave, which most probably transited on the 9th ;
it is most likely to be a secondary trough, or rather minimum, produced by
the approach of crest No. 1, which probably transited this station on the 8th.
The following table exhibits the distribution of the crests and troughs on
this day : —
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES.
Table IV.
Distribution of Crests and Troughs on November 7,1 SiP. : —
45
Phase.
Locality.
Crest No. 1
Between Christiania and Alten, approacliing Alten.
Trough between 1
Nos. 1 and 3 J
North-east of Belfast and Paris.
Crest No. 3 ....
South-west of Great Britain and Ireland.
Crest No. 2 ....
Passing south-east of tlie Orkneys across Scotland
and England.
The general direction of high pressure extends over Ireland,' England,
the north of France, Holland, Northern Germany, the southern parts of
Sweden and Norway, and the central parts of Western Russia. From this
ridge or area of high pressure to Alten thtre is a considerable dip.
Orkneys to Alten -73
Christiania to Alten '60
St. Petersburgh to Alten •54
It is thus apparent that the area of greatest pressure has gradually ap-
proached the south-east, and assumed in its progress a more curviHnear direc-
tion than it possessed at tlie commencement of the month. The locality in
which the pressure has been more constantly maintained is the northern part
of the British Isles, the southern part of Scandinavia, and Western Russia.
It would appear from tlie above values of the diminution of pressure to
Alten, that the slope from the Orkneys to Alten was an anterior slope of the
south-west system, but other considerations, especially the trough between
1 and 3, clearly show that this is not the case ; the depression at Alten results
from the posterior slope of the Scandinavian wave, and the altitude at the
Orkneys evidently results from the wave-crest No. 2, which passed that
station on the 5th.
Nov. 8. At 9 P.M. of the 7th the barometer passed a minimum at Alten,
value 29'3i, and at 3 p.m. of this day it had risen to 29*60, a maximum.
It is very likely that this maximum is crest No. 1. This movement, and the
fall from the posterior slope of crest No. 2, brings the northern stations to a
greater equality of level.
Table V.
Area of greatest pressure, November 8, 1842, slightly above 30 inches : —
South-west.
Central.
North-east.
Cork 30-01
Belfast
30-04
St. Petersburgh 29-96
Plymouth .... 30*13
London
30-08
Lougan 29-98
Bristol
30-07
Paris
29-90
Geneva
30-01
Area of the barometric fall which commenced on this day (see Report,
1846, p. 147):—
Alten 29-60
Christiania 29'67
Orkneys 29-63
46 REPORT — 1848.
The area of greatest pressure (just above 30 inches) extends from Ire-
land and England across France and Switzerland, and the central portions
of Western Russia, having nearly an easterly and westerly direction. In
the northern parts of Scotland (the Orkneys), Norway and Lapland, the
pressure is about "4 inch lower.
Nov. 9. Crest of Scandinavian wave .... Lougan SO'll
Crest of wave No. 2 Geneva 30*08
Crest of wave No. 2 St. Petersburgh 29-92
The passing off of the area of greatest pressure towards the south-east is
now most decided ; it extends from St. Petersburgh and Lougan towards
Geneva. The higher reading at Lougan is clearly due to the crest of the
Scandinavian wave, those at St. Petersburgh and Geneva to ihe crest of
No. 2 ; Paris and the stations to the north-west of it, including Christiania
and Alten, all exhibit lower readings, being under the contemporaneous and
continuous posterior slopes of the Scandinavian wave and of crest No. 2.
We have some reason to believe that the readings of the 5th, at Belfast
and Geneva, assist us materially in determining the semi-amplitude of wave-
crest No. 2. The crest now passes Geneva, and from this we may gather
that the velocity was about S'25 miles per hour. In comparing these with
the similar elements of wave A°, as deduced from observations at Scilly,
Bardsey and Munich on this day, we find the present determination to be
less than that recorded in the Report for 1845, p. 127. It would, however,
appear that the amplitude 1856 miles is too great, the distance from Bardsey
to Munich being 785 miles. This amplitude has been determined from the
posterior slope. The observations at Geneva and Belfast enable us to deter-
mine the anterior, those at Munich and Bardsey the posterior slope ; by
combining them we have the amplitude determined from the two slopes.
Anterior slope, Geneva to Belfast . . . 792 miles.
Posterior slope, Bardsey to Munich. , 785 „
Amplitude of wave .... 1577 „
The near approximation of the values of the anterior and posterior slopes
gives a proportionate confidence in this determination of the amplitude.
By taking the time of transit, Belfast to Munich, we have nearly the same
velocity given as from Belfast to Geneva, namely, 8"78 miles per hour.
The velocity of this crest or wave appears to have been variable ; it clearly
passed very slowly over Ireland, the barometer attaining a considerable
elevation. On the morning of the 8th we find its direction from the south-
west of England, past Norfolk, to the east of Christiania; aline of crest also ex-
tends from Scilly past South Bishop and Bardsey, connected probably in some
way with A'. From this time the velocity appears to have increased rapidly ;
for on the next day, the 9th, we find the crest south-east of Paris, and at
3 P.M. it appears to transit Munich. Its increased velocity appears to have
commenced upon its passing the coast of Wales. Taking the amplitude of
the posterior slope from Bardsey to Munich = 785 miles, and the time of
the passage of the crest over this space = 30 hours (see Report, 1845,
p. 126), the increased velocity is about 26 miles per hour.
The altitudes of the anterior and posterior slopes from the Belfast and
Geneva observations appear to be as under : —
Nov. 5. Crest at Belfast 30-55
Anterior trough at Geneva 29-79
Altitude of wave from anterior trough -76
I
ON ATMOSPHEHIC WAVES.
Nov. 9. Crest at Geneva 30*08
Posterior trough at Belfast 29"41
4t
Altitude of wave from posterior trough '67
The Bardsey and Munich observations appear to give a higher value for
the posterior slope.
The preceding remarks have exclusive reference to the barometric move-
ments over Central and Northern Europe during the first nine days of No-
vember. Among the results obtained from combining the Alten observations
with those before enumerated, we have the extension of the crest No. 2
to the extreme north of Europe. In like manner it may be expected that
the succeeding wave-crest No. 4 would also stretch across the European
continent in the same direction, and that the Alten observations would con-
firm the suggestion published at the end of my third report (Report 1846,
p. 372), that this wave stretched to the very north of Europe. On con-
sulting them we find the barometer passed a maximum at 9 p.m. of the 18th,
value 30'114;. The epoch of this maximum, its value being considerably
lower than those of the maxima observed in Central Europe about the
same time, and the similarity that exists in this respect to the altitude
of wave-crest No. 2 as it passed Alten, the greatest swell occurring in
Central Europe, tends greatly to identify this maximum with wave-crest
No. 4, and that the greatest swell of this wave also occurred in Central
Europe.
The following table exhibits the passage of crest No. 4 from Ireland to
the eastern borders of Europe during the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th of
November 1842 : —
Table VI.
Epochs of the transit of Wave-crest No. 4, November 1842.
Stations.
Day.
Hour.
Glasgow .. ..
17
17
18
18
18
19
19
19
20
Noon*.
11 P.M.
10 A.M.
6 P.M.
9 P.M.
9 A.Mf.
9iA.Mt.
10 P.M.
2 P.M.
Dublin
Greenwich
Brussels
Alten
Geneva
Munich
St. Petersburgh
Table VII., which is supplemental to Table I. facing page 36, embodies the
results of the examination of the barometric movements over the larger area
above specified, and includes the elements of the three prominent waves,
o, A°, and No. 1.
In collecting the results of the examination of these waves over the larger
area embraced by the observations at Alten, St. Petersburgh and Lougan,
* The early transit of the maximum at Glasgow appears to have been connected with the
south-westerly wave-crest No. 7, which crossed No. 4 at Belfast ; this is supported by the
observations at Sir Thomas Brisbane's Observatory, Makerstoun.
t As the observations at Geneva are not taken between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m., it is highly
probable the maximum occurred earlier, and that there was a longer interval between the
times of transit at Geneva and Munich than half an hour.
48 REPORT 1848.
in connection with those eniunerated in former reports, our attention is
arrested by the distinctness witli which the waves Nos. 1 and 2 are exhibited,
and tlie striking individuahty appertaining to the wave a, determined in the
first instance by only two sets of observations, tliose at Alten and Lougan,
from the opposition of their barometric curves, and afterwards fully confirmed
by the observations at St. Petersburgh. The facility with which we are
enabled to trace, during the nine days of examination, the progression of the
area of greatest pressure, which results from the presence of the crests of
these waves, and the modification of form which this area of greatest pressure
undergoes from the different vositions of waves a and No. 2, and also from
the different direction as well as position of wave No. 1, such modification of
form not being at all recognizable as the effect of any single movement, but
clearly resulting from such movements as have by this discussion been
brought to light, leads to the conviction that during the first nine days of
November 1842, the waves having reference to that period, which are par-
ticularized in Table VII., were the only atmospheric waves of considerable
magnitude that during those days flowed over Europe. We are therefore
enabled to specify, as prominent results of this inquiry, two large waves,
one about double the breadth of the other, coming over from the north-west,
the largest extending indefinitely — so far as we can learn from the observa-
tions before us — towards the north-east, from a line passing between the
Orkneys and Christiania towards the south-east, and covering first with its
anterior, and afterwards with its posterior slope the whole of Northern
Europe. The smallest wave is traced to a much greater extent longitudi-
nally, Cork and Alten being the extreme stations indicating the presence of
its crest : its posterior trough appears to have been contemporaneous and
continuous with that of the largest wave ; so that while the crest of the
largest wave traversed Eastern Europe, the crest of the smallest crossed
Central Europe, the trough common to both passing over the British Islands
at the same epoch. We are also able, in addition to these waves, to parti-
cularize another, having a different direction, its crest extending N. W. to S.E.
from Ireland to Switzerland ; so that in the course of its progress to the
north-east it crosses them : the half breadtli of this south-westerly wave, as
manifested by its anterior slope, extended from Geneva to or beyond St,
Petersburgh. The posterior slope gave a somewhat similar result.
While we are able to indicate the amplitude, altitude, direction, march,
and velocity of the atmospheric waves above specified, our knowledge is
greatly deficient relative to their longitudinal extent ; nor are we al)le to
exhibit on a chart, at any given moment, the line of crest and the bounding
troughs of any one of these waves so as to exhibit to the eye the extent of
surface it covers in the totality of its existence. That these blanks can be
filled with less difficulty than might at first sight be imagined, is evident
from the ease with which it is possible to determine the elements of a wave
from two sets of barometric observations, each at a different station, provided
such observations present opposite movements. In the case of the south-
vsesterly wave above specified, we have only to find a point as much to the
south-west of Geneva as that city is south-west of St. Petersburgh, and we
shall again have opposite movements to those at Geneva, provided the locality
of genesis of the south-westerly waves is situated still further to the south-
west, and that the movements do not receive considerable modification from
the influence of the north-westerly waves. The distance between the two
extreme points of opposite movements, as referred to the central point, will
mark the amplitude of the wave, and these points will be situated in the
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES. 49
boiindinpr troughs, as exhibited on the chart alluded to. How far the con-
ditions above named exist, we are unable to determine in the present state
of our knowledge. The elements of the waves already ascertained, indicate,
however, the localities from which we may seek to obtain observations that
will immediately illustrate these desiderata ; and should we not be able to
obtain them for the year in question, viz. 184-2, observations in future years
on the lines of country indicated by the discussion of the observations in
1842, already obtained, may be very available for distinctly marking out
the great tracts of country over which the waves extend, and furnishing
data from which charts, such as have been alluded to, may be constructed.
The three waves above specified, in consequence of t!ie minute inves-
tigation which the observations have undergone, may be considered as
exhibiting the nearest approach to accuracy in the determination of their
elements ; there are, however, other waves succeeding them, which, although
not so precisely determined as to their extent, velocity, &c., yet are so
clearly placed before us as to warrant the conclusion that the same close
discussion of the observations for succeeding days woidd furnisii similar
results with regard to them. These waves are particularized in the table
as No. 3 or B°, No. 5 and No. 4.
PART II.
Taking a single station in the extended area, to which allusion has been
made in the first part of this report, and examining the barometric phseno-
raena exhibited at that station, the result of such an examination has in-
dicated, — first, that the barometric curve is compounded of the effects pro-
duced by each individual wave as it passes the station in its onward progress ;
and secondly, that so far as the symmetrical curve is concerned, the essential
characters of this symmetrical curve are repeated year after year. The objects
of the second branch of our inquiry are, therefore, essentially different from
the first — they consist of the seasonal barometric types or curves, such
curves being obtained from observations of the barometer at the station
selected, without reference to observations at other stations. In my report
1845, pp. 1^1 to 123, illustrated by plate 3, we have the characteristics
of the symmetrical curve for 1842, 1843, and 1844. Further notices of the
symmetrical curves for 1845 and 1846 occur in the reports for 1846 (pp. 130
to 132) and 1847. The lastreport has more especial reference to the curve
for 1846, and plate 25. (vol. 1847) illustrates the departure from symmetry
as we proceed from Brussels to the north-west. The most prominent re-
sults of this branch of our subject, up to the last meeting of the Association,
has been the determination that each station possesses its own barometric
type ; that at other stations, more or less, according to their distance or
proximity, certain differences from this type obtain : these differences are
strikingly exhibited in plate 25, Report, 1847. Such a result was certainly
to be expected, as the points of intersection of each wave of each system must
necessarily be different at different stations, so that the barometric curves
at the various stations must necessarily differ from each other. The con-
stancy of the symmetrical characters of the curves appertaining to the
middle of November renders it important to deduce the mean symmetrical
curve for the fifteen days constituting the period of the " great wave," for
as many stations as observations can be obtained from. 'Without doubt, the
mean curve at Brussels would be highly valuable ; it has, however, been out
of our power to determine it during the last year ; but the Greenwich
observations have afforded the opportunity of determining the mean curve
1848. E .
50
REPORT — 1848.
for that station, from the observations 1841 to 1845 inchisive, already pub-
lished. In deducing this mean curve, the epochs given in tiie following table
have been regarded as marking the transit of the apex of the symmetrical
curve in each year.
Table VIII.
Epochs of transit of the crest of the " Great Symmetrical Wave of Novem-
ber," from 1841 to 1845 inclusive, at the Royal Observatory, Green-
wich.
Year.
Epoch of transit.
Altitude of crest.
d h
1841.
Nov. 25,
29-693
1 842.
Nov. 17, 22
30-470
1843.
Nov. 13, 10
30-170
1844.
Oct. 26, 22
30-lo7
1845.
Nov. 14,
29-948
These epochs have consequently been considered as the axes of the curves ;
they have been brought in the projections on tlie same vertical line, and on
this line the altitudes given in the third column have been projected ; the
altitudes- at intervals of two hours preceding and succeeding these axes
during a period of thirty days have also been projected, so that fifteen days
on each side complete not only the symmetrical curves, but also those pre-
ceding and succeeding them by seven days. During a period embracing 192
hours preceding and succeeding the apices, means have been taken, when
practicable, of the two-liourly readings, from which the mean curve has been
projected ; these means are recorded in the following Table, and the mean
curve projected below the symmetrical curves for each year. On Plate 3
will be found the five curves of the symmetrical wave for the years above-
mentioned, also the mean symmetrical curve deduced from them.
■ Table IX.
Mean ordinates of the " Great Symmetrical Wave of November," as deduced
from Observations at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, during the years
1841 to 1845 inclusive, corrected for temperature, and reduced to the
level of the sea.
Hours
Hours
Hours
Hours
before
transit.
Altitudes.
after
transit.
Altitudes.
before
transit.
Altitudes.
after
transit.
Altitudes.
—
+
—
+
Apex.
30-271
Apex.
30^271
20
30-112
20
30-173
2
2
22
•092
22
•172
4
4
24
30-079
24
•151
6
26
26
•135
8
8
30-256
1 28
28
•114
10
30-215
10
30-252
i 30
29-992
30
•097
12
•205
12
1 32
32
•085
14
•189
14
! 34
29-959
34
•070
16
•160
16
30-209
36
29*944
36
30^038
18
30^132
18
30-184
38
38
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES.
51
Table IX.
(continued).
Hours
Hours
Hours
Hours
before
transit.
Altitudes.
after
transit.
Altitudes.
before
transit.
Altitudes.
after
transit.
Altitudes.
+
118
+
40
40
118
29-392
4,2
42
120
29-637
120
-379
44
44
122
122
29-369
46
29-848
46
124
124
48
•848
48
29-900
126
126
50
•820
50
128
128
52
•790
52
130
130
54
•765
54
132
29-581
132
29-393
56
•754
56
134
•567
134
-375
58
•723
58
136
•553
136
-361
60
•694
60
138
•526
138
29-337
62
•658
62
140
•518
140
64
•608
64
142
•518
142
66
•563
G6
144
•529
144
68
•558
68
146
•529
146
70
•575
70
29-809
148
•530
148
29-279
72
•582
72
150
•535
150
-276
74
•569
74
152
29-539
152
•304
76
•557
76
154
154
•324
78
•548
78
29-823
156
156
•356
80
•563
80
158
158
29^386
82
29-587
82
160
29-506
160
84
84
162
162
86
86
29-740
164
164
88
88
.688
166
166
90
90
-622
168
29-572
168
29^462
92
29-660
92
-564
170
170
94
94
•554
172
172
96
29-697
96
•520
174
174
98
98
•497
176
176
29^392
100
100
•473
178
29-604
178
102
102
•463
180
-634
180
104
104
•478
182
•662
182
106
106
•490
184
•697
184
29^362
108
108
•485
186
•733
186
•367
110
110
•459
188
29-770
188
•361
112
112
•435
190
190
•S61
114
114
•419
192
192
29^374
116
29-623
116
29-409
Essential features of the barometric type for November, known as the Great
Symmetrical Wave of November, as exhibited in a mean curve deduced from
Jive years' observations at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
It has been assumed that the great symmetrical wave of November con-
sists of/ue subordinate waves giving rise to the five maxima which charac-
E 2
52 REPORT — 1848.
terizo it, tlic cenivnl maximum forming the apex of the symmetrical curve,
the renmiiuler being subordinate thereto (Report, 184G, p. 125). Upon a
close inspection of the curves of the "great wave" as laid down from the
Greenwich observations, six subordinate maxima can be traced, three on
eacii side tlic central apex, which in all the years is by far the most pro-
minent. The mean curve leads to the conclusion that Greenwich is not the
point of greatest symmetry, its closing portion being depressed more than
0-2 inch below the commencement. The most striking feature is the decided
rise of the mercurial column during a period of 68 hours preceding the
transit of the crest. The value of this rise is 0*7 inch, or about O'OIO inch
per hour. The fall is not so precipitous ; the barometer appears to be kept
up in this locality by tlie first subordinate maximum succeeding the crest ;
so that at the epoch of 68 hours after transit, the value of the reading is
more than 0-2 inch higher than at 68 hours before transit. At 80 hours
after transit a precipitous fall commences which continues during the next
24 hours, the mercury sinking 0*36 inch, or about O'Olo per hour ; the fall
afterwards continues, with two slight interruptions, answering to the sub-
ordinate maxima until the close of the wave 148 hours after transit, the
entire depression being nearly 1 inch.
It is worthy of remark, that in tlje determination of the symmetrical
curve from the Greenwich observations, extending in each year over double
the period embraced by the curve itself, and including five instead of
three years, the period of the wave should so closely agree with the period
assigned to it in 1845 when the ordinates of the mean normal curve
were deduced from the recurring curves of 1842, 1843, and 1844 (Report,
1845, p. 122), the observations in 1842 having been made at Leicester
Square, and those in the last two years at Cambridge Heath. The two
periods are identical, viz. 296 hours. It is necessary to mention here
that so close an accordance in the values of the ordinates is not to be ex-
pected. The Greenwich observations have been corrected for temperature,
and the mean ordinates are reduced to the level of the sea. The quantities
employed in the deduction of the ordinates recorded on p. 122, Report,
1845, were obtained from observations as read off from the scale without
any correction whatever.
The barometric rise, to which allusion has been made, was very distinct
on the occasion of the return of the great symmetrical curve in 1846. I
have recorded in my last report (Report, 1847, pp. 359 to 363) the phseno-
mena of this rise as exhibited in Great Britain and Ireland, especially during
the first 50 hours, and it is not difficult to recognise them as repetitions of
the phsenomena from which the mean rise has been deduced.
As regards the departure from symmetry manifested by the mean curve
at Greenwich, the first portion of the curve, viz., from 148 hours to 68
hours before transit, being thrown higher than the latter portion, that from
92 hours to 148 hours after transit, and t|ie bulging character of the fall
occasioning the readings at similar epochs to be higher after transit than
before, during a period of 90 hours preceding and succeeding the transit of
the crest, it appears pretty evident that this station is removed a definite
distance from the point of greatest symmetry. If we take the commence-
ment and termination of the wave at equal altitudes as indicating the greatest
symmetry, the departure from symmetry at any station will be measured
by the difference between the altitudes of the beginning and end; thus the
mean departure from symmetry at Greenwich, from the five years' observa-
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES. 53
tions, using tliese elements, may be expressed as '251 inch. Other features
of the mean curve may be employed for this ])urpose ; but wliatever value
may be adopted as a measure of tlie departure from symmetry, the points of
the curves from which such value has been deduced should be particu'arly
specified.
PART III.
The possibility of measuring at any one station the departure from sym-
metry which that particular curve known as the " symmetrical curve "
manifests, brings us to the third part of this report, — "The notice of any
results that may have been obtained during the past year of a character
not contemplated, or but slightly indicated in our former reports, and which
have particularly originated in the observations of the last return of the
November curve." The " symmetrical curve " on its last return was very
distinct ; it however presented some minor features which occasioned it to
differ slightly from the ttjjye, as expressed in the Report of 1846, p. 125,
The central apex was depressed at London below two of the subordinate
maxima on either side. Had these subordinate maxima exhibited the same
altitudes, and the interior minima preceding and succeeding the central apex
also exhibited similar altitudes, the symmetry on the last return would have
been complete at London, although the central apex was lower than those
preceding and succeeding it; as it was, the first maximum, that of the 10th,
was depressed '051 inch below that of the 18th, the second. We have ac-
cordingly indicated, both from the mean curve as deduced from the Green-
wich observations and the features of the "symmetrical curve" as it passed
London during the last autumn, a mode of expressing numerically the
deviation from symmetry at any station ; and it is clear that this deviation
may be expressed for single years, as deduced from the individual curves,
or the mean deviation may be taken from several years' observations, as we
have done for Greenwich. The last method would be the most desirable in
determining the value of the deviation at other stations. We are not, how-
ever, in possession of series of observations executed at such short intervals,
extending over so long a period, and noting such minute changes of pressure
as the Greenwich observations, in other parts of Great Britain, and also in
Ireland ; nor can we find observations even at longer intervals at stations
sufficiently near each other to enable us to determine either the law of
the departure from symmetry as we recede from the point of greatest sym-
metry, or the directions in which such deviations increase more rapidly than
in others, by this method ; but we may attempt some approximation to the
determination of such a law, or the indication of such directions, by taking
certain points of the symmetrical curves lor individual years, as indicated
by the observations of last autumn regarding the differences between such
points as measures of the deviations from symmetry, and constructing charts
of equal deviation. The observations forming the subject of my last report,
embracing as they do the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, are admirably
suited for such an attempt. I have accordingly selected the maxima of the
5th and 12th (see plate 25, Report, 1847) as the points from which the
deviation from symmetry may be deduced, and laid down on a map of the
British Islands the differences between these maxima, and from them have
constructed the lines of equal deviation from '050 inch to "550 inch, being
nearly the range of these differences.
54
REPORT — 1848.
Table X.
Values of the deviation from symmetry of the great symmetrical curves of
November, as deduced from the depression of the maximum of the 5th
of November below that of the 12th in the year 1846 in Great Britain
and Ireland.
Station.
Deviation from
symmetry.
Station.
Deviation from
symmetry.
Stornoway
Limerick
Galway
Lara's
•580
•550
•480
•460
•440
•420
•407
•400
•360
•343
Hobbs' Point ....
Nottingham ....
Brecon
Gloucester
Helstone
Cirencester
Weston
London
Ramsgate
Jersey
•313
•285
•270
•260
•258
•244
•210
•171
•100
•013
St. Vigean's
Orkneys
Makerstoun
Applegarth
Bowness
Newcastle
In the chart accompanying this report (PI. 4), the line representing the
deviation from symmetry by •SOO inch, or in other words, that line of country
on which the maximum of the 5th did not attain the elevation of that of the
12th by this quantity, is probably the best determined ; it appears to have
passed a little to the north-west of Cornwall, to the south-east of Pembroke-
shire, north-west of Brecon, west of Nottingham, and south-east of Newcastle.
The ^250 inch line is also well determined by the observations at Helstone,
Weston, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Nottingham. The observations at
Helstone, Brecon, Gloucester, and Nottingham mark out very distinctly the
direction of the line ^260 inch ; this line passes very near and to the west
of Helstone, ^258 ; it then proceeds along the coasts of Cornwall and
Devonshire, crosses the Bristol Channel, enters Wales, and continues its
progress across Glamorganshire towards Brecon, which it leaves to the
north-west, •270 inch being the value at this station. It is at this point
that it appears to undergo a decided inflexion, its course being changed
rather abruptly as it proceeds to Gloucester, which city it passes through.
Nottingham is removed ^025 from it to the west ; and the bend in the cen-
tral parts of England is very considerable to bring it again to its original
direction, as it leaves the land at the south-east angle of Yorkshire and
enters on the German Ocean, These lines of equal deviation from sym-
metry present a very remarkable characteristic, namely, a decided inflexion
over the land forming the central parts of England. This inflexion is borne
out by the London and Ramsgate observations, presenting higher values of
these differences than they would have done had the lines extended across
England without inflexion. The general direction of the lines in the cen-
tral and south-east parts of England is S. W. to N.E. The observations from
Scotland and Ireland indicate that the general direction in those localities
approached nearer to that of the meridian ; the lines are, however, inflected
as they pass over the land. The chart exhibits two systems of inflexion,
viz. that of Ireland and England, the general direction of the lines under-
going a change as the line of greatest symmetry is approached, the inflexion
being governed apparently by the masses of land ; and the other in Scot-
land, the observations at the Orkneys, St. Vigean's, and Largs affording
ON ATMOSPHERIC WAVES. 55
conclusive evidence relative to it. It would consequently appear, in accord-
ance with previous researches (Report, 1846, p. 147), that contiguous
masses of land and water exert a decided and measurable influence on the
variations of atmospheric pressure. In the case before us, the symmetry of
the barometric curve is departed from in a greater degree at inland stations,
a greater difference between the points selected being exhibited at such
stations than at the sea-coast on either side.
On turning to the last Report, pp. 357 and 358, we find the maximum
of the 5th referred to a wave-crest that passed rather rapidly over the area
from the south-west. The altitude of this crest was greatest in the south-
east, simply because it was contemporaneous with a north-westerly slope ;
a line from Jersey to Limerick on the chart will somewhat approximate to
a transverse section of this slope. On page 364 of the same report, we find
the maximum of the 12th referred to a wave-crest that came from the
north-west ; and at p. 367, the departure from symmetry is referred to the
greater development of this north-westerly wave. Stornoway, in the Western
Isles, exhibited the greatest development of this wave, the greatest baro-
metric range during tlie passage of the " symmetrical curve," and the
greatest difference between the points selected as indicating the departure
from symmetry ; and these phenomena clearly resulted from the greater
altitude which the north-westerly wave attained in the north of Scotland;
this would appear to indicate that the deviation from symmetry resulted
from the greater altitude of the north-westerly wave in certain localities, and
that the barometer had a tendency to rise higher over the land as the wave
transited. It is, however, difficult to determine this from the observations,
partly on account of the slow-moving wave [I] (Report, 1847, p. 358),
whose crest extended from Arbroath to Stornoway, and also from the south-
westerly system of waves ; ibr it is evicant that the same result, viz. an
approach to an equality of altitude of the maxima of the 5th and 12th, would
be produced as well by the higher readings of tlie 5th as the lower readings
of the 12th. Upon the whole it appears highly probable that the result is a
compound one, the approach to symmetry, as we proceed from the north-
west to the south-east, being occasioned by the higher readings of the south-
westerly crest of the 5th in the south-east, and the lower readings of the
north-westerly crest of the 12th in the same locality; the inflexions of the lines
being produced by the tendency of the barometer to rise higher as the anterior
slopes and crests, especially of the north-west wave, passed over the land.
Regarding the chart before us as indicating the localities and directions of
certain barometric phsenomena characterizing the "great symmetrical curve
of November," we at once see that it exhibits to us but a small portion of
the area over which these particular phaenoraena can be traced. The lines
of deviation Irom symmetry, as determined from observation, extend from
•100 inch at Ramsgate to '550 inch at Limerick, '580 inch being the highest
determination at Stornoway. It would appear from the Galway observa-
tions that the deviation did not much exceed "580 inch, '480 inch being the
value at this station. Query, Shall we find the curves undergoing such a
modification of form to the north-west of Ireland and Scotland as to bring
these maxima more on a level, having other features, as the broad maximum
of the 8th, which is very apparent in the Galway curve, so developed as to
produce a difierent order of curves, the limit of deviation from symmetry
of the Greenwich type being somewhat in the direction of the "550 inch
line ? The area of the British Isles embraces the north-western side of the
deviation from symmetry, as determined by the inferiority of the maximum
56 REPORT — 1848.
of the 5th to that of the 12th. How far the lines of deviation extend to
the south-west and north-east we are at present ignorant : it would how-
ever be interesting to learn whether they continue to any great extent to
exhibit a more or less longitudinal direction, being simply inflected by the
masses of land over which they pass, or whether they form a system of
curves, the interior ones being closed. Of the direction and form of the
lines of equal deviation to the south-east of the symmetrical line we are
likewise ignorant. Taking the Jersey curve, although not the most symme-
trical, yet, with regard to the points selected, exhibiting the least deviation,
we find a development of a different and somewhat opposite character to that
which we observe in the Scottish and Irish curves. In these curves the
maximum of the 12th is by far the most prominent, that of the 5th appearing
as very subordinate. At Jersey that of the 5th is the most prominent, the
maximum of the 12th dwindling into a subordinate elevation on the pos-
terior slope of the curve. Query. Does the maximum of the 5th rise into
considerable importance south-east of the line of greatest symmetry, while
that of the 12th merges into the general curve so as to give rise to a series
of lines of equal deviation of an opposite character to those vvhich we have
traced; and do these lines of opposite deviation preserve a general parallelism
within certain limits to them ? If so, the lines of equal and opposite
deviation on each side the line of greatest symmetry, whether extending
indefinitely or forming closed curves, will mark out an .irea to which that
particular barometric curve known as the " symmetrical curve of Novem-
ber " is peculiar, and the line of greatest deviation on each side will to a
certain extent limit such area, curves of a different character, and exhi-
biting novel features, appearing beyond the lines of greatest deviation.
It may probably be inquired if the general direction of the lines of equal
deviation are similar year after year? The amount of our present know-
ledge on this head indicates that such is not the case : taking similar points
in the curve on each return as indicating the departure from symmetry, the
direction of the lines varies, and this variation appears to be in accordance
with a certain law. We have on former occasions noticed that in 1842 the
direction of the line of greatest symmetry was from Dublin to Munich, the
deviations occurring on the north-east and south-west of this line (Report,
IS'l'G, p. J6.3). In 1845 it appeared to be in the direction of the southern
shores of England (Report, 1846, pp. 130, 164), and it consequently formed,
with the line of greatest symmetry in 1842, a considerable angle. In 1846
this angle was considerably increased ; and from some observations received
last autumn, it appeared to be still further increased, so as to equal if not
exceed a right angle, the station affording the most symmetrical curve being
Norwich. The instability of the line of greatest symmetry, to which allu-
sion has been made in my Report of 1846, p. 126, is thus clearly established
and the character of the motion indicated. The line of greatest symmetry
appears to revolve around a fixed point or node, which is situated in the
neighbourhood of Brussels*. It is probable tlie node itself is situated a
little to the north-west of Brussels, the common intersection of the lines
already traced occurring to the north-west of that city. W R R
Postscript. I omitted to mention in my last Report, in connexion with
the observations made at the stations recorded in Table I. (Report, 1847,
p. 351), that the observations at Sir Thomas Brisbane's observatory, Makers-
toun, near Kelso, were made under the sole direction of J. A. Brown, Esq.
* Sir John Herschel lias directed attention to the nodal character of Brussels in his
Report on Meteorological Reductions (Report, 1843, p. 100), especially in relation to the
revolution of the wind in one uniform direction.
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 57
On Colouring Matters. By Edward Schunck.
In the report which I had the honour of presenting last year to the British
Association on Colouring Matters, I gave the results of my investigation of
the colouring matters of madder. This investigation I have continued and
brought to a conclusion. The subject has however proved so extensive, the
number of questions arising in regard to this valuable and extensively-used
tinctorial substancebeing very great, that 1 have been unable to examme any
other colouring matters very minutely.
I stated in my last report, that when finely-ground madder roots are treated
with hot water, a brown liquid is obtained having a sweetish bitter taste, in
which acids produce a dark brown precipitate. Tliis precipitate I stated to
consist of six substances, viz. two colouring matters, two fats, pectic acid and
a bitter substance. To these I now add a seventh : it is a dark brown sub-
stance which remains behind when the other substances have been removed
by means of boiling water and alcohol ; it is soluble in caustic alkalies with
a dark brown colour, and seems to be the substance lo which the colour of
the dark brown precipitate is due : I consider it to be oxidized extractive
matter. Concerning the method of separating the other six substances con-
tained in the dark brown precipitate, I have nothing to add to what I said in
my last report, as I have not been able to discover a shorter or better plan
of separating them than that which is there described. In regard to their
nature, properties and composition, which I have examined more minutely,
I shall in this report give a number of additional details ; before doing so
liowever I shall make a fev/ observations on the subject in general. I may
state, in the first place, that I have arrived at the conclusion that there is
only one colouring matter contained in madder, viz. alizarin ; the other sub-
stance, which I took for a colouring matter in the first instance, and which I
called rubiacin, I now consider to be no colouring matter at all, for reasons
whicli I shall presently state. I have also reason to believe that tlie two sub-
stances which in my first report I called fats, are not fats, but resins ; they
are coloured resins similar to many others known to chemists. Of these two
resins I shall call the more easily fusible one, which dissolves in a boiling
solution of perchloride or pernitrate of iron, the alpha-resin ; the other less
easily fusible one, which forms an insoluble compound when treated with
perchloride or pernitrate of iron, the heta-resin. The method of preparing
them is the same as that which I described in my former report. After the
dark brown precipitate produced in a decoction of madder by acids has been
successively treated with boiling water and boiling alcohol, there remains
behind a dark brown substance ; on treating this substance with caustic
potash, it dissolves in great part with a dark brown colour ; on filtering there
remains on the filter a mixture of peroxide of iron and sulphate of lime ; on
adding a strong acid to the filtered liquid a substance in dark brown flocks is
precipitated, which is thrown on a filter, washed and dried. This substance,
when heated on platinum foil, burns without much flame, and leaves a con-
siderable ash. It is easily decomposed by boiling dilute nitric acid, which
converts it with an evolution of nitrous acid into a yellow flocculent sub-
stance. As it is insoluble in all menstrua except the alkalies, it may be
asked, how it can be extracted from madder by means of boiling water, in
which it is of itself insoluble, and whether it is not possible that it may be
formed during the process of boiling by the action of the air on some sub-
stance contained in the extract. I think the latter supposition very probable,
58 REPOET — 1848.
and 1 shall presently describe a substance of almost identical properties
formed by the action of the air on xanthin, the extractive matter of madder.
There can however be no doubt that the brown colour of the precipitate,
which is produced by acids in a decoction of madder, is due to this substance,
for the other bodies contained in it are not brown, but yellow or orange-
coloured in a precipitate state. This dark brown precipitate therefore con-
sists of the following substances : — alizarin, rubiacin, alpha-resin, beta-
resin, rubian, pectic acid, and oxidized extractive matter.
I have examined the liquid filtered from the dark brown precipitate pro-
duced by acids more minutely since making my last report. If oxalic acid
be used as the precipitant, the excess of acid may afterwards be removed by
chalk, without leaving any lime-salt in solution. The liquid, which had a
light yellow colour, was evaporated on the sand-bath. During evaporation
it gradually became brown, and left at last a thick dark brown syrup, which
never became dry, however long it might be exposed to the heat of the sand-
bath. On re-dissolving tliis syrup in water, a considerable quantity of a dark
brown powder remained behind. On again evaporating the filtered solution
on the sand-bath, an additional quantity of this powder was deposited, just as
in the case of extractive matter. There can be no doubt that this powder is
formed by the action of the air, assisted by heat, on some soluble substance con-
tained in the liquid. On burning a small quantity of the brown syrup in a
crucible it swelled up enormously, and gave off a quantity of empyreumatic
products, which burned with a flame, leaving at last a considerable quantity of
white ash ; this ash was partly soluble, partly insoluble in water. The soluble
part had a strong alkaline reaction ; it consisted of a trace of lime and mag-
nesia, and a great deal of potash, combined with carbonic, sulphuric and
muriatic acids. The insoluble part consisted of carbonate of lime, carbonate
of magnesia, a trace of alumina, phosphate of lime and phosphate of mag-
nesia. The solution of the brown syrup in water had an acid reaction. It
gave no precipitate or peculiar colour with a persalt of iron, and therefore
contained no tannic acid. The addition of alcohol produced no precipitate
or coagulate, and therefore there was no gum present. On adding muriatic
or sulphuric acid to it, and then boiling, it became dark-coloured and de-
posited a green powder. Sugar of lead produced in the solution a dirty
brown flocculent precipitate, and basic acetate of lead a still more copious
precipitate. A considerable quantity of the brown syrup was dissolved in
water, and basic acetate of lead was added until no more precipitate was
produced. The precipitate was separated by filtration, and washed with
water. The percolating liquid had a yellow colour. The excess of lead was
removed from it by sulphuretted hydrogen, and the filtered liquid was eva-
porated over sulphuric acid, since, if evaporated by the assistance of heat,
the substance contained in it was changed by tlie air, became brown, and
deposited a brown powder. After remaining over sulphuric acid for several
weeks, there was left a yellow or brownish-yellow syrup like honey, which
did not become dry. This substance, though not pure (as it contained salts
of lime, magnesia and potash), I conceive to be identical with Kuhlmann's
xanthin and Runge's madder-yellow.
If madder contains sugar, it is evident that, provided the method of ope-
rating described above be followed, it must be contained in the same liquid
as this xanthin. I have however not been able to prove its presence by
direct experiment ; but I have succeeded in ascertaining indirectly that
madder does in reality contain sugar of seme kind by means of the following
experiment. Half a hundred- weiglit of madder was treated with boiling
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 59
water for several hours. The liquor, after being reduced by boiling to a
convenient compass, was mixed with some yeast, and allowed to ferment.
By distillation an alcoliolic liquid was obtained, which, after a second distil-
lation, gave 2l|ozs. of alcohol of sp. gr. 0-935, which is equivalent to 9 ozs.
of absolute alcohol. It is therefore evident that madder contains sugar of
some kind or other.
The precipitate produced by basic acetate of lead in the solution of the
brown syrup was decomposed with sulphuretted hydrogen. The filtered
liquid was evajiorated, and left after evaporation a dark brown syrup, having
a strongly acid taste and reaction. The brown colour was no doubt due to
xanthin in its oxidizud state. After being repeatedly dissolved, and the solu-
tion being each time evaporated, a dark brown powder was deposited,
just as in the case of the original solution : nevertheless the acid taste
always remained. It might be supposed that this taste was due to some
vegetable acid ; and indeed if any such acid, or the compound of any one
with the alkalies or earths, had been extracted irom the madder by boiling
water, it woidd most probably have been precipitated by the basic acetate of
lead, and it would be in the liquid obtained by the decomposition of the lead
precipitate tliat vve should have to look for any such acid. Now the syrup
obtained after decomposing the lead precipitate and evaporating the liquid,
though intensely acid, contained no oxalic, tartaric, malic or citric acid ;
neither did it show the least sign of crystallization ; but the watery solution
gave a crystalline precipitate with ammonia and sulphate of magnesia ; and
after destroying the brown organic matter contained in it by adding nitric
acid and boiling, and then evaporating to drive away the excess of nitric
acid, it gave a yellow precipitate with nitrate of silver and ammonia. I
therefore infer that the acid to which the sour taste of the brown syrup was
owing, was phosphoric acid*. The sulphuret of lead, produced by the de-
composition of the lead precipitate, was treated with boiling caustic potash.
A dark brown solution resulted, which after filtration gave with muriatic
acid a dark brown precipitate. This precipitate, after filtration, washing and
drying, cohered into masses, which were brittle and black, but became brown
when powdered. It was totally insoluble in boiling water and alcohol. It
was decomposed by dilute boiling nitric acid, and changed into a yellow floc-
culent substance. It was soluble in concentrated sulphuric acid, forming a
brown liquid, and was re- precipitated by water. I consider this substance,
that formed in a solution of xanthin during evaporation by heat, and the dark
brown substance contained in the precipitate produced by acids in a decoc-
tion of madder as the same, and that they are all produced from xanthin by
the action of the oxygen of the air.
It still remains for me to say a few words on the substances left behind in
the root, after madder has been exhausted with boiling water. It has for
some time been well known that if madder, which has already been used for
the purpose of dyeing, be treated with a strong acid such as sulphuric or
muriatic, and the acid be then carefully removed by washing with cold water,
it is capable of being again used for dyeing in the same way as fresh madder.
It is in this manner that the article known in commerce as garanceux is
* On one occasion, after having added nitric acid to the acid syrup and boiled, I obtained
on evaporation crystals of an organic acid, very similar to alizaric acid, but not identical
with it. It was sparingly soluble in cold water, but very soluble in hot. It was volatile.
The watery solution gave with acetate of lead a crystalline precipitate soluble in boiling
water, with perchloride of iron a cream-coloured precipitate, with acetate of copper a green
ciystalline precipitate, and with nitrate of silver and ammonia a white flocculent precipitate.
Alizarate of lead is quite insoluble in boiling water, and not in the least crystalline.
60 REPORT — 1848.
manufactured. This is a convincing proof that it is impossible to extract tlie
whole of the colouring matter by means of boiling water, and tlmt part of it
must remain beJiind in some state in which it is insoluble in water. A quan-
tity of madder was treated with boiling water until the liquor gave abso-
lutely no more precipitate on the addition of muriatic acid. A very long
boiling was necessary for this purpose. The colour of the madder was
changed by this process from yellowish-brown, as it appears in the fresh
state, to a dull red. It was then treated with boiling caustic potash ley. A
liquor of a brownish colour was obtained, in which muriatic acid produced a
gelatinous precipitate of a brown colour. This was separated by filtration,
and, after being washed with cold water in order to remove all the muriatic
acid, was treated with a large quantity of boiling water, in which it proved
to be almost entirely soluble. The solution was light brown. It gave gela-
tinous precipitates with acids, with lime and baryta water, alcohol and most
salts. On evaporation it left a substance in light brown, transparent, brittle
scales, which turned out to be pectic acid, much purer indeed than that ob-
tained in the first instance from the aqueous decoction. No colouring matter,
or any other substance besides pectic acid, seemed to be extracted by the
caustic alkali.
Another quantity of madder which had been completely exhausted by
boiling water, was treated with boiling muriatic acid, and the liquid, after the
boiling had been kept up for some time, was strained through a cloth and
supersaturated with ammonia, which produced a pinkish-white precipitate.
This precipitate was thrown on a filter and carefully washed. The liquid
contained an abundance of lime and magnesia. A part of the pinkish-white
precipitate vvas dried and heated to redness in a crucible. During ignition
a gas came off which was witliout odour, and burnt with a blue flame, being
probably carbonic oxide. After complete ignition it dissolved in muriatic
acid with an effervescence of carbonic acid, but without leaving much car-
bonaceous residue. On adding ammonia to the solution a white precipitate
was again produced. The filtered liquid contained a large quantity of lime
and a trace of magnesia. The precipitate consisted of alumina, peroxide of
iron, phosphate of lime, and a trace of phosphate of magnesia. As it became
probable from the preceding reactions that the pinkish-white precipitate con-
tained oxalate of lime, the rest of it was treated with boiling dilute sulphuric
acid. The liquid after filtration was evaporated. It gave crystals which
were dissolved in alcohol to separate the sulphate of lim.e. The alcohol on
evaporation gave colourless crystals of pure oxalic acid. Hence I infer that
the following substances were extracted from the madder by means of mu-
riatic acid : — lime, magnesia, oxalate of lime, phosphate of lime, alumina and
peroxide of iron. The madder which had been subjected to the action of
muriatic acid was now well-washed with water, and then treated with boiling
caustic potash ley. A dark red solution was obtained, which, after being
strained through a cloth, produced, on being supersaturated with an acid, a
dark reddish-brown precipitate. This precipitate was thrown on a filter,
and well-washed with cold water, to remove the excess of acid. 1 found
this precipitate to dye mordanted cloth quite full, and of the same colours as
madder itself. There could therefore be no doubt about its containing
alizarin. Moreover, on treating the precipitate with boiling alcohol, a
brownish-yellow liquid was obtained, which left on evaporation a brownish-
red residue. A small portion of this residue being heated between two
watch-glasses, an abundance of orange-coloured crystals of sublimed alizarin
appeared on the upper glass. By treating the precipitate with boiling water,
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 61
and filtering boiling hot, the h'quid deposited on cooling orange-coloured
flocks, which were impure alizarin, for they dyed mordanted cloth, and after
being dried and heated in a tube, they gave a crystalline sublimate. The
liquid gave on evaporation pectic acid. That part of the precipitate which
was left undissolved by boiling water, was treated with a boiling solution of
nitrate of iron. The fikered liquid gave, on the addition of muriatic acid, a
slight yellow precipitate, which was probably rubiacic acid from the rubiacin
of the precipitate. The greater part was insoluble in nitrate of iron. By
treating the insoluble residue with boiling muriatic acid, filtering, washing
with water, and treating with boiling alcohol, an abundance of beta-resin was
procured.
I infer from these experiments that the substances extracted from madder
by caustic potash, after exhaustion with boiling water and treating with acid,
previously existed in the root in combination with lime and magnesia ; that
these substances are not different from those extracted by boiling water, viz.
alizarin, rubiacin, resins and pectic acid ; that the compounds of these bodies
with lime and magnesia are insoluble in water, and, with the exception of
pectate of lime, insoluble in caustic alkalies ; and that therefore, in order to
extract them by means of water or an alkali, it is first necessary to remove
the lime and magnesia with which they are combined by means of an acid.
I shall now proceed to give some further details concerning the properties
and composition of the substances extracted from madder.
Alizarin. — Concerning the properties of alizarin I have nothing to add to
what I stated in my last report, except that when crystallized from alcohol it
contains several atoms of water of crystallization, which it loses when heated
to 212° F. The crystals after being heated to this point have not lost their
shape, but have become opake and of a much redder colour, resembling
that of native chromate of lead. On placing them in a tube immersed in a
sulphuric-acid bath, and heating the bath, no further change takes place until
about 420° F., when a sublimate of orange-coloured crystals begins to appear
on the cold part of the tube.
On subjecting alizarin to elementary analysis I obtained the following
results : —
I. 0*3205 grm. of crystallized alizarin dried in the air gave, on being burnt
with chromate of lead, 0*6695 carbonic acid and 0*1210 water.
IT. 0*3985 grm. of the same gave 0*8320 carbonic acid and 0'1850 water.
III. 0*3140 grm. gave 0*6565 carbonic acid and 0*1670 water.
These numbers correspond in 100 parts to —
I. II. III.
Carbon 56*97 56*94 57*02
Hydrogen 4*19 5*13 5*87
Oxygen 38*84 37*93 37*11
100*00 100*00 100*00
The great discrepancy in the amounts of hydrogen in the preceding ana-
lyses arises from the circumstance tliat alizarin loses its water of crystalli-
zation with such extreme facility. No. I. was mixed with warm chromate of
lead in a warm mortar ; No. II. was mixed with warm chromate of lead in a
cold mortar ; and No. III. with cold chromate of lead in a cold mortar. In
the case of No. I. therefore we see that the heat of the chromate of lead and
the mortar combined was sufficient to drive away more water than what cor-
responds to 1^ per cent, of hydrogen, though this heat was not greater than
what might be borne by the hand. In order to determine the amount of
62 REPORT — 1848.
water of crystallization, crystallized alizarin was heated in a water-bath until
it lost no more in weight.
I. 0-4015 grm. treated in this way lost 0'0735 water.
II. 0-357-5 grm. lost 0'0655 water.
Alizarin which had been deprived of its water of crystallization by heat,
gave, on being burnt with chromate of lead, the following results : —
I. 0"2990 grm. gave 0'7575 carbonic acid and 0*1045 water.
II. 0*3005 grm. of a different preparation gave 0*7620 carbonic acid and
0*1095 water.
III. 0*2765 grm. of the same preparation as the preceding gave 0*7010
carbonic acid and 0*1025 water.
In 100 parts it contains therefore —
I. II. III.
Carbon 69*09 69*15 69*14
Hydrogen 3*88 4*04 4*11
Oxygen 27*03 26*81 26*75
100*00 100*00 100*00
On analysing alizarin prepared by sublimation from pure crystals, I ob-
tained the following numbers : —
I. 0*3970 grm. gave 1 0115 carbonic acid and 0*1340 water.
II. 0*4110 grm. gave 1*0510 carbonic acid and 0*1375 water.
In 100 parts—
I. II.
Carbon 69*48 69*73
Hydrogen 3*75 3*71
Oxygen 26*77 26*56
100*00 100*00
It will be seen from this that sublimed alizarin does not differ materially in
composition from alizarin which has been freed from its water of crystalli-
zation.
Of the compounds of alizarin with bases I prepared the lime, baryta and
lead compounds. The two former were prepared by dissolving alizarin in
ammonia, and precipitating with chloride of calcium and chloride of barium,
the latter by dissolving alizarin in alcohol and precipitating with an alcoholic
solution of sugar of lead. The latter forms a purple precipitate, which, after
standing for some hours, becomes of a dull red.
The lead compound gave on analysis the following numbers : —
I. 0*4800 grm. gave 0*2095 oxide of lead and 0*0245 metallic lead, equi-
valent to 0*2359 oxide of lead.
0*5125 grm. burnt with chromate of lead gave 0*7050 carbonic acid and
0*6780 water.
II. 05865 grm. of a different preparation gave 0*3970 sulphate of lead,
equivalent to 0*2920 oxide of lead.
0*6915 grm. gave 0*9370 carbonic acid and O'lOOo water. Hence was
deduced the following composition : —
Calculated ^"T *^'
Numbers. 'Z Z^
14 eqs. Carbon 84 37*57 37*51 36*95
4 „ Hydrogen .. 4 1*78 1*67 1*61
3 „ Oxygen 24 10*75 11*70 11*65
1 „ Oxide of lead 111*7 49*90 49*12 49*79
223*7 100*00 100*00 100*00
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 63
The lime compound gave the following results : —
I. 0'4685 grm. gave 0-206.5 sulphate of lime, equivalent to 0'0857 lime.
II. 0'4750 grm. gave 0'2125 sulphate of lime, equivalent to 0'0882 lime.
Assuming that the formula for this compound is C14 H4 O3 + CaO + HO,
its composition would be as follows : —
Calculated ^°^ ° ^-
Numbers. C TT"
1 eq. Alizarin 112 74-91
1 „ Water 9 6-03
1 „ Lime 28-5 19-06 18-30 18-58
149-5 100-00
The baryta compound gave the following : —
0-2450 grm. gave 0-1420 sulphate of baryta, equivalent to 0-0932 baryta.
Assuming that the formula of this compound is similar to that of the last,
viz. C,4 H4 O3 + BaO + HO, its composition would be as follows : —
Calculated. Found.
1 eq. Alizarin 112 56-65
1 „ Water 9 4-57
1 „ Baryta 76-68 38-78 38-03
197-68 100-00
Neither of these compounds loses the equivalent of water which it contains
on being heated in a water-bath for several hours.
The composition of crystallized alizarin must therefore be as follows : —
Calculated.
14 eqs. Carbon 84 56-75
8 „ Hydrogen 8 5*40
7 „ Oxygen 56 37-85
148 100-00
or, Calculated Found*.
Numbers. j Vp
1 eq. dry Alizarin 121 8176
3 eqs. Water 27 18-24 18-33 18-32
148 100-00
It follows that alizarin dried at 212° must consist of —
Calculated.
U eqs. Carbon 84 69-42
5 „ Hydrogen 5 4-13
4 „ Oxygen ^2 26-45
121 100-00
If this be the true composition of alizarin, it follows that there exists a
very singular relation between it and the composition of benzoic acid. The
formula of benzoic acid is C,4 Hg O4, and alizarin only differs from it there-
fore by containing one equivalent less of hydrogen. If we compare alizarin
with isatin, we shall find that the latter only differs from the former by con-
taining in addition the elements of one equivalent of cyanogen. The formula
of isatin is C,g H5 NO4 = C,4 H5 Oj + C2 N. Anthranilic acid differs in
composition from alizarin in containing in addition the elements of amidogen,
for the formula of anthranilic acid is C,4 H^ NO4 = C14 H5 O4 + NHo.
* See p. 62.
64 REPORT — 1848.
AUzar'ic And. — In my former report I stated that alizarin, when treated
with concentrated solutions of persalts of iron, is converted into a new acid,
which I called alizaric acid. I stated at tiie same time that I tliought it pro-
bable that alizaric acid might also be formed by acting on alizarin with nitric
acid. This supposition has since been confirmed. On treating pure cry-
stallized alizarin with boiling nitric acid, it is decomposed with an evolution of
nitrous acid, and the liquid on evaporation gives crystals of alizaric acid. It
is however not necessary to prepare pure alizarin in order to obtain alizaric
acid. 1 have found the following to be the easiest method : — Nitric acid of
about sp. gr. 1"20 having been put into a retort, garancin is introduced into
the acid, and the liquid is heated imtil the red fumes have ceased to be
evolved, and tlie colour of the garancin has changed from dark brown to
yellow. The reddish-yellow acid liquid which is obtained, is filtered or
strained to separate it I'rom the woody fibre, &c. of the garancin, and eva-
porated to crystallization. A yellow crystalline mass is obtained, which is a
mixture of oxalic acid and impure alizaric acid. After being washed with
cold water to remove the excess of nitric acid, the mass is dissolved in
boiling water, and chalk is added until all effervescence and acid reaction have
ceased. The liquid is filtered, and the oxalate of lime remaining on the
filter is washed with boiling water, until no more lime can be detected in the
percolating liquid. The liquid is a solution of alizarate of lime. Muriatic
acid is added to it, and it is evaporated to crystallization. A yellow mass is
acrain obtained, whicli may ben-ashed with cold water to remove the chloride
of calcium, then redissolved in boiling water. It forms a yellow solution,
which may be almost decolorized by animal charcoal. On again evapo-
rating, the alizaric acid is obtained in large crystals. Should these crystals
still retain a yellow tinge, which is generally the case, they must be re-
dissolved in boiling water. By passing chlorine gas through the boiling
solution, until every trace of colour has disappeared, perfectly colourless
crystals of the acid are obtained on cooling. Prepared in this way, it ap-
pears in large flat rhombic plates: it has the properties which I described in
my last report.
The salts of alizaric acid are mostly soluble. Alizarate of potash is formed
by neutralizing a watery solution of alizaric acid with carbonate of potash :
it is obtained on evaporation as a deliquescent mass. Alizarate of lime is
prepared by neutralizing alizaric acid with carbonate of lime, and evaporating
to crystallization. It crystallizes in prisms, possessing great lustre. Alizarate
of baryta, prepared in the same way by means of carbonate of baryta, cry-
stallizes in silky needles. Alizarate of silver, prepared by double decompo-
sition, is soluble in boiling water, from -which it crystallizes on the solution
cooling. Alizarate of lead is an insoluble white powder, obtained by jireci-
pitation of the acid with sugar of lead. With ammonia alizaric acid does not
seem to form a neutral salt. On supersaturating a solution of the acid with
ammonia and evaporating, the solution acquires during evaporation an acid
reaction, and at length a salt crystallizes out in flat plates, which is no doubt
a superalizarate of ammonia. All the salts of alizaric acid, when strongly
heated, are decomposed with an evolution of a fragrant smell similar to that
of benzin, and give, as a product of the decomposition, a thick brown oil, to
wiiich without doubt the smell is owing ; -wliile tiie carbonates of the bases,
or the bases themselves, remain behind mixed with much charcoal.
The elementary analysis of alizaric acid gave the following results : —
I. 0".5250 grm. obtained by means of perchloride of iron and burnt with
oxide of copper, gave 1*1015 carbonic acid and 0"1810 water.
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 65
II. 0'4670 grm. obtained by means of nitric acid and burnt with cliromiite
of lead, gave 0'986j carbonic acid and 0M685 water.
III. 0-4475 grm. of the same preparation as the preceding gave 0'9360
carbonic acid and 0*1625 water.
IV. 0*4395 grm., purified by means of chlorine and burnt with chromate
of lead, gave 0*9335 carbonic acid and 0*1510 water.
These numbers give in 100 parts —
I. II. III. IV.
Carbon 57*20 57-61 57*10 57*92
Hydrogen 3*83 4-00 4*03 3*81
Oxygen 38-97 38-39 38*87 38*37
lOUOO 100-00 100-UU 100-00
Alizarate of lead was analysed with tlie following results :—
I. 0*8110 grm. gave 0*2665 oxide of lead and 0-2160 metallic lead, equi-
valent to 0*4991 oxide of lead.
0*6660 grm. gave 0*5810 carbonic acid and 0*0915 water.
II. 0-62.'i0 grm. gave 0*2040 oxide of lead and 0*1655 metallic lead, equi-
valent to 0-3822 oxide of lead.
0-6515 grm. gave 0*5560 carbonic acid and 0-0860 water. Hence was
deduced the following composition : —
Calculated .
Numbers. C 7p
14 eqs. Carbon 84 23*37 23*79 23*27
4 „ Hydrogen.. 4 1*11 1*52 1*46
6 „ Oxygen.... 48 13*37 13*15 13*93
2 „ Oxide of lead 223*4 62-15 61*54 61*34
359*4 100-00 100*00 100*00
The baryta salt lost nothing in weight on being heated for several hours
in a water-bath.
I. 0-6725 grm. of baryta salt dried at 212° gave 0'5245 sulphate of baryta,
equivalent to 0*3442 baryta.
II. 0*7330 grm. gave 0*5700 sulphate of baryta, equivalent to 0*3740
baryta.
Its composition is therefore probably as follows : —
Found.
Calculated. j * »
I. II.
1 eq. anhydrous Acid . 136 46*26
1 „ Water 9 2*36
2 eqs. Baryta 153*3 51*38 51*18 51*03
298*3 100*00
It is probable that the silver salt also contains two equivalents of base to
one of acid.
It follows from the analysis of the lead salt, that the hydrated acid has the
following composition : —
Calculated.
14 eqs. Carbon 84 57*93
5 „ Hydrogen 5 3*44
7 „ Oxygen _56 38*63
145 100*00
By the action of nitric acid on alizarin the latter takes up three equivalents
1848. I'
66 REPORT — 1848.
cf oxygen without losing any hydrogen, for C,4 H5 O4 4- 30 = C14 H5 O7. It
appears also that alizaric acid contains one equivalent of hydrogen less, and
three equivalents of oxygen more, than benzoic acid.
Pipo-aitznric Acid. — When alizaric acid is iieated it is totally volatilized,
and forms a sublimate in the shape of long white needles, to which I have
given the name of pyro-alizaric acid. By the action of heat alizaric acid
loses water, or the elements of water. Pyro-alizaric acid is soluble in boiling
water. The solution, however, produces exactly the same reactions as alizaric
acid itself, and on evapor;ition large rhombic crystals are obtained, which
have quite the appearance of the latter acid. It is probable therefore that,
by solution in water, pyro-alizaric. acid takes up again the elements of water,
and is reconverted into alizaric acid. The following results were obtained on
analysing this acid: —
I. 0-4405 grm. dried at 21 2° and burnt with chromate of lead, gave r0345
carbonic acid and 0-1185 water.
II. 0-4255 grm. gave 09985 carbonic acid and 0-1215 water.
From tiicse numbers it may be inferred that the composition is as follows : —
28 eqs. Carbon 168
7 „ Hydrogen 7
11 „ Oxygen 88
Calculated
Numbers.
I.
11.
63-87
64-04
63-99
2-66
2-98
3-17
33-47
32-98
32-84
263 100-00 100-00 lOO-oO
Hence it follows that by the action of heat two equivalents of alizaric acid
lose three equivalents of water, and give one equivalent of pyro-alizaric
acid, since 2(C,4 U, O-) - 3HO = C^^ H^ O,,.
llub'iac'in. — In my last report I described the method of preparation, and
the properties of rubiacin and rubincic acid, and I h;ive nothing further to
add to what I there stated. I may mention however that I have arrived at
the conclusion that rubiacin cannot be considered as a true colouring matter,
as it is impossible to dye with it. I shall also show that, contrary to the
opinion which I was led to entertain in the first instance, rubiacin does not
contribute to produce any effect in the process of madder-dyeing.
On subjecting rubiacate of potash and rubiacic acid to analysis, I ob-
tained the follcw^ing results : —
I. 04490 grm. rubiacate of potash gave 0-1090 sulphate of potash, equi-
valent to 0-0589 potash.
0-4350 grm. gave 0-7950 carbonic acid and 0-0900 water.
II. 0-3245 grm. gave 0'079O sulphate of potash, equivalent to 0-0427
potash.
0-2890 grm. gave 0-5315 carbonic acid and 0-0665 water.
From these numbers it may be inferred that the salt is composed as
follows : —
Carbon . . .
Hydrogen.
Oxygen .
Potash . . .
186
7
120
47-27
Calculated
Numbers.
51-63
1-94
33-31
13-12
31 eqs
7 „
15 „
1 »
I.
51-50
2-29
33-09
13-12
II.
51-82
2-55
32-47
13-16
360-27 100-00 100-00 lOO'OO
'
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 6?^
I. 0'3785 grm. rubiacic acid, dried at 212° and burnt with oxide of copper,
gave 0"7940 carbonic acid and 00S45 water.
II. 0-3605 grm. of another preparation gave 0'7610 carbonic acid and
0'0795 water.
III. 0"4670 grm. of the same preparation as the preceding gave 0'9775
carbonic acid and 0'1050 water.
Hence was deduced the following composition : —
Calculated .
Numbers.
I.
II.
III.
31 eqs. Carbon . .
186
57-76
57-21
57-57
57-08
8 „ Hydrogen
8
2-48
2-48
2-45
2-49
16 „ Oxygen . .
128
39-76
40-31
39-98
40-43
322 100-00 100-00 lOO'OO 100-00
0-3150 grm. rubiacin, dried at 212° and burnt with oxide of copper, gave
0-7740 carbonic acid and 0-0935 water.
This gives the following composition : —
31 eqs. Carbon 186
9 „ Hydrogen .... 9
10 „ Oxygen , 80
Calculated.
Found.
67-63
67-01
3-27
3-28
29-10
29-71
275 100-00 100-00
The formula of rubiacin being C31 Hg Ou, and that of rubiacic acid C31 HgOie,
it follows that when rubiacin is converted into rubiacic acid, it loses one
equivalent of hydrogen and takes up six equivalents of oxygen, and that
when rubiacic acid is reconverted into rubiacin, it loses six equivalents of
oxygen and takes up again one of hyi'rogen. This oxidation and reduction
is accomplished with the same certainty and precision as any similar process
with inorganic bodies.
Alpha-resin This resin is a constituent of the dark brown precipitate
produced by acids in a decoction of madder. It dissolves together with
rubiacin, when this precipitate is treated with a boiling solution of perchlo-
ride or pernitrate of iron, and is precipitated together with rubiacin and
rubiacic acid when muriatic acid is added to the solution. It is separated
from the rubiacin and rubiacic acid by means of alcohol, in which it is easily
soluble, while the two former are but little soluble. It has a dark brown or
reddish-brown colour. When cold it is brittle, and may be easily pulverized.
It begins to become soft at 150°F., and melts to dark brown drops between
200° and 212°. When heated on platinum-foil it melts, swells up, and burns
with flame, leaving much charcoal, which however burns away without leaving
any residue. When heated in a glass tube it swells up, gives an oily sublimate,
and evolves a strong smell, leaving at last a bulky carbonaceous residue. It
is slightly soluble in boiling water, to which it communicates a yellow tinge.
On the solution cooling yellow flocks are deposited, which are increased in
quantity by adding an acid. It dissolves in alcohol with an orange colour ;
water makes the solution milky, and on the addition of an acid the resin is
completely precipitated in orange-coloured flocks. The alcoholic solution
does not redden litmus paper. It dissolves in concentrated sulphuric acid
with a dark orange colour, and is re-precipitated by water in yellow flocks.
It is decomposed by boiling concentrated nitric acid ; on evaporating the acid
a resinous mass is left. It dissolves in caustic and carbonated alkalies with
a purplish red colour. The solution in ammonia does not lose its ammonia
on boiling, but on evaporation the resin is left in combination with a little
f3
68 REPORT — 1848.
ammonia. The ammoniacal solution gives purple precipitates with the chlo-
rides of barium and calcium, and a dirty red precipitate with alum. It dis-
solves in perchloride and pernitrate of iron with a dark reddish-brown colour,
and is re-precipitated by acids in flocks. Tlie alcoholic solution gives red
precipitates with alcoholic solutions of sugar of lead and acetate of copper.
If chlorine be passed through a solution of the resin in caustic potash, it is
decolorized ; acids however now produce no precipitate, so that the resin
seems to have been entirely decomposed by the chlorine. If mordanted
cloth be introduced into boiling water, in which a quantity of the resin is
suspended, the alumina mordant acquires an orange colour, and the iron
mordant a broivn colour. Nevertheless these colours are so slight, that it is
not likely that this resin contributes in any way to produce the desired effect
in the process of madder-dyeing. I shall presently show that, on the contrary,
it is ratiier injurious than otherwise in this process, since those parts of the
cloth which should remain white acquire from it a disagreeable yellow tinge,
which cannot afterwards be removed by merely washing with water, so that
even if it did contribute to produce any greater intensity of colour on the
mordanted parts, the advantage would be more than counterbalanced by the
injurious eflfect on the unmordanted parts.
Beta-resin. — This resin also Ibrnis a constituent of the dark brown preci-
pitate produced by acids in a decoction of madder. If this precipitate be
treated with a boiling solution of jierchloride or pernitrate of iron, the beta-
resin forms a compound with peroxide of iron, which remains undissolved.
By decomposing this compound with muriatic acid, and dissolving the resin
in boiling alcohol, it is deposited on the alcohol cooling as a light brown
powder. It hardly melts at the temperature of boiling water, but merely
becomes soft and coheres into lumi)s. When heated on platinum foil, it melts
and burns, leaving a slight red ash. When heated in a glass tube, it gives
yellow fumes and evolves a disagreeable smell, leaving a carbonaceous residue.
It is slightly soluble in boiling water, to which it communicates a yellow
tinge; on the solution cooling nothing separates, but on adding acid some
yellow flocks are deposited, while the liquid becomes colourless. The alco-
holic solution is dark yellow ; it reddens litmus-paper. Water renders it
milky, and acids precipitate the resin completely in yellow flocks. The resin
dissolves in concentrated sulphuric acid with a dark brown colour, and is re-
precipitated by water in light brown flocks. Concentrated nitric acid dissolves
it on boiling and decomposes it ; on evaporation there is left a yellow, bitter
astringent substance. It dissolves in caustic and carbonated alkalies with a
dirty red colour, inclining to purple in the case of caustic alkali. It is re-pre-
cipitated by acids in brown flocks. If chlorine be passed through a solution
of the resin in caustic potash, it is decolorized ; but the substance itself
seems to be thereby decomposed, as acids afterwards produce only a slight
precipitate. The ammoniacal solution gives with the chlorides of barium
and calcium dirty yellow precipitates. The alcoholic solution gives with an
alcoholic solution of sugar of lead a red precipitate, and with an alcoholic
solution of acetate of copper a brown precipitate. The ammoniacal solution
loses its ammonia on evaporation, and the resin is left as a transparent brown
skin. This resin has the same effect on mordanted cloth as the preceding;
the alumina mordant acquires an orange, and the iron mordant a brown
colour, while the unmordanted parts become yellow and unsightly. These
effects are not however so decided as in the case of the alpha-resin, which is
probably owing to its being less soluble in water than the latter.
Rub'uin. — I have "iven this name to the substance to which the bitter taste
ON COLOURING MA'ITERS. 69
of madder seems to be due. I have described its metliod of preparation and
properties in my last report. I may state, in addition to what 1 there said,
that rubian seems to be a nitrogenous body, since, on treating it with boiling
caustic alkali, ammonia is evolved. This fact and the bitter taste seem to
indicate that the medical properties of madder, if indeed it possesses any,
reside in this substance.
If a solution of rubian in water be evaporated in contact with the air and
with the assistance of heat, it deposits a dark brown substance, which sinks
to the bottom in resinotis drops, so that on treating the residue after evapo-
ration with water, it is not completely re-dissolved ; and if the filtered liquid
be again evaporated as before, a fresh quantity of the dark brown substance
is formed, just as in the case of extractive matter. This dark brown sub-
stance melts into drops in boiling water, but when cold it is brittle. It dis-
solves in alkalies with a dark red colour, and is re-precipitated by acids in
yellow flocks ; indeed it bears in all respects a great resemblance to the
body which I have called alpha-resin. Nevertheless it seems to consist of
more than one substance ; for if it be heated in a glass tube over a lamp, an
abundant sublimate, consisting of shining yellow crystals, is obtained in the
upper part of the tube : these crystals very much resemble rubiacin. If it
be treated with a boiUng solution of perchloride or pernitrate of iron, the
liquid becomes reddish brown, and gives after filtration a yellow precipitate
with muriatic acid, which is a proof of its containing either alpha-resin or
rubiacin, or both. Hence it becomes very probable that rubiacin, the alpha-
resin, and perhaps also the beta-resin, are formed from rubian by the action
. of the oxygen of the air. It becomes still more probable when we consider
the following facts : — If an infusion of madder with cold water be allowed to
stand in contact with the air, it will be found that after some hours the liquid
is filled with a number of long hair-like crystals, which are, as I have shown
on a previous occasion*, rubiacin, generally mixed with a substance having
all the properties of beta-resin. I have had one specimen of madder which
gave such quantities of rubiacin on allowing the infusion to stand, that it
collected on the surface of the liquor as a bright yellow scum, and by cry-
stalUzing it from alcohol it was obtained almost in a state of purity. Now as
rubiacin is insoluble in cold water, it must in this case either have been
formed from some substance contained in the infusion by the action of the
air, or else it was at first held in solution by some other substance, such as
an alkali or alkaline earth from which it gradually became separated, as by
the formation of some acid in the liquid. 1 incline to the former supposition,
and think it probable that it is the rubian which by its oxidation gives rise to
the rubiacin.
Xanthin — This substance, the method of preparing which from a decoc-
tion of madder after the separation of the colouring matters, &c. by acid, I
have described above, is of course not a pure substance, since after ignition
it leaves a considerable quantity of fixed residue : it is also probable that it
contains a small quantity of sugar, as I stated before. Nevertheless it pro-
duces reactions of a peculiar kind, which cannot be attributed to sugar, gum,
or any similar substance, and can only be due to a peculiar body which exists
only in madder. It has the following properties : — When prepared as above
described, it is a thick, viscid, yellow or brownish-yellow syrup, resembling
honey in colour and consistency, which cannot be rendered dry even by ex-
posing it to a heat at which it begins to be decomposed. When exposed to
the air, it becomes more liquid on account of its attracting moisture. When
* See the Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for 1846.
70 REPORT — 1848.
heated to ignition, it swells up enormously, giving off at the same time a very
perceptible smell of aceton and burns, leaving at last a considerable quantity
of ash, which consists of the carbonates of lime, magnesia and potash. It is
without doubt the acetates of those bases which, being mixed with the sub-
stance, produce the smell of aceton during ignition. 'I'he acetic acid was of
course derived from the basic acetate of lead used in the preparation of
xanthin, and the acid with which they were originally combined must have
gone to the oxide of lead. Now, as 1 stated above, the oxide of lead was
found to be combined with phosphoric acid ; hence it is probable that the
greater part, if not all, of the fixed bases left after the ignition of the xanthin
existed in the plant as phosphates. Xanthin has a disagreeable taste, between
bitter and sweet. The watery solution is yellow. It is soluble in alcohol,
and is left after evaporation in the same state as before. It is insoluble in
aether. On adding muriatic or sulphuric acid to the watery solution and boil-
ing for some time, a peculiar smell is evolved, the solution becomes gradu-
ally dark green, and a dark green powder is deposited. This is the most
characteristic property of xanthin. Nitric acid does not produce the same
dark green powder, or any deposit on boiling ; nevertheless the powder
which has once been formed by means of muriatic or sulphuric acid, is not
dissolved by boiling nitric acid, but only turned yellow. Acetic acid pro-
duces no effect. Oxalic acid gives a white precipitate of oxalate of lime.
Bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid produce no effect on a solution of
xantl)in, even on boiling. On adding caustic potash to the solution it turns
brown, and on boiling a slight smell of ammonia is evolved. Lime and
baryta water, acetate and basic acetate of lead, the acetates of alumina, iron
and copper, nitrate of silver, corrosive sublimate, and a solution of glue, pro-
duce no precipitate or effect whatever in a solution of xanthin. In fact it
does not seem to be precipitated by any reagent whatever without undergoing
decomposition.
If a clear light yellow watery solution of xanthin be evaporated with the
assistance of heat and in contact with the air, as on the sand-bath, to a
syrup, and this syrup be again mixed with water and the solution again eva-
porated, the process being several times repeated, the solution gradually be-
comes dark brown, and at length a dark brown ])owder is deposited. The
brown solution now gives with acetate, or basic acetate of lead, a thick brown
precipitate. The filtered liquid is yellow, and if the excess of lead be re-
moved by sulphuretted hydrogen, the solution again gives, on evaporation
over sulphuric acid, a colourless or light yellow syrup, which however, if re-
dissolved and evaporated with the assistance of heat as before, again becomes
dark brown, and deposits a dark brown powder. There can therefore be no
doubt that this brown powder is a product of the oxidation of xanthin, that
xanthin is a species of extractive matter, and that the brown powder stands
in the relation to it of an apolhema. This brown powder has the following
properties : — When dry it is a dark brown mass, easily reduced to powder. It
is quite insoluble in boiling water and boiling alcohol. It burns without
flame, leaving much ash. It is soluble in concentrated sulphuric acid with a
dark brown colour, and is re-precipitated by water. Boiling dilute nitric
acid decomposes it with an evolution of nitrous acid, and changes it into a
yellowish-red flocculent substance. Concentrated nitric acid on boiling de-
composes and dissolves it entirely. It dissolves in caustic and carbonated
alkalies with a dark brown colour, and is re-precipitated by acids in light
brown flocks. The ammoniacal solution gives brown precipitates with the
chlorides of barium and calcium. The dark green powder which is produced
I
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 7l
by the action of sulphuric and muriatic acid on xanthin, has the following
properties : — When dry it has a dark olive colour. It burns with a flame
and a smell like burning wood, leaving a large quantity of charcoal, which
however burns away without any fixed residue. It is decomposed by boiling
dilute nitric acid, and changed into a yellow flocculent substance. It is in-
soluble in concentrated sulphuric acid, and also in boiling alcohol. When
treated with caustic potash, a part dissolves with a dark brown colour, and
is re-precipitated by acids as a dark brown powder, while the other part re-
mains undissolved as a black powder.
Mordanted cloth acquires no colour in a boiling solution of xanthin, if the
latter is in its yellow unoxidized state ; but if the solution has become brown
by contact with the air, then both the alumina and the iron mordant acquire
in the boiling solution a brown colour, while the unmordanted parts, which
should remain white, become of a brown tint. Hence it follows that xanthin
is injurious in madder-dyeing, and must contribute, together with the two
resins, in impairing the purity of the colours, and sullying the whiteness of
those parts wliich should attract no colour. To get rid of the xanthin is one
object of changing madder into garancin.
It remains for me to say a few words in regard to the part which the dif-
ferent substances described above play in the process of madder-dyeing. I
regret to say that in my last report there are contained some views on this
head, which I have found, on more exact investigation, to be erroneous.
The two principal points to be determined are, which is the substance that
produces the chief effect in dyeing with madder, and why is a certain pro-
portion of lime, either in the plant or in the dye-bath, necessary for the pro-
duction of fine and durable colours. In my last report I stated it as my
opinion, that both alizarin and rubiacin take part in the process, that rubiacin
alone produces no effect, but that when it is in combination with an alkali or
an alkaline earth, it forms double compounds with the alizarin compounds
of alumina and peroxide of iron, and thus increases the intensity of colour in
the latter. I have since found that this opinion cannot be sustained, since
rubiacin, whether free or combined, produces no beneficial eflf'ect in the pro-
cess of dyeing, and is therefore no true colouring matter, as the following
experiments will show.
Since the brown precipitate produced by acids in a watery extract of
madder contains all the free colouring matter of the root, and acts in dyeing
in the same way as madder itself, it was evident that by trying the constitu-
ents of this precipitate in conjunction with one another, both in a free state
and in combination with lime, a correct view of the part performed by each
■would be arrived at. Having therefore taken a piece of calico on which
three mordants had been printed, one for red, one for purple, and one for
black, in alternate stripes, each stripe being one quarter of an inch broad, and
having intervals between them of the same width, it was divided into pieces
of six inches by three, and one of these pieces was taken for each of the fol-
lowing experiments. As the tinctorial power of alizarin is very great, so
great that one quarter of a grain was enough to over-dye one of these pieces,
I took one or two grains of crystallized alizarin, dissolved it in a measured
quantity of water, to which a little caustic alkali had been added, and was
then able to divide the solution into portions corresponding to quarters,
eighths, and sixteenths of a grain, so that by precipitating one of these por-
tions with muriatic acid, filtering and carefully washing, I obtained small
quantities in a state very well adapted for dyeing. By treating one of these
72 REPORT 1848.
quantities while on the filter with lime-water, and washing out the excess of
lime, I obtained small quantities of the lime compound of alizarin for the
same purpose. The same process was used for obtaining small quantities of
rubiacin, alpha-resin, beta-resin, pectic acid and rubian, and their lime com-
pounds. Each experiment was performed with the same quantity of water,
at as nearly as possible the same temperature, and occupied the same length
of time, viz. half an hour. The substances used, and their quantities, were
as follows : —
1. ^ grain of alizarin.
2. Jg- gr. alizarin.
3. -^ gr. alizarin and ^-^r gr. alizarin in combination with lime.
4. ^^2 §•"• alizarin and g^ S^- alizarin in combination with lime.
5. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. rubiacin.
6. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. rubiacin in combination with lime.
7. 52 g""' alizarin and ^^ g'"- rubiacin in combination with lime.
8. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. pectic acid.
9. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. pectic acid in combination with lime.
10. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. alpha-resin.
11. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. alpha-resin in combination with lime.
12. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. beta-resin.
13. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. beta-resin in combination with lime.
14. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. rubian.
15. ^ gr. alizarin and ^ gr. rubian in combination with lime.
Now the following results were obtained : — No. 1 was everything that
could be desired in regard to all the colours. No. 2 was of course only half
as dark. No. 3 was lighter than No. 1, and the white parts had a pink hue.
No. 4 was a little darker than No. 3, but not as dark as No. 1. No. 5 was
much inferior to No. 1 ; the red had an orange hue, the purple a reddish cast,
and the black was brown, while the white was yellowish. No. G was equal
to No. 1, but not darker, and in no respect superior. No. 7 was about equal
to No. 4. No. 8 had almost no colour at all ; the red, the purple and the
black were mere tinges of colour, such as might probably have been pro-
duced by the tenth part of the quantity of alizarin employed, if no pectic
acid had been present. No. 9 was again equal to No. 1. No. 10 was lighter
than No. 1, the purple especially being pale and reddish, while the white parts
were yellowish. No. II was equal to No. 1, but not superior. No. 12 was
exactly the same as No. 10, the purple having a disagreeable reddish cast,
while the white parts were yellowish. No. 13 was again equal to No. 1.
No. 14 and 15 did not differ from one another, and were equal to No. 1.
Hence we may draw the following conclusions : — Alizarin produces the
greatest effect in dyeing when used alone. The addition of lime, even in
very small quantities, does not increase its tinctorial power, but on the con-
trary neutralizes the effect of that portion with which it combines. Rubiacin,
the alpha-resin and the beta-resin, in a free state, when used in conjunction
with alizarin, are injurious in about the same degree : they weaken the red,
the black, and especially the purple, while they render the white part yel-
lowish. In combination with lime these substances do not increase the tinc-
torial power of alizarin, they merely allow it to act without hindrance. Pectic
acid almost destroys the effect of alizarin. Pectate of lime is perfectly in-
different. Rubian in a free state, and in combination with lime, has neither
a beneficial nor an injurious effect. Of all the substances therefore contained
in madder, none is of use in dyeing but alizarin, while all the others are in-
jurious when in a free state. That which is the most hurtful is pectic acid.
I
ON COLOURING MATTERS. 7^
When alizarin and pcctic acid are present together in the dye-bath, the
pcctic acid having most affinity for bases, combines with the alumina and
peroxide of iron, and the alizarin crystallizes out wiien the bath cools, as I
noticed in performing the experiment No. 8. The same is without doubt the
case when using rubiacin or the resins. The alumina and peroxide of iron
combine with tliese substances to the exclusion of the alizarin ; and tliese
compounds are either colourless, or have a poor and unsightly colour. The
use of lime is therefore easily explained ; it serves, not to increase the tinc-
torial power of the colouring matter, but to combine with and render harm-
less the substances which are injurious in a free state. Now if we treat
madder with muriatic or sulphuric acid, we remove all the lime and magnesia
from it ; the pectic acid, the rubiacin and the resins become free ; and if we
wash with water, the muriatic or sulphuric acid is certainly removed ; but
those substances being but little soluble in cold water, remain and destroy the
effect of the alizarin in dyeing. But if previous to dyeing we add lime, the
pectic acid, the rubiacin and the resins being more electronegative than
alizarin, combine with the strongest base, which is the lime ; and the alizarin,
which is less electro-negative, combines with the weakest bases, viz. the
alumina and peroxide of iron. If we add an excess of lime, then of course
the alizarin also combines with the lime, and the alumina and peroxide of
iron having no free body to combine with, remain colourless. The process
is thus brought into harmony with our previous knowledge of the relative
affinity of acids and bases. It is probable that lime is not absolutely neces-
sary for the success of the operation, and that it might be replaced by potash,
soda, magnesia or baryta ; but as lime is the cheapest substance that can be
used for the purpose, it would be of no practical importance to find a substi-
tute for it.
I have in the preceding remarks leftxanthin out of consideration. During
the process of madder-dyeing this substance no doubt becomes oxidized,
and deposits the brown substance mentioned above, on all parts of the cloth.
This substance, together with the pectic acid, the rubiacin and the resins, are
removed afterwards by passing the cloth through a boiling solution of soap.
The alkali of the soap dissolves these substances, which have more affinity
for alkalies than alizarin, while the fat acid remains on the cloth in combina-
tion with the alizarin, the alumina and the peroxide of iron.
In order to prove analytically that alizarin is the substance which produces
madder colours, I took several yards of cloth which had been dyed purple
with madder, but not soaped, and treated it with muriatic acid, which re-
moved the oxide of iron, and left an orange-coloured substance on the cloth.
After washing the cloth in cold water luitil all the acid had been removed, it
was treated with caustic alkali. The brownish-red solution thus obtained
was supersaturated with an acid, and the reddish-brown precipitate formed
was thrown on a filter and well-washed with cold water : it was then treated
with boiling alcohol. The alcoholic liquid, which was dark yellow, was spon-
taneously evaporated, and gave crystals of alizarin mixed with a powder re-
sembling beta-resin, and a few yellow micaceous plates, which were probably
rubiacin. There remained a brown residue insoluble in alcohol, part of
which dissolved in boiling water, and proved to be pectic acid. On treating
some cloth which had been dyed with madder, and then soaped, with muriatic
acid as before, and then with caustic alkali, I obtained a purple solution, in
wliich acids produced a yellow precipitate. This precipitate was treated with
boiling alcohol like the other ; it gave a yellow liquid, which on evaporation
74 REPORT — 1848.
afforded crystals of alizarin, together with white masses of fat acid. Hardly
any residue remained undissolved by the alcohol.
The preceding observations have a great bearing on the manufacture and
treatment of garancin. Garancin is the technical name for a ])reparation of
madder, which is obtained by treating madder with hot sulphuric acid until
it has acquired a dark brown colour, tlien adding water, straining and wash-
ing until all the acid is removed. The advantages which garancin has over
madder are, that it dyes finer colours, that the part destined to remain white
does not acquire any brown or yellow tinge, and that its tinctorial power is
greater than that of the madder from which it has been prepared. These
effects have been attributed to various causes. It has been asserted that the
sulphuric acid destroys the gum, the mucilage, the sugar, &c., and leaves the
colouring matter unaffected ; hence the greater beauty of garancin colours.
To account for the greater proportional effect of garancin, it has been said
that a part of the colouring matter is enclosed in cells of the wood, so that it
cannot be dissolved by water, and that the sulphuric acid destroys the wood
and liberates the colouring matter. To these views it may be objected, that
concentrated sulphuric acid, though it does not affect alizarin, does not de-
stroy any of the injurious substances in the root except the xanthin, while
the rubiacin, the resins, and the pectic acid, escape its action : and as far
as the wood is concerned, I can affirm that the operation succeeds equally
well if acid be taken of such dilution as not to destroy woody fibre. I think
that the superiority of garancin can only be attributed to two causes. In the
first place, since, as I have shown above, there is a quantity of colouring
matter in the root combined with lime and magnesia, by which it is rendered
insoluble and incapable of dyeing, one effect of the acid is to remove this
lime and magnesia, and to set the alizarin at liberty, which is then capable
of application. In the second place, the xanthin, which has an injurious
effect in madder-dyeing, is removed by washing with cold water, since it is
not precipitated by acids, while the whole of the alizarin remains. If hot
acid is employed, then the xanthin, or a part of it, is converted into that dark
green substance which 1 have mentioned above as the product of the action
of muriatic and sulphuric acid on xanthin ; hence the dark colour of garancin,
which is not owing to the charring of the woody fibre, as sometimes asserted.
It must be remembered however that the rubiacin, the resins and the pectic
acid, as well as the alizarin, remain uncombined after treatment with acid.
Hence it becomes necessary to add some base with which these substances
may combine, so as not to interfere with the action of the alizarin. I believe
it is the practice of garancin manufacturers to employ soda for this purpose.
1 think it would be better to use a small quantity of lime-water.
I may slate in conclusion that the experiments described in this and the
last report were made with Avignon madder. The constituents and pro-
perties of Dutch madder, which is of rather a different nature, remain to be
examined.
I have been lately engaged in examining the colouring matter of fustic,
which 1 have prepared in a state of purity, but the investigation is not suffi-
ciently advanced to justify me in making known the results, on the present
occasion.
ON THE ADVANTAGEOUS USE OP A GASEOUS ESCA'PE. 75
On the advantageous use made of the gaseous escape from the Blast
Furnaces at the Ystalyfera Iron Works. By James Palmer
BUDD.
[A Communication ordered to be printed entire among the Reports.]
I AM glad of the opportunity of laying before the distinguished scientific and
practical men who are gathered together at this meeting of the British As-
sociation, what 1 believe to be one of the most important practical improve-
ments that has yet been introduced into the iron trade, and the application of
which will, if my views are correct, probably lead to a radical change in the
smelting of iron ores, and the manufacture of iron in this country.
As a practical man, I shall first treat of practical results, and I think my-
self fortunate that I have to bring this subject forward in a locality where I
am inevitably brought in contact with many who are intimately acquainted
with the details of the iron trade. I have had the pleasure to exhibit to many
members of the British Association, the improvements 1 shall describe in ope-
ration on a large scale at Ystalyfera, and I shall feel pleasure in aflbrding any
others, who take an interest in the subject, full opportunity for investigation.
If I venture to suggest, beyond my positive results, the practicability, or I
think I might say the certainty of an enormous oeconomy, by the further de-
velopment of the system I have partially introduced at Ystalyfera, I do so
only because the facts and results arrived at irresistibly point onward to greater
improvement and oeconomy.
The iron trade of Great Britain is so enormous in extent, that any oeconomy
in its processes which admits of general application, becomes of national im-
portance. Even if the saving on the current expense be small as a tonnage,
the multiple of the annual quantity of iron produced is so great as to make the
total gigantic. Thus, taking the annual produce of iron in Great Britain in
round numbers to be 1,500,000 tons, or about .500,000 tons made in En-
gland, 500,000 tons in Wales and Monmouthshire, 500,000 tons in Scot-
land, a saving of even \s. per ton on the cost of production amounts to the
large sum of £75,000 a-year.
There is no detail of the iron trade that has appeared to me to be more a
standing reproach to its management, than the non-utilization in this country
of the enormous escape of combustible and incombustible gases, heated to a
very high temperature, that is constantly taking place from the tops of blast
furnaces. Some of these enormous crucibles yield 150 tons, in Scotland even
200 tons of iron a week, and these devour internally from 300 to 400 tons of
coal weekly, and respire 4000 and 5000 cubic feet of air as blast a minute.
These great craters vomit forth murky volumes of smoke and flame, which
pass wastefuliy and uselessly away to contaminate the atmosphere. So great
and obvious a source of heat has not failed however to attract the attention
of ingenious men, but more especially so, since it was found advantageous to
heat the blast of air before injecting it into the furnace. The use of hot-blast
at the tuyeres, could not fail to suggest the application of some part of the
waste heat about the furnace to the purpose of giving the desired temperature,
which is the moderate one of 600 degrees of Fahrenheit only.
Unfortunately these attempts took two wrong directions ; one series of
attempts consisted in either ranging iron pipes around the tunnel head, in
which the blast was to be heated by the flames as they escaped, or in coiling
pipes round the interior of the furnace, so as to be heated by contact with the
ignited materials themselves ; or blast pipes were built into the masonry, so
as to receive heat by transmission without being however in contact with the
76 REPORT— 1848.
burning material ; but in all cases the contrivance formed part of the furnHce
itself. All these several obsolete plans are shown in the drawings of an ela-
borate work on Hot-Blast, published officially at Freiberg in 1840, which
contains drawings of all the different apparatus that have been known in
England, Wales, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, and Sweden. The fatal objec-
tion to these plans for heating the blast was, that in case of derangement of
the apparatus, the operations of the furnace had to be suspended during re-
pair ; and even according to several of the schemes, it would have been neces-
sary to blow out the furnace itself, and take it down in order to repair a leaky
joint. These attempts were speedily relinquished, and I am not aware that
any plan of the kind is in operation in the iron trade abroad, certainly not in
this country. Another series of attempts took an opposite direction. The
top of the furnace was either partially or wholly closed, except during char-
ging; the gases were thus collected and carried to a reservoir or gasometer;
they were passed through water to be cooled and purified ; air-pumps were
employed to force them towards the point, where they were afterwards to be
burnt in a gas furnace. Several patents have been taken out for this appli-
cation, the first as early as 1838, but, although tried in various works, I do
not know that any plan of the sort is in use in this country. It was found
that the combustible gases collected from the furnace were so diluted with
nitrogen (itself incombustible and incapable of supporting combustion), that
it required two conditions to burn them in so mixed a state : — 1st. That a blast
of air should be employed. 2nd. That such blast should be heated. When
once ignited, the heat produced by these gases, consisting of carbonic oxide
and hydrogen partly in combination with carbon, is intense, so much so, that
the tops and sides of the gas-furnace were speedily melted down. Still, if this
plan of consuming the gases to produce heat, instead of being directed to
stoves and boilers, had been employed as abroad, to carry on the processes of
converting pig-iron into malleable iron, which require a very high tempera-
ture and a steady fire, with a limited admission of air, I think practice would
have perfected the details and conquered the obstacles ; but in this country of
cheap fuel, the gases being ignited merely to heat the blast or to raise steam,
requirinof only a temperature of melting lead and boiling water, and for pur-
poses where a high temperature cannot be employed without danger, it was
found a fatal objection that a blast machine had to be provided, and a hot-
blast apparatus kept at work to impart the necessary temperature for the gas
furnace ; thus of course reducing, and in fact destroying, all the saving to be
effected, besides complicating the operations of the furnace by additional
machinery and apparatus.
This want of simplicity has led to the abandonment of the gas-furnace in
this country as a means of consuming the vapours escaping from the tops of
blast-furnaces. At this point I found the subject, when four years ago my
attention was attracted to it. Truly necessity quickens invention, and but
for an obvious difficulty under which I laboured, I fear I also should have
allowed the huge volumes of flame and vapour to pass off as heretofore un-
heeded. But I laboured under two serious disadvantages at Ystalyfera in
employing the hot-blast. First, as the furnaces working on anthracite coal
cannot be made to drive like coke-furnaces, although they burden heavily, the
make is only 50 or 60 tons of iron per furnace weekly, and falling on this
small weekly quantity, I had the cost of the hot-blast apparatus, consisting of
three stoves or heating furnaces, consuming about 3b tons of coal together a
week, and requiring the attendance of two men, one by day .ind one by night ;
next, as the small or slack of anthracite coal burns very imperfectly in a re-
verberatory furnace from its not caking at all, so that the draught of a chimney
,^^^'
Plate II. — Brit. Assoc. Report, 1848, p. 77.
ON THE ADVANTAGEOUS USE OF A GASEOUS ESCAPE. 77
is not sufficient to ensure a passage of air through the grate, I was obliged to
use for the stoves coal of a rubbly size, and consequently of increased cost.
In this way I found the charge on the ton of iron, of heating the blast, very
onerous, as compared with other districts where larger quantities of iron per
furnace are made, and where the small of bituminous coal is used for the heating
ovens. Fortunately, in my attempts to use the escape from the tunnel head
to heat my blast of air, I neither made my apparatus part of the furnace, nor
did I attempt to burn the gases. I built my stove alongside the furnace, of
which however it forms no part, and by means of a stack about 25 feet higher
than the top of the furnace, I was enabled to draw into it as much of the
heated air and flame as I required. The result of this plan has been a most
perfect success, from its thorough simplicity. I interfere in no way with the
operations of the furnace ; everything is as before; my apparatus is merely three
or four horizontal flues of about 12 inches diameter, constructed about 3 feet
below the top of the furnace and leading into an adjoining chamber or stove,
provided with a stack which makes the draught. Into this stove I am enabled
to draw as much of the gaseous escape as I require, and by means of a damper
on the stack (what is equally important), as little as I choose. The quantity
required to produce hot-blast for a furnace is very little, not being more, as
far as I can judge, than one-sixth of the quantity passing off the tunnel head.
I attempt no combustion of the gases, for as they rise from the furnace and
enter the stove with a temperature of about 1800 degrees, and leave it at a
temperature of about 800 degrees, whilst all the heat I require for the blast
is about 600 degrees, the mere passage of them, as heated vapours through
the stove, gives me all the temperature I want ; whilst having no combustion
going on, the pipes remain uninjured, the bricks unmelted, and the apparatus
always effective. My reason for thinking there is little combustion of the
gases at 3 feet below the surface of the materials is, that when the vapours
pass through the stove and reach the top of the stack, where they come in
contact with the atmosphere, there bursts out a bluish flame, visible at night,
which is speedily extinguished from a reduction of temperature below the
point at which the mixed gases burn. When, on the contrary, I allow the
materials in the furnace to fall below the mouths of the flues, a combustion of
the gases takes place previous to entering the stove, and the vaporous appear-
ance disappears. Looking at the perfect simplicity of the arrangement, I think
I may warrantably boast that this plan is equal in simplicity and in cheapness
j to the supply of hot water from the boiler at the back of the kitchen grate.
j Plate II., with the references, will explain the details of the arrangements
at Ystalyfera.
a. Cross section through furnace and heating stove, showing —
' b b. Flues from furnace to stoves.
c. Hot air chamber, containing —
' d d. Upright hot air tubes.
, e e. Stacks which create the draught and draw the gases through the flues i h into the hot
I air chamber.
I //. Dampers on stacks, to regulate the supply of heat from the furnaces into the hot air
( chambers.
! g g. Cross pipes, on which the upright hot air tubes are fixed.
h h. Side pipes, conveying the blast to the cross pipes.
i i. Upcast pipes, conveying cold air to the stove.
jj. Downcast pipes, conveying heated air to the tuyeres.
I k k. Front doors, by opening which the draught is reversed, and the hot air chamber cooled
! down.
I 1 1. Roofs over heating chambers.
' m. Horizontal section of heating chambers and flues.
M. Vertical section through heating chamber and stack.
78 REPORT— 1848.
The plan thus described has several great advantages, some of which I did
not at all foresee : — 1st, it requires no coal or labour; 2nd, the blast is better
heated and more regular ; 3rd, the apparatus is more durable.
The pipes not being exposed to great and sudden changes of temperature,
from being sometimes overfired, and at other times neglected, do not wear
out rapidly : so well proved is this, that the first stove I erected and set to
work on the 8th of November 1844, now three years and nine months ago,
is in good repair; and I even think that a sort of cementation process takes
place, so that the iron in the pipes becomes gradually so tough as to be nearly
indestructible, whilst, according to the former plan of stoves, I never had a set
to last twelve months, and although their construction and treatment may have
been much improved, it is well known the repairs are still frequent and costly.
I will now notice some points which have always been felt as probable ob-
jections to this application by practical men.
First, as to the probability ot the flues becoming choked. The flues, if built
of fire-brick, and placed not lower than 3 feet from the furnace top, have no
great tendency to clink, whilst any loose stuff collecting in the mouths can be
readily removed by a rabble.
Secondly, as to the stove becoming full of dust. The quantity of dust that
collects in a stove is not great, and until it accumulates very much is of no
inconvenience, from there being such a surplus supply of heat at command.
On the contrary, we think the deposit of dust in the stove rather a protection
to the pipes, and we have gone on with a stove eighteen months without
cleaning, which continued to give good hot-blast.
Thirdly, as to the supposed cooling of the blast during stoppage of the
furnace. If a furnace stops from any cause, we lower the damper, and the
stove is so closed in and full of heat, with so little of its surface exposed to
cooling, that we have the blast hot within a few minutes of starting again j
besides, we can always keep the damper up until the stove is in full heat, for
ordinarily the damper is nearly close down on the top of the stack.
Fourthly, as to the difficulty of obtaining hot-blast in blowing in a furnace.
As to starting a new furnace and a new stove, we put on a cold-blast load for
the first day's melting, after which the stove gets dry and gives us hot-blast
without further trouble. If the stove be of green masonry, I put a small
drying fire into the stove at the door, and continue it until the draught acts
readily through the flues. It happened to me in the first stove I erected that
the damper was let down until the stove should have dried ; the gas from the
furnace collected until it attained the condensation and temperature requisite
for explosion, which took place, blowing out the front of the stove. By the
precaution of leaving the damper up, this cannot happen.
Fifthly, as to the means of cooling the stove, so as to have access to it.
The mode in which this is effected is one of the most perfect parts of the
whole arrangement : each stove has a door in front. If we want to cool
down a stove so as to enter it, we let down the damper, which stops the
draught from the furnace, and we open the front door, which admits a draught
of cold air through the stove and flues into the furnace ; we either wholly
close the damper and open the door, or only partially so, if we think it best to
reduce the temperature gradually, and we have never done any damage to a
stove in cooling, which is far from being the case when the fire-bars are taken
out from an ordinary stove-grate to cool it down ; for it is a common saying that
the cooling down of a stove tostop a leak, generally produces a dozen fresh ones.
There is however one point to be attended to, from neglect of which I had
nearly made shipwreck of the plan.
Fortunately, I erected the first stove so low down the side of the furnace,
that the point where the flues entered was much above the cross pipes ; and
ON THE ADVANTAGEOUS USE OP A GASEOUS ESCAPE. 79
this arrangement worked well ; but I thought it would be an improvement in
building the next oven to raise the whole higher, which I did, so that the cross
pipes were on a level with the mouths of the fiues. The consequence of this
alteration was, that as the cemented joints are never free from pin-hole leaks,
the small jets of air that escape ignited the gases, working like so many
small blowpipes, and caused an immense local temperature, so much so, as
speedily to destroy the stove j I had however my first plan to fall back upon,
which enabled me to correct this error, or it would probably have been fatal to
the application ; accordingly we lowered the apparatus, and had no more in-
convenience. The remedy is easily explained ; for by lowering the stove so
as to have the cross and side pipes below the mouths of the flues, as the gases
from their levity do not descend lower than the entrance into the stack, the
joints are not placed in a combustiblq medium, but, on the contrary, the space
below is probably filled with carbonic acid, the heavier gas, which being inca-
pable of supporting combustion, any small leak of air there may be is of no
importance whatever.
I have six furnaces at Ystalyfera, built in a row, and joined together by
arches j on these arches five stoves are placed, which heat the blast for the
six furnaces; each stove is consequently between two furnaces, and has flues
conveying the heat from both. I have also a hot-blast main pipe, so that all
the heated air is in a pipe common for all the furnaces. This is an excellent
arrangement for any one erecting new works, but is not at all necessary to
my plan, as I have No. 2 furnace working alone, with a stove on one side
only, which heats the blast perfectly ; indeed the means of heating the blast
are so excessive of what is required, that any length or drop in the flues
leading to the stove may be compensated for by an increased height of stack.
The gaseous escape could I am now convinced be carried a great distance,
and be equally eflective as a heating medium, if preserved from access of air,
and provided the temperature is kept up; if the flue is carried under ground,
both these ends will be attained. I calculate that the cost of erecting a stove
attached to a furnace on my plan, as compared with two or three stoves in
the ordinary way, at the base of a furnace, is about one- third less in favour of
my arrangement, as I have a much less weight of metal in the pipes, and a
great deal less masonry to erect ; the repairs are nothing. It will thus be
seen that I take credit for having conquered a great practical difficulty, and
for having made a useful and oeconomical application of part of the gaseous
escape from the furnaces at Ystalyfera.
To me the saving is important, which I calculate as follows, compared with
the use of the ordinary heating ovens.
Thirty-three tons of anthracite coal saved a week of
rubble size at 4a' ,. £6 12
Two men, and wheeling coal and ashes 2
£8 r2
per week, or £447 4 per annum.
Saving in repair of stove, say~]
one-fifth of £500, the cost S 100
of new stoves J
£547
which on ten furnaces, the full extent of the works, would amount to
£5470 a-year, or on five furnaces our present scale of work, to £2735 a-year.
In the bituminous coal districts, where slack coal can be used for heating the
stoves, the coal consumed would only be worth 2s. 6d. or 35. per ton; but then
such coal is very wasteful, and probably a greater quantity would be required
than with anthracite, so as to make the expense of fuel equal.
80 REPORT — 1848.
The caution and reluctance to entertain or adopt alterations in any pro-
cess of manufacture, is a safe and prudent feeling in those who manage ma-
nufacturing concerns, and I by no means complain of it, when applied to my-
self j but as time passes by, and the iron trade observes that my stoves do
not wear out, that there are no stoppages for repair, that I use no coal or
labour, and thus have the blast well-heated without any current cost, I expect
that a greater degree of interest will be felt in my improvement. If of the
1 ,500,000 tons of iron made yearly in Great Britain, we assume that 1,000,000
tons are made by hot-blast in 200 furnaces, making 5000 tons a-year each,
the saving of £500 a-year per furnace would be £100,000 a-year. Tiiis im-
portant amount will I hope soon be added to the profits of the iron trade, or
at least be a reduction from its losses.
Having thus given an account of the use made of the gaseous escape from
the blast furnaces at Ystalyfera, to heat the air by which they are blown, I
■will proceed to detail the further use made of the same plentiful and valuable,
though hitherto neglected vapours, to raise the steam for the engine.
I stated that I do not consider that it requires one-sixth of the escape of a
furnace to heat the blast in the stove ; this sixth part does the work of from
•30 tu 35 tons of rubbly anthracite coal a week, burnt in the ordinary way in
ireverberatory furnaces. I was deterred until recently from applying any part
•of the other five-sixths going uselessly to waste, to the purpose of raising
«team in the boilers, by the distance of the boilers from the furnaces. I
ifeared that the heated vapours would be too much cooled down in the passage
to the boilers, and that the draught would consequently be faint. However,
'On tlie approach of the meeting of the British Association, I resolved to make
the attempt, to show the practical men who might attend it, that the long-
lieglected gaseous escape of a furnace would not only heat the blast, but with-
out combustion raise the steam also in the boilers. For this purpose I pre-
pared No. 9 furnace for blast, and as No. 8 furnace adjoining is out of blast,
the whole result attained is the independent effect from No. 9 alone. To
•carry out my purpose, besides applying part of the escape from No. 9 to its hot-
Wast stove adjoining, I constructed two flues, 24 inches in diameter, leading
into a main flue 32 inches in diameter, which is conducted into the tube of the
■nearest boiler, the distance from the furnace to the boiler being 46 feet. The
tube of the boiler is divided by a brick partition into two compartments, and
the heated vapours pass four times through and under the boiler, a total
length of 120 feet. The boiler stack is 80 feet high and 6 feet in diameter,
and creates an overpowering draught, which takes off the gases from the
furnace, and fills the boiler with these heated vapours. Although from the
length of the flue required, 46 feet, to conduct the vapour from No. 9 furnace
to the boiler, during which it is exposed to the cooling of the atmosphere in
its whole length, being carried on girders as a bridge, I consider that a con-
siderable part, say above one-half of the heating effect, is lost as compared
•with that produced in the stoves, where the flues are under cover in masonry,
and the whole is kept close, yet the success of the attempt has been beyond
my expectations. The boiler raised double the steam it did when heated by
•coal, so that I am already in the enjoyment of a saving of 35 tons of coal a
week on the boilers' use. I am preparing to carry the gaseous escape from
two other furnaces to two other boilers, and in doing this I shall protect the
flue from exposure to the air, which will I expect give me sufficient steam for
the engine, and I have little doubt of saving the consumption of boiler coal
altogether, except we use one boiler with a fire, in order to make a start in
case of stoppage. I might perhaps have deferred the attempt, which 1 have
long contemplated, to use the vapours from the furnace to raise steam, but for
the visit of the British Association, and this rousing one to action is among
ON THK ADVANTAGEOUS USE OP A GASEOUS ESCAPE. 81
the many benefits such visits confer on a neighbourhood. Tiie saving alieatlv
effected by the application to one boiler is equal to £350 a-year, and the total
saving of doing away with the use of coal in the boilers, and consequently
with attendance, fire-bans, bricks, would at full work exceed £2000 a-year.
The savingis I have mentioned are so serious in amount, that they cannot safely
be neglected by the iron trade.
But although I save the use of 35 tons of coal a week in the stoves, and
35 tons a week in one of the boilers by taking off a portion of the heated
air from No. 9 furnace, and although the gas sent to the boiler wastes
half its heat in the passage, there still remains one-half of the quantity usually
escaping, passing off the tunnel head. If I closed the tunnel head of No. 9,
so as to collect all the gases, it would therefore appear that I should obtain a
heating power equal to the use of 1 40 tons of coal a week in air furnaces, and
that merely by the passage of such gases through the boilers and stoves in
contact whh iron vessels, containing the water and air required to be heated.
But as I only consume about 100 tons of coal a week in the No. 9 furnace,
this is 40 tons more effect than the whole coal used, vviiich melts besides
from 150 to 160 tons of iron ores and limestone flux, and produces 50 or
60 tons of pig-iron a week, and all this while I have not consumed the gases,
but merely received by contact with good conductors some part of the high
temperature acquired in the furnace. What other inference can I draw but
one, that a very large proportion of the fuel used in reverberatory furnaces
is unprofitably wasted ? for it would appear to be more profitable to employ
a blast-furnace, if as a gas generator only, even if you smelted nothing in it,
and carried off its heated vapours by flues to your boilers and stoves, than to
employ a separate lire to each boiler and each stove. These considerations
irresistibly suggest to me a great revolution in metallurgical practice ; a new
arrangement in fact of furnaces and works, by which considerably, above one
million a-year might be saved in the iron trade alone.
The following is the analysis of the gas escaping from the Ystalyfera an-
thracite furnaces made by Dr. Schafhaeutl.
First, of the gas taken off 16 feet below the surface of coal and mine in the
furnace, he gave the following result : —
Carbonic acid 00'136
Carbonic oxide , 18974
Hydrogen 27"844
Light carburetted hydrogen 3-212
Sulphurous acid with traces of arseni-
uretted and phosphuretted hydrogen trace
Nitrogen 49-844
100-000
A very considerable change takes place when the gas has access to the at-
mosphere.
At I foot only below the surface of the coal and mine in the furnace, the
following is his analysis : —
Carbonic acid 9546
Carbonic oxide 12*012
Hydrogen 21-278
Light carburetted hydrogen 2-548
Sulphurous acid with traces of arseni-
uretted and phosphuretted hydrogen 0-111
Nitrogen 54-505
Foo-ooo
1848. o
S2 REPOBT — 1848.
From close observation, I think at about 3 feet below the surface of the
materials, which is the point where I draw off my supply from the furnace,
very little combustion has taken place, and that the gases remain pretty much
as they were in the bowels of the furnace. We observe, that as the gases
rising from the furnace come in contact with the atmosphere, the whole burst
out into a spontaneous flame, and it is my object to take them off at a point,
where from the cover of the materials they are protected from this combus-
tion, and this from practice 1 find to be about 3 feet down. The large
quantity of hydrogen in the analysis is puzzling, as anthracite coal only con-
tains 2 or 3 per cent., and certainly the flame from au anthracite furnace,
seen at night, is very different in colour from that escaping from furnaces
using bituminous coal, the flame being of a bluish-white colour, and not at all
yellow. The absence of carbonic acid in the first analysis, and its presence
in the second, proves that thfe solid carbon of the fuel, after having been con-
verted at the tuyeres into carbonic acid gas, by combustion with the oxygen
of the blast, passing upwards into the middle region of the furnace, where
carbon is in excess, absorbs an additional dose of it, and is thereby converted
into carbonic oxide, a combustible gas ; and tlie whole gaseous escape of the
furnace, before the access of the atmosphere, appears to consist of about 50
per cent of highly inflammable gases and 50 per cent, of nitrogen, incombus-
tible, but heated to a very high temperature. What use shall then be made
of this great escape of combustible gas, after using it, as I do, as a mere heating
medium ? The passage through the boilers and stoves, where this heating
effect is given, and where all access of atmospheric air is carefully prevented,
would in no way interfere, under proper arrangements, with its subsequent
use as a highly combustible gas in a suitable furnace.
In reverberatorv furnaces everything depends upon a good draught being
maintained, so that, although the chimneys may be full of combustible gases,
as we plainly see they are at night when passing the copper works, yet
nothing can be done to arrest them, they must pass oft' freely, so that a full
supply of air may be drawn through the fire-grate ; this difficulty will always
be a great obstacle to the curing of coal smoke, or to the condensation of me-
tallic vapours passing off therewith over the bridge. But this does not at all
apply to the blast-furnace ; nothing there depends on draught, but every-
thing on the power of the steam-engine to force a column of air through
40 feet of dense materials. The combustible gases passing over a rever-
beratory furnace speedily combine in the stack with a fresh dose of oxygen,
and become useless, whilst on the contrary, the carbonic acid resulting from
combustion at the tuyeres in a blast-furnace, meeting with an excess of carbon,
becomes again a combustible gas, as carbonic oxide.
It therefore appears that the whole of the present arrangements of an iron
works ought to be reversed, that the steam-engines and boilers for the blast,
and for the forge and mill, should be on a platform above the back wall, the
stoves being alongside the furnaces ; the steam should be raised in the boilers,
and the air heated in the stoves, by the mere passage of the gases from the
gas generator (the furnace) towards the gas furnaces, in which the refinery,
boiling, puddling and balling processes necessary to convert pig into malle-
able iron, should be performed. If the whole of the solid carbon put into the
furnace be present at the tunnel head as carbonic oxide, requiring another
dose of oxygen for saturation, and giving thereby a further production of
heat, its entire combustion would without doubt, in gas furnaces, be amply
sufficient for the mill and forge purposes. There is, besides, the hydrogen of
the fuel, which from its volatile nature never reaches the tuyeres, and per-
forms no useful part in a blast-furnace, but which would then be fully em-
ON THE ADVANTAGEOUS USE OF A GASEOUS ESCAPE. 83
ployed, and from its igniting at a lower temperature, greatly assist in the
operations of the gas furnace ; and therefore I believe the fuel put into the
blast-furnace would, with such arrangements, not only by the combustion
of its solid part, at and near the tuyeres, smelt the pig-iron from the ore, but
by the mere passage of these vapours, heat the blast, raise the steam, and
finally, by the entire combustion of the gases, supply fuel for the forge and mill,
and thus complete the whole conversion from the ores to malleable iron, by
the consumption of about 2 tons of fuel, instead of using 6 tons or there-
abouts as at present. It cannot be doubted that the air-furnace is a most
imperfect instrument in metallurgy: a large proportion of the fuel is unprofit-
ably converted therein into combustible gases, which pass unburnt out of the
chimney. It requires indeed a very large drawback from the effect of the fuel
used in air-furnaces, to account for how I have attained such superior results,
by merely passing one-half of the gaseous escape unconsumed through a boiler
on one side of my No. 9 furnace, and through a heating stove on the other.
The difficulty that would remain in carrying out fully the utilization of the
whole power of the fuel put into the furnace, would be the management of
the gas-furnace. 1 regret I have not had opportunities of personally witness-
ing the use of gas-furnaces, consuming the escape from blast-furnaces, for the
purposes of the processes of the forge and mill, such being only practised
abroad, where the dearness of fuel has induced persistence and perseverance
in the application ; I have however witnessed a gas-furnace in successful opera-
tion at Ynyscedwyn, under the direction of the patentee, Mr. Detmokl. In
this case, the gas was not however derived from the blast-furnace, but was
generated in a sort of double furnace, in which the combustible gases are ge-
nerated by a blast of air injected into the ash-pit, whence it passes through I he
coal in the grate, whilst the combustible gases thus produced are consumed by
forcing amidst them in their passage over the fire-bridge, heated and com-
pressed atmospheric air supplied in numerous small streams.
Mr. Detmold had successfully introduced this description of furnace for
forge and mill purposes into the anthracite districts of the United States,
where from a deficiency of flame this fuel could not be used for boiling and
puddling in the usual reverberatory furnaces, and he came over to this country
to introduce his improvements here. The gas-furnace tried at Ynyscedwyn was
for the purpose of refining pig-iron, or converting it into what is technically
called metal, it being a desideratum to refine with anthracite coal, which from
its great density we are unable to do. The heat produced was very great,
yet by means of water-breasts, and other contrivances, the furnace stood
pretty well. The iron was speedily converted into metal, which proved on
trial to be of good quality ; and the loss of yield was much less than in the
refinery process at present used ; but the metal had a dull appearance instead
of the silvery appearance, by which its good quality is generally judged j and
as a greater part of the anthracite melal is exported to distant markets abroad,
this difficulty caused the process not to be pursued. It appears to me probable,
from the difficulty there will be to use anthracite coal in puddling, boiling
and balling, on account of the absence therein of the constituents that make
the protecting flame necessary in these processes in reverberatory furnaces,
that the gas-furnace will be introduced into use in this country in the
anthracite districts, when the manufacturers of iron with this fuel feel the
necessity of extending beyond the make of pig-iron. I may therefore, at
some subsequent meeting of the British Association, have to detail the results
of this application at Ystalyfera. At present, 1 shall carefully proceed to
apply the heating power of the gaseous escape fully to the boilers, as I have
done to the stoves, and shall also endeavour to calcine the mines in the same
g2
Si REPORT 184S.
way, so as to reduce the expenditure of fuel to that which takes place in the
blast-furnace. Proceeding cautiously and in a commercial spirit, 1 do not
despair of so combining profit with experiment, as in practice to show the ex-
ample of the final oeconomy I have pointed out, namely, that for less than
2 tons of coal put into the furnace, 1 shall complete the manufacture from the
ores to malleable iron, thus oeconomizing two-thirds of the coal used in the
iron manufacture in this country.
If the result I have pointed to is ever arrived at, as 1 believe it may be, that
the whole process from the ore to the malleable iron be completed and
achieved by the coal put into the furnace, for the purpose only, according to
present practice, of reducing the iron from its ores, the saving of fuel in the
manufacture of iron in Great Britain will not be less than 5,000,000 tons a
year, worth considerably more than £1,000,000 sterling. Thus the blast-
furnace would come to be considered, not merely as a smelting-furnace for the
reduction of ores and metals, but as a gas generator, the source whence was
to be drawn all the heat necessary for all the subsequent processes. I will not
indulge myself further in speculating on the great revolution so vast an oeco-
nomy would produce, but will content myself with the hope that my observa-
tions will be received vvith indulgence, as I wish to divest them of all preten-
sions. My practice makes the first part of my subject sure ; and in speculating
on the further use of the gases passing off from our blast-furnaces as a substitute
for coal in the subsequent processes of converting pig into malleable iron, I
have followed the lead and indication which the facts I have arrived at obvi-
ously offer. I hope my notice of the subject will attract the attention of those
in the iron trade more competent than I am to pursue it to a satisfactory result ;
and I am content to place my views on record as those of one who is convinced
that the prosperity of the iron trade depends on the oeconomy of its processes,
and that in fact its profits must be made out of its savings.
Report ofpro(/ress in the investigation of the Action of Carbonic Acid
on the Groivth of Plants allied to those of the Coal Formations. By
Robert Hunt.
This investigation was assigned to the charge of a committee, and two sets
of experiments have been established, one by Dr. Daubeny at Oxford, and
the other by Mr. Hunt in London, upon ferns which have been supplied from
the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. The arrangements are such, that two
sets of these plants, belonging to the same class, are made to grow under the
same circumstances, except that one set is supplied with measured quantities
of carbonic acid. Numerous preliminary experiments had to be made, and
several sets of plants have been destroyed in the progress of these. No
general result can be announced beyond the fact, that the plants, by being
gradually inured to the agency of the carbonic acid, can be made to bear a
greater quantity than when a large per-centage is given to them at once.
The experiments must be continued over a long period before we can arrive
at any decided result.
Supplement to the Temperature Tables printed in the Report of the
British Association for 184'J. By Professor H. W. Dove, Cor.
Memb. of the British Association ; containing 84 additional Stations.
[Dove.' ale Year.
I'lnter. , Spring.
Fort Ent«23-5o j g-2o
Iluluk .. 33-56 35-08
Kotzebuej . . j
Neu Her(i4'3o' 36-15
Fort SiiuJii-o4 26-10
(To face p. Si.^ [1]
49-78
18-83
37-32
39-28 26 50
59-16 1 26-24
38-94
26-83
25-12
DiSF.
H. & C.
months.
23-00
DifF.
S. &W.
31-28 24-48
76-96 70-20
No. of
Years.
Hour of
ohservation.
I| 8, I, 9 ....
4- dail. e,vtr. . .
8,2
Anahuac . .
Boston. .28-29
F. Crawfoig-go
Flatbush 33-34
Frederictii8-i7
Germant(^i'go
New Har^7-67 I
Huntingtfe8-67 j
Hunt's V^8-67
Ogdensbu8-84
Richmon(^7-2o 1
Schenect%3-5g ;
68-15
46-09
45-28
50-66
36-67
50-63
58-75
45'33
60-67
41-76
5573
44-82
81-85
69-04
70-79
69-47
61-25
73-07
76-90
7o"33
80-33
68-83
7 5 '40
68-11
50-46
46-67
48-47
45-66
52-71
51-55
46-67
53-67
54-88
55-01
40-69
69-76
59-05
49-83
65-33
63-75
44-51
56-27
48-50
43-49
56-15
46-26
45-42
54-36
45-01
56-25
45-00
44-74
51-00
39-00
59-33
43-90
40-75
50-89
36-13
43-08
41-17
39-23
41-66
31-66
49*99
38-20
44-52
sunr. 2, 3, 10
7. 2. 9
. . c.
7.2, 9
N.Y...
N.S.
Caracas 59-71
La GuajTy6-64
" 32-41
Tovar
Monte Vjy.,^
Port Egmj.y,
71-68
78-43
64-62
73-08
79-93
65-62
72-71
80-48
65-09
71-76
78-87
64-44
4-09
4-61
4-50
3-37
3-84
3-21
dail. e.xtr \h.
6, II, 4, 9 . .\h.
dail. extr !A.
68-
57-33
64-77
66-83
24-
20-
1
48-95
39-86
46-81
47-09
16-74
12-87
1
53-70
44-43
17-7
*
Anatomicg.g-
St. Bathag.QQ
St. Helier^.cg
Kinfaun's_.5j
NorthumL.Qg
Plymouth .gg
Swafhani_.,g
Thornshavi^j.Q,
45-87
38-37
48-31
45-28
44-64
49-68
48-81
41-57
58-67
155-13
62-17
I 57-22
57-37
60-87
65-38
54-62
48-83
45-37
54-55
47-45
47-64
52-91
52-21
46-38
48-01
43-94
51-90
46-89
46-68
52-08
41-45
45-40
24-
24-40
21-20
22-46
22-90
17-85
34-45
18-97
18-23
19-59
19-61
20-29
15-99
21*
15-59
22
7 10, 10
1 10, 10
3A 9, 2, 5,8, II, 12
dail. extr
7 I9, 2, II
5 ihourly
1 dail. extr
Nancy . ■
Nismes. .
St. Galle
RoUe .
5-20
1-95
i-13
5-
48-96 62-80
50-27
65-74
30-20
27-60
6 c
60-88 76-40
6o'8o
60-26
39-37
33-45
3 1
48-43 64-53
48-88
48-49
38-34
32-40
16 s
46-85 65-60
50-42
49-47 ! 36-54
30-60
I
dail. extr. ...
morn. even..
9. 9
Pekin ....^
Trevandrii.ft^
St. Denis
Gondar.
Mocha .
" 1-78
a. A V
b. Pict
c. Mor
55-51
81-95
78-10
89-07
75-17
78-33
72-70
52-93
54-22
78-20
76-84
89-51
53-28
7927
76-91
51-59
5-03
8-94
21-05
46-94
— 0-27
7-32
5-9 hourly
'hourly . . . .
sunr. 2 't.
Sh 12^ «■
5^. 12^ «•
5*. 12^ «•
9 \x.
20, p. 50. r. Annuaire de Russie. s. MS.
t. Thomas, Statistique de Bourbon.
, _ I M. Riippel, Reisen nach Abyssinien, and Voyage en Abys.
''• ^'"'}ie, p. 93. X. Hericourt, Voy. de Cheri.
s. — Mean Temperature of each Month, each Season, and tlie whole Year.
(,To/„cej,.si.) cn
Lot. N.
^.w.
E,„.
„6.
M„.
Apnl, M.r.
'-
JulT.
Aug,
S.pl.
o...
»„.
--
WinW.lsprtaB. Sum.
Aul.
Year.
SiiiiS
s.&w.
fi:' .„5S5u,
Port Bntcrprise .
64 18
It-
1.4°
250
-■'■46
32-47
-i;-6
31-82
21-65
i-6 3°-6
34-16 39-25
24-80 [ 32-00
44-98
S3-50
49-55
52;33
54-82
43;
33°-8
54-07
34-04
i-'n
"3??7
-i9°-6
33-94
- 9-22
33-56 35-08 49-78
14-30 16-15 39-28
-11-04 1610 59-16
1650
38-94
16-83
15-12
76-96
14-48
Fort Sifiiii§on - . .
*
1*
dail.e«r.....D.
48-00 j 23-10 j 7-52
8,1 D.
2. United States and Canada.
AnahQBC
•9 »
45 57
90 s;
66 45
86 57
7S !!
575
340
»»5
.6-s6
17-09
30-
34-I.
2V-7S
3524
1"
53-
E
60-35
41-05
52-56
24-
50-
32;94
69-13
4585
4392
52-17
''■8,
74-98
56-63
58-77
11;
67-64
69-
5789
80-J8
65-96
65-80
■*,-2
76-16
65-
|l =
66-47
84-61
7-98
65;5
77-6
80-60
69-19
69-75
73-
7 5; 50
78-80
64-5°
65-65
69-
76-
59-22
59-68
SIS
55-71
54-
44-5!
Ill
38-98
58-
1974
30-52
37-68
38-1
16-S6
i8'29
19-90
17-6°
18-67
48-67
18-84
46-09
45-18
50-66
36-67
50-63
81-Bs
69-04
69-47
46-67
65-33
48>7
4s;66
ii
49-83
6375
45-41
54;i6
56-25
45-00
39-00
59-33
40-75
50-89
36-13
43-08
41-17
"■66
31-66
10*
5
Z:;±'°-'o.
F.Crawford
Flttthush
Germanlon-D
New Harmony
KuDtington
Hunt's Ville
Ogdeusburgh
Scheoectady ■ ■ ■ ■
60-67 80-33
41-76 68-83
5573 7i;4o
46-26 ij;-;8
n.s::;;::;::d,
3. Mexico and the W est Indies.
Caracas
67 5
67 7
67 !<•
5300-
65-72
76-59
6,-5.
tp>
70-25
78-45
64-90
73-04
64-90
71-30
79-7S
65-35
65-75
80-70
65-75
66-02
80-69
64-63
64-63
63-05
E
78-43
64-62
73-08
mi
80-48
65-09
71-76
78-87
6,-44
4-5!
4-5°
3-21
\
daiI.extr.....A.
6, 71.4.9 ■■''■
dail. c\tr. .... A.
4. South America. |
Montevideo ....
PortEgmont ....
-51 20
56 13
«o-
54-10
57-3
77-
74-
51-60
SS-o
4S-6,
'5-7
58-
46-63
So-o
56-
43;4S
37-47 38;62
45-73
48-0
66-
535
"■■'
49-87
'."=
48-95
\?d
:a;
66-83
47-09
'j;4
■7-7
- '1-87
;
\i 1
6. Great Britain and arijacent Islands.
Anatomical Garden
St.Baihan»
SLHeliers
Kinfaun's Castle ..
Northumberland . .
Plymouth
SwafliamBalbek..
56=4
S! 5"
56 ",
so 2=
3 19
■(i,6
420
36-6
|8,
Hi
39-5 40-6
37-1 3>-6
41-67 42-93
38-17 40-70
38-95! 39-94
44-83 1 45-60
43-97 43-79
36-90 37-52
45-5 Isi-s
37-2 45;3
44-09 149-89
48-53 1 54-92
47-50 55-15
41-81 |4!-37
57-2
ill
|lo
64-99
53-44
&7
58;45
65-6^
55-87
58-2
65-so
53-43
54;44
ill
38-1
48-30
Hit
48;. 5
41-69
"•6
36-73
4s;i4
42-63
38-67
36-90
41-5!
37-08
39;3S
45;87
58-67
57-22
60-87
65-38
54-61
48-83
45-37
54;55
46-38
48-01
43-94
%
46-68
52-08
45-40
24-40
11-46
34-45
18-97
li
■5
»3
59
59
7 !io, 10 D
1 !io, 10 D.
_!i :9.1.5.8.11.12m-
5 Ihoufly D.
1 dail. cxti n.
^. France and Switzerland.
1
48 41
'-Tl
800
33-26
29-03
32-00
44-38
33;69
S3;83
Is-i'i
49-21
59-45
48-97
56-21 62-80
69-35 7183
6,46
68-54
78-58
66-38
6^-8^
is
50-68
39-58
34-86 1 3S-10
45-05 41-95
33-67 1 31-13
35-60 1 35-
48-96
48-43
76-40
6453
48-88
4849
w.
i
~'::i
St.Oalle
RoUc
17. India and China. Africa. 1
-Ti
IS 36
- 55 30 ..
- 37 31 6964
- 38 20 57,3
- 35 56 ■■
- 50 54 •■
78-06
79-72
65-77
77!6
67-98
79-48
41-81
70-32
57-56
81-70
78-10
70-84
85-41
67-17
Si-48
76-08
98-9.
19-14
76-30
90-73
gi
67-64
78-47
75-16
92-75
78-47 77-67
76-81 78-55
64-72 64-67
89-87 85-91
18-96
78-10
63'"
81-00
78-60
65-9'
79-78
78-10
89-^7
51-93
76-84
89'SI
53-28
5"-S9
-*o-'4 >\
■■■■ 1
5-9 hourly . . r.
i.j'i.'.'.'.'..u.
i,"i ".
1.124 «.
Trevandnim ....
St. Deni*
Gondar
Mocha''..;
u. A Visit to Tex
t. IMcture of Nc
c. Montg- p. 23G
d. Darby, Unit.
> Vutk.
t. p.39i
i. SkB
. D.r
ii ci'L
J, Unit.
SI. p. .10
S laldDd
^
1. Fr
i. lb
m.B.
p. Bril
Voyage
'erEe?
1333.
1B47,
18". P
11. ■
n. Que
clel, Phc
. dc Nan
elel', 01
nom. Per
aal lie De
od. 20,
C.
Sique, p
93
I
Annuaire de Uiissic.
Thomiia, Stalislifiiie dc Bourbon
Uiiiipel. Rcisen unch Abyssinien
H^ricourl, Voy. dc Cheri.
,.nd
MS.
'oyage en Abyi.
[2]
Benedictbeu r
Breslau .
Coblenz .
Cronberg .
[Edenkoben
Eisleben . .
Elberfeld ...[
Erlbach
Freiberg . . i
Glatz . .
e whole Year.
(To face p. 84!.)
[Dove.]
Gottersdorf .
Koethen . . .
Kreuzburg .
Krumau . . .j
Kupferberg .»
Landshut . . .t
Landshut . . .j.
Leobschutz .^
Liegnitz . . . g
Meiningen . i
Mittenwald . f^.
Neisse ^
Oppeln 5
Pless ...
Ratibor . . . |6
Spring
47-27
4573
51-86
50-64
5374
48-44
49-41
51-15
48-20
44-18
44-22
46-99
44"3i
45-40
42-04
44-30
48-07
43-81
45'43
46-58
43"44
44-41
46-go
49-09
46-52
62-99
63-61
66-62
67-58
66-07
62*22
63-08
63-92
65-98
61-66
61-67
63-97
62-74
6305
58-51
59-22
61-73
61-94
64-10
63-46
.';9*93
62-44
67-78
64-93
Aut. Year.
43'47
48-42
5174
49-76
51-72
5175
50-90
48-49
48-57
46-42
42-65
49-28
45-07
47-07
44'53
44-61
46-74
45-84
48-02
48-90
45*65
47-59
47-5°
46-64
50-99
45-98
46-74
51-47
50-93
52-12
43-13
50-00
48-63
48-37
46-85
44-71
48-09
47-04
46-25
44-37
45-08
46-92
46-90
48-61
47-89
44-92
47-85
49-45
47-82
Diff.
H.&C.
months
38-18
37-42
35-64
42-82
34-69
37-44
30-37
35-26
39-13
31-32
35-51
36-56
32-53
36-86
31-81
35-12
36-10
33-01
32-83
35-80
33-21
32-58
40-59
46-60
Diff.
S.&W
32-82
34-42
30-96
3183
29-14
32-10
26-47
31-97
35-15
26-52
31-38
31-83
26-69
33-"56
25-58
27-05
30-09
25-92
27-22
30-85
29-29
25-49
32-15
34-31
No. of
Years.
Hour of
observation.
6
1, red. M
1, red. M,
1, red. M,
9
1, red. M.
7. 2. 9
6, 9, 12, 3, 9
red. . .
8, 2, 8 .
red. . - .
9. 12. 3
7. 2, 9 .
7. 2. 9 •
6, 2, 10
2-3 •••
7. 2, 9 .
7, I, 10
6, 2, 9
6, 2, 10
6, 10, 1,6, io,red.
6, 2, 10
6, 12, 9
7. 12, 9
Crespano .
Marostica . e.
St.JeandeMai5
Barcelona . Jg
Malta £
Ionian Islands
Alexandria . ^3
-4
52-24
56-36
50-05
60-37
69-31
84-79
68-44
72-40
65-74
77-00
76-89
92-02
54-13
58-50
49-63
64-51
69-04
79-06
52-83
56-59
49-47
63-03
80-10
34-56
37-04
37-27
30-06
20-90
32-63
31-94
33-28
32-29
26-82
27-48
2-3
Goteborg . . . .c
HofFmannsgav5
Lund
Oestersund . .b
Praestoe ... .[3
Sondmor . . . .b
Torneo ,1
43-67
44-61
41-79
3404
43-70
39-16
27-83
62-17
62-72
62-08
56-12
61-19
56-03
57-89
47-74
51-74
47-04
37-88
48-99
43-75
32-10
46-27
47-31
45-15
35-81
46-33
41-51
31-06
33-22 30-67
40-75 ; 32-57
3476 i 32-39
48-60
32-59
33-78
57-99
40-92
29-76
28-93
51-48
9. 2
Morn. 12 .
red.
Carlo
Desert of Kir
Nischney Tug
Pyscbminsk .
Soliskamsk .
Uicimo Utkins
33-04
35-57
34-14
41-60
35-35
59-65
65-91
61-66
56-96
65-24
38-21
32-95
31-23
23-01
29-21
36-41
34-78
33-94
31-79
31-92
51-50
80-57
69-12
65-14
65-38
80-83
44-89
6i-2i
52*99
51-39
67-36
6, 12,6.
8.3.8 .
7.2.9 .
2-3 ...
a- Li al. p. 96.
b- It 243.
d. Li
k. Ibid. p. 113.
«. Tidskr. for Natur. 3, 4.
o. Schouw, Veirligets Tilstand.
p. V. Buch, Can. Ins.
10. Germany. — Mean Temperature of each Monlh, each Season, and the whole Year.
iTofacep.U.)
Bencdicibeurn.-
'Eislcbcn .-.
lEIberfeld...
EHbach ■■.
Freiberg ...
Gottersdorf .
Kocthen
Kreuzburg ■.
Mittenwald . .
Keiiie
Oppeln
30-38
31-73
48-63
48-57
46-85
I
, Spain. Coast of the Me:
Malta .
Ionian 1
'Alexandria ■
Ionian Ulands. .
s!;«
6,76
7S74
70-05
si-\t
H. DENMAnK, Nob
;-=,«
43'48 S49I 6096
37-49 46"47 Sn8
31-50
56-59
49"47
63-03
34'76 I
48-60 I
si^lincy Tugibk
'vichniinsk
^'Jliakamslc
j'lcimo Utkinsk ,.
36-34
33-6a
ichlcsischcQ Gcselscli. 1845.
. 1842, 3, p. 05. A. MS.
ON THE MONTHLY ISOTHERMAL LINES OF THE GLOBE. 85
Remarks by Professor Dove on his recently constructed Maps of the
Monthly Isothermal Lines of the Globe, and on some of the principal
Conclusions in regard to Climatology deducible from them : with an
introductory Notice by Lieut.-Col. Edward Sabine, Gen. Sec.
[The report of the British Association for 1847 contained a communication
from Professor Dove of the mean temperature in Fahrenheit's scale of every
month of the year at above 800 stations on the globe, to which he has since
added in the volume for 1848 a supplemental list of 84 stations. From the
materials thus collected and combined Professor Dove has constructed maps
of the isothermal lines over the whole surface of the globe for every month of
the year, which maps have been partly engraved and partly lithographed at
the expense of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin. The Association
has received from Professor Dove the very liberal offer of a supply of any
number of copies of these maps that may be desired, at no other cost than
that of the paper and of taking off the impressions. This offer having been
received since the meeting of the Association at Swansea, the Council, who
in the intervals between the meetings act on behalf of the General Committee,
have directed that 500 copies of the plates, — which it is understood will be
three in number, one containing the isothermals for January and July con-
trasted, as being the months of greatest dissimilarity, and the other two
containing the isothermals of each of the twelve months separately repre-
sented, — should be asked for, for the purpose of being offered to the mem-
bers of the Association at a price which should merely cover their cost. It
is expected that these copies will be received in England and be ready for
distribution by the time of the Birmingham Meeting.
In part fulfilment of Professor Dove's promise to lay before the British
Association a notice of some of the more interesting conclusions in regard to
climatology, to which he has been led by this extensive generalisation, he
has communicated the following paper (written in German and translated by
Mrs. Sabine), which the Council have directed to be inserted in the annual
volume, as a supplemental report to the one printed in the volume for 1 847 ;
and they have also directed that a sufficient number of additional impressions
should be struck off to furnish copies to accompany the maps.
Edward Sabine,
General Secretary.']
Professor Dove's Supplemental Report.
The preliminary works on which these maps are based, are printed in the
Transactions of the Berlin Academy. They treat of tlie elimination of the
non-periodic and periodic variations of the temperature.
The temperature of any particular month varies very much in different
years ; its true value can therefore only be concluded from observations
during a long series of years, and we possess such for so few places, that if
we were to limit ourselves exclusively to them, the points through which the
isothermals are drawn would be too few in number. It was therefore
necessary to find some means of correcting observations which extend over
only a few years, so that they might be in some degree equivalent to con-
clusions drawn from a longer period. This would be impossible if the va-
riations in different years were local in a very restricted sense, and an inquiry
into this point was therefore tlie first thing required. The thermic march of
the weather during an interval of 115 years, from 1729 to 1843 inclusive, was
sought to be determined in four memoirs on the non-periodic variations of tem-
perature on the earth's surface ; this was done by forming tables of contempo-
raneous series of observations for a considerable number of years, and dedu-
86 REPORT — 1848.
cing the variations of the months in single years from the means of the same
months drawn from many years. It thence appeared that important varia-
tions are never merely local, but that the same character of weather prevails
over large portions of the globe ; that the anomaly reaches its maximum in
one spot, in receding from which it lessens more and more, until, passing
through places where the thermic conditions are in their normal state, an
opposite extreme is reached, which so compensates the first, that the general
sum of warmth distributed over the earth at any particular time of year is
the same in different years, although the values which make up the sum may
be very different. Knowing the prevailing character of the \veather in par-
ticular places in the different years, we are enabled to deduce from the devia-
tions at a few normal stations, where the observations extend over a long series
of years, the quantitative corrections to be applied to the results of observa-
tions continued for only a few years. The fourth memoir contains the cor-
rections calculated for nineteen such normal stations : — Madras, Palermo,
Milan, Geneva, Vienna, Regensburg, Stuttgard, Carlsruhe, Berlin, Copen-
hagen, Torneo, London, Kinfauns Castle, Zwanenburg, Paris, Salem, Al-
bany, Gothaab and Reykiavig. These four memoirs also contain the com-
plete data derived from observations at 700 stations ; or the monthly means
during the respective years of observation.
The second necessary correction is that required for eliminating the
diurnal variation, and reducing the observations made at particular hours to
the mean of the whole twenty-four hours, as it is only at a few stations that
observations were made hourly. These latter stations, twenty-nine in number,
supply the values required to reduce the observations at any particular hour
to the mean of the twenty-four hours, and are given in the memoir entitled
" On the Diurnal Variations of the Temperature of the Atmosphere." They
are : — Rio Janeiro, Trevandrum, Madras, Bombay, Frankfort Arsenal, To-
ronto, Rome, Padua, Kremsmiinster, Prague, Muhlhausen, Halle, Gottin-
gen, Salzuflen, Brussels, Plymouth, Greenwich, Leith, Apenrade, Christiania,
Drontheim, Helsingfors, Petersburgh, Catharinenburg, Barnaul, Nertschinsk,
Matoschkin Schar, the Karian Gate, and Boothia Felix.
It still remained to deduce from single years the monthly means for periods
of many years. The temperature tables in the volume of the Transactions of
the Berlin Academy for 1 SIT, contain the means for the months, for the seasons,
and for the year, as they follow directly from the observations without cor-
rection for diurnal variation. These tables have also been calculated in Fahr-
enheit's scale, and are published in the Report of the Seventeenth Meeting
of the British Association, held at Oxford, 1847. Since the publication of
this work several stations have been added, and for other stations the means
have been determined from longer series of observations.
Lastly, it remained to fill up the wide intervals between the stations by
the help of points in the intervening seas. This last work consumed a great
quantity of time, as generally speaking the single observations are not even
put together in daily means ; and besides the mean place of the ship must
be determined for each occasion from the continually varying latitude and
longitudes. It is only in Beechey's ' Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific
and Behring's Straits,' (which is a true model in point of redaction,) that this
has been done. Besides the above work, I have made use of the following,
viz. "The United States- Exploring Expedition" (in which however, as the
distinct Meteorological Appendix has not yet been published, I could only
employ the notices found in the text) ; Captain James Ross's ' Voyage of
Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic regions ;' and Du-
mont D'Urville's • Voyage au Pole Sud et dans I'Oceanie sur TAstrolabe
ON THE MONTHLY ISOTHERMAL LINES OP THE GLOBE. 87
et la Zelee'. These three works, with Clerk's 'Daily abstract of meteorologi-
cal observations made on board the Pagoda,' and King and FitzRoy's ' Nar-
rative of the surveying voyages of the Adventure and Beagle,' describing
their examination of the southern shores of South America, have rendered
it possible to deduce the isothermals of the Southern Hemisphere much
more extensively than could have been done a short time ago, and thus to
obtain an approximate determination of the temperature of the southern half
of the globe. I have also made use of the following journals : — Vaillant's
'Voyage autour du Monde sur la Bonite ;' Du Petit Thouars' 'Voyage
autour du Monde sur la Venus ;' Duperrey's ' Voyage autour du Monde sur
la Coquille;' Freycinet's 'Voyage autour du Monde sur I'Uranie et la
Physicienne' (which affords particularly abundant data for the tropical re-
gions) ; Liitke's ' Voyage autour du Monde sur le Seniavine ; ' Meyen's
' Reise um die Erde ;' Rafaele de Cosa's 'Corsi di osservazioni meteoro-
logiche fatte nella Zona torrida a bordo del Vesuvio ;' Hasskarl's ' Me-
teorologische Waarnemigen op drie Reizen van en naar de Oostindien ;' a
journal of Dieffenbach during a voyage from England to New Zealand, and
one of Schaeyer's on a voyage from England to Australia ; Reynolds's ' Voy-
age of the Potomac durhig the circumnavigation of the Globe, ' and Erman's
' Observations on Board the Krotkoi' in his Russischen Archiv. Lastly, I
have used of older voyages, those of Peron and Baudin, La Perouse, Dentre-
casteaux, Lisianski, Krusenstern, Chamisso, and the journals of Lawson,
Peters and Newbold.
Although, by reason of the smaller variation of the temperature on the
surface of the Ocean, observations even of very short period give approxi-
mate results, yet the mass of materials which one fancies at first sight one
has at command contracts exceedingly in its dimensions on a nearer inspec-
tion ; for as on land, stations of observation are unnecessarily crowded in
some places and altogether wanting in others, so also at sea, there are nuich-
frequented routes, and on the other hand extensive tracts which are hardly
ever traversed. The influence of season encounters the inquirer the more
frequently in sea observations, because the prevailing winds of different parts
of the year determine the most favourable season of navigation for particular
routes. Against this inconvenience, we may place the advantage which sea
observations possess of getting rid of the often very uncertain correction for
the influence of elevation.
From the above materials I have constructed maps both on an equatorial
and polar projection of the isothermal curves of January and July ; the lines
in the January map being for every 4° of Reaumur (every 9° of Fahrenheit),
and those in the July map for every 2° of Reaumur (every 4i° of Fahren-
heit). It is in these months that the inquiry can be best pursued into the
higher latitudes, as in one of them, the southern pole, and in the other, the
northern pole, are most nearly approached by navigators. These two months
also represent the extreme difference of the distribution of temperature within
the annual period, the other months forming intermediate steps between the
two extremes. In addition to the isothermal lines, others are drawn which
may be termed lines of normal temperature : however different the tempera-
ture may be at different parts of the same parallel of latitude, yet every
parallel of latitude has a determinate mean temperature, which may be found
by a graphical interpolation, and which is tlie proper mean or normal tem-
perature of the parallel at that particular season. Places wliere the tempe-
rature agrees with this value have a normal temperature ; those wiiere it is
lower are relatively cold, and those where it is higher relatively warm. If we
88 REPORT — 1848.
reckon all places where the winter is too warm and the summer too cool, as
belonging to a sea climate ; — and all places where the winter is loo cold and
the summer too hot, as belonging to a continental climate; — the thermic nor-
mals will give the boundary lines between these two species of climate. An
inspection of the maps of the several months will show whether a place
belongs always to one or other of the above classes, or whether it changes
its character in this respect in tiie course of the year.
The greatest winter cold is known to fall in North Asia and North America :
on examining tlie map for January, we see that these two coldest localities form
a connected cold region ; for the thermic normals by which they are bounded
pass, on the Pacific side, along the west coast of America and the east coast
of Asia, and unite in Behring's Straits; and on the Atlantic side, when they
can be traced no further towards the north, they point exactly to the pole.
Now it is in the nature of things that a thermic normal must pass through
the pole, for as that point includes in itself all degrees of longitude, it must
necessarily correspond to the definition of a point of normal temperature.
The whole of Europe is included in January in the warm space, for the
thermic normal coincides almost exactly with the boundary between Europe
and Asia ; Greenland is also included, but of North America only the narrow
strip of coast on the Pacific, beyond the Rocky Mountains. In the tropical
region the sea is everywhere warmer in winter, therefore the interior of
Africa forms an insulated cool space in opposition to the warm West Indies
and the coasts and islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Java and the
Sunda Islands have at that season, as compared with the West Indies and
Polynesia, a continental climate. We see therefore that these names are un-
suitable when comparing places under different latitudes ; for it would sound
strange to say that Moscow has a sea climate, and that Singapore and Batavia
have a continental climate.
In conformity with the shape of the cold spaces, all the January isothermals
have their longer axes in a line from America to Asia, passing from the
middle of North America beyond the pole to Mandschury.
The terrible January cold of Yakutsk is not corresponded to by any
equally cold point in North America. If therefore we assume for this month
two poles or maxima of cold, we must assign to them different intensities.
But this is not necessary ; the course of the curves appears rather to indicate
a connected narrow tract from Yakutsk to New Siberia.
But it may be said, how is it possible that if the isothermals for the whole
year curve round two separate poles of cold, these poles should not also ap-
pear in the several portions of the year? It may be observed in reply, first,
that the examination cannot be pursued into the higher latitudes for all the
months of the year with equal exactness ; but that besides, that may be true
on the annual mean which yet has no reality at any single portion of the year.
The following example will illustrate this.
A mass of land within the tropics, when the sun is vertical, so increases
the heat, that under these circumstances continental stations show tempera-
tures such as are never met with at sea. Now although these continental
masses are cooler than the sea in the winter, yet this cooling is less than
the disproportionate heating before spoken of, and the mean of the whole
year is therefore above the normal. Thus the greater breadth of Africa
north of the equator, and the expanse of India, cause the line of maxi-
mum mean annual temperature not to coincide with the equator but to run
north of that line. We will now suppose the imaginary case of two belts of
tropical land at equal distances on each side of the equator, which latter shall
ON THE MONTHLY ISOTHERMAL. LINES OF THE GLOBE. 89
be occupied entirely by sea : we should in such case have two lines of niaxi-
iTium temperature on the mean of the whole year ; but not in the separate
portions of the year ; for the summer heat of the northern zone of land would
be simultaneous with the winter of the southern zone, while the temperature
of the equatorial sea would always be intermediate between the two.
Hence we see liow little one is justified in deriving from the distribution
of the mean annual temperature conclusions respecting its distribution in
the separate portions of the year : it might even be asserted, on the contrary,
that the annual isothermal lines become first elucidated by the consideration
of the monthly isothermals ; and that for this reason all attempts to refer
their form directly to the configuration of the continents have proved
unsuccessful.
If we divide the globe at the meridian of Ferro, and compute the tempera-
ture of the parallels east and west of that meridian at every ten degrees of
latitude, we find (with the exception of the latitudes of 70°) the eastern half,
which has the largest mass of land, colder than the western half, the difference
diminishing constantly as the equator is approached.
Within the tropics the diminution of temperature in going northward takes
place with great regularity. On the eastern side it is represented exactly
between 0° and 30° by the equation
t^=2l cos 2a;,
t being in degrees of Reaumur, and x being the latitude; and on the
western side it is represented very approximately between 0° and 40° by
t =21.4 cos (2a:— 7).
No formula has been found applicable to all latitudes ; in latitude 30°-40° the
deviation is always considerable. The reason is easily seen ; on the Ameri-
can side the Gulf-stream flowing from America to the Azores, and in Asia
the lofty mountains and table-lands rising from the lowlands of the Ganges,
cause a sudden break in the progression of temperature. As a general for-
mula for the equator and the higher latitudes,
t^= 24.5 + 4i5. 5 cos^x
does best ; for the lower latitudes,
/^= 24 -1-45 cos^a;
is still nearer. According to this the temperature of the pole is 24^° of
Reaumur below the freezing-point.
For the eastern half of the southern hemisphere the formula suits
^, =5 -I- 26-2 cos2 (x — 5).
For the polar regions there remains an uncertainty, which however is of
less consequence, when the question respects the determination of the mean
temperature of an entire hemisphere. We obtain an approximate determina-
tion by calculating the mean temperatures of the zones and 10, 10 and 20,
and so forth, applying the observational values directly as far as observations
suffice, and employing tor the highest latitudes the value given by interpola-
tion. Admitting these determinations to be only a first approximation, they
still appear less uncertain than the wholly arbitrary method hitherto em-
ployed, of proceeding along a given meridian and deducing therefrom the
mean temperature of the pole ; the values may be improved subsequently
by combining the temperatures of the eastern and western hemispheres into
a whole by means of Bessel's formula, and the form of the function being left
indeterminate, by the addition of members the observational values will be re-
produced as nearly as possible.
00 REPORT — 1848.
As provisional values, I find — Reaumur. Fahrenheit.
January. Northern Hemisphere 7'5 48"8
Southern 12-2 59.5
The Globe 9-9 54-15
July. Northern Hemisphere 17"3 71*0
Southern 9-6 53'6
The Globe 13-5 62-3
The temperature of the whole globe increases therefore fully 3i degrees of
Reaumur, or 8 degrees of Fahrenheit, from January to July. If we take the
mean between these montlis, we have as the mean temperature of the globe,
11°'7 Reaumur, or 58°'2 Fahrenheit; as the mean temperature of the north-
ern hemisphere 1^°*4 Reaumur, or 60° Fahrenheit ; and of the southern
hemisphere 10°*9 Reaumur, or 56°'4 Falnenheit. As when we move south-
wards we see the northern constellations sink and the southern rise above the
horizon, so the sun on entering new signs in his annual course, overlooks
constantly new portions of the earth's surface. This surface being a highly
varied one, the sun's influence on it is also constantly varying, for the
impinging solar heat is employed in raising the temperature of substances
which do not change their condition of ajrrrrejjation ; but when entf.'iged in cau-
sing the mcliing of ice or the evaporation of water, it becomes latent. When
therefore the sun returning from its northern declination enters the soutiiern
signs, the increasing proportion of liquid surface upon wiiich it shines causes
a corresponding part of its heat to become latent ; and hence arises the great
periodical variation in the temperature of the whole globe, which has been
noticed above.
These relations appear to contain within themselves an important mo-
tive force in the machinery of the whole atmosphere, for they are condi-
tions on which a periodical transition of aqueous vapour into a liquid state
depends. The circulation of moisture, which acts so importantly on all
vegetable and animal life, thus appears no longer dependent on merely local
effects of cooling, or the intermixture of currents of air of unequal tempe-
rature; the non-symmetrical distribution of land and sea in the two hemi-
spheres necessarily causes the aqueous vapour, which is developed in a pre-
ponderating degree over the southern hemisphere from the autumnal to the
vernal equinox, to return to the earth in the form of rain or snow during
the other half of the year. Thus the wonderful march of the most power-
ful steam-engine with which we are acquainted, the atmosphere, appears per-
manently regulated by laws of periodical action.
Men often complain that all physical circumstances are irregularly distri-
buted over the earth's surface ; but this very irregularity is, as we have just
seen, a preserving principle of the whole terrestrial life.
It is probable tliat the northern hemisphere acts as the condenser, and
the southern hemisphere as the water reservoir of this steam-engine ; and thus
that a greater quantity of rain falling in the northern hemisphere is one cause
of its higher temperature, since the heat which became latent in the southern
hemisphere is set free in the northern in heavy falls of rain.
But if all these phaenomena are essentially connected with the proportion
ON THE MONTHLY ISOTHERMAL. LINES OF THE GLOBE. 91
and distribution of land and sea, they must have been different when these
proportions and distribution were different. Generally speaking, the rising
up of new masses of land must have condensed a certain quantity of the
existing aqueous vapour, from the proportion of latent heat having been
changed ; but the place where the solid mass was elevated must be of the
greatest importance in this respect. Thus considerable atmospheric convul-
sions would have been among the secondary consequences of sudden geolo-
gical revolutions, until the movements of the atmosphere had become accom-
modated to the new circumstances of the surface on which it rests. Speaking
generally, the temperature of the entire surface of the globe must have aug-
mented with every augmentation of the solid portion of its area.
If we now return to the consideration of the annual periodical variation of
temperature over tiie whole surface of the globe, it may appear surprising to
find that it is greater than that of the southern hemisphere taken separately ;
the variation of the whole globe being 3^° Reaumur, or 8° Fahrenlieit ; and
that of the southern hemisphere only S'^'G Reaumur, or 5°-9 Fahrenheit;
whilst the variation of the northern hemisphere is 9°-8 Reaumur, or 22°"2
Fahrenheit. It is only the two latter values however which can be properly
compared with each other ; for the difference between the periodical variation
of the northern and the southern hemispheres expresses the difference of effect
produced by the variation of the sun's meridian altitude in his annual course,
according as land or sea predominate in the surface which receives his rays:
the annual variation of the temperature of either hemisphere taken separately,
being due to the variation in solar action, the receiving surface remaining
the same. The annual variation of temperature of the whole earth, on the
contrary, arises from the periodical variation in the surface brought under the
sun's rays, with no inequality in the conditions under which those rays are
dispensed.
We will now consider more closely the manner in which the position and
form of the isothermals alter from January to July.
The concavities of the January isothermals fall, — in America in the middle
of the continent,— in the Old World, although still in the interior, yet much
nearer to the eastern than to the western coast : the convex summits are in
the intervening oceans. The isothermal curves rise steeply from Labrador
to Spitzbergen, and descend almost perpendicularly to the European coast;
from Norway to Nova Zembla, their eastern sides even form overhanging
summits. The influence of the Gulf-stream is unmistakeable. The line of
0° Reaumur, or 32° Fahrenheit, passes from Philadelphia across the banks
of Newfoundland, and through the southernmost part of Iceland up to the
Polar circle, wliich it reaches in the meridian of Brussels. It thence descends
quite perpendicularly, or in the direction of the meridian, to Holland, from
whence it proceeds in a south-easterly direction to the Balkan : from the
middle of the Black Sea it runs in a west and east course across Asia to the
Corea, whence it rises to the Aleutian Islands and descends again in America
to the latitude of Palermo. Thus we find that if we proceed in January from
the Shetland Islands down the east coast of Great Britain to the channel, we
do not alter the temperature, whilst with every step to the westward it
becomes v,'armer, and that in no inconsiderable degree ; since both the west
coast of Ireland and the extreme point of Cornwall are beyond the Ime of
4° Reaumur, or 41° Fahrenheit. In Scandinavia the circumstances are still
more extraordinary : from the intervention of the British Islands, the south-
ern parts of Norway are less open to the warm sea current than the northern
parts, and hence in the month of January the temperature actually becomes
92 REPORT— 1848.
warmer in proceeding from south to north, and at the north cape the south-
east winds are the coldest. Both the Scandinavian Alps and the Rocky
Mountains in America form dividing walls in respect to climate.
In approaching the tropics the curves flatten ; the isothermal of 1 6° Reau-
mur, or 68° Fahrenlieit, nearly coincides throughout its course with the
tropic of Cancer, its concavities in Africa and Trans-Gangetic India, and
its intervening convexity in Hindostan, being quite inconsiderable.
The dividing isothermal between the northern and southern thermal hemi-
spheres, 21° Reaumur, or 79°'2 Fahrenheit, is only a simple line in the neigh-
bourhood of the Gallapagos, but branches out beyond on either side so as to
enclose a connected space of highest temperature, narrow in the Atlantic,
but spreading out in width in South Amrica, the Indian Ocean, and Equa-
torial Polynesia beyond Australia. Out of this space it is only exceptionally
(as for example on the north coast of Australia) that we find temperatures of
22° Reaumur or 81^° Fahrenheit, but not forming any continuous line. The
fact of the space of highest temperature advancing farthest into the south-
ern hemisphere in the Indian Ocean, and of this being also the locality of
highest absolute temperature, are the reasons of the north-east trade be-
coming at this season a north-west monsoon.
In the month of January the greatest difference of mean temperature com-
prised between 70° north and 70° south latitude, is 54° Reaumur, or 121°'5
Fahrenheit. The thermic equator falls everywhere, excepting in Columbia
and in Guinea, in the southern hemisphere ; but between this line and the
latitude of 70° south, there are only twenty-two isothermals, while between
it and 70° north there are fifty-four such lines.
The isothermals of the southern hemisphere have the peculiarity of being
much more inflected in the torrid than in the temperate zone. Where the
alternation of land and sea from east to west ceases, the causes of inflection
are absent. Besides the different effect of radiation on a solid or a liquid
base, the configuration of continents is also influential in other ways. On
it depend the courses of marine currents, whose influence becomes clearly
apparent in the prosecution of such an examination as the present. In draw-
ing the isothermal lines across the Ocean, they depend exclusively on the
observations of atmospheric temperature, the numerous observations of the
temperature of the sea never being taken into account. This distinction is
imperative where the atmospheric isothermals are the objects of representa-
tion, and where we aim_ expressly at obtaining as accurate a distinction
between cause and effect as possible.
The cooling influence of the polar current on the coast of Chili was dis-
covered by M. de Humboldt ; its amount is not the same throughout the
year, but it is unmistakeably sensible at all seasons. This causes the
convex summits of the isothermals (which in the southern hemisphere mark
the coldest localities) to be always on the western coast of America, and
the concavities on the eastern coast. The reason of this persistency is to be
found in the cold current in question not being a superficial one, but having,
as it appears from soundings taken in the voyage of circumnavigation of the
Venus, a depth of 5480 feet. " C'est une section considerable des mers
polaires marchant majestueusement du Sud au Nord."
The great curvature of the isothermals in the Southern Atlantic, is shown
by a comparison of the temperatures of Rio Janeiro, St. Helena, Ascension,
Christiansburg, Cape Town, and the Isle of Bourbon. The character of the
vegetation at St. Helena must for this reason differ materially from that of
the New Hebrides. Even if we assume a greater decrease of temperature
V
ox THE MONTHLY ISOTHERMAL LINES OF THE GLOBE. 93
Kith increasing elevation tlian is shown by the observations at St. Helena,
A'e shall still find the temperature there much lower than that of the Archi-
Delagoof the Low Islands. The reason of this great inflection of the isother-
nal lines having been hitherto overlooked, is probably that navigators usually
:eep nearer either the American or the African coast, and that thus the
outhern tropic is rarely crossed in the Atlantic in mid-ocean.
To the south of the Cape of Good Hope, the isothermals flatten and are
nuch crowded : this crowding is still more striking in March, when the
sothermals of the torrid zone have their concavities, and those of the tempe-
ate and frigid zones their convexities, in the meridian of the Cape.
It has only been possible to determine directly the position of the line of
»° Reaumur, or 32° Fahrenheit, in the southern hemisphere, for tlie four
lonths of December, January, February, and March. It is comparatively
)ut little inflected ; these determinations however can only be regarded as
pproximate, if we consider that the drift-ice of the Antarctic regions,
leing everywhere exposed to the uninterrupted action of an open ocean,
.Ithough it may consist of more compact masses, yet "can never form into
luch extensive fields as the ice of th.e northern seas, and from its state of
lisruption is far more variable in its place in different years. The boldness
vith which Captain Ross broke through the zone of moveable ice which he
net with in the place where Dumont D'Urville had found an open sea, was
ecompensed by finding beyond it a sea free from ice, which permitted him
o advance to farhigher latitudes ; from a comparison of the different voyages,
ve arrive however at a conviction, that before reaching the barrier of fixed ice
he temperature dependent on the position of the moveable ice may vary very
considerably in jlifferent years. If we were enabled to sketch the isother-
Tials of a year, we might perhaps find an increase of temperature beyond the
noveable belt of drift-ice. By the combination of the results of different
tingle years, there may appear a local curvature which in the mean of many
/ears would soften off into simpler forms. We may explain in this manner
;he apparently contradictory statements of different circumnavigators on the
'.emperature of the southern hemisphere. From not being acquainted with
(the part to be attributed to non-periodic variations, the observed atmo-
spheric relations on each occasion have been regarded as the normal ones.
It was overlooked that a traveller visiting Berlin in January 1 823, would have
ibund there the mean January temperature of Godthaab (in Greenland), of
Bear Island, and of Moscow; and in January 1834, a temperature higher
han the mean January temperature of the plains of Lombardy.
In February the isothermals in Northern Asia begin to move northwards,
while in North America they are still moving southwards. In Baffin's and
Hudson's Bay they become still steeper than before, while in Siberia they
begin to flatten. Near the thermal limits between the northern and southern
hemispheres, the temperature of 22° Reaumur, or 81^° Fahrenheit, is found in
two separate spaces, one in the interior of South America, the other in Cen-
tral Africa, where it extends to Australia, the larger part being in the southern
hemisphere, but in Guinea extending to 10° north of the equator. In the
southern hemisphere the distribution has altered but little ; in Australia the
east and west sides continue to be cooler than the middle until after the
beginning of March.
In March the spaces in America and Africa, enclosed by the isothermal of
22°, or 8 14° Fahrenheit, have united ; the inflection in the middle of the At-
lantic still recalls their separation in February. The flattening of the Asiatic
curves has become still more decided, and shows itself unmistakeably in the
94 REPORT — 1848.
European curves, with the exception of the Scandinavian curves, which main-
tain their deviating form. It is only in the Kirghis steppe th:it the depression
of temperature still continues to be remarkable, and docs not disappear until
April. The American curves become flatter in the interior of the continent,
but as they preserve their steepness on the eastern coast, their concavity
moves gradually towards Newfoundland. The Atlantic ocean shows the pe-
culiarity that the curves on this side of the tropic of Cancer have their con-
vex summits in the same meridian (that of the Cape de Verd Islands) in
which the inter-tropical curves have their concave summits. This is explained
by the Gulf-stream turning to the south at the bank of Flores. On the
western coasts of North and South America the form of the curves remains
the same, the convex summits are everywhere close to the coast. In the
Ethiopian Sea the curves are flatter, and are very close together near the Cape
of Good Hope and on the south coast of Australia, because the line of
0° Reaumur, or 32° Fahrenheit, has its convex summit in these meridians
in .57° lat., and the increase of temperature from thence, which is at first,
slow, becomes extremely rapid from 45° S. lat.
In April two spaces of unusually high temperature, bounded by isothermals
of 24° Reaumur, or 8G° Fahrenheit, are developed in the middle of Northern
Africa and in the interior of Western India. Everywhere in Asia and
middle Europe, the isothermals are almost parallel with the parallels of
latitude. It is only the curves of 4°, 0° and — 4° Reaumur, 41°, 32° and 23°
Fahrenheit, which preserve their extraordinary bend. The line of — 4° Reau-
mur, or 23° Fahrenheit, passes from the southern part of Hudson's Bay
along the west coast of Greenland up to Spitzbergen, and sinks from thence
down to the entrance of the White Sea. The line of 0° Reautnur, or 32°
Fahrenheit, runs from Cape Breton to the south point of Greenland, through
Iceland, almost up to Bear Island ; thence to the North Cape, and sinks on
the crest of the Scandinavian Alps down to the latitude of Drontheim, from
whence it bends eastward. The ice drifting down from the coast of Green-
land and Baffin's Bay is the cause of this phaenomenon.
In May this effect of the drift-ice is still more decided ; from Nova Scotia
to Newfoundland the isothermals are crowded most closely together : hence
arises in the spring of Newfoundland the remarkable phsenomenon of the silver
dew, when warm south winds cover the trees with a thick crust of ice, convert-
ing, as Bonnycastle tells us, every tree into a candelabra of the purest cry-
stal ; hence too the thick fogs which at this season obscure the entrance to
Baffin's Bay. Meanwhile the hot space in Africa, bounded by an isother-
mal of 24° Reaumur, or 8G° Fahrenheit, has extended and united itself with
the hot space in Western India. On the northern side of this space tlie
temperature decreases rapidly up to the shores of the Mediterranean : the
S.E. trade in the form of a S.W. monsoon, advances towards the hot space.
The curves in Northern Asia, which in the interior continue parallel to the
circles of latitude, on approaching the east coast of the old continent, rise
rapidly, and then sink down again with equal rapidity in Kamschatka, towards
the Aleutian and Kurile Islands.
In June the relations are analogous ; the hot African space reacts in
Europe up tO' Christiania ; for the European isothermals still rise near the
west coasts, and do not begin their easterly course until the meridian of Berlin.
The Fox Channel, the Karian Gate, and Behring's Straits, as outlets of the
Icy Sea, show their influence in producing concave inflections in the generally
regular course of the isothermal lines at this season. In America, the lowest
parts of the lines are close to the east coast ; the warm space, enclosed by a
ON THE MONTHLY ISOTHERMAL LINES OF THE GLOBE. 95
line of 22° Reaumur, or 81i° Fahrenheit, which had been formed in the Carib-
bean Sea in May, now embraces the whole of that sea and the entire Gulf of
Mexico. In the southern hemisphere the curves have become extremely
flat ; and even the difference between the east and west sides of South America
is less sensible. The cooling effect produced by the melted drift-ice has
undergone a considerable diminution.
In July the extreme temperatures manifest themselves ; within the elon-
gated space enclosed by the isothermal of 24° Reaumur, a space enclosed
by an isothermal of i6° Reaumur, or 90i° Fahrenheit, has been formed,
including Nubia and Southern Arabia. These are the countries of which
Hagi Ismael says the earth is fire and the wind flame. But in Western
India also the temperatures have become since May extraordinarily high.
The Afghans say, " Great God, why needest thou have made Hell when
there is Ghizni ?" It is no wonder therefore that the S.E. trade in the
form of a S.W. monsoon follows up the retreating N.E. trade to the foot of
the Himalaya. In Europe and Asia the isotheimals have overpassed the
circular form (J., e. coincidence with the parallels of latitude), and begin to be
convex in the interior of the continent. The thermic normal, enclosing a
space warmer than the normal condition, includes all Asia, Europe, and Africa
down to the equator ; only Scotland and Ireland belong to the proper sea
climate, as do also Labrador, Canada, New North and South Wales, and the
margin of coast from California up to the mouth of the Mackenzie River.
In the warm space of tlie Mexican Gulf, we find no traces of temperature
so high as those of Africa and Hindostan ; Maracaybo only reaches 24°
Reaumur, or 86° Fahrenheit. The thermal limit bttween the northern and
southern hemispheres is a little advanced towards the north in this part of
the globe, but on the eastern side it touches the northern tropic in several
places.
The longitudinal axis of the isothermals runs westward from the Aleutian
Islands towards Baffin's Bay, but the issues of the Icy Sea, tlie Karian Gate,
and Barrow's and Behring's Straits, draw out the circular form of the
isothermal surrounding the pole into a more nearly triangular shape. As
in North America the isothermals have moved laterally, their concavities
liaving advanced from the interior to the east coast, while in Europe and Asia
the concave form has been changed into a convex one, their July course in
the greater part of North America, in Europe, and in Asia is perpendicular
to the direction which they follow in January. In the southern hemisphere,
the isothermals, from 12° to 1° Reaumur, or from 59° to 34°*2 Fahrenheit,
are thickly crowded and extremely flat.
In Augicst, in the old continent the east side of Nova Zembla alone resists
the still continuing tendency of the curves to become more convex, and
hence they assume two characteristic convexities, one at Spitzbergen, and the
other beyond the mouth of the Lena. But on tlie coast of Greenland, as the
cold in the high north already begins to increase, the drifting of ice to the
southward is lessened, and the east coasts of North America are thus per-
mitted to retain more of the heat they receive, and the isothermal curves
become flatter.
In Sejytember this is the case in a still greater degree ; and as the cold from
New Siberia now begins to invade the continent of Asia, the convex summits
are similarly flattened. This therefore is the season when the distribution of
temperature over the globe is most regular, even America forming no ex-
ception. Now begins the Indian summer, " the time which the Great Spirit
of the Red-skin sends to him that he may follow the chase." The same
96 REPORT— 1848.
causes render September, as lias been shown in tbe memoirs on the " Non-
periodic Variations," the montli which shows the fewest anomalies in single
years ; for when the temperature is equally distributed in the east and west
direction, easterly and westerly winds or currents of air cease to exert any
disturbing thermal effect. Hence we prefer September as a travelling month,
and our after-summer, though less beautiful than that of America, is not witli-
out charms. Nature falls gently asleep in autumn, and awakens with feverish
starts in spring ; if the last-named season were not set off by winter as a foil,
autumn would surely stand the higher in our estimation.
AVithin the tropics the temperature begins already to sink, showing clearly
that as the sun passes from tiie northern to the southern signs, a larger por-
tion of the heat dispensed by his rays becomes latent. The West India Islands
are now withdrawn from the space enclosed by an isothermal of 22° Reau-
mur, or Sl^° Fahrenheit, which has now contracted to a narrow strip of coast
from Vera Cruz to Cayenne ; the space included by the same i'sothermal in
Africa has retreated from the west coast to tiie interior ; and the space en-
closed by an isothermal of 2t° Reaumur, or 86° Fahrenheit, now only in-
cludes Kordofan, Nubia, and Arabia, and no longer embraces Hindostan.
In October itbegins to disappear. Thecold nowcomes in decidedly from the
north ; at the mouth of the Yana the isothermal of — 22° Reaumur, or — 1 7|-°
Fahrenheit, already touches the continent of Asia, and the temperature of
Melville Island has sunk to — 16° Reaumur, or — t°'8 Fahrenheit. The cold
comes in the old continent from the north-east, and in the new continent
from the north-west. But it is not until November that the isothermals be-
come in both continents decidedly concave. At the same time the curves in
the southern hemisphere become increasingly inflected as the increasing alti-
tude of the sun, causing the ice to melt, renders the difterenje between land
and sea more marked.
The isothermals of the torrid zone north of the equator, on the contrary,
run almost completely in the direction of the parallels of latitude. In Europe
meanwhile those extraordinary involutions have already begun which in
December are still more decidedly formed, and which cause the isothermal of
4° Reaumur, or 41° Fahrenheit, to run from the Feroe Islands to Rochelle,
passing along the west coast of Great Britain, In a similar manner the
south point of Nova Zembla and the Kirghis Steppe have now the same
temperature. In the curves of December we recognise already almost the
extreme forms of January.
Such important variations in the distribution of temperature cannot but
react in the strongest manner on the movements of the atmosphere, and
consequently also on the distribution of the atmospheric pressure. Graphi-
cal representations of a fresh and more detailed examination of the annual
variations of the pressures of the gaseous and aqueous atmospheres which
are now lying before me, show that the interchange between masses of air
does not only take place between the northern and southern hemispheres, but
that a lateraljlowing ojf also takes place at certain times. Thus in the spring
of the year the air accumulates over the part of America where the cold
still continues ; while in Asia the increasing warmth already causes it to ex-
pand so that its amount and pressure are diminished. Hence the countries
which have a cold sjyring (as the Arctic regions of North America), have the
maximum pressure in the spring, as the author showed fifteen years ago
(Pogg. Ann. xxiv. p. 205) ; hence the west coasts of America have the
maximum of pressure in summer ; and the interior of Asia, on the contrary,
has its minimum of pressure in summer, as the longitudinal axis of the isother-
ON THE PROGRESS IN ANEMOMETRICAL RESEARCHES. 97
mal lines falls in summer in the ocean, and in winter on the continents. In
the same manner the occurrence of two isolated closed spaces in Hindostan
converts the trade into a monsoon, while in summer northerly breezes (the
Etesian winds), which have their point of attraction in Africa, blow over the
Mediterranean. Hence the sub-tropical zone is wanting in Asia, while the
smallness of the alteration in the position of the isothermal lines, 12° to 20°
Reaumur, or 59° to 77° Fahrenheit, in the Atlantic, fixes it to a definite place.
Hence also the distribution of temperature in the thermic wind-rose is of an
opposite kind according as the place is situated on the eastern or the western
side of a continent.
In conclusion, the results here communicated will, I trust, appear to justify
the expression of a wish, that when meteorological observations are pub-
lished, theirvaluemay not be lessened, as has so often been the case heretofore,
by publishing only the means of the seasons and of the year ; but that the
monthly means will be also published.
On the Progress of the Investigation on the Influence of Carbonic Acid
on the Growth of Ferns. By Dr. Daubeny.
Dr. Daubeny reported that the ferns were now growing in a large excess
of carbonic acid, the amount of which had been ascertained daily during the
last month. He however suggested some modifications in the form of the
apparatus, the object being to secure the gas from leakage more perfectly
than had hitherto been done.
Notice of further Progress in Anemometrical Researches.
By John Phillips, F.R.S.
Referring to the report on this subject, presented to the Southampton
Meeting of the Association and printed in the Transactions, the author reca-
pitulated the steps of the investigation by which he had been conducted to
propose the evaporation of water as a measure of the velocity of air-move-
ment. In the former researches, the conclusion which may be drawn a
priori from Dr. Apjohn's formula for the relation of the temperature of the
dew-point to that of an evaporating surface, was verified ; and the rate of
cooling oi a. wet bulb in the open air was found tohe, OBteris paribus, simply
proportional to t — t' (t being the temperature of the air, t' that of an evapo-
rating surface). The air-movement was found to affect the rate of cooling,
nearly in proportion to the square root of the velocity ; and thus by simply
observing the rate of cooling of a wet bulb exposed to a current of air, and
also the value oi t — t', the velocity of the air current becomes easily calcu-
lable. But this instrument is only an Atietnoscope, of extreme delicacy and
various applicability indeed, but incapable of being converted to a self-re-
gistering Anemometer.
It appeared to the author probable that the rate of evaporation followed
nearly or exactly the same law as the rate of cooling, the same reasoning in
fact applying to each case. This was tested by experiment in a great variety
of ways, with instruments of extremely various forms, and with velocities of
air-movement from 400 yards to 27,000 yards in the hour. The velocities
of the wind were measured by a very lightly-poised machine anemometer of
Dr. Robinson's construction, but without any wheel-work, the revolutions
being counted by the observer.
In the course of these experiments some apparently anomalous circum-
stances in the rate of evaporation occurred to the author, but these he hopes
to be able to interpret by further careful research, and finally to present in
the compass of a few cubic inches an anemometer specially suited to measure
and record the low velocities of wind, and furnish a useful complement to
the larger machines alreadv esteemed to be so important in meteorology.
1848. ' H
98 KEPORT 1S4S.
To the Assistant-General Secretary.
Dublin, 27th of July, 184».
ITear Sir, — For the last four months I have been so much out of health by
previous over-exertion of mind and body, that some repose became indispen-
sable, and I regret to say that I shall be unable, from this cause, to complete
the Report on the Facts of Earthquakes, entrusted to me by the British As-
sociation, so as to present it, as 1 had hoped and intended, at the ensuing
Meeting. Much progress has been made with the most laborious parts of it,
and should health permit, I expect to have the honour of presenting it next
year, in case the Association deem me worthy of continuing the recommen-
dation for the Report.
It is also my duty, as the first named on a Committee for the Construction
of a Self-Registering Seismometer, to state the progress that has been made : —
Working drawings of the instrument and of its several parts have been
prepared and carefully considered, but as the acting members of the Com-
mittee were unwilling to incur any outlay for actual construction, until per-
fectly clear in every respect as to the principles and details of the instrument,
and as some questions arose of considerable mathematical nicety in deter-
mining, they have not as yet put into hand any part of the work. Professor
Lloyd, one of the Committee, has kindly promised the reporter to solve those
questions, when we expect that the instrument will be forthwith completed,
and a plan determined for its being set to work. We have therefore to ask
the Association to continue to the same Committee and in the same form the
grant of 50/. made last year for the above purposes. Robert Mallet.
Concluding Report on the Gaussian Constants. By Adolphe Erman.
The annexed addition to this year's Report on the Correction of Gaussian
constants consists in tables containing primary equations for the 24 unknown,
viz. the corrections of the constants, resulting from magnetic elements ob-
served in the Atlantic Ocean, and in some points of the North Sea and of the
Baltic, and a final table (marked (14), and to be substituted for Table (6)
of the first report printed in the volume for 1846), presenting again the 24
final equations for the 24 corrections in the last and most complete form that
may be given to these expressions by the whole set of observations that has
till now come to our disposal. Indeed these equations are the full abstract
of what can be added to the Gaussian theory of terrestrial magnetism, by
610 magnetic elements between April 1828 and November 1830 ; and as each
of the primary equations relating to points between Taheiti and Portsmouth
reposes upon a due combination of from three to five single observations,
the number of contributing observations amounts to upwards of 900. A
simple resolution of these equations will now assign to the corrections A^^'°,
A^'"' (that must be applied to 5i'^'"= — 108-855, g*-^— — \o2-5m
viz. to the numbers previously adopted by M. Gauss), the most probable
values that can be obtained by the before-said stock of data for 1829, and
the weight of the same corrections.
A. Ekman.
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9-68017 !i.62re
9-69450 20771
9-68448 175W
9-65743 83378
9*57218 29cre
9-54481 10571
9-40952 21278
9-40664 P53?8
9-38993 ^9678
9-38950 39471
9-38928 3I5W
9-26538 33878
9-18761 53678
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8-754077ip78n
9-i44327ik20
9-3285871087
9-3457678^95
9*3650978512
9*39i72rep45
9*42994refc23
9-4467078P87
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9-548097863671
9-5o56278fi57re
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9-1919178^8878
9-05i87re^i278
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8-7404078^6978
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9-5487878^56
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9-3i695re|5o9
9-2350471522
9-2141878137
9-1687178512
9*i7i74re532
8-8034078716
8-67963»562
8-4862I78J;
8-4150
8-2638
8-7195778^5978
9-119237)7
9-54039716
Log. coef.
378375
18
9-83309
9-83314
9'83396
9-78932
9*71423
9-90772
0-02973
0-04736
0*04208
0-02703
0-01536
9-97858
9-90413
9*74045
9'47387
9*0876878
9-3184478
9-7138578
9-71872™
9*7448 5«
9-74540W
9-7460178
9-86543™
9-9108878
0-08426™
0-11751™
0-12027™
0-07148™
0-05957™
0-04870™
0*02596™
9-98178™
9'944i4»
9-94822
0-C0200
0-19413
0-22621
0-22771
0-24072
0*22905
0*31240
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0*31156
0-30998
0-31392
8-20378™
9-20678™
9-40988
9-64324
9-73104
9-74897
9-82748
9-73162
9-79581
9-89415
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9-91984
9-96o37re
9-97176™
9-9923671
Log. coef.
•82413
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■83273
•81355
■77454
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8-30850
8-35899
8-40443
8-21130
7-50934
7-4577478
6-83402
7-48483
8-21969
8-23395
8-31069
8*31142
8-31571
8-61227
8-67409
8-96927
9-07994
9-21785
9-31016
9-31975
9-32984
9-34436
9-36504
9-37527
0-22484
0-21142
0-13730
0-10961
0-10179
0-09041
0-08854
0-02333
0-00678
9.98749
9-98223
9-97362
— 00
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Log. coef.
9^73558
9-76454
9-86194
9*94529
9'94533
9'94947
9-94310
9^93195
9-95697
9-98916
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9-90932™
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9-71185
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(7)
PItlMAIlY EQUATIONS FOR THE CORUECTIONS OF THE GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS. Their form is = n + cnef.A^^o (A^'") + coef. ^
lleport, Di-it. Assoc. 1848. Erman
and obscncd elenie
Isk, upper pnrt of the town . . . . l
r.mu'. .".'.'-'.'.--'.'-".'-'.... -.i.
ml I.
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Mans.irsk !.
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form is = w + coef. Ap-^ort, Brit. Assoc. 1848. Erman.
g. coef.
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AA'.i.
0277
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C8)
PRIMAHY EQUATIONS FOU THE COHRECTIONS OF THE GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS. Their form is = n + coef. i-?'<'.(A^-") + coef. Ay"'' .(A^,*.') + .
[Report, Brit. Assoc. 18+8. Erman.
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Their form 'is = « + cc
Report, Brit. Assoc. 1848. Erman.
lOg. coef.
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i'864i5n
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1-60136
'•59477
'•57934
56271
'•54545
1-51299
46974
-44000
40675
-26900
-26454
-22096
i-17762
26930
1-23674
-28238
•31266
•24853
-17406
-15460
■13447
-89397
■42552
-5435271
-86461W
77590W
■5414471
0030671
50828
02310
17829
-26734
•33792
42768
8^4i673n
9-37195W
9-5oo627»
9'468867i
9-63781W
9-4914271
8-5742671
9-26007
9-63209
9-74225
9-80236
9-85013
9-85460
9-85023
9-84398
Log. coef.
ef.
9-48225«
8-7924071
9-11941
9-44919
9-57506
9-73181
9-76760
9-74043
9-64660
9-54772
941597
8-91834
7-852067?
8-92739?j
9-1168471
9-15768
9-18961
9-20162
9-20472
9-20254
9-19351
9-18087
9-17196
9-16063
9-14882
9-12882
9-11007
9-09389
9-07488
9'03737
8-98535
93755
8-88525
8-78297
8-74662
8-66533
8-30020
7-72761W
8-2398471
8-5031971
8-8216971
8-9418471
Log. coef.
9-0305571
9-1907371
9-3113171
9-35461M
9-457487?
9-5120678
9-5869071
9-6730774
9.69I38K
9-6740971
9-6951971
9-632337}
9-529407?
9-432507?
9-271107?
9-126767?
8-951537? Lt?
8-386837? '??
9-82944
9-05314
9-339967?
9-667907?
9-720037?
9-897857?
0-037747?
0-123627?
0-21505??
0-266307?
0-30670??
0-3611
0-38154W
0-396537?
0-4048 37?
9-86201
9-88675
9-87444
9-79521
9-74181
9-64135
9-47727
9-32808
9-06791
7^74453
9-246757?
9-493487?
9-606447?
9-673387?
9-753227?
9-820177?
9-847637?
9-874307?
9-969987?
9-966107?
9-978497?
9-967047?
9-947667?
9-838927?
9-841527?
9-775207?
9-422787?
9-5644371
9-591987?
8-763647?
9-25213
9-76937
9-915357?
0-01440
0-05620
0-03044
9-98562
9-90370
9'75453
9-63845
9^585Si
9-53629
9-45588
9-31064
8-70796
Log. coef.
0-191807?
0-214667?
0-222017?
0-220047?
0-231897?
0-221437?
0-19440??
0-166417?
0-12182??
0-087627?
0-053147?
9-98563??
9-948527?
9-913797?
9-891097?
— 00
Log. coef
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
— 00
9-574097?
8-817587?
9-12383
9^45913
9^55i95
9-73784
9-85168
9-91054
9-96879
0-00546
0-03826
0-08621
0-10855
0-13330
0-12917
9-917657?
9-92068??
9-918797?
9-90851??
9-902407?
9-89248??
Log. coef.
9-871457?
9-861827?
9-85012??
9-82949??
9-81268??
9-790857?
9-776407?
9-760607?
9-752377?
9-743437?
9-70474??
9-705457?
9-6974^7?
9-696517?
9-699457?
9-74084??
9'73745'«
9-77660??
9-81102??
9'79227??
9-798587?
9-840437?
9-875367?
9-927597?
9-95439??
9-97977??
9-999287?
9-99683??
9-98506??
9-973117?
9-939397?
9-914517?
0-079267?
0-058367?
0-040057?
o'032697?
9-99198??
9-983927?
0-00996??
0-03700??
0-07018??
0-084757?
0-092357?
0-09888??
0-096917?
0-099147?
0-099577?
9^74957
9-74286
9-74708
9-76834
9-77936
9-79583
9-81418
2505
9-83640
9-84885
9-86780
9-88095
9-88950
9-89558
9-90413
9-91238
9-91636
9-92043
9^93557
9"93533
9-93805
9^93834
9^93737
9-92156
9-92303
9-90396
9-88215
9"89473
9-89073
9-85818
oil
9-72632
9-63876
9-47460
8-75850
9-080627?
9-411 507?
9-533087?
9-69331??
9-756237?
9-903647? 19-777187?
9-894327? J9-7Q2937?
9-88553??
9-87485??
9-855737?
9-S06247?
9-820767?
9-843067?
(9)
PRIMARY EQUATIONS FOR THE CORRECTIONS OF THE GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS. Their form's 0=h + coef.V'".{A^'')-|-coef.V'*(V') "!-••■■
[Repoi't, Brit Assoc. ISIS. Ermai
Stations snd otiscrvcd e
■■•«-- gSS: ■•»«■
Log. coef. Log. coct. Log.
Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. cocf. Log. coef, Log.
f. Log. coef. Log. cocf. Log. coef, log. coef. Log. coef, Log. coef, Log. coef.
■576467.
■4Sio9n
■4765471
■38934"
■308780
8-89837
8-8597+
8-7Z079
74S+S
93914
9-03610
0-58105
S9I9S
59841
9.691381.
9-674090
9-69si9n
9-63a33»
9-11556/.
i3iiin
>+7SSn
. .67i3»
9'»7834"
9181990
9-17961R
16510™
1371311
!-39i56.y o-i9099nU
9-64411
9'6o396n
ij-57364 964477(t
9-57818 9-68o64« I
9-99 198B
9"i>8j9ir
' 9'9'oS4
■> 9'96879
, 0-00546
974957
9-87 145"
j'86i8in
985012W
9-8194911
9' 800400
9' 7908 5"
9-77640"
9-76o6on
9-75137.1
974343"
970545"
9'6974jn
9-69651^
9-699450
9-740840
97374S"
9-77660..
9'8iioin
9-79as7n
979858"
9840431.
9-87536"
76834
. 779J6
9-79583
g-81418
9-81505
983640
9-84885
867S0
■88950
■89558
9-9041 3
9-91138
■91636
■92043
9"935S7
\
■93737
■91156
991303
■90396
■88115
1 8-75850
9-533080 I
1 9-693310
9-756130 I
Their form is = m + coe^ort, Brit. Assoc. 1848. Erman.
Log. coef.
Log. coef.
Ap3'0.
Log. coef.
0-45831
0-47949
0-49110
9-63005
9-52404
9-40476
9-04642
8-83203
7-286i4»
6-9448o«
8-ii879»
8-i7a84«
7-87989n
8-29009
8-70019
8-96626
9-20231
9-452 1 1
9-63584
9-73385
9-80775
9-92928
9-94662
9-98278
0-03121
0-04664
9-97230
9-98137
9-84345
9-60530
9-73760
9-65160
8-91562
9-39850^
9-8559871
9-92848n
9-85955W
9'i4790«
9-41630
9-69820
9-67954
9-69772
9-69450
9-69764
9-69707
9-63371
9*49439
9-7ii38ra
9-74294»
9-758i6«
9-77285n
9-777i7»
9-77815/1
9-778ISW
9-77758W
9-7757in
9'77559»
9-77628re
9-774i5?i
9-76986ra
9-75947W
9'73422w
9-4947971
9-65188W
9-605 i8w
9-537i8»
9-49674M
9-42044W
7-28207
8-34113
8-52012
9-28542n
9- 1 5 36471
9-0418971
L()g. coef.
AA2.2.
|68i72»i
g. bo 58478
3.0981871
9-ft7a77M
9-i33937«
q.223427J
3.5506771
8-4270971
7"i9iS5
6-82701
8-35858
8-68227
8-70441
8-65449
8-83309
8-99831
9-17618
9-35906
9-48908
9"S6538
9-61892
9-67989
9-69854
9-72684
9-0429971 9-77559
8-35391 9-79452
Log. coef.
7-134367
6-16449
8-48373
8-80412
8.81457
8-7439°
8,90604
8-05963
9-22957
9^^0172
8-8357071
9-1400771
9-2180171
8-91890
9-17797
9-44134
9-51931
9-61399
974385
9"79933
9-80524
9-83897
9"85597
9-88271
9-90896
9-91385
9-91275
9-91704
9-91356
9-88643
9-83831
9-72873
9-61654
9-47024
8-95034
7-8718971
8-9412271
9-1281271
9-78151
9-78313
975314
9-72197
9-71436
9-64783
9*55879
9-51258
9-35822
9-22555
8-95174
7'938i5
8-05265
8-4571971
7-720x871
8-6954271
9-210747J
9-4105271
9-5609971
9-6251371
9-6670271
9-7032071
9-7090974
9-7033671
9-6958371
Log. coef.
Ag^-K
9^95361
9(89092
,174566
,,•63263
8'342677i
_,-564427i
875696W
(,^9606071
^h98o58»i
„.'-984927j
.•9786178
,-9662571
9'92757«
-,-9006571
1-8731671
9*85444»
9-99423
9-99689
9-99821
9-99952
9-99991
O'OOOOO
o-ooooo
9"9999S
9-99978
9-99977
9*99983
9-99964
9-99925
9-99832
9-99613
9-99292
9-98958
9-98624
9-98183
9"97945
9-97540
9-96218
9-94863
9-94278
9-93511
9-91913
9-91137
9-89859
9-87058
9"85i33
. " "35
9-83196
9-82118
9-79846
9-75805
9-74218
9-74660
9-71784
9-74350
979442
9-83233
9-87483
9-89819
9-91647
9-94212
9-95229
9-96004
9-96436
9-84359W
9-8370771
9-8341871
8-95882
8-81974
8-7043C
Log. coef
Ah^-K
9-8552371
9-86i237»
9-8637871
9-12690
8-99756
8-87607
8-44075 8-58092
8-08491 8-20795
6-8491371 16-9457871
6-6845971 6-7502574
8-0162874 8-0626871
8-3404574 8-3638774
8-3626274 8-3638974
8-3125371 8-2742274
8-4916674 18-4233974
8-6579378
8-8383174
9-0272074
9-1661474
9-2516174
9-3144674
9-3878174
9-4131974
9-4529974
9-5402074
9-5991774
9-6038874
9-6291074
9-6503074
9-6447774
9-6806474
9-7168474
9-7058074 9-6880574
9-6702374 19-7254874
9-5920274 9-7932974
9-5132974 9-8289274
8-5688374
8-7335874
8-8994774
9-0143674
9-0876274
9-1374674
9-1569874
9-i833i«
9-2123574
9-2983774
9-3612574
9-4231674
9-4435274
9-5529474
9-5736474
9-5781874
9-6246974
9'36537«
8-6721374
9-00160
9-33031
9-46394
9-61370-
9-64960
9-64256
9-61372
9-59283
9-57287
9-52766
9-50272
9"47399
9-45384
9-8705474 1
9-9129174
9-9178174
9-9040774
9-9039774 1
9-8597874 j
I
9-8078874 j
9-7690274 1
9-7151174
9-6721274
9-6269674
9-5403374 1
9-4910874
9-4498374
9-4242474
(10)
PltlMARY EQUATIONS FOR THE CORRKCTIONS OF THE GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS. Their form i
r. A(/'" . (Af/'") + coef. Ay'-' . (Ay''') +. .
[Report, Brit. Assoc. 1848. Eit
Stations and observed elements. Lalitude. nreMwicb' ^^'
coef. Log. coef. Log. coef.lLog. coef. Log. cfief. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. cocf. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef, Log. coef. Log. cocf. Log. coef.jLog. coef. Log. coef. Log, coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. cocf. Log. coef.'
Taciti, Point Veiiun
Rio At Janeiro .
315 46 7
316 3s 3+
3'6 55 3
HS 49 9
136 14, S4
-56 11 30 199 3+ I
58597
8-g+953
20184
39356
9'486i4
9-62437ti
SSaaSM
9-501 1 8«
9-3x84.111
9-06 1 i4n
8 '4409 5 n
"17645
78301
83831
8-76539
8-1118 1
8'z0334n
7004 5H
643675
9'57"9S'»
8-33539
8-73SS>"
9-0344on
9-1508 in
8487^
8-86973n
9-41085
957446
9-66889
9-75681
8-54971
9-4.53501
9-33146.
-ii36«
■giiosr
■55013'
'zSSzo
■89267
8-70769
8-70568
0-16438.
■07116
■96363
34367
16449
8-48373
. 77948'
9-95161.
6g654n
.fiiajsn
9-59>69n
9-837070 9-86113"
■" 180986378"
-91613.. |9-
9-61654
9-47014
"95034
6oiz8
8-9801Z
9-98581-1
■91775'
9iS;34
7-77304"
)'6!i!7»
9-04ii.
9-7!9S8»
9S!78i
,!]4S6n
55.617
9'67+93n
3787:
5689S
9-63738
716841) 9-61469.1
7058on 19-68805.1
9-6701311 '9-7;
964256
9-61371
9-59183
ort, Brit. Assoc. 1848.
Erman.
LN CONSTANTS, RE'
''1.
A^.2.
AA3.2.
Ag^-o.
A^M.
AAi-i.
•5420
-)- i2'9o65
- l8-OI2«
+ 16-8757
— 8-0055
- 41-4373
■0221
— 2-4614
+ 28-5o8i5
+ 1-1566
+ 28-2681
— 0-5668
•0336
— 20-3968
+ 6-846:3
+ 88-8198
— 0-6309
+ 26-7432
•9667
+ 63-6386
- 5-57611
- 31-2613
— 10-0767
- 51-3403
•4892
- 5-1535
+ 79-092"1
+ 27-9431
+ 58-1943
+ 10-8139
■2702
— 31-8214
— 0-92616
+ 17-7184
- 42-9833
— 42-1670
•9475
+ 24-4829
- 35-8776
- 25-5339
+ 2-1524
— 29-4044
'495°
— 20-8428
- 31-5475
+ 16-7865
+ 168-5621
+ 188-8841
•6498
+ 2-7822
- 68-479»8
— 50-1869
- 81-6733
+109-9278
•9162
+ 47842
— 33-8i6'o
+ 105-4005
— 8-0638
- 22-5565
•3120
- 6-6373
+ 53-732)3
- 157185
+ 58-9792
- 7-9925
•6868
- 577638
- 8-402I-5
+ 146-9961
— 7-6706
+ 93-5519
•7638
+ 133-9206
- 1-9178
- 56-6382
+ 6-9960
— 78-2292
•4023
- 1-9172
+ 197-494.3
+ 47-3611
+ 99-1969
- 15-1265
•3790
- 16-2543
- 55-550^
+ 22-0333
— 118-7202
— 203-4818
•4467
+ 66-0799
+ 16-04316
+ 28-0964
+ 194-3564
+ 46'23i7
•0117
— 5-1180
+ 1-421^7
+258-0640
+ 27-5005
+ 54-9033
•4451
- 21-9188
+ 32-382^8
- 33-5843
+ 99-5847
+ 19-1071
•3837
- 56"4i37
- 31-882?^
+ 90-3028
+ 18-3355
+ 147-5975
•9079
+ io5'5i47
- 21-55438
— 36-8659
- 73-4149
— 12-3468
•4345
— 21-9718
+ 120-764JI.C
+ 8-6io8
— 67-1409
-143-3315
•9961
- 56-6382
+ 47-36ip8
+411-1027
— 8-8220
+ 114-9380
•6706
+ 6-9960
+ 99-19669
- 8-8220
+239-7200
+ 63-1440
•5519
— 78-2292
- 15-126^5
+ 114-9380
+ 63-1440
+299-2100
n= -
j
f 37-3 for
the elenl
(11)
FINAL EQUATIONS FOR THE CORKECTIONS OF THE GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS, RESULTING FROM US OBSERVED ELEMENTS.
) 1^". I Aj<.'. 1 ih--'.
a".
iJ".
ay*-".
AA'->.
a^.'. 1 A/,'-'. Ar": j ij>-i..
M'-'.
AS»-«.
aj". 1 Aj-.'.
Aft*-'.
Aj>--.
Aj>.i.
aj»i.
A,".
AJ". 1 Aji-».
A«'-i.
Aftii.
- ,j5-o,=
- J5.-8.-
43-1936
+ 0-0569
+ 6-5197
+ 0-0569
+16-0740
+ 5-9*5=
+ 5-9«S=
+41-511!
+ 9--H63
- .;8367
— 17-1018
+"■■'459
- .-5990
+ 0-1.05
- 0-6610
+ 6-8.06
- 4-74.3
- 7-..83
- 9-56.1
- 6-6810 - 4-33.4
- 4-7698 - .1-..19
- 1-4.01 - .5-3345
+ 47-6537 + 6-3537
- 4-16.6 + 33-0448
+ 31-6443 1+ 5-9659
+ 4-54=0
+ 6-01.1
+ S°-°336
+ 12-9065
Z 20-5968
+ .8-5080
+ 6-8467
+ .3-0.7,
- 9'7950
+ 8-,,48
+ 6-7114
+ 31-7854
- .-684.
+ 76-9584
+ 0-39.7
+ 33;oo37
+ 56-7256
+ 16-705.
- 4-9S68
+ .5-4065
+ .-894,
+ 16-8757
+ ,-,566
+ 88-8,98
- 0-630,
+ .6-743=
-iiji-i8 =
+ 9-4463
- 1-B36,
+ 11-1459
-13-ioBo
; 6:KI6
+ 58-61.9
- .-6833
- 5-938=
- .-6833
+86-5590
- "ll'
+ 37-=996
- +3987
- ..-1845 - 11-6844
+ 34-7606 - 6-768.
- 16-, 364 + 7,569
- .-6537 - ..-0551
- 4-4458 + .4-4,01
- .,-58,6 - ,.-6873
- 30-9667
- 11-489.
+ 63-6386
- 5-5766
+ 79-°9=7
- 0-9267
+ 3-6460
- S9-39'i
+ 9=-9"9'
+ 39-3==8
+ 17-6946
- .5-'4==
- .8-9717
+ ..-960.
- 5-048.
+ 52-9228
- 56-3578
- 64-9665
- 9-9.18
- 45-0098
+ 76-0608
+ 2-690.
+ 79-6,24
- 55-15=6
- 3,-.6,3
+ =7-943'
+ 17-7184
- 10-0767
+ 58-1943
- 4=9833
- 51-3403
+ ,o-»,,9
- 4.-, 670
- 460-79 =
+ 1246-41 =
•f7Z40-j4=
- 6-6810
- 4-33H
- 7-n8,
- 4-7698
-.1-1119
- 9-5611
-=S'334S
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-.,-.845
-ii-68+t
- 4-3987
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- 9-5.15
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+ ,5-4086 +624-1136
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+ 6-1490 - 48-3546
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- 3-9475
- 46-495°
- .4-6498
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— .0-84.8
+ 2-78.1
- 35-8777
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— 360-0466
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- ..-8998
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+ .-,,68
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- .S-»3=7
+ 1S->S54
+30,-89..
-Jf,ltd
- 50-,86,
+ .-,5.4
+,68-56.,
- 8,-6733
+ .88-88"
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- 70-87 =
+ 4-5410
+33-0448
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+ 31-6443
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"il-o"'
-30-9667
- 4-+ts8
+.4-4101
-1.-489.
- Ii-'7o5
+ .5-97.0
+ 6-.787-
+ 6,490 + 45-956.
- 48-3546 + 7-05.7
- 46-4950 - .4-6498
+ ..5-5676
- .-4.87
+ 34-9'6.
- .-4.87
+ 7='=36'
+ 34;9.6.
+ 4-784=
- 6-6373
- 57-7638
- ,3-8.66
+ 53-73=4
- 8-40.3
+ 3.-3790
- .8-615.
- .3-657.
- =5-4467
+ .6-6463
+ 8-889.
+ 75-7643
+ 14-4451
+ 26,086
+ 141546
+ 105,837
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- 47-9079
- .6-6770
+ =9-4345
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- 1S-71S5
+ 146-996,
- 8-0638
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- 7-6706
- .=-5565
- 9«.-8! =
+11-9065
+i3-o;73
- 1-4614
+ 18-5080
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-.94-8.65
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- 6-6,7,
- 57-7638
- 8-40.3
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+135-9106
+ .97;4945
- .6=543
- 55-5503
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+ .6-0437
- 53-570.
- 5-. .80
- 69-4629
- 2.-9.88
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- 39-==36
- 56-4,17
- ,,-8825
+.05-5.47
- .1-5547
-184-4784
- .1-97181- 56-6,8.
+ ..0-764;+ 47-,6..
+.,.-0845 + ..-o,!3
+ 6-9960
+ 99-1969
- 78-..,.
-)ooi-49.
-1005-19 =
■l-iS59-«« =
+ !i-S«74
+ 0-3917
+ 8-3148
- 1-6841
+33-0037
+76-9584
- 0-7501
- 5-0483
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+ ,1,68
-305-3.94
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+ .6-6463
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- .3-657=
- .9-7493
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+ 14-4451
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+ 16-04,7
+ I-4.I7
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- 69-46.9
+495-.567
+ 56-5604
+ 56-5604
+.80-5,08
- s-4168
+ ,5.-.o.o
- 34-7658
t !n;;5
- 104-9068
- 6-915,
+ 6-8854
-.38-9996,+ .8-0964
- 89-5797 ' + .58-0640
+ ,0.-3798 - 33-5843
+ 194-3564
+ =7-5005
+ 99-5847
+ 46-2317
+ 54-9033
+ i9-'07'
-Hii6-44 =
+ 1874-01 =
-.874-61 =
-J9-6317
- 4-9568
- 0-6801
+ 56-7.56
-30-65,,
+ 1-8943
-64,665
+76-0608
+ 'rill',
+79-6314
- H-7873
- 55-"5>6
+ 39994
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+ .3-8956
- .S-.3.7
- .6. 396
-406-8365
+ 'I'SSi
+ 301-89..
- 53.868
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- .6-6770
+ .4-.S46
- 6-4497
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+.05-3837
- 47-9079
+ .9-4345
- S6;4.37
- 31-88.5
+ 1.0-7643
- .84-4784
+.,1-0845
- 347658
- .04-9068
-.38-9996
- 6-9153
- 89-5797
+ '6-8854
+ .02,798
+22,-04.3
- 78-6.,.
- 14-8694
- 78-6111
Villus
- 14-8694 + 90-30=8
- 8.6938 - 36-8659
+4860040 + 8-6,08
- 67-1409
ty-iiii
-3817-48 = 1 +16-8757
+ 1969-71 = 1 - 8-0055
+ SO,.-o, = j -4,-4,73
+ 1-1566 ; +8S-8198
+18-1681 - 0-6309
-0-S668 1+16-7,3=
-51-3403
+.7-943.
+ 58-.943
+ .7-7.84
: j=:9833
- =9-4044
+ 16-7865
-1- .68-561.
+ 188-884.
- SO-.869
+ .09-5.78
+ 8-0638
- '.-5565
+ S!;979.
+ 146-996,
- 7-6706
+ 93-S5.9
_ 56-6,8.
+ 6-9960
- 78-..9.
+ 47-361.
+ 99.969
- ,5-. .65
-10,-4818
+ 28-0964
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+158-0640
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+147-5975
- ,6-8659
- 73-4149
- 1.-3468
-,4,-,3, 5 1 + ., 4-9380
t'i',-i°<.
+ ii+'938o
+199-1100
£(n7j)=621 724-8 ; or mean value of n = + 37-3 for the elenienta Nos. l-^tS.
(11)
GAUSSIAN CONST Report, Brit.
Assoc. 1848. Erman.
Log. coef.
Log. coef.
Log. coej coef. Log. coef.|Log. coef.|Log. coef.|Log. coef.j
At
Acf'-o.
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9-85059
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)-39o827* 9-915497* 0-14256 0-072177*
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8-902857*
8-76661 734 c
3-373717* 9-919787* 0-16693 0-030697*
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9-82930
9-3439471
9'i9394 937 0-392437* 9-853957* 0-18317 0-033177*
Ite
9-81483
9-4347471
9-281671525 0-399217*9-825207*0-18809 0-035027*
It<
9-77780
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9-44786 1625 <
3-409297*
J-716267*
3-20S00 0-025207*
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9-49064 152
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5-663127*
3-21407
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9-55297 I068
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9-60181 {170
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9-128497?
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9-60727 944
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8-817707*
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9-60723 517
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99596971
(12)
PRIMARY EQUATIONS FOR THE CORRECTIONS OF THE GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS FOR 1829 (Conlinued).
[lleport, Brit. Assoc. 1848. Ermaii.
Solion. m J obi.n„l rfmenli L.liliide I-"!- E»«l. . .„ „ Log. coef. Log. coe(. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. corf. Log. coef. Log. corf. Log. cocf. Log. cocf. Log. cocf. Log cod. Log. corf.'Log. corf. Log. coef. Log. cocL Log. cocf. Log. coef Log. cocf. Log. corf. Log, cocf. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coeL Log. corf.
3iii
-15 A 45
- i .9 11
- 3 5' 14
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+ . )0 i8
+ 5 SJ .0
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+ .6 i6 i!
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+»7 14 1
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+ 34 44 35
+36 so 47
+ 39 1' S3
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IONS OF THE
[Report, Brit. Assoc. 1848. Ennan.
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8-58260
9-82420?!
9-54874?!
8-67111?!
o-o66i6?!
009834?!
0-10201?!
9-73560
977115
9-90369
9*95323
3200
9-99065
9-88876
9-86575
9-83563
9-82619
9-81463
9-80131
0-17155
0-18054
0-18992
— 00
8-65706
8-81690
9-11860
9-01787
9-04844
9-05423
8-91076
9'05535
9'i6i2i
9-28688
9-39010
9-45380
9'5i307
9'55933
9-57868
9-58103
9-70963?! 9-57035
9-76463?! :9-54466
9-82230?!
9-85579?!
9-87522?!
9-88886?!
0-11249
0-11137
0-10226
9-40839?!
9-14562?!
8-29041?!
0-00083
0-02231
-01649
9'99559
9-96965
9-96656
9-47700
9-27891
9-02513
8-17930
9-53561?!
9-26128?!
8-39274?!
9-98527?!
9-99571?!
9-99992?!
9-66577
9-66455
9-73312
9-78211
9-82614
9-83404
PRIMARY EQUATIONS FOR THE CORRECTIONS OF THE GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS FOR 1829 (Co
[Report, Riil. Assoc. 1818. Eiiiia
s Olid observed elements.
1 -*:.„ i„ ^°'''S- East, , „„ „ Log. coet Log. coef. Log. coef- Log. coef-.Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. coef. Log. cocf. Log. coef.'Log. ooef. Log. eocf. Log. couf. Log. <-oef. Log. cocf. Log. cocf. Log. coef.JLog. coef. Log. cocf. Log. coef.tLog. cocf. Log. cocf.lLoR. coof. Lor. cocf-
l^atituuc. (jregn^ci, uog. n. ^^.o ^^,, ^^,,i, ^^~ ^i,i_ j^,3_ ^^,.a_ ^gi,,_ ^^i.* ^^,o_ j^.j, iA».'. V'- '!*'■-• V'- ] ^A". V"- ^s"- -i**'- •!?-"■■ M". Jj'-". Jjr'.'. lh'\
MotlierlMi,:.
North Scji
Souiul near Coiieiiliagcn
Baltic
Giiir of Pinlaod
Snmll Hnxhour of CronBtc
31J 50 35
3H SJ J8
3ZI SI 50
321 3S
319 55
9-31636
9'=^'3SS
615851
'49594"
31985.1
38444"
^75+7'
816061
8684in
98054)1
gg970H
■99745.1
■99978"
'99S6on
■97605.*
920150
8661m
799760
9-645S<
5-610510
735380
■74474" ,994343n
■S'4i9»l9'9905ii
'4081:11 ,9'9Sj84i
9-5968
94807
9-137840
53104
66033
9-83638.
9-81143.,
975319'
8-585. »
66175
3'375
9-36586
3531S
9"3S793
9-81418
_ 65ii8b
9-65398^
■91585
9-91991
9*93391
9'55757»
9-49693 r.
417360
367500
'99813
9-99901
9-99977
■94897
993459 993S73
9959SS 99*'9'S
■481850 99693:
'668190 9-9451:
■819460 9f7439
I
-00
9-1456!!.
_oo
fiiotm
■65706
oooolj
00.6,5
■01787
J054.3
9'9S'S6
iport, Brit. Assoc. 1848. Erman.
SULTING FROM 61& TO 1830. ^
Ah^-K
Ag3
Ah^
Ag^-
Ag^.\
Ah^-K
10" 1 200
4-8254
48'3232
33-0834
4-9707
9-0877
0-3462
79-3637
38-6233
37-1296
10-8705
125-6877
56-5210
1-7727
25-3961
54-"4ii5
47-0076
10-3064
107-2394
40-7005
16-4074
150-6053
1-5021
85-4451
+ 8-0118
S"8373
- 20-0082
+ 66-9339
- 6-1487
- 12-6693
- 6-1519
- 10-2473
+ 11-8660
- 3*3584
- 0-4610
- 56-5210
+ 169-7015
- 13-0016
- 9'783i
4- 74" 1 594
- 9"9759
+ 6-0358
- 53'423i
+ 107-3407
- 17-5259
- 34"4533
+ 14-5636
- 83-6846
- 15'
+ 43'
+ 3'
1048
8090
7562
6-7196
+ 82-5285
+ 3515872
+ 6-I4571
— 36-11764
- 52^^5733
- 2i-:5557
+ 54'!57oo
— 1-14070
- 13'
+273'
- 6o'
5259
2024
4931
+ I9l3°57
— 6-19859
— i9-j6o24
— 12-0238
— I7't55a7
+ 127-8179
+ 26'4879
+ 103^8351
— 5+9890
+ 14-9021
+ i'5337
+ 92-6496
28-2315
+ iT57°7
+ 21-6373
— 76-2811
+ 37876
41-8180
+ 86-6163
+ o'4633
+ 150-6053
— 34*4533
+ 26-5715
+ 25-0846
+ 10-6602
+ 249-6279
— 7-8700
+ 50-4110
— 30*9668
+ 10-4879
+496-6484
— 2-8865
+ 103-3059
11-4234
+ 29-5294
— 0-9272
— 57792
+ 66-6874
— 30-3242
+ 5*5452
+ 84*5546
— 246-4165
— 14-8216
+ 48-0652
+ 1-5021
+ 14*5636
+ 103-6081
-107-3886
+ 36-1565
— 4*3294
+ 110-8758
+ 17*6774
+ 18-2472
— 180-8351
+ 346-7320
+ 35-2622
— 42-2356
— 1-2964
+ 31*9533
— 44*4576
+ 9*9717
— 41-2272
— 16-2815
+ 331-0581
+ 128-1702
— 31*0540
+ 0-6839
+ 85-4451
— 83-68
— 5-9906
-113-1507
+ 132-7150
+ 87-6357
+ 18-3827
+ 152-1985
+ 14-3237
— 44-98
+ 103*3059
+ 35-2622
+ 375*3757
94-1 546-0.
rman's Note in Rep. Brit. Ai
(14)
[Report, Brit. Assoc. 1818. En
FINAL EQUATIONS FOR THE CORRECTIONS OF THE 24 GAUSSIAN CONSTANTS, RESULTING FROM 610 MAGNETIC ELEMENTS ODSERVED IN THE YEARS 1828 TO 1830.
ij".
V-'.
-•■■
V-'-
iA".».
a/-'.
!!«<■■.
V-'-
M....
V-'-
V-'-
M>\
V-'-
M".
V--
4«'->.
V-"-
is--'.
M....
v-
M". ij..".
aji...
lUi-'.
- elr.s-
+ S4-3JSJ
+ 0-2S.9
+ o-»5»9
+ 34-9167
+ 4-S406
+ 7
+ 4
+47
3710
1^5
+ 4-1917
- 2-2767
-23-2279
— 11-7069
+ 21-9510
- 0-8719
+ 5-8437
+ 61S11
+ 1-8232
— 20-4717
- ■9;5S62
+ 6-1005
:
17-4553
22-3895
26-0215
+ 47-4200
+ 1-3014
+ 19-2450
+33-0997
+ 4-931I
+ 10-1200
+ 4-8254
+ 483232
+ 8-0118
- 5-8373
- 15-0235
+ 43-2241
+ 22-1.67
+ 16-6367
- 28-4275
+ ,l\l\l
+ 25-2173
- 8-1861
+ 23-9173
+ .-4030
- 31-8097
+ .-0748
+
11-7988
17-6311
+ 3-7362
+ 14-9011
+ 1-5337
+ 91-6496
+ ij-tijj
- 1-2964
+ ''s;;'-
+ 4-1917
-11-7069
- 2-2767
+21-9510
+ S-»437
+ 6
2279
,111
+67-5788
- S-4S«6
+ 106-3771
- .;783i
+ 182-9105
+ 39;7iii
- S-5b22
- 6-3640
+
18-3749
- 3-4S40
I lt-26"
+ 7-3895
- 10-3497
- 33;o«34
- 9-0877
+ 66-9339
- 6-1487
- 12-6693
- 6-6530
+ 82-9 14S
+ 35-2497
+ 6-2834
- 63-2669
+ 49-2086
+ 4-0373
- 19-9280
+ 10-3122
+ 2-9386
+ 66-6465
- 64-4010
— 34-6407
+
+
80-4974
8-5564
8-6918
+ 7-7196
+ 66-5.15
- 6I-J871
iSl
+ 66-68?4
- 30-3141
- 44.4576
+ 9-9717
+7951-76=
-■9-SS6«
+ 1-8232
-22-3895
+ 1
1005
+39-7251
- 6-3640
- 3-3573
+ 4-7147
+ 18-9315
- 32-9670
- 8-9811
+ 18-3749
+ 199-9683
+ 21-9742
|-|ii
+
+
+ 1
060-7115
+ 46-8308
+48-0830
+ 0-3461
- 79-3637
- 38-6233
+ I1-8660
+ 6-1970
- 36-0188
- 52->429
-115-7189
-437-8812
+ 45-4839
+ 598-2705
+ 10-80.3
- 13-0367
+ 181-7060
+ 7-5844
+ 140454
+ 29-64.2
+ 4.-8175
+
+
74-3765
14-0369
88-2634
-161-1764
+ 1015,33
- 7628..
+ 3-7876
- 4;-8i8o
+ 5-5452
+ 84-5 546
-246-4165
- 16-28.5
+33.-058.
+ .28-1702
-115.S5-
- 483'3S =
+47-4200
+ 10-1S0O
+ .-J0.4
+ 33-0997
+ 4-8254
+ '9
+ 4
+48
2450
93"
- 3-4840
- 4-4713
-33-0834
- 4-6210
+ 7;3895
- 12-2631
- 9-0877
+ 4S;7|73
+ 0-3462
- i;3S77
- 79-3637
+
+
46-B308
,8-0830
38-6133
+147-1036
+ 37-1296
- 1-0834
+948025
+ 10-S705
+ 37-1196
+ 10-8705
+ 125-6877
- 3-3584
- 0-4610
- 56-5210
- 11-5801
+ 54-6746
- 26-6472
+ .0-3483
+ 15-396.
- 28-5630
+ 5-4.70
- 54-4.. 5
+131-60,7
+ 47-0076
- s-2947
+ 77-0113
+ 10-3064
+ 46-2653
+ 9-7145
+ .07-2394
+
18-7462
11-7952
40-7005
+ 98-5700
+ 16-4070
+ 86-6163
+ 0-4633
+ .50-6053
- 14-8216
+ 48-0652
+ 1-S02.
- 3. '0540
+ 0-6S39
+ 85-445.
-5514-94-
+ !-oii8
+21-1167
- S-8373
+43-2241
+ 3-0110
+ -
+ 16
0082
+66-9339
- 6-6530
+ 6-2834
- 6-.4J7
+ !";9>48
- 12-6693
+ 35-2497
+ 88-7598
+ 6-1970
- 36-0188
- ■25.7189
+
11-8660
52-2429
437-8822
- 3-3584
: •a:;2
— 0-4610
+ 54-6746
+ 10-3483
- 5652,o
+ 25-3961
+ '69;70.5
- 's-TSsi
+ 173-7914
- 9-783.
- 60-5974
+771-8434
+ 74-1594
- 9;97S9
+ ^6-0358
- 29-9841
- 12-47.5
- 39-779.
+
55-3.79
+ 127-2024
+333-493.
- 34-4533
+ 26-57.5
+ 25-0S46
+ 14-5636
+ 103-6081
-107-3886
- 83-6846
- 5-9906
+ 4°9''>4=
-18-4275
+ 1-948S
+23-9173
+ 10
+8.
+ 1
■038
.458
+49-2086
-19-9280
+ 2-9386
+ 4-0373
+ 10-31.2
+ 666465
- "^f-^
+ 45-4839
- 130367
+ 7-5844
+ 598-1705
+ 181-7060
+ 14-0454
+
+
+
10-8013
68-0324
19-6411
- 2S-5630
+ 132-6097
+ 5-4'7o
+77-0223
+ 10-3064
+ 74-1594
+ 19-7635
- 19-2157
- 19-9842
+860-2590
V"rZl
+ .39-492.
+ 336;3444
+ 3-0666
+ 1.0-8808
— 16-9860
+ 87-6020
+ 2.-9138
+
49-4938
27-3690
13-1383
- 4!-9"59
+ 101-6024
+ 10-6601
+249-6279
- 7-8700
+ 36-.S65
- 4-3294
+ 110-8758
+ .32-7.50
+ 87-6357
+ 18-3827
+4667-11 =
+ 1900-16 =
-31-8097
+ 1-0748
-11-7988
+10-8090
+49
+ 3
7562
-65-0305
+ 7-"96
+ 8-5564
+ 66-5285
- 34-6407
+ 3S-S034
+ 74;376s
+ 14-0369
- 162-1764
+
+
+
iiiii
+ 46-1653
+ 18-7462
+ 9-7145
+98-S7~
+107-2394
- 40-7005
+107-3407
- 175259
- 12+715
+ 127-2024
+ 333-493'
- .6-9860
-249-4938
- "■3057
+ 87-6010
- 27-3690
- 41-9859
+ 21-9138
+ .3. 383
+ 101-6024
+.SS-.079
- 83-5651
+465-8773
- 4.-5527
- 7-0138
+ 7.2-8.79
- 30-9668
+ .0-4879
+ .7-6774
+ i8;=47"
+ 152-1985
- 44-9890
+'"7-74-
+6«S9-5«-
+ 14-90Z1
+ ''5337
+29-5294
- 1-2964
+92
+ 3'
6496
-28-2515
- 5-7792
-44-4576
+ 9'97i7
+ 2.-6373
- 30-3141
- 76-281J
+ S-54S2
- 16-2815
+ 3-7876
+ 84-5546
+ 33--05S'
+
41-siso
246-4165
+ 86-6163
- 14-8116
- 31-0540
+ 0-4633
+48-0652
+ 0-6839
+ 150-6053
+ 15011
- 8^-6846
+ 26-57,5
+ 103-6081
- 5-9906
+ 15-0846
-107-3886
+ 10-6602
+ 36.565
+ 1327150
+ 249-6279
+ 87-6357
- 7-8700
+ 110-8758
+ .8-3817
+ 50-4110
+ 17-6774
+152-1985
+
+
30-9668
.4-3237
+ 10-4879
- 44-9890
+496-6484- 2-8865
- 2-8S65 +346-7320
+ 35-2622
+ 375-3757
*'.D, This table is corrected a
=9*1 5*6-0.
Erman's Note in Rep. Brit. Assoc. 1847, page 377.
REPORT RELATIVE TO THE TORONTO OBSERVATORY. 99
Report relative to the expediency of recommending the continuance of
the Toronto Magnetical and Meteorological Observatory until De-
cember 1850, adopted by a Committee of the British Association at
Swansea, August 1848, consisting of the following Members : — Lord
Wrottesley, Chairman, the Dean of Ely, Rev. Dr. Lloyd,
President of the Royal Irish Academy, fmc? Lieut.-Col. Sabine.
At the Cambridge meeting of the British Association, it was recommended
that the Toronto Observatory should be continued on its then footing until
the 31st of December 1848, unless in the mean time arrangements could be
made for its permanent establishment.
The Observatory is built on ground lent by the Council of King's College
at Toronto without charge, under the condition that when Government
should discontinue the conduct of the Observatory, the building should be
given over to the College, who would thereby have the option of continuing
the observations should it appear desirable to do so.
The building of the University, in which some progress had been made,
has been suspended until a bill shall have passed the Canadian Parliament
by which the Board of Management will be determined ; when there is
reason to hope that the Observatory may be placed under the charge of the
Professors of the College, and become a permanent establishment ; to which
desirable result Government may possibly contribute by making a transfer of
the instruments as well as of the buildings-
The question to be now considered is therefore the expediency of recom-
mending the continuance of the Observatory by Government for a year or
two longer, until the affairs of the College shall be in a condition to enable
the question of its permanent establishment to be brought before the authori-
ties by whom the College shall hereafter be conducted.
The present state of the Observatory with regard to objects accomplished
and objects for the accomplishment of which provision is made, is as
follows : —
Six years of hourly-observation were completed on the 30th June in the
present year. This has been considered a sufficient duration for this la-
borious routine, and as furnishing a sufficient basis for the deduction of
mean numerical values and mean diurnal variations of the magnetic and me-
teorological elements for every five days throughout the year. From the
1st of July 1848, therefore, night observation has ceased except at times of
great magnetical and meteorological disturbance ; and a reduction of one of
the assistants has consequently been made. Observations are now made at
convenient hours of the day, which compared with the mean values at the
same hours in the corresponding periods of. the six years, furnish, for the
meteorological elements, the non-periodic variations which have become so im-
portant a feature in the extensive generalisations to which the science of
meteorology has advanced ; whilst for the magnetic elements they furnish a
continuation of the differential results from which, assisted by monthly ab-
solute determinations, the secular and annual variations, which necessarily
require a longer series of observation than the diurnal, are in progress
of elucidation. By the aid of equations furnished by the six years' hourly
series, the.^e objects can now be carried out by a system of observation which
is comparatively extremely light ; so much so as to be already within the
compass of the College or other local direction. It does not however pro-
vide for the observation of disturbances, which require tlie continuous, or
almost continuous observation of several instruments siinultaneouslv.
100 REPORT 1848.
For these, consequently, there is needed eitlier a larger staff of assistants,
than it would be reasonable to expect in a permanent establishment, or a
provision of efficient and proved self-recording instruments. Accordingly
for some months past, and particularly since the termination of the hourly
series, the attention of the Director has been turned to the introduction and
practical trial of photographic instruments of this nature. From prudential
reasons, one instrument only of each kind, one magnetical and one meteoro-
logical, has been thus fitted ; but the success with these is such as appears
fully to justify the application of similar apparatus to the other instruments.
The chemical difficulties which might have been apprehended as obstacles
to the employment of such instruments in a distant colony, appear to be
surmounted, but experience is almost daily suggesting modifications and im-
provements, for which both apparatus and advice are required from home.
In this respect therefore the Observatory cannot be said to be yet in the
state in which it might be advantageously transferred to other hands ; some
short time longer is required for completing the equipment and comparing
the performance of the self-recording instruments during disturbances with
actual observations, for which latter a sufficient number of assistants is still
retained.
There is no other observatory in America at which magnetic disturbances
are recorded ; and it is greatly to be desired that this record in a part of the
globe so important in magnetic respects should not be wanting for the ge-
neral comparison.
A few months' longer continuance in the present hands is also desirable
for the purpose of bringing to a satisfactory conclusion the comparisons
which have been instituted between the instruments by which the great body
of observations have been made, and others which have been subsequently
devised for attaining the same objects by other processes. There is reason
to believe that the result of these comparisons will be in many cases highly
satisfactory, in confirming the dependence which may be placed on the To-
ronto instruments and their results. The knowledge acquired by such com-
parisons is also likely to be very beneficial in guiding the selection of in-
struments hereafter for similar purposes in other colonies.
The cost of the Toronto Observatory with its present establishment (such
as is projjosed to be continued for a year or two longer) is £370 a-year, in-
cluding a contingent of £100 for repairs and incidentals of all kinds. In this
sum there is not included the regimental pay of the officer and non-commis-
sioned officers, because they remain on tlie strength of the Artillery and are
on the spot ready to serve in their military capacity should the public ser-
vice require it. The observations which would be made during this addi-
tional period would not require to be printed as before in detail; and would
form in substance a comparatively small appendix, which would have a place
in the concluding volume of the Toronto observations.
NOTICES
AND
ABSTRACTS OF COMMUNICATIONS
TO THE
BRITISH ASSOCIATION
FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE,
AT THE
SWANSEA MEETING, AUGUST 1848.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The Editors of the following Notices consider themselves responsible
only for the fidelity with which the views of the Authors are abstracted.
CONTENTS.
NOTICES AND ABSTRACTS OF MISCELLANEOUS
COMMUNICATIONS TO THE SECTIONS.
MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS.
Page
Rev. H. Lloyd on the Mean Results of Observations 1
Herr Plucker's Account of Experiments belonging to a new Magnetic
Action 2
Rev. Prof. Powell on an Explanation of the "Beads" and "Threads" in
Annular Eclipses 2
■ • on a new Case of Interference of Light 3
's Collected Observations of the Annular Eclipse of October
9, 1847 3
Dr. SiLjESTROM on those Variations of the Force and the Direction of the Ter-
restrial Magnetism which seem to depend on the Aurora Borealis 4
Mr. G. G. StOKES on a Difficulty in the Theory of Light 5
on the Refraction of Light beyond the Critical Angle 5
- on the Perfect Blackness of the Centre of Newton's Rings 7
• on the Resistance of the Air to Pendulums 7
Prof. W. Thomson on the Equilibrium of Magnetic or Diamagnetic Bodies of
any Form, under the Influence of the Terrestrial Magnetic Force 8
on the Theory of Electro-magnetic Induction 9
Professor Wheatstone on a means of determining the apparent Solar Time by
the Diurnal Changes of the Plane of Polarization at the North Pole of the
Sky 10
Mr. John Ball on rendering the Electric Telegraph subservient to Meteoro-
logical Research 12
Rev. J. Challis's Description of a New Instrument for observing the Ap-
parent Positions of Meteors (in a letter to the Assistant General Secretary) 13
Mr. Mansfield Harrison on a Self- Registering Thermometer (in a letter to
Prof. Phillips) 14
Mr. J. W. Childers's Comparative Temperature Table, showing the daily
average height of the Thermometer ; at Jersey, in 49° 11" N. ; at Torquay,
50° 30'" N. ; Hastings, 50° 52'" N. ; and Loudon, 51° 30"" N 16
Extracts from a Letter to Professor Wheatstone, from J. D. Hooker, M.D. 17
Sir W. Snow Harris on a General Law of Electrical Discharge 19
Mr. J. P. Joule on the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat and on the Constitu-
tion of Elastic Fluids 21
Mr. John Jenkins's Notices of Aurorae observed at Swansea 22
*- — Tables of Meteorological Phsenomena observed at Swansea 23
Dr. John Lee on Meteorological Observations continued at Alten in Finmark 32
Mr. J. F. Cole's Observations upon the Meteorological Observations for 1846
and 1847 from Alten in Lapland (in a letter lo Dr. Lee) 32
Mr. Matthew Moggridge on two cases of uncommon Atmospheric Refraction 33
Lieut. Maury's Observations accompanying Wind and Current Charts of the
North Atlantic 34
Mr. Thos. Rankin's Meteorological Observations at Huggate for 1847.. 36
IV CONTENTS.
Page
Mr. George Roberts on a remarkable Tide in the British Channel, Friday,
July 7, 1848, as it appeared at Lyme Regis, Dorset 37
Rev. T. R. Robinson's Note on ' Shooting Stars' seen August 10, at Armagh 37
Mr. J. Scott Russell on certain Effects produced on Sound by the rapid
motion of the observer 37
Capt. Stanley on the Lengths and Velocities of Waves (extract from a Letter
to the Rev. Dr. Whewell) « 38
Lieut.-Colonel Sykes on the Fall of Rain on the Table-land of Uttree Mullay,
Travancore, during the year 1846, from observations made by General CuUen,
Resident in Travancore 39
on Atmospheric Disturbances, and on a remarkable Storm
at Bombay on the 6th of April 1848 41
Sir David Brewster on the Compensation of Impressions moving over the
Retina, as seen in Railway Travelling 47
on the Vision of Distance as given by Colour 48
on the Visual Impressions upon the Foramen Centrale of
the Retina 48
Examination of Bishop Berkeley's " New Theory of
Vision" 49
CHEMISTRY.
Mr. A. Claudet on the Action of the Red, Orange and Yellow Rays upon
Iodized and Bromo-iodized Silver Plates after they have been affected by day-
light, and other Phenomena of Photography 50
Rev. Thomas Exley on the Laws of Chemical Combinations and the Volumes
of Gaseous Bodies ; 50
i on the Motion of the Electric Fluid along Conductors... 52
Mr. John Goodman on the Identity of the Existences or Forces of Light, Heat,
Electricity, Magnetism and Gravitation 53
Mr. W. R. Grove on the peculiar Cooling Effects of Hydrogen and its Com-
pounds in cases of Voltaic Ignition 54
Mr. James Higgin on the Colouring Matters of Madder 54
Mr. Robert Hunt on the Influence of Light in preventing Chemical Action... 54
Prof. W. A. Miller's Analysis of Wrought Iron produced by Cementation
from Cast Iron 55
Dr. Moffatt on the existence of Ozone in the Atmosphere 56
Mr. James Nasmyth on a peculiar property of Coke 56
— on the Chemical Character of Steel 57
Dr. John Percy on some of the Alloys of Tungsten 57
Mr. R. Phillips on some Properties of Alumina 58
Mr. W. B. Randall on Common Salt as a Poison to Plants ; 58
Prof. R. E. Rogers and Prof. W. B. Rogers on a New Process for analysing
Graphite, Natural and Artificial 59
on the Oxidation of the Diamond
in the Liquid Way 60
on the Absorptiori of Carbonic
Acid by Sulphuric Acid 61
Mr. J. Tennant's Notices of Pseudomorphous Crystals from Volcanic Districts
of India 61
Mr. W. S. Ward on a Galvanometer 62
on the Electromotive Force, Dynamic Effect and Resistance of
various Voltaic Combinations 62
Mr. Francis Whishaw on the Chemical Composition of Gutta Percha 62
CONTENTS. V
GEOLOGY AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
Page
Mr. Spence Bate on Fossil Remains recently discovered in Bacon Hole,
Gower; also other Remains from beneath the Bed of the River Tawey.... 62
Dr. Beke on the Sources of the Nile in the Mountains of the Moon 63
Mr. Charles' Bun BURY on the occurrence in the Tarentaise of certain species
of Fossil Plants of the Carboniferous Period, associated in the same bed with
Belemnites 64
Mr. Starling Benson on a Boulder of Cannel Coal found in a vein of com-
mon bituminous Coal 64
• on the relative Position of the various Qualities of Coal
in the South- Wales Coal-Measures 65
Mr. Joseph Bonomi's Notice of a Map of Ancient Egypt of the Time of An-
toninus Pius 66
Professor Buckman on the Discovery of some Remains of the Fossil Sepia in
the Lias of Gloucestershire 66
on the Plants of the "Insect Limestone" of the Lower
Lias 66
on some Experimental Borings in search of Coal 67
Dr. Carpenter on Marginopora and allied Structures 67
Mr. William Cunnington on a Peculiarity in the Structure of one of the
Fossil Sponges of the Chalk, Choanites Kiinigi, Mantell 67
Dr. Daubeny's Reply to an Objection of Mr. Hopkins to the ' Chemical Theory
of Volcanos,' contained in the last volume of the Transactions 67
Professor E. Forbes's Notice of Discoveries among the British Cystidea, made
since the last Meeting 68
Mr. Evan Hopkins on the Polarity of Cleavage Planes, their conducting
Power, and their Influence on Metalliferous Deposits 69
Capt. L. L. BoscAWEN Ibbetson on the Position of the Chloritic Marl or
Phosphate of Lime Bed in the Isle of Wight 69
Mr. A. Milward's Account of an extensive Mud-slide in the Island of Malta 70
attempt to illustrate the Origin of "Dirt-bands" on
Glaciers 71
Mr. W. Morgan on some Bones found in the Bed of the Tawey 71
Mr. F. MosES on the Subsidences which have taken place in the Mineral Basin
of South Wales, between the Llynvi Valley on the East, and Penllergare on
the West 71
Professor Oldham on the Geology of the County of Wicklow 71
Mr. G. W. Ormerod on the Drainage of a Portion of Chat Moss 72
Mr. Augustus Petermann on the Hydrography of the British Isles 73
Professor Ramsay on pome points connected with the Physical Geology of the
Silurian district between Builth and Pen-y-bont, Radnorshire 73
Professor H. D. Rogers on the Geology of Pennsylvania 74
Mr. William Price Struve's Observations on the Great Anticlinal Line of
the Mineral Basin of South Wales 75
Mr. Ferdinand Werne's Remarks on the Sources of the White Nile (com-
municated by Sir Robert H. Schomburgk) 78
Rev. D. Williams's Supplemental Notice on the Geology of Lundy Island ... 79
Sir H. T. De la Beche on the Geology of portions of South Wales, Glouces-
tershire, and Somersetshiie 79
vi CONTENTS.
ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, INCLUDING PHYSIOLOGY.
Page
Mr. J. G. Jeffreys on the recent Species of Odostomia, a Genus of Qaste-
ropodous Mollusks inhabiting the Seas of Great Britain and Ireland 79
Professor Owen on the Os huraero-capsulare of the Ornithorhynchus 79
, on the Communications between the Tympanum and Palate
in the Crocodiles 79
Lieut.-Col. Portlock's Note on Sounds emitted by MoUusca 80
Mr. LovELL Reeve on a new Species of Argonaut, A. Otvenii, with some Ob-
servations on the A. gondola, Dillwyn 80
Lieut. S PRATT on the Influence of Temperature upon the Distribution of the
Fauna in the ^gean Sea 81
Mr. T. L. Taylor's Notice of an Observation at Bathcaloa, Ceylon, on the
Sounds emitted by Mollusca 82
Dr. A. Waller on Cases of impaired Vision in which Objects appear much
smaller than natural 82
on the Luminous Spectra excited by Pressure on the Retina
and their application to the Diagnosis of the Affections of the Retina and
its appendages 82
'a Microscopic Observations on the Movement of the Human
Blood in the Capillaries, and on the Structure of the Nerves in the Glands
at the Inferior Surface of the Tongue 83
Dr. Thomas Williams on the Structure and Functions of the Branchial
Organs of the Annelida and Crustacea 83
1 on the Physical Conditions regulating the vertical
Distribution of Animals in the Atmosphere and the Sea 83
Mr. C. C. Babington's Additions to the British Flora, and an Exhibition of
Drawings prepared for publication in the Supplement to English Botany... 84
Mr. John Blackwall on Periodical Birds observed in the Years 1847 and 1848
near Llanwrst '. 84
Mr. Joshua Clarke on the parasitic Character of Rhinanthus Crista- Galti ... 84
Mr. A. Henfrey's Note on the Development of Pollen 84
Mr. E. Lankester on some Vegetable Monstrosities illustrating the Laws of
Morphology 85
Mr. Matthew Moggridgb on a Peculiarity in the Protococcus nivalis 86
Mr. John Phillips on the Colour Stripes of a Rose {Rosa sempervirens) , single 86
Mr. G. H. K. Thwaites on an apparently undescribed state of the Palmellese,
with afew Observations on Gemmation in the Lower Tribes of Plants 8?
Mr. W. H. Crook on a supposed connexion between an insufficient Use of Salt
in Food and the Progress of Asiatic Cholera 88
Dr. Richard Fowler's Attempt to give a Physiological Explanation how
Persons both Blind, Deaf and Dumb from Infancy interpret the Commu-
nications of others by their Touch only 88
Dr. Macdonald on the erroneous division of the Cervical and Dorsal Vertebrae,
and the connection of the First Rib with the Seventh Vertebra, and the
normal position of the Head of the Rib in Mammals 89
Professor Owen on the Homologies and Notation of the Dental System in
Mammalia 91
■ on the Value of the Origins of Nerves as a Homological Cha-
racter 93
CONTENTS.
ETHNOLOGY.
Page
Dr. Beke on the Geographical Distribution of the Languages of Abessinia and
the Neighbouring Countries 94
Professor Elton on the Ante- Columbian Discovery of America 94
Mr. John Hogg on a quantity of Human Bones discovered in a Field near
Billingham, in the County of Durham .' 95
Professor Retzius' Measurements of a Skull considered to be Burgundian 96
Notes on a Kirgis Skull 96
Sir Robert H. Schomburgk's Remarks to accompany a Comparative Voca-
bulary of eighteen Languages and Dialects of Indian Tribes inhabiting
Guiana 96
on a Uniform System to reduce Unwritten Lan-
guages to Alphabetical Writing in Roman Characters 99
Mr. John Phillips's Ethnographical Note on the Vicinity of Charnwood Forest 99
Dr. L. TuTSCHBK on the Tumali Language 100
on the Fazoglo Language 100
Archdeacon Williams on the Gael, Breton and Cymry 101
STATISTICS.
Mr. Edward Balfour's Observations on the means of maintaining the Health
of Troops in India 101
Mr. Kenrick's Contributions to the Statistics of Darlaston 101
Mr. Joseph Fletcher on the Progress and Character of Popular Education
in England and Wales, as indicated by the Criminal Returns, 1837-1847 •■• 102
Sir J. P. Boileau's Statistics on Mendicancy 105
Mr. W. Harding on Facts bearing on the Progress of the Railway System of
Great Britain 105
Rev. B. Powell's Contributions to Academical Statistics 105
Mr. Cadogan Williams on the desirableness of extending to the Working
Classes the opportunity of purchasing deferred annuities, as a provision
for old age 105
Mr. Joseph Fletcher on the Moral and Educational Statistics of England and
Wales 105
Mr. John Crawford on the Vital Statistics of a District in Java ; with prelimi-
nary remarks upon the Dutch possessions in the East, by Colonel Sykes 112
Mr. Joseph Hume on the Annual Increase of Property, and of Exports and
Imports in Canada. Communicated by J. Fletcher 112
Mr. Augustus Petermann on the Distribution of the Population of Great
Britain and Ireland 113
Mr. Joseph Fletcher on the Statistics of Brittany and the Bretons 114
Colonel Sykes on the Statistics of Civil Justice in Bengal in which the Go-
vernment is a party 116
Mr. J. C. Dennis on Improvements in the Reflecting Circle, more particularly
in reference to an instrument for the purpose of measuring angular distances
of the Sun and Moon ^7
Mr. Joseph Glynn on the application of Steam Power to the Drainage of
Marshes and Fen Lands 117
VIU CONTENTS.
Page
Professor E. Hodgkinson on Investigations undertaken for the purpose of fur-
nishing data for the Construction of Mr. Stephenson's Tubular Bridges at
Conway and Menai Straits II9
Mr. Richard Roberts on a new Element of Mechanism II9
Mr. H. E. Strickland on Anastatic Printing and its various combinations ... 120
Mr. William Price Struv^ on the Ventilation of Collieries, with a descrip-
tion of a new Mine- Ventilator 120
on a new Low-pressure Atmospheric Railway 120
Mr. William S. Ward on a new mechanical arrangement for communicating
Signals and Working Breaks on Railways 121
Mr. Francis Whishaw on the application of Gutta Percha to the Arts and
Manufactures 122
on the Patent Multitubular Pipes and Panergous
Joints 123
• on the Subaqueous Rope for Telegraphic and other
purposes 123
on the " Uniformity of Time" and other Telegraphs . 123
' on the Improved Velocentimeter 124
■ on the Telekouphonon, or Speaking Telegraph 125
ADDENDA.
Mr. Albany Hancock on the Boring of MoUusca into Rocks 125
Prof. E. Forbes and Robert MacAndrew on some Marine Animals from the
Bristol Channel 125
Mr. W. C. Williamson on Polystomella crispa and the Classification of Fora-
minifera 125
Rev. J. Bradley on the Boring of Sabellse 125
Mr. William Thompson on Additions to the Fauna of Ireland 125
NOTICES AND ABSTRACTS
OF
MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS TO THE SECTIONS.
MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS.
On the Mean Results of Observations. By the Rev. H.Lloyd, D.D., M.E.LA.
It is well known that the mean value of any magnetical or meteorological element,
for any day, may be had appxo\ima.te\y,hy taking the arithmetical mean of any num-
ber of observed values obtained at equal m^eri'a^s throughout the twenty-four hours ;
the degree of approximation, of course, increasing with the number. It is important
to ascertain the law which governs this approximation.
Any periodical function, u, of the variable v, being represented by the formula
u=a(, + ffli sin (v + «i) + «2 sm (2 w + Xn) + &c.,
in which a^ is the true mean, or
«(,=-— / udv.
if Ml, M,, Mg, &c., ie„, denote the values of the function w, corresponding to those of
the variable
2 w 4 :r , 2 (w — 1) TT
n n «
it may be shown that their arithmetical mean is equal to
aQ-\-an sin (« r + «„) + a2„ sin (2 nv + os2n) + &c.,
whatever be the value of v. Hence, as the original series is always convergent, we
have, when the number n is suflSciently great,
Co = — («i + Ms + % + &c. + M„),
nearly ; the limit of error being a,„ nearly. Hence, when the period in question is a
day, we learn that the daily mean value of the observed element will be given by the
meanof <M.-o equidistant observations, nearly, when Caand the higher coefficients are
negligible ; by the mean of three, when a^ and the higher coefficients are negligible ;
and so on.
The coefficient az is small in the case of the temperature ; the curve which repre-
sents the course of the diurnal changes of temperature being, nearly, the curve of
sines. In this case, then, the mean of the temperatures at any two homonymous
hours is, nearly, the mean temperature of the day. This fact has been long known
to meteorologists.
The Coefficient a-i is small in all the periodical functions with which we are con-
cerned in magnetism and meteorology : and therefore the daily mean values of these
functions will be given, very nearly, by the mean of any three equidistant observed
values. The truth of this was shown by the author in the case of the magnetic
decUnation, the atmospheric pressure, and temperature, as observed at the Magne-
tical Observatory of Dublin.
In choosing the particular hours for a continuous system of observations, we
should select those which correspond nearly to the maxima and minima of the observed
elements, so as to obtain also the daily range. This condition is fulfilled, in the
1848. B
2 REPORT — 1848.
case of the magnetic declination, very nearly, by the hours 6 a.m., 2 p.m., 10 p.m. ;
■which give, moreover, the maximum and minimum of temperature, and of the ten-
sion of vapour, nearly, and the maximum pressure of the gaseous atmosphere; and
if we add the intermediate hours 10 a.m., 6 p.m., we shall have, nearly, the prin-
cipal maxima and minima of the other two magnetical elements. The author ac-
cordingly proposes, as the best hours of observation in a limited system,
6 A.M., 10, 2 P.M., 6, 10.
The case is different where the course of the diurnal curve has been already obtained
from a more extended system of observations. In this case the mean of the day
may be inferred from observations taken at any hours whatever ; and the hours of
observation should therefore be chosen, chiefly, if not exclusively, with reference to
the diurnal range of the observed elements.
The author proceeded, in the next place, to consider the course to be pursued in
the reduction of a more extended system of observations (such as that prescribed by
the Royal Society in 1839, and adopted by all the magnetical observatories), when
some of the observations are deficient. He showed that, in this case, in deducing
the daily means from the remaining observations, we must attend, not only to the
elimination of the regular diurnal variation, but also to that of the irregular changes
of longer periods, which are sometimes (as in the case of the atmospheric pressure)
more influential in the result. With this view he determined the values of the
viean daily fluctuation for each of the elements already referred to; and compared
the mean values of the horary changes thence arising with that resulting from the
regular diurnal variation.
The author showed, finally, in what manner the monthly means of the results ob-
tained at any hour are to be corrected in the case of deficient observations, so as to
render them comparable with those in which none are wanting ; and he deduced the
probable values of these corrections for each element, with the view of ascertaining
in what cases the correction may be disregarded, and in what it is indispensable.
Account of Experiments belonging to a new Magnetic Action.
By Herr Plucker.
A crystal with one optical axis being brought between the two poles of a magnet,
there will be a repulsive force going out from each of the poles and acting upon the
optical axis. According to this action, the crystal, if suspended, will take such a
position that its optical axis is placed within the equatorial plane. When the crystal
has two optical axes there will be the same action on both, according to which the
line bisecting the acute angle, formed by the axis, will turn into the equatorial
plane. When the crystal is suspended in such a way that it may freely move round
any line whatever of the plane containing both axes, this plane will take the equa-
torial position. Thus in a crystal which is neither transparent nor shows any trace
of its crystalline structure, we may, by means of a magnet, find the optical axes :
at the same time we get a new proof of the connexion between light and magnetism.
When light is passing through a crystal, there are in general two directions where
it is affected in a quite distinct way : these same directions are acted upon by a
magnet.
On an Explanation of the '^'^ Beads" and " Tlireads" in Annular Eclipses.
By the Rev. Prof. Powell, F.R.S.
The principles on which this explanation is suggested are the following : —
1. The fact estabished by Mr. Airy, that the intensity of the sun's light increases
rapidly from the extreme edge of the disc to some short distance inwards. [See
Ast. Soc. Notices, vol. v. p. 216.]
2. The admitted law that irradiation increases wiih the intensity of the light.
On these grounds, when the irregularities of the moon's edge have their summits
beyond the limb of the sun, but their depressions within it, so that they leave patches
of light, these will be enlarged by irradiation, and will be much more enlarged as the
depression is deeper within the sun's limb, where the light is so much more intense ;
they will thus appear elongated in a direction perpendicular to the limb, if actually
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 3
broad at the top and shallow. When the summits come within the limb, then, by
the same causes, they will be melted down, or at least be reduced to their natural
proportions. But the encroachment of the solar light on the dark disc will be
greater towards the sides, where it is at a greater depth from the edge of the sun,
and there will be thus a general protuberance towards the point of contact.
As to the cause of the diminution of the sun's light at the edge we are in entire
ignorance. Again, dark glasses by diminishing the light may destroy the effect of
irradiation, and the power and aperture of the telescope are known greatly to in-
fluence its amount. Hence it is quite conceivable that under different conditions
the phaenomena may be greatly modified, or may not appear at all.
On a new Case of Interference of Light. By the Rev. Prof. Powell, F.R.S.
The principal experiment evincing this new kind of interference consists in placing
a plate of glass or other transparent substance in a prismatic vessel containing a
fluid (as e.g. oil of sassafras or anise with plate or crown-glass), so as to intercept
the upper or thicker half of the prism, when the spectrum is seen covered with dark
bands parallel to the edge of the prism, the number and breadth of which vary
greatly with the refractive powers of the plate and medium, and with
the thickness of the plate. For many combinations the plate must ^'S- ^•
be inserted in the way just described, or towards one end of the
spectrum, thus exhibiting an effect analogous to what was termed
" polarity " in the experiments by partial interception of Sir D.
Brewster: as in fig. 1. But for many combinations no bands are
produced by this arrangement. In these cases however, on placing
the plate to intercept the thinner part of the prism, as in fig. 2,
bands will be produced.
This remarkable relation, as well as the number and character of
the bands, can be all expressed by a formula derived from the simple
interference theory ; but for some more minute changes observed,
recourse must be had to the diffraction theory, as in Mr. Airy's in- ^'S- 2.
vestigations (Phil. Trans. 1840, 1841). These investigations have
been pursued by Mr. Stokes, of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
When plates of doubly refracting crystal are employed, two sets
of bands are seen superimposed, even in those of the most feeble
doubly refracting power, as quartz, &c. This may perhaps be ser-
viceable to the mineralogist for detecting this property when very
weak.
In general the number of bands observed in different cases agrees sufficiently well
with calculation, and the method may be applied inversely for finding the refractive
indices of one substance, the other being known. There is also a close analogy
between these bands and those described by the Baron von Wrede, though pro-
duced in a totally different manner. [See Taylor's Scient. Mem. vol. i. pt. 3.
p. 487.]
Observations of the Annular Eclipse of October 9, 1 847.
Collected by the Rev. Prof. Powell, F.R.S.
The British Association having at the last meeting printed and circulated " Sug-
gestions for the Observation of the Annular Eclipse," a copy of which is also in-
serted in the last volume of its Reports (Sectional proceedings, p. 16), it has ap-
peared desirable that at the present meeting a short statement should be laid before
the members of the observations made, as far as intelligence has been received.
Unfortunately the morning was cloudy over nearly the whole of that part of Eng-
land in which the eclipse was annular, so that numerous observers who might have
been expected to respond to the invitation of the Association, had no results to
communicate. On some parts of the east coast of Kent the eclipse was partially
seen, but not (as far as has been ascertained) in the annular phase.
It being uncertain whether Greenwich would or would not fall within the limit
of annularity, the Astronomer Royal, with the aid of several scientific friends,
B 2
4 REPORT — 1848.
equipped four stations to the north and three to the south of Greenwich, but the
cloudy state of the weather rendered the preparations useless.
In communication with the Astronomer Royal of Great Britain, the astronomers
of Italy made similar preparations at Padua, near the southern limit, but the wea-
ther was equally unpropitious. [See Astron. Soc. Annual Report, 1848 ; Notices,
vol. viii. p. 79.]
In other parts of the world, however, several observations were made. The chief
results, bearing on the physical inquiries referred to, are as follows : —
1. At Orleans (under the direction of the Bureau des Longitudes), MM. Mauvais
and Goujon observed, as the cusps approached the ends extended more rapidly, but
unequably and with a wriggling motion. Then one or two luminous points (beads)
detached but melted into one again. Just before the completion of the annulus
many such appeared, along the limb between the cusps, more or less extended but
all very tkin -. they finally united. The ring did not exceed a few seconds in breadth.
The dark intervals did not draw out into threads, but decreased both in length and
thickness. (This is difficult to understand.) Upon the whole, they observe, the
appearances were merely those of irregularities in the moon's edge, and not such as
to require any supposition of irradiation or diffraction to account for them. [Ast.
Soc. Notices, viii. 13.]
2. M. Schaub at Cilly in Styria observed the eclipse with a telescope having a
power of 40 and a red glass, and saw the annulus formed icithout any irregularity .
He then applied a power of 60 and a compound glass of complementary colours,
giving a white image, and noticed the lunar mountains projected on the sun's disc ;
the limb undulated, but continued circular up to the second contact, which was
a contact with the tops of the mountains first, leaving bright intervals, but without
distortion. [Ibid. p. 13.]
3. Capt. Jacob, at Bombay, with a 3^ feet Dollond, power 40, saw just before
the formation of the annulus a faint light outside the cusp. At the south cusp a
break as if from a projection on the moon's limb, which increased to about 1' in
breadth, attaching the limbs ; then elongated and suddenly broke, the ends being
jagged. At the termination of the annulus a portion of 30° on the limb was sud-
denly occupied by beads, too many to count, but which lasted only two seconds.
No light was seen about the moon off the sun. [Ibid. p. 27-]
4. Major Lysaght, at Hingolee, with 3§ Dollond, power 25, and glass giving a
greenish-yellow image, saw near contact the limb undulating, the edge " hillocky,"
which appearance subsided, till just at contact a dark band from one "hillock"
connected the limbs, followed by another : the mode of its disappearance was not
noticed. As the ring increased in breadth the limb of the moon became " pinnacled,"
and a blaze of light appeared on it. (This part of the description is very obscure.)
Then the limb became smooth again, except one hillock, which elongated and
formed a connecting band, as at first, and then broke in two. (This circumstance
seems extraordinary, but is not further explained.) [Ibid. p. 130.]
5. Dr. Forster, at Bruges (in a letter to Prof. Powell), states that he observed a
very remarkable luminous arc or ridge of light, differently coloured from the rest of
the sun, extending along and immediately on the limb of the moon between the
cusps. It lasted nearly five minutes. He considers it as unlike any appearance
described before, and remarks that it appeared as if ])roduced by a lunar atmosphere
refracting the light of the sun ; but the rapid transit of flying clouds prevented any
very accurate observations. It was seen with a telescope of low power. Perhaps
this was the same with the blaze of light described by Major Lysaght.
On those Variations of the Force and the Direction of the Terrestrial Mag-
netism lohich seem to depend on the Aurora Borealis. By Dr. Siljestrom.
The author stated, from observations made in Finmarken, at about 70° north
latitude, that in the course of an aurora borealis there are two magnetical periods
to be discerned, in both of which the disturbances are going on in a quite opposite
way, so as to increase and decrease successively the different magnetical elements.
He stated also that the simultaneous variations of these elements, with few excep-
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 5
tional cases, are following that simple law, that while the intensity and the western
declination increase, the inclination decreases. In respect to the variations of the
luminous phsenomenon itself, he had only been able to ascertain that during the first
of the above periods the aurora borealis was in general exclusively seen in the north-
ern part of the heaven, while during the second period it extended itself more to the
south, so that the magnetical variations before mentioned seem to be accompanied by
a translation of the light from north to south.
On a Difficulty in the Theory of Light. By G. G. Stokes, M.A.
The distinction between' common light and elliptically polarized light is fully
accounted for, on the undulatory theory, by the very natural supposition that in
common light the mode of vibration changes a great many times in the course of
one second ; so that even in a very small fraction of a second there is, on the ave-
rage, as much light polarized in one way as there is light polarized in the opposite
way. So unlikely does it seem that this should not be the case, when we consider
the enormous number of vibrations which take place in one second, that, as the
author contended, it would be a most serious difficulty in the way of the undulatory
theory if common light exhibited the rings in crystals, or any of the peculiar
phaenomena exhibited by elliptically polarized light. It had however been thought
necessary, in order to account for the phsenomena, to suppose that the mode of
vibration passed abruptly from one thing to the other. This abruptness of transition
was the "difficulty" alluded to in the title; and the author contended that there
was no occasion to suppose any such abruptness to exist. In fact, the apparent ne-
cessity for the supposition of an abrupt transition appears to have arisen from find-
ing that common light could not be represented by supposing the particles to move
in ellipses the major axes of which slowly revolve. But such a mode of vibration re-
sults from the superposition of two series of vibrations, of nearly equal length of wave
but of unequal intensity, belonging respectively to right-handed and to left-handed
circularly polarized light. Hence such a mode of vibration is not a fair representa-
tion of common light, the very notion of which imphes that it contains as much of
any one kind of polarized light as of the opposite.
On the Refraction of Light beyond the Critical Angle.
By G. G. Stokes, M.A.
The principal object of the author in this communication was to give an expres-
sion, obtained from the undulatory theory of light, for the intensity of the central
spot of Newton's rings, when the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle. It
has been shown by those who have treated the subject of reflexion and refraction
dynamically, that when the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle, the expres-
sion for the disturbance in the second medium contains an exponential, involving
the co-ordinate perpendicular to the surface, so that the disturbance is insensible at
a distance from the surface of a small multiple of X the length of a wave. The ex-
pressions for this superficial disturbance have not, however, so far as the author is
aj\'are, been hitherto applied to the explanation of anj' phsenomenon, although the
existence of the central spot in Newton's rings beyond the critical angle has been
unhesitatingly attributed to this cause by Dr. Lloyd, in his Report on Physical Optics.
The author has not entered into any particular dynamical theory, but has preferred
deducing his results from Fresnel's expressions for the intensity of reflected and
refracted polarized light, which, except perhaps in the case of very highly refracting
substances, are at least a very near approximation to the truth. The method
employed does not even render it necessary to enter into the question, whether the
vibrations of plane polarized light are in or perpendicular to the plane of polarization.
When the angle of incidence exceeds the critical angle, Fresnel's expressions become
imaginary ; and by reasoning similar to that employed by Mr. O'Brien in interpreting
those expressions in the case of reflected light, the author has arrived at the follow-
ing simple rule, which embraces all cases.
Let X be measured along the reflecting surface, y perpendicular to that sur-
6 REPORT — 1848.
face, and directed into the first medium, both being measured parallel to the plane
of incidence ; and let the expression for the vibration be put under the form
«sin— ^ (sin i .x -^ cos i .y -\- v i), fisin^ — (s\ni. x — cosi.y + vt), or
sin — ^ f^ — [sin i' .x -\- cos »'. y] +vt).
according as the incident, reflected or refracted vibration is considered. Whenever
the coefficient of vibration becomes imaginar}^ put it under the form qi ^~', retain
the modulus j for the coefficient, and subtract & from the phase. Whenever the coeffi-
cient of y under the circular function becomes imaginary, and equal to + A; V i^
remove y from the circular function and multiply by the exponential s ^.
This rule having been established, the calculation of the intensity presents no
difficulty. If I be the intensity of the reflected light, that of the incident light being
unity, it is found that
l^ (1-9)'
In this expression it is supposed that the two media between which the spot is
formed are of the same kind, and that the incident light is polarized, either in the
plane of incidence, or in a plane perpendicular to the plane of incidence : q is the
_irE^^2sin2i_l
same in the two cases, being equal to e ^ , where T is the thickness
of the plate of air at the point considered ; but 6 is different, being equal to ^i in the
former case, and ^2 'n the latter, where
^tan^i = — tan^2=secjA / /n^am^i—l.
fc V
When the vibrations take place in the plane of incidence, it would be necessary to
consider separately the resolved parts of the vibration parallel to x and parallel to y ;
but the same expression would have been obtained for I if this consideration had
been neglected. It is unnecessary to write down the expression for the intensity of
the transmitted light, since the sum of the two intensities is equal to unity. For
this reason it will be sufficient to discuss the intensity of the reflected light.
From the expression for I the author has deduced the following consequences :
1 . At the point of contact T = ; and on receding from that point T varies as »•",
r being the radius vector measured from the point of contact. Hence at the point
of contact there is absolute darkness ; en receding from that point the intensity in-
creases, at first very slowly, varying ultimately as »•'', so that for some distance round
the centre the darkness is as to sense perfect ; then the intensity increases more
rapidly, and then it very rapidly approaches its limiting value 1. This agrees with
observation.
2. For different colours, the same fraction of the incident light is reflected at
points for which r varies as a/ ?i. Hence the spot is larger for red light than for violet ;
but the separation of colours is small. This agrees with observation.
3. When the angle of incidence lies between the critical angle and the angle
sin~^ ( Y, the spot is larger for light polarized in a plane perpendicular to
\1 + fi'/
the plane of incidence than for light polarized in the plane of incidence ; while be-
tween the latter angle and 90° the reverse is the case. This difference of size agrees
with observation, but it is impossible to say at what angle the change takes place.
4. Suppose the internally incident light polarized at an azimuth of 45°, or there-
abouts ; and let the transmitted light be analysed so as to darken the centre of ttie
spot ; then a faint ring of light ought to be seen separating the dark centre from the
generally dark field of view. This ring ought to be slightly bluish inside and reddish
or brownish outside. The author has not tried this experiment.
TRANSACTIONS OF TUB SECTIONS. J
On the Perfect Blackness of the Centre of Newton's Rings.
Bxj G. G.' Stokes, M.A.
The absence of all reflected light at the ceatre of Newton's rings, when formed
between tvvo lenses of the same substance, was explained long ago by Frcsncl, by
the aid of a law discovered experimentally by M. Arago, that light is reflected in
the same proportion at the first and second surfaces of a transparent plate bounded
by parallel surfaces. It occurred to the author that this law might be obtained very
simply from theory, by means of what may be called the jsn'ncipZe of reversion. By
this is meant the general dynamical principle, that if in any material system, in
which the forces depend only on the positions of the particles, the velocity of each
particle be suddenly reversed, the previous motion will be repeated in the reverse
direction. It follows from this principle, that in the case of a series of waves of
light incident on the surface of an ordinary medium, and producing a series of re-
flected, and a series of refracted waves, if the vibrations in the reflected and refracted
series be reversed, the incident series will be produced, only in a reverse direction.
But the reflected and refracted series, when reversed, would each produce a series
of reflected, and a series of refracted waves ; and it follows from the principle of
superposition, that, of these four series, the two which are situated within the medium
must neutralize each other, and the two which are situated outside of the medium
must together produce the incident series reversed. Two equations are thus ob-
tained, whereby the perfect blackness of the centre of Newton's rings is explained.
These equations are those which are written in Airy's Tract &= — e, cf=:l — e^.
The detail of this method will soon appear in the Cambridge and Dublin Mathe-
matical Journal.
On the Resistance of the Air to Pendulums. Ry G. G. Stokes, M.A.
There are a few cases in which the resistance of a fluid to a pendulum oscillating
in it have been calculated on the common theory of hydrodynamics, in which the
pressure is supposed equal in all directions. The results in the cases of a sphere and
of a long cylindrical rod are very simple, and may be expressed by saying that the
mass of the pendulum must be conceived to be increased in the former case by
the half, and in the latter by the whole of the fluid displaced ; this additional mass
increasing the inertia of the pendulum without increasing its weight. These results
agree very nearly with Dubuat's experiments on spheres oscillating in air, Dubuat
having employed spheres of large diameter, and with Baily's experiments on cylin-
drical tubes of H inch diameter. With smaller spheres and thinner rods, however,
the results no longer agree with experiment, as appears from the experiments of
Bessel and Baily, the discrepancy being so much the greater as the diameter of the
sphere or rod is the smaller. The author stated that he had solved the problem
in the cases of a sphere and of a cylindrical rod, using instead of the common
equations of hydrodynamics the equations which he had given in the 8th volume
of the Cambridge Philosophical Transactions, and which had been previously ob-
tained, by difi^erent methods, by Navier, by Poisson, and by M. de Saint- Venant.
The result in the case of the sphere is very simple, although the function which
expresses the state of motion of each particle of the fluid is rather complicated. It
appears that the effect on the time of oscillation will be obtained by conceiving a
mass equal to ( 1- — s ) ?» to be added to the mass of the sphere, m being the
mass of fluid displaced, ands =""a / -^, o being the radius of the sphere, t the
" V '^f
time of oscillation, ^ the densit)% and (x. the constant so denoted in the author's
paper referred to above. This constant must be determined by experiment for each
fluid in particular, and even for the same fluid at difl^erent temperatures, since it
probably decreases as the temperature increases. Besides the effect on the time of
oscillation, the arc of oscillation slowly decreases, the expression for the decrement
9
of the arc mvolvmg the quantity — s (1 + s) m.
The result in the case of the cylinder is much more complicated, and requires the
numerical calculation of functions belonging to this particular problem. The author
8 REPORT — 1848.
has expressed the effect on the time and arc of oscillation by means of ascending
series, which are always convergent. The result involves the remarkable trans-
cendent T' (—J ,T' (n) being the derivative of T (n). The author has also ob-
tained a descending series, which is much more convenient for numerical calcula-
tion when the diameter of the cylinder is large. It appears from theory that the
factor which Baiiy has denoted by n increases indefinitely as the radius of the
cylinder decreases : the mass of air which must be conceived to be dragged by the
cylinder decreases, but very slowly, varying ultimately as the square of the reci-
procal of the logarithm of a quantity which varies as the time of oscillation divided
by the square of the radius of the cylinder.
The diameters of the cylindrical rods employed by Baily were '410, "185 and
•072 inch ; and the corresponding values of n, which according to the common
theory of hydrodynamics ought to be equal to 2, were 2"932, 4"083, and 7*530.
Each of these results furnishes an equation for the determination of ft, or rather of
i / — , which is what enters into the calculation ; and the three results concurred
in giving to the latter quantity a value lying between "ll and '12, an inch and a
second being the units of space and time. The value "ll satisfied very nearly the
experiments on spheres suspended by fine wires ; the effect of the wire, which on
this theory is not quite insensible, being taken into account, and a small correction,
estimated at half the correction calculated for a spherical envelope of the same
radius, being made for the finite size of the hollow cylinder within which the spheres
were swung.
On the Equilibrium of Magnetic or Diamagnetic Bodies of cmy Form, under
the Lifluence of the Terrestrial Magnetic Force. By Prof. W. Thomson.
If a body composed of a magnetic substance, such as soft iron, or of a diamag-
netic substance, be supported by its centre of gravity, the efi'ects of the terrestrial
magnetic force in producing magnetism bj'' induction, and in acting on the magnetism
so developed, are in general such as to impress a certain directive tendency on the
mass. The investigation of these circumstances leads to results according to which
the conditions of equilibrium of a body of any irregular form may be expressed in a
very elegant and simple manner.
In the present communication I shall merely give a brief general explanation of
the conclusions at which I have arrived, without attempting to state fully the pro-
cess of reasoning on which they are founded, as this could not be rendered intelli-
gible without entering upon mathematical details, which must be reserved for a
paper of greater length.
In the first place, if the body considered be an ellipsoid of homogeneous matter,
supported by its centre of gravity, it is clear that it will be in equilibrium with any
one of its three principal axes in the direction of the lines of force ; and if it be put
into any other position, the action of the earth upon it will be a couple, of which
the moment may be expressed very simply in terms of the quantities denoting the
position of the axes with reference to the direction of the terrestrial force, and cer-
tain constant magnetic elements depending on the substance and dimensions of the
body. '
In considering the corresponding problem for a body of any irregular form, we
readily obtain for the components of the directive couple, round three rectangular
axes chosen arbitrarily in the body, expressions involving nine constant magnetic
elements. I have succeeded in proving that six of these elements must be equal,
two and two ; so that the entire number of independent constants is reduced to six.
I have thus arrived at the interesting theorem, that there are, in any irregular body,
three principal magnetic axes at right angles to one another, such that if the body be
supported by its centre of gravity, it will be in equilibrium with any one of these
axes in the direction of the terrestrial magnetic force. If the body be held in any
other position, there will be a directive couple of which the moment is expressible
in precisely the same form as in the case of an ellipsoid, in terms of the magnetic
elements of the body, and of the quantities denoting its position.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 9
From this it follows, that, as far as regards the directive action of terrestrial mag-
netism, the ellipsoid with three unequal axes may be taken as the general type for a
body of any form whatever.
Besides other special cases of interest, to which it is unnecessary for me at present
to call attention, on account of the close analogy which is presented by the well-
known theory of principal axes in dynamics, there is one to which I shall allude, on
account of its importance with reference to the general principles on which the di-
rective agency depends. If the body considered be a cube, the three principal mag-
netic elements will be equal, and therefore the corresponding ellipsoid must have
its three axes equal ; that is, it must be a sphere. Hence a cube supported by its
centre of gravity cannot experience any directive tendency, and will therefore be
astatic.
Now a mass of any form may be divided into an infinite number of small cubes,
and the resultant of the actual directive couples on all of these cubes will determine
the directive tendency of the whole mass. Hence if each small cube were acted
upon only by the terrestrial magnetic force, there would be no directive agency on
the body ; and it is to the modification of the circumstances introduced by the
mutual action of the different parts of the body that we must ascribe the directive
tendency which is actually experienced, in general by irregular, but especially by
elongated masses. This modification is distinctly alluded to by Mr. Faradaj' in his
memoir on the General Magnetic Condition of Matter (Experimental Researches,
§ 2264), and the directive tendency which he has observed in needles of diamag-
netic substances is shown to depend on essentially different physical circumstances
(§§ 2269, 2418) connected with the variation of the total intensity of the resultant
magnetic force in the neighbourhood of the poles of a magnet, and quite independent
of the actual directions of the lines of force. A mathematical investigation of the
circumstances on which these phsenomena depend will be found in the Cambridge
and Dublin Mathematical Journal (May 1847').
From the principles alluded to above, we may draw the following general conclu-
sions with reference to the action experienced by a body subjected to magnetic in-
fluence when the intensity of the magnetizing force is constant in its neighbourhood.
1. The directive tendency on a diamagnetic substance of any form must be ex-
tremely small, probably quite insensible in any actual experiment that can be made ;
depending as it does upon the mutual action of the parts of the body which are
primarily influenced to but a very feeble extent in the case of every known diamag-
netic.
2. An elongated body, whether of a magnetic or of a diamagnetic substance, will
tend to place itself in the direction of the lines of force ; so that, for instance, either
a bar of soft iron, or a diamagnetic bar, supported by its centre of gravity, would,
if perfectly free, assume the position of the dipping-needle.
On the Theory of Electro-magnetic Induction. By Prof. W. Thomson.
The theory of electro-magnetic induction, founded on the elementary experiments
of Faraday and Lenz, has been subjected to mathematical analysis by Neumann,
who has recently laid some very valuable i-esearches on this subject before the Ber-
lin Academy of Sciences. The case of a closed linear conductor (a bent metallic
wire with its ends joined) under the influence of a magnet in a state of relative
motion is considered in Neumann's first memoir *, and a very beautiful theorem is
demonstrated, completely expressing the circumstances which determine the inten-
sity of the induced current. It has appeared to me that a very simple a priori de-
monstration of this theorem may be founded on the axiom that the amount of work
expended in producing the relative motion on which the electro-magnetic induction
depends must be equivalent to the mechanical effect lost by the current induced in
the wire.
In the first place, it may be proved that the amount of the mechanical effect con-
tinually lost or spent in some physical agency (according to Joule the generation
of heat) during the existence of a galvanic current in a given closed wire is, for a
* A translation of this memoir into French is published in the last April number of Liou-
ville's Journal des Mathematiques.
10 REPORT — 1848.
given time, proportional to the square of the intensity of the current. For, what-
ever be the actual source of the galvanism, an equivalent current might be produced
by the motion of a magnetic body in the neighbourhood of the closed wire. If now,
other circumstances remaining the same, the intensity of the magnetism in the in-
fluencing body be altered in any ratio, the intensity of the induced current must be
proportionately changed ; hence the amount of work spent in the motion, as it de-
pends on the mutual influence of the magnet and the induced current, is altered in
the duplicate ratio of that in which the current is altered ; and therefore the amount
of mechanical eftect lost in the wire, being equivalent to the work spent in the mo-
tion, must be proportional to the square of the intensity of the current. Hence if i
denote the intensity of a current existing in a closed conductor, the amount of work
lost by its existence for an interval of time dt, so small that the intensity of the cur-
rent remains sensibly constant during it, will be k .f . dt; where yfc is a certain con-
stant depending on the resistance of the complete wire.
Let us now suppose this current to be actually produced by induction in the wire,
under the influence of a magnetic body in a state of relative motion. The entire
mutual force between the magnetic and the galvanic wire may, according to Am-
pere's theory, be expressed by means of the differential coefficients of a certain
"force function." This function, which may be denoted by U, will be a quantity
depending solely on the form and position of the wire at any instant, and on the
magnetism of the influencing body. During the very small time dt, let U change
from U to U + rfU, by the relative motion which takes place during that interval.
Then i d\J will be the amount of work spent in sustaining the motion ; but the
mechanical effect lost in the wire during the same interval is equal to k f dt ; and
therefore we must have
i d\J=^Jci'dt.
Hence, dividing both members by k i dt, we deduce
•— i. £H
*~ k ' dt'
which expresses the theorem of Neumann, the subject of the present communica-
tion. We may enunciate the result in general language thus : —
When a current is induced in a closed wire by a magnet in relative motion, the
intensity of the current produced is proportional to the actual rate of variation of
the "force function" by the differential coefficients of which the mutual action
between the magnet and the wire would be represented if the intensity of the cur-
rent in the wire were unity.
On a means of determining the apparent Solar Time hy the Diurnal Changes
of the Plane of Polarization at the North Pole of the Shy. By Professor
Wheatstone, F.R.S.
" A short time after the important discovery by Malus of the polarization of light
by reflexion, it was ascertained by Arago that the light reflected from different parts
of the sky was polarized. The observation was made in clear weather with the aid
of a thin film of mica and a prism of Iceland spar ; he saw that the two images
projected on the sky were in general of dissimilar colours, which appeared to vary
in intensity with the hour of the day and with the position, in relation to the sun,
of the part of the sky from which the rays fell upon the film. The first attempt to
assign a law to the phsenomena of atmospheric polarization was made by Professor
Queteletof Brussels in 1825 in the following terms : — ' If the observer consider him-
self as placed in the centre of a sphere of which the sun occupies one of the poles
the polarization is at its maximum at the different points of the equator of this sphere,
and goes on diminishing in the ratio of the squares of the sines unto the poles where
it is at zero.' This law would be true did the reflected light proceeding from the
part of the sky regarded arise solely from the direct light of the sun sent to that part ;
but other secondary reflexions occur which complicate the result and give rise to
the neutral points since discovered by Arago, Babinet and Brewster. But for the
purpose of explaining the principle of the instrument now submitted to the examina-
tion of the Section, we need not take into consideration the intensity of the polar-
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 11
ization of the part of the sky to which it is directed; the plane of polarization for
the time being is the only thing we need concern ourselves about, and a very simple
expression, stated first I believe by M. Babinet, defines the position of this plane
for any given point of the sky ; it is this : ' For a given point of the atmosjjhere
the plane of polarization of the portion of polarized light which it sends to the eye
coincides with the plane which passes through this point, the eye of the observer
and the sun.' The truth of this law may be easily demonstrated without any
refined apparatus in the following manner : — Let the observer be provided with a
Nicol's prism and a plate of Iceland spar cut perpendicularly to the axis, and stand
with his back towards the sun ; keeping the diagonal of the prism always in the
same vertical plane, let him direct it successively to every point of the sky within
that plane ; the intensity of the polarization indicated by the brightness of the
coloured image will vary very considerably at these different points, but the plane
of polarization indicated by the upright position of the black or white cross, as the
case may be, will remain unchanged. I leave out of consideration for the present
the inversion of the plane of polarization observed occasionally near the horizon
below the neutral point.
" If we direct our analysing apparatus to the zenith during the whole day, the
change in the plane of polarization of that point of the sky will correspond with the
azimuths of the sun. Let us now turn our attention to the north pole of the sky :
as the sun in its apparent daily course moves equably in a circle round this pole, it
is obvious that the planes of polarization at the point in question change exactly as
the position of the hour-circles do. The position of the plane of polarization of the
north pole of the sky will at any period of the day therefore indicate the apparent
or true solar time. The point of intersection of the hour-circles, or the north pole
of the sky, corresponds on only two days of the year with the maximum intensity
of polarization ; these days are the equinoxes ; on all other days the points of max-
imum polarization of the respective hour-circles describe a circle round the point of
intersection ; but the angular distance thereof, which is greatest at the solstices,
never exceeding 23° 28', the polarization has always sufficient intensity to exhibit
brilliant colours in films of selenite, &c.
" These points being premised, I proceed to describe the new instrument, which I
have called the Polar Clock or Dial. It is thus constructed. At the extremity of a
vertical pillar is fixed, within a brass ring, a glass disc, so inclined that its plane is
perpendicular to the polar axis of the earth. On the lower half of this disc is a
graduated semicircle divided into twelve parts (each of which is again subdivided
into five or ten parts), and against the divisions the hours of the day are marked,
commencing and terminating with vi. Within the fixed brass ring containing the
glass dial-plate, the broad end of a conical tube is so fitted that it freely moves round
its own axis ; this broad end is closed by another glass disc, in the centre of which
is a small star or other figure, formed of thin films of selenite, exhibiting when
examined with polarized light strongly contrasting colours ; and a hand is painted
in such a position as to be a prolongation of one of the principal sections of the
crystalline films. At the smaller end of the conical tube a Nicol's prism is fixed so
that either of its diagonals shall be 45° from the principal section of the selenite
films. The instrument being so fixed that the axis of the conical tube shall coincide
with the polar axis of the earth, and the eye of the observer being placed to the
Nicol's prism, it will be remarked that the selenite star will in general be richly
coloured, but as the tube is turned on its axis the colours will vary in intensity, and
in two positions will entirely disappear. Iii one of these positions a small circular
disc in the centre of the star will be a certain colour (red for instance), while in the
other position it will exhibit the complementary colour. This effect is obtained by
placing the principal section of the small central disc 22^° from that of the other
films of selenite which form the star. The rule to ascertain the time by this instru-
ment is as follows : the tube must be turned round by the hand of the observer
until the coloured star entirely disappears while the disc in the centre remains red ;
the hand will then point accurately to the hour. The accuracy with which the solar
time may be indicated by this means will depend on the exactness with which the
plane of polarization can be determined ; one degree of change in the plane corre-
sponds with four minutes of solar time.
12 REPORT — 1848,
" The instrument may be furnished with a graduated quadrant for the purpose of
adapting it to any latitude ; but if it be intended to be fixed in any locality, it may
be permanently adjusted to the proper polar elevation and the expense of the gradu-
ated quadrant be saved: a spirit-level will be useful to adjust it accurately. The
instrument might be set to its proper azimuth by the sun's shadow at noon, or by
means of a declination needle ; but an observation with the instrument itself may be
more readily employed for this purpose. Ascertain the true solar time by means of
a good watch and a time equation table, set the hand of the polar clock to corre-
spond thereto, and turn the vertical pillar on its axis until the colours of the selenite
star entirely disappear. The instrument then will be properly adjusted.
" The advantages a polar clock possesses over a sun-dial are, — 1st. The polar clock
being constantly directed to the same point of the sky, there is no locality in which
it cannot be employed, whereas, in order that the indications of a sun-dial should
be observed during the whole day, no obstacle must exist at any time betvi'een the
dial and the places of the sun, and it therefore cannot be applied in any confined
situation. The polar clock is consequently applicable in places where a sun-dial
would be of no avail ; on the north side of a mountain or of a lofty building for
instance. 2ndly. It will continue to indicate the time after sunset and before sun-
rise ; in fact, so long as any portion of the rays of the sun are reflected from the
atmosphere. 3rdly. It will also indicate the time, but with less accuracy, when the
sky is overcast, if the clouds do not exceed a certain density.
" The plane of polarization of the north pole of the sky moves in the opposite di-
rection to that of the hand of a watch ; it is more convenient therefore to have the
hours graduated on the lower semicircle, for the figures will then be read in their
direct order, whereas they would be read backwards on an upper semicircle. In the
southern hemisphere the upper semicircle should be employed, for the plane of
polarization of the south pole of the sky changes in the same direction as the hand
of a watch. If both the upper and lower semicircles be graduated, the same instru-
ment will serve equally for both hemispheres."
Several other forms of the polar clock w^ere then described ; the following is a
description of one among them, which, though much less accurate in its indications
than the preceding, beautifully illustrates the principle.
On a plate of glass twenty-five films of selenite of equal thickness are arranged
at equal distances radially in a semicircle ; they are placed so that the line bisecting
the principal sections of the films shall correspond with the radii respectively, and
figures corresponding to the hours are painted above each film in regular order. This
plate of glass is fixed in a frame so that its plane is inclined to the horizon 38° 32', the
complement of the polar elevation ; the light passing perpendicularly through this
plate falls at the polarizing angle 56° 45' on a reflector of black glass, which is inclined
18° 13' to the horizon. This apparatus being properly adjusted, that is so that the
glass dial-plate shall be perpendicular to the polar axis of the earth, the following
will be the effects when presented towards an unclouded sky. At all times of the
day the radii will appear of various shades of two complementary colours, which we
will assume to be red and green, and the hour is indicated by the figure placed
opposite the radius which contains the most red; the half-hour is indicated by the
equality of two adjacent tints.
071 rendering the Electric Telegraph subservient to Meteorological Research.
By John Ball, M.R.LA.
What is popularly termed the weather is a general expression for the physical
condition of the atmosphere with reference to heat, pressure, moisture, and the ve-
locity and direction of its motion. Two classes of causes determine these conditions
at any given point of the earth's surface. The first class maj' for short periods of
time be considered as constants, depending on the position of the point of observa-
tion on the globe and the physical conformation of the adjoining district. The
second class, upon which the proverbial uncertainty of the weather depends, arise
from the influence exerted by each portion of the atmosphere upon those surround-
ing it, by virtue of which a disturbance of equilibrium at any one point is rapidly
propagated in all directions. In common language this is expressed by saying that
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 13
the direction of the wind is at once the cause and the indication of changes of the
weather. However far we may be from a general solution of the problem of atmo-
spheric disturbances, meteorologists have made considerable progress in tracing the
connection between successive states of the weather, owing to the mutual influence
of contiguous portions of the atmosphere. These cases have been studied a posteriori,
comparing the known results with observations extending over considerable areas.
Now that we have the means of receiving information in an indefinitely short space
of time by the Electric Telegraph, these problems, under favourable circumstances,
may be studied a i^riori. In London we may receive instantaneous intelligence of
the condition of the atmosphere, as to the five above-mentioned elements, from
nearly all the extremities of Great Britain. With a delay of about four hours we
can have similar intelligence from the western part of Ireland, and with a still
shorter delay our communications may extend to the centre of France, the banks of
the Rhine, and even to the frontiers of Hungary and Poland.
I do not pretend to say that with such elements for calculation we should at once
be enabled to predict changes in the weather with absolute certainty. It would re-
quire some time to eliminate the action of accidental and local causes at particular
stations ; but there is no reason to doubt that in a short time the determinations
thus arrived at would possess a high degree of probability. The ordinary rate at
which atmoispheric disturbances are propagated does not seem to exceed twenty miles
per hour ; so that with a circle of stations extending about 500 miles in each direc-
tion, we should in almost all cases be enabled to calculate on the state of the wea-
ther for twenty-four hours in advance.
Description of a Neio Instrument for observing the Apparent Positions of
Meteors. By the Rev. J. Challis, M.A., F.R.S., Plumian Professor of
Astronomy at the University of Cambridge (in a Letter to the Assistant
General Secretary').
Having had occasion to make use of observations of auroral arches and coronse,
and other meteoric phsenomena, I have seen the desirableness of noting the posi-
tions by instrumental means, rather than trusting to vague estimation and reference
to stars. Accordingly I have had a brass instrument constructed for me by Mr.
Simms, Fleet Street, London, which may possibly answer this purpose in some
degree. I propose to call it a Mefeoroscope. It is in principle an altitude and
azimuth instrument, in the form of a theodolite, having a horizontal circle graduated
from 0° to 360°, and a vertical arc graduated from 0° to 120°, each about 4 inches
in radius. The vertical arc is readily moveable about a vertical axis passing through
the centre of the horizontal circle, and instead of having a telescope, which would
be inapplicable to, the class of observations proposed to be taken, it carries a bar
18 inches long, having' a small rectangular plate at each end. One of these plates
is perforated by a circular hole one-sixth of an inch in diameter, through which the
object is viewed, and the other has its edges vertical and horizontal, the observation
of altitude being made by bringing the horizontal edge, and the observation of azi-
muth by bringing the vertical edge, to bisect the object. Both observations are
made at the same time by placing the angular point in apparent coincidence with the
object. The eyelet-hole should not be less than the pupil of the eye when 'dilated,
that there may be as little loss of light as possible. No parallax of serious amount
will arise from the size of the hole, as it is always easy to judge when the centre of
the pupil and that of the hole are nearly coincident. The bar is moveable about a
horizontal axis passing through the centre, and perpendicular to the plane of
the vertical arc, and is carried by a radius so that the direction of its length is a
tangent to the arc. The direction of the radius is somewhat oblique to that of the
bar, in order that the line of collimation may pass the zenith about 20° when the
radius is brought to a horizontal position. For the same reason the centre of mo-
tion of the bar is elevated about an inch and a half above the plane of the azimuth
circle. For the purpose of viewing conveniently an object near the zenith, the
plate at the eye- end of the bar has a small silvered glass reflector inclined at an
angle of 45° to the plane of the plate, and adjustibleby a screw. The object is seen
by reflexion in a direction perpendicular to the line of collimation, through another
14 REPORT — 1848.
eyelet-hole made in a small plate attached for this purpose. The reflector is pro-
perly adjusted when a star is seen in coincidence with the left-hand angular point
of the plate at the opposite end of the bar, at the same time that it is seen by direct
vision through the other eyelet-hole in coincidence with the right-hand angular
point. There are two clamps, one for clamping the bar to the vertical arc, and the
other for clamping the vertical arc to the azimuthal circle. The latter may be held
by the right-hand to give the azimuthal movement, and at the same time to be
in readiness to clamp, while the bar is held by the left-hand for aiming. When
the bar is not clamped to the vertical arc, it is prevented slipping partly by a spring
and partly by a counterpoise. There are verniers to read off azimuths and altitudes
to single minutes, and the vertical arc carries a small spirit-level for the horizontal
adjustment. The instrument has a tripod support, with three screws for adjusting
horizontally, and when in use is placed on a wooden stand, to the upper surface of
which are fastened three brass Ys. The feet of the screws are placed in these Ys,
and thus the instrument is put expeditiously in a given position. When not in use,
it is kept under cover near the stand.
On very dark nights the edges of the plate at the object-end of the bar were seen
with difficulty. To remedy this inconvenience the face of the plate turned towards
the eye was painted white, after which the light from a lamp at a considerable
distance made it sufficiently visible. In general the luminosity of the sky makes
the plate appear dark on a light ground.
It is proposed to employ the meteoroscope in measuring the positions of arches
and coronse of the Aurora Borealis, the dimensions and position at different times
of the year of the Zodiacal Light, and the points of first appearance and disappear-
ance of meteors and shooting stars. Several of these observations, to be of any
value, require to be made simultaneously at different localities, and with the same
degree of precision. It seems to me surprising that meteorologists have not hitherto
provided themselves with instruments like that I have been describing ; manj' obser-
vations of meteors having been comparatively useless on account of want of accu-
racy. 1 consider that with care the altitude of a star may be measured by this
instrument with a probable error of two minutes, and that it is abundantly accurate
for the purposes to which it is proposed to apply it. In any case in which it is
employed it is advisable to take the altitude and azimuth of a known star at a noted
time near the place of the meteor, in order to eliminate index errors and errors of
adjustment.
Cambridge Observatory, August 9, 1848.
On a Self-Registering Thermometer.
By Mansfield Harrison (in a letter to Professor Phillips).
The principle on which the instrument is constructed is the difference in the ex-
pansion and contraction of two metals, from the effects of heat and cold, and
it acts by the direct pull of the contracting metal, when it is kept in a perfectly
straight line. It is made sufficiently powerful to overcome anj' resistance which
the fulcra of the levers or the tracing-pencil may cause. I have selected cast iron
and hard rolled copper as the best suited for the purpose. I find from tables pub-
lished by Smeaton and others, that copper expands -s^^-jth of its length, while cast
iron only expands -g-^oth, with a variation of 180° of Fahrenheit's thermometer,
which leaves a difference of about the TaViyth of its length ; and as the range of the
thermometer in the shade in this climate is about 90°, or half of 180°, I have the
a-sVcjth part of the length of the copper bar employed as a moving power. I fixed
upon a bar 10 feet long as being a convenient length ; the two metals will then vary
nearly the one-and-twentieth part of an inch between the hottest day in summer
and the coldest day in winter. This variation I multiply by means of a compound
lever, so as to get a sufficient scale to divide. The end of the last lever carries a
pencil which traces upon a revolving cylinder the variations that take place. In
order to divide the scale accurately, I procured a standard thermometer by Trough-
ton and Simms ; I placed it in the same situation, and made several observations in
the day, for some weeks, in the spring of the year, when the range of the thermo-
meter is the greatest. After I had got the scale propeily divided, I engraved it on
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS.
15
a plate of copper, in order to get a number of copies printed. The only attendance
the instrument now requires, is to put a fresh paper upon the cylinder, by means of
stretching-screws fixed on one side of it, once a week, when I wind the time-piece up.
Tabulated results for the year 1847, taken from tracings hy the instrument described.
General mean of whole year 47'89
January 36-61
April ' 44-13
July 61-80
... ... October 49-35
Highest single observation, 1st of August 80-00
Lowest single observation, 13th of February ... 22-00
A, copper bar, one inch in diameter and ten feet long. B, cast iron trough, to
16 REPORT — 1848.
which the copper bar is made fast at the bottom. C, brass cap soldered fast to the
copper bar, with knife-edges on the under side, which rest on the tubular end of
the first lever D ; its fulcrum rests on the upper end of the cast iron trough B.
E, flanges to bolt the trough to the outer side of a wall, near the angle of a room.
F, part of the cast iron trough which passes through the wall into the room, carrying
the fulcrum of the second lever I, and to which the revolving cylinder G is fixed.
H, a weight to keep the first lever D steady on its bearings, and to counterpoise the
second lever I. K, tracing-pencil. L, a screw working in the edge of the wheel M,
and coupled to the minute-hand of the time-piece, making one revolution in an hour ;
the wheel M is fixed to the axis of the cylinder, and has 102 threads cut in its edge,
and would make one revolution in eight days. N, a binding-screw to adjust the
pencil to the proper hour- line, when a fresh paper is put on once a week. O, brass
rings, made fast to the cast iron trough, to keep the copper bar steady, but through
which it can move ; the dotted line shows the side of the iron trough.
Comparative Temperature Table, showing the daily average height of the
Thermometer; at Jersey, in 49° 11™ N. ; at Torquay, 50° 30™ N. ;
Hastings, 50° 52™ N.; and Lo7idoti, 51" 30™ N. By J. W. Childers.
Daily Mean Temperature.
1848.
Jersey.
Torquay.
Hastings,
London.
July 1. ..
... 55-2 ...
... 55-5 ..
... 52-5
9
... 58-0 ...
... 58-0 ..
... 59-0
„ 3. ..
... 63-0 ...
... 59-5 ..
... 59-5
„ 4. ..
... COv ...
... 62-5 .,
... 60-5
» 5. ..
... 67-0 ...
... 620 ..
g
... 66-0
,. 6. ..
... 710 ...
... 63-0 ..
3
... 73-5
,. 7. ..
... 62-0 ...
... 61-0 ..
p^
... 62-5
„ 8. ..
... 60-0 ...
... 60-0 ..
o
... 60-5
» 9- ..
... 61-3 ..
... 60-5 ..
... ^ ...
... 600
„ 10. ..
... 60-7 ..
... 63-5 ..
... 59-5
„ 11. ..
... 61-0 ..
... 650 ..
... 600
„ 12. ..
... 62-0 ..
... 68-5 ..
... 64-5
„ 13. ..
... 63-7 ..
... 67-5 ..
... 71-0 ...
... 67-0
„ 14. ..
... 64-2 ..
... 62-0 ..
... 72-5 ...
... 73-5
„ 15. ..
... 63-0 ..
... 62-0 ..
... 59-0 ...
... 56-0
„ 16. ..
... 600 ..
... 65-5 ..
... 630 ...
... 63-5
„ 17. ..
... 62-7 ..
... 63-0 ..
... 71-5 ...
... 61-5
„ 18. ..
.... 65-0 ...
... 61-5 ..
... 64-5 ...
... 65-5
„ 19. ..
.... 647 ..
... 59-5 ..
... 67-0 ...
... 66-5
„ 20. ..
.... 61-0 ..
... 60-0 ,.
... 62-0 ..
... 58-0
„ 21. ..
.... 65-5 ..
... 640 ..
... 640 ..
... 610
„ 22. ..
.... 650 ..
... 60-5 ..
... 67-5 ..
... 69-0
„ 23. ..
.... 69-5 ..
... 62-0 ..
... 64-0 ..
... 64-5
„ 24. ..
.... 60-3 ..
... 62-5 ..
... 670 ...
... 62-0
„ 25. ..
.... 62-3 ..
... 59-5 ..
... 60'0 ...
... 60-5
„ 26. ..
.... 64-3 ..
... 59-5 ..
... 63-0 ..
... 59-0
„ 27. ..
.... 64-0 ..
... 62-5 ..
... 61-0 ..
... 61-5
„ 28. ..
.... 63'2 ..
... 64-5 ..
... 62-5 ..
... 63-0
„ 29. ..
.... 61-0 ..
... 62-5 ..
.... 64-5 ..
... 64-0
„ 30. ..
.... 64-3 ..
... 62-5 ..
.... 66-0 ..
... 65-5
„ 31. ..
.... 62'0 ..
... 69-5 ..
.... 64-5 ..
... 61-5
.... 62-5 ..
... 61-3 ..
... 64-0 ...
... 62-7
Highest .....
.... 78-0 ..
... 750 ..
.... 84-0 ...
... 88-0
Lowest
.... 490 ..
... 51-0 ..
.... 47-0 ..
... 37-0
Mean
... 63-5 ...
... 63-0 ..
... 65-5 ...
... 61-5
Range
.... 29-0 ..
... 23-0 ..
... 37-0 ..
... 490
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. l7
By the foregoing table it appears that Jersey and Torquay have the most mode-
rate temperature, the extremes being only 29° and 24°, whereas at Hastings and
London they are 37° and 49° — not rising above 78° and 75° at the former, and as
high as 84° and 86° at the latter, whereas at the latter two, the thermometer fell
to 47° and 37° : at the former only to 49° and 51°.
The highest temperature was reached at Jersey on the 6th, at Torquay on the
15tb, at Hastings on the 17th, and in London on the 6th. The lowest, at Jersey,
Torquay and London on the 1st, and at Hastings on the 15th. The barometrical
pressure was very uneven in Jersey : the mercurial elevation varied from 30"475 to
29'386, its greatest elevation being on the 13th; its greatest depression on the 24th.
At Torquay, the greatest elevation was on the 12th, 30-404 ; the greatest depres-
sion on the 20th, 29343. At Hastings, the elevation was 30-404 on the 13th, the
depression, 29-365 on the 20th. In London, the greatest elevation was on the
12th, 30-448 ; the greatest depression, 29*299, on the 20th. The mean pressures
were — Jersey, 29-630 ; Torquay, 29*943 ; Hastings, 29-806, and London, 29-860 :
showing that the unsettled state of the weather was caused by effects not indicated
by the barometer. ,
Extracts from a Letter to Professor WHEATSTONEyy-o»J J.D. Hooker, M.D.
Dearee, West Bank of Soane River,
Main road to Benares, Feb. 15, 1848.
" During our three days' stay at Cairo I made a few observations on the effects of
the sun's rays on the soil, of the depth to which the heat penetrated, as also of the
power of nocturnal radiation and thickness of soil through which the heat is ra-
diated. In all these observations I find the great diflBculty to be in selecting a
position where the instrument shall itself be screened from radiation. Limestone,
sand and sandstone rock, in the desert, have all different temperatures, and, except
a brisk wind be stirring, give very different results. At the great Pyramid I selected
two stations, each I thought unexceptionable ; one at the N. face of the N.E. angle,
the other at the W. face of the N.W. angle, and was mortified to find as much as
5i° difference in the temperature, and several in the dew-point, &c. At each
angle I shifted the instruments from one to the other face, with the same results.
At the summit there was considerably more vapour in the atmosphere than at the
base. The temperature of the two chambers agreed (78°). On the Desert, mid-
way between Cairo and Suez, I found a little before sunrise, after a very cold night,
the dewy surface to be cooled down to 44° (if in shade 47°), and the increase of
temperature to be 1° an inch down to 10 inches ; similar soil on the previous and
succeeding day was heated (at 3 p.m.) to about 80°, and the power of the sun's rays
penetrated to more than that distance.
" At Suez we embarked on board the Hon. Company's steam-frigate ' Moozuffer '
for Calcutta, and I observed three times a day the temperatures, dew-point, &c., but
not the barometer, for my 'Newman's Portable' pumped so much as to render it
impossible to observe within two-tenths of an inch ; this was owing to the great
power of the engines. Some of the phsenomena are very curious. In the first
place, the waters of this Gulf are salter than those of any other sea having a free
communication with the greater oceans, and contains three-tenths more salt in an
equal bulk than the Indian Ocean does. This high specific gravity decreases on
the passage down to Mocha, where the increase is diminished to two-tenths, and
suddenly to the usual standard of sea-water. My attention was first drawn to this
by the chief engineer, with whom I conducted such experiments as the motion of
the vessel allowed. During Ross's voyage I frequently examined the water (with
Capt. R.), and whether from the various oceans we passed through, or different
depths (down to 800 fathoms) in those oceans, always obtained a very constant
quantity of salts. I also inquired about the waters of the Persian Gulf, and am
assured' that they do not differ from that of the Indian Ocean. From the Straits of
Bab-el Mandeb to Cape Comorin I perceived no difference. There are further three
classes of winds in the Red Sea, very remarkable in their distribution. During all
June, July, August and September a north wind prevails throughout the sea, pro-
duced I suppose bv the heated continents of Arabia, and especially Africa ; and the
1848. ■ c
18
REPORT — 1848.
same wind continues all the year round from Suez to the Straits of Jubal, and with
particular violence down the Gulf of Akabar. During the remainder of the year
the winds in the middle part of the sea, from Jebbel-Teir, 15-30 to 19° or 20°'N.,
are light and variable. In the south part, again, from Jebbel-Teir to the Straits,
the S.E wind is constant from October till May, increasing in violence as you ap-
proach the Straits. This we experienced ourselves, for we carried N. and N.E.
winds from Suez to lat. 20, variables from lat. 20 to Jebbel-Teir, and southerly from
Jebbel-Teir to the Straits. I do not know how far the accompanyiug phienomena
may account for the great saltness and well-known depression (below the level of
the Mediterranean and of the Straits amounting, if I remember aright, to 35 odd
feet) of the upper part of the sea ; my observations give the following results : —
Mear air
temp.
Sea.
Wet-bulb
therm.
Dew-point.
Vapour in
cubic feet.
Calculated
evaporation
Suez to lat. 20°
761
81-6
80-3
78-0
80-4
760
68-3
745
70-2
641
71-4
650
6-841
8-478
4-311
1-56
1-38
2-61
Lat. 20°, Jebbel Teir
JebbelTeir to Straits
" The perennial north wind of the upper portion may of itself reduce the level ; it
is, further, a drier wind, and effects more evaporation from the surface than do the
winds of the middle portion, at which it arrives loaded with vapour and increased
in elasticity. Whatever evaporation takes place at the south portion again, during
the dry south wind, may be compensated by an indraught from the Indian Ocean.
The central portion again, during the same season, receives the loaded currents from
either quarter, which its high temperature enables it to retain, its elasticity' being
also very high.
" Few other phcenomena of any importance occurred to me during the voyage,
except a curious variety I suppose of the crepuscular arch, which I witnessed on two
nights after leaving Madras roads. The first I saw on January 9th at 6j, while
still in sight of land ; it lasted hardly a minute after I first caught it, and appeared
like a broad lunar rainbow over the sun's position, and about 70° alt. On the
following evening I looked out for it; we were some 150 miles on our course to
Calcutta. At three-quarters of an hour after sunset a pale milk-white arch, with
the faintest tinge of purple, appeared at 60° alt. It was about 8° broad, the north
end rested on a very faint cirrhus, alt. 30° ; the southern descended lower, but did
not reach the horizon ; its limits were not clearly defined ; it rose rapidly, and dis-
appeared in about three or five minutes on reaching the zenith. The days had in
both cases been very fine and clear, the sky at the time deep blue gray, with a
peach-blossom tinge (for twilight) resting on a yellow horizon. This peach colour
is a very common tropical sunset, and for delicacy of tint unequalled. At Aden,
■where contrasted with the stern pitchy dark crags of that peninsula and deep blue
of the ocean, it produced the finest sunset effect I ever witnessed."
After describing some particulars of his instruments and methods of meteorolo-
gical research, the author adds, — " I have twice had bores made of 3 and 4 feet at
places 14' apart, and in both cases had a constant temperature of 72° for fifteen hours
of afternoon and night ; but this alluvium is often too liard to lore with common tools ;
it always takes six hours and six men to work the jumper. I guard the bulb with
pith and sink it in a brass tube. The dryness of the upper plains we traversed is
■wonderful during these N.W. winds. I have been very careful with the wet-bulb
observations. Solar radiation is all but impracticable ; I persevere in the black bulb
and wedge of glass photometer, made as you recommended by Darker.
" Last night I saw the best-developed aurora I ever witnessed, taking brightness,
extent of surface covered, and length and continuity of beams into account : never in
Scotland, where I have se'en many, or the South Pole, w-here also they were frequent,
have I seen one so altogether good as this. The moon spoiled it sadly, though its
beams were brilliantly defined within 8° of her orb on each side. I send you the
observations I took of it with a good quadrant and compass, from my first seeing
it till it had nearly disappeared at midnight. I have also sent an account to be
published in Calcutta, and hope it has attracted observation elsewhere. There is
no change in the weather since, but much cirrhus since noon to-day, which is un-
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 19
usual, though possibly owing to the hills we are now close to, and which are new
features in our landscape.
" Monday, Feb. 14. Barroon, East bank of Soane River, 9 p.m. Barom. 29'924 ;
Atmos. temp. 58 ; Temp, air 62 ; Wet-bulb 51-5 ; Grass 53. Blue sky and clear
horizon ; moon and stars clear ; milky way invisible ; zodiacal light invisible ; moon
by photometer 3'07 inches (sun at 3 p.m. being 4'17 inches).
" Observed the auroral arch well defined, 12° broad ; alt. of upper limb (best de-
fined) 20°. Extremes bearing W. 20 S. and N. 50 E. Light, pale but bright, rest-
ing on an arch no darker than sky at zenith. Beams crowded, from 20 to 30
linear and lancet-shaped, crossing the zenith and converging in opposite horizon
towards S. 15 E. All beams bright, clear and well-defined, moving slowly, forked
at the apices or split from apex to zenith, almost obscuring stars of first magnitude.
Longest beams point to S. 10 E. descending to 25° alt. Middle beam broad, crosses
zenith, points S. 50 E. and descends to 40°. N.W. beams almost parallel to
horizon, point S. 70 E. and descend to 20°.
" 10 P.M. General appearance more diffused, upper limb of arch less defined. No
beams cross the zenith. Two detached ones 15° above horizon at S. 15 E. ; after a
few minutes one beam reappeared on zenith.
" 10'^ 15™. Appearance to W. of N. as before. One beam on zenith, two cross the
meridian, one to S. 30 E. at 15° above horizon, which disappears towards the arch
in S.E. Arch- more difl'used and descending to horizon, forming a pale mass, alt. 25°.
Beams broader, shifting 'and splitting more frequently. Soon a dark horizontal
band 4° broad crosses the arch, extending from N. 55 W. to N. 10 W. ; upper
limb 12° alt. ; it appears as a break in the auroral arch. Whole horizon all round
covered with a pale diffused light, strongest towards arch and in opposite quarter.
Beams still clear, the lateral broadest and best defined. Dark band becomes broader,
breaking up the arch.
" 10" 30"'. Beams from arch still clear, linear 2° to 6° broad, about 12 in number ; .
none reach the zenith ; a few lateral ones cross the moon's meridian, the upper
approaching within 8° of her orb, and still well-defined. N.E. beams most crowded ;
N.W. best defined and broadest. Dark band broader, severing the arch. Whole
phsenomena fading : longest and brightest and most numerous beams stretching
along N.E. horizon.
" lOi" 50™. Still fading. Beams and arch all disappear to W. of N. 18 narrow
beams between N. and N. 20 E. from remains of arch. Cold southerly breeze
sprung up.
" 10'' 55"". Breaking up as before.
"11 P.M. Difl'used light over all horizon (possibly reflexion of moon's light on
ground mist, which however is not discernible) . Scattered beams like cirrhus here
and there; linear along N. and N.E. horizon.
" Midnight. Two faint beams to N.E., and two strongly-defined lance-shaped
parallel ones to S.W."
On a General Law of Electrical Discharge.
By Sir W. Snow Harris, F.R.S.
An interesting discussion having arisen, at the last Meeting of the Association at
Oxford, relative to the laws and nature of the attractive force between two conduct-
ing spheres electrically charged, the author was led to undertake certain experimental
investigations with a view of verifying the application of a series by Professor W.
Thomson, of Glasgow, (relative to this interesting physical question) who, by a pe-
culiarly striking and very elegant method, had associated such forces with the
principle of optical reflexions, conceiving that in the common case of electrical at-
traction between two conducting spheres, certain electrical reflexions or images of
force, as it were, may be conceived to be continually reflected between the bodies in
infinitum, and that, by a particular series which he had deduced for such forms of
action, the problem might he completely brought under the dominion of analysis.
The object of the present paper was to determine principally the relative degree of
force between two conducting spheres at the instant of discharge, and to compare
that with the quantity of electricity requisite to produce the discharge at given di-
stances taken between the nearest points of the spheres,
c2
20
REPORT 1848.
In the following table will be found the results of the first series of experiments,
in which is given — the distance in inches between the nearest points of the spheres
(n) ; the measures or quantity of electricity requisite to produce an attractive force
of 1 grain (6) ; the measures or quantity of electricity requisite to produce discharge
at the given distance (c) ; the force of attraction at the instant of discharge (d).
Table I.
Distance in
inches.
Quantity
for force of
1 grain.
Quantity
for
discharge.
Attraction
in grains
at instant
of discharge.
01
0-2
0-3
0-4
0-5
0-8
10
1-5
2-0
6
,?-
13
15 +
20
23
30+
38 +
26
52
78
104
130
208
260
390
520
18 to 19
38
50
64
75
108
127
169
187
a
b
e
d
The electrical apparatus employed in these experiments was the same as that for-
merly described, and consisted of a common balance so circumstanced as to measure
the relative attractive forces ; a unit-measure for measuring the quantity of electri-
city ; a large electrical jar, and a Lane's discharging electrometer placed in connec-
tion with the former, by which the relative quantity requisite to produce discharge
at a given distance could be estimated.
In the above table, the last column d is deduced from columns b and c by the now
well-established law of electrical action, viz. that the force is as the square of the
quantity of electricity ; the four last numbers in column c are deduced from the ge-
neral law of the discharging electrometer, as observable in the preceding experiments
of that column, and are taken as the number of measures which would be requisite
to produce discharge at the given distances in column a, supposing the electrical jar
capable of containing the given quantity.
Now, on reviewing these results, there does not appear to be any general law or
relation between the numbers representing the force, as measured by the balance
and given in column d, and the comparative quantities of electricity required to pro-
duce discharge, as given in column c ; so far the experiments do not appear to fur-
nish any very satisfactory result.
On examining the question, however, more attentively, it will be seen that the
calculated force in column d is not really the force at the instant of discharge, taken
between the nearest points of the spheres, that is to say, the points upon which the
whole force is finally concentrated, and between which the discharge takes place, as
evidenced in the balls of the discharging electrometer ; hence column d does not ac-
tually represent the force in these points at this instant ; it, in fact, only represents
the general attractive force upon the whole of the opposed hemispheres, or rather in
two points q q' taken within the opposed surfaces, in which we may suppose the
whole force to be collected, and to be the same as if operating from every point or
the hemispheres.
The author proceeds to show how these points q q' may be determined, and ac-
(d^ + 2 a r)^ a
cording to the formula z = , in which % = distance of points q q'
under the surface a = distance of the nearest points of the sphere, and »• = radius.
Supposing both spheres equal and radius = 1, then, according to the author's ge-
neral results, brought under the consideration of the Section at the last Meeting, we
have the total force between the spheres in the inverse ratio of the squares of the |
distances between the points q q', or calling F the total attractive force we have ||
r>_ 1 . '
F = .
fl (« + 2 r)
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.
21
The points q q' therefore are calculable as to position and distance, and they are
found to recede further and further from the surface as the distance between the
nearest points of the spheres increases ; it is only at an infinite distance that they
can coincide -with the centres of the spheres.
Taking the force of the attraction to vary in the inverse duplicate ratio of the
squares of the distances, it is not diificult to determine the force in the points of dis-
charge from column d of the last table, supposing that column to represent the force
in the points q q' at the instant of discharge.
With this view, the author was led to the results given in Table II., in which is
given, as before, — distance between the nearest points (a) ; measures equal to a force
of 1 grain (b) ; measures to produce discharge (c) ; attractive, force in points q q' at
the instant of discharge {d). To which is now added, distance of points q q' within
the hemisphere (e) ; distance of points q q' from each other (/) ; calculated force at
the nearest points given in column a and taken at the instant of discharge {g) ; this
last column being deduced from columns (o) and (/) .
Table II.
Distance
of the
near points.
Measures
for a force of
1 grain.
Measures
for discharge.
Force in the
points q q'.
Distance of
points q q'
within
the spheres.
Total
distance of
points q q'.
Calculated
force
in nearest
points.
01
0-2
0-3
0-4
0-5
0-8
10
1-5
20
6
8 to 9
11
13
15-
20
23
30 to 31
37 to 38
26
52
78
104
130
208
260
390
520
18 to 19
33 to 37
50
64
76
108
127
162
190
0179
0-231
0-265
0-290
0-3
0-348
0-365
0-395
0-419
0-458
0-663
0-830
0-980
Mil
1-497
1-73
2-29
2-83
383
385
382
384
380
379
381
378
380
a
b
c
d
e
/ </
What the author wishes to call attention to in this table is, that the force in the
nearest points at the instant of discharge, as represented in the last column ff, is at
all distances a constant quantity, the numbers in column g not differing more than
may be conceived to arise from the differences incidental to such experiments, a
result quite in accordance with certain deductions arrived at by the author in former
researches and printed in the Royal Society's Transactions for the year 1834,-
p. 227, and since confirmed by Faraday in the course of his admirable Electrical
Researches, p. 449, § 1410.
The author concluded this communication by observing that he does not value
these results, however interesting the experiments from which they have been de-
rived, further than in proportion to their importance in tending to elucidate an in-
teresting department of science, and afford us some further insight into the nature
and mode of operation of a most wonderful agency.
With respect to the first object of these experiments, namely the verification of
certain series employed by Professor Thomson, he leaves that, in the absence of
Professor Thomson, to a future Meeting of the Association ; he would merely ob-
serve, that the deductions from these new experimental inquiries correspond very
fairly with the general formula he has given for such forces in electricity.
On the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat and on the Constitution of Elastic
Fluids. By J. P. Joule.
At the last meeting of the Association the author exhibited an apparatus which
by the agitation of fluids produced heat in exact proportion to the mechanical power
expended. Experiments were made with this apparatus on the heat evolved by the
friction of three totally dissimilar fluids — water, mercur)' and oil ; and in all three
cases the remarkable result appeared, that the mechanical power represented by the
force necessary to raise 782 lbs. one foot high produced the quantity of heat equal
to raise the temperature of a pound of water one degree.
22 REPORT — ] 848.
Since the above experiments were communicated to the Association a slight alte-
ration in the form of the apparatus, calculated to give greater exactness to the results,
occurred to Mr. Joule, and he has therefore commenced a new and extensive series
of experiments in order to determine the equivalent of heat with all the accuracy
which its importance to physical science demands. The result arrived at after a series
of forty experiments was an alteration of the equivalent before stated to 771, which is
beUeved to be within ^^J^dth of the truth, and therefore may for the present be assumed
as a tolerably good basis for calculation.
The author conceives the following points to be established : — 1st. His experi-
ments on the friction of fluids, confirming the views and experiments of Davy
and Rumford on the friction of solids, afford another decisive proof that heat
is simply a mechanical effect, not a substance. 2nd. His experiments, showing that
the thermal effects of the condensation and rarefaction of air are the equivalents of
the mechanical force expended or gained, prove that the heat of elastic fluids con-
sists simply in the vis viva of their particles ; and 3rd. The zero of temperature,
determined by the expansion of gases, is at 491° below the freezing-point of water.
We may, the author thinks, employ the above propositions as a basis on which to
calculate the specific heat of the gases. For whether we conceive the particles to
be revolving round one another, according to the hypothesis of Davy, or flying about
in every direction according to Herapath's view, the pressure of the gas will be
proportional to the vis viva of its particles. Thus it may be shown that the par-
ticles of hydrogen gas at the barometrical pressure of 30 inches and temperature
60°, must move with a velocity of 6225'54 feet per second in order to produce the
observed pressure of 14*714 lbs. on the square inch. Now a lb. moving at that
velocity is equivalent to 781°*45 of heat in a lb. of water, which will therefore re-
present the absolute heat of a lb. of hydrogen at 60°. But 60° is, as already stated,
781°*45
519° of temperature from zero, whence — — - — =: 1'5157 will be the heat required
to raise the temperature of a lb. of hydrogen 1°, compared with that necessary to
give the like increase of temperature to a lb. of water, in other words, 1"5157 will
be the specific heat of the gas.
Further, since oxygen is 16 times as heavy as hydrogen, its particles must move
at one-fourth the velocity in order to produce the same pressure. The specific heat
of oxygen (as of all other gases) will be inversely as its density, or = 0"09473.
Experiments of De la Roche and Berard
Theory. referred to capacity at constant volume.
Hydrogen .... 1-5157 2-3520
Aqueous vapou
Nitrogen
Oxygen . .
Carbonic acid
0-1684 0-6050
0-1074 0-1953
0-0947 0-1686
0-0685 0-1579
Notices of AurorcB observed at Swansea. By John Jenkins, F.R.A.S.
Dec. 3, 1S45, after a general luminosity in the north, a flat elliptical arch, from
near the vertex of which two pyramidal coruscations shot up to the zenith, grow-
ing fainter upwards, while a third rose between the crown and the northern extre-
mity of the arch. At half-past 8 the arch was higher, its upper edge nearly inter-
secting the Pleiades and passing through Gemini and Taurus. Its breadth = \^
diam. of the moon, light yellowish.
Sept. 29, 1847. — At a quarter past 7 this fine aurora had the appearance of a
white striated band extending from E. to W. and crossing the zenith. Jupiter was
about 1 diam. of the moon from the upper margin of the brush near the eastern
horizon.
Oct 24, 1847.— The characteristic radiating canopy of light of this great aurora
was observed at Swansea ; light red and filmy, vanishing round the moon in a circle,
whose radius was 6 lunar diameters. Apparent motion of the light upwards ; light
brightest in the N.W., where silvery as well as red pencils were constantly emitted.
To the N.E. of the moon near the zenith, a partial halo or corona was formed.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE 8ECTI0NS. 23
Tables of Meteorological Ph(Enome7ia observed at Swansea.
By John Jenkins, F.R.A.S.
In presenting to the British Association the accompanj'ing records of the Meteo-
rological Phasnomena observed at Swansea, I can only hope they are of value as
adding to the number of continuous and regular observations by a series taken at a
position far separated from any other spot where similar observations are registered ;
this being the only series, as far as I am aware, obtained in Wales.
Any attempt to examine the occurrence of instrumental registries which gave ano-
malous indications, would be occupying time with an inquiry that can be better pro-
secuted in the study, and then when assisted by a long series of corresponding ob-
servations. There are, however, some local conditions which it will be desirable to
notice, that the great difference between these tables and others taken at stations
dissimilarly situated may be explained. The first relates to temperature.
A comparison of the temperature of the inland towns of England with the tem-
perature of Swansea would surprise the casual inquirer ; for instance, the tempera-
ture of May 1844 was unusually low. On Friday the l7th, the thermometer at the
Dock-master's office, St. Katherine's, London, stood at 51°, while at Swansea, in the
open air, the mean temperature on that day was 60°. Again, on the 24th of June, at
7 A.M., the thermometer at London stood in the shade at 70° Fahr. ; at Swansea, on
the same morning at 9 a.m., 66° ; deducting the increase of temperature for two hours,
2°*5 per hour, the temperature at Swansea was 61°, being 9° less than at London.
These considerable variations are to be accounted for by the position of Swansea,
being on the margin of an extensive bay communicating with the Bristol Channel.
The temperature of its water, being in the first example above the temperature of the
air, imparted so much heat to the atmosphere as to modify the cold to the amount
mentioned ; while, in the second instance, the water in the bay being below the
temperature of the air lowered the thermometric indication.
2ndiy. The direction of the wind is given for the total number of days in each
month, from daily observations taken at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the other re-
gistries of the instruments are made. This direction must not be regarded as the
direction of the great aerial wave, but of the current modified by the headlands,
which extend to the peninsula of Gower on the west and Kilvay Hill with its con-
tiguous high lands on the east ; a correction consequently becomes necessary when
comparing the direction of the wind at Swansea with other places not similarly cir-
cumstanced. Careful registers kept at the Nash and Mumbles light-houses and
Wormshead, would enable tables of equation to be constructed for such correction.
3rd!y. The time and height of high water.
Swansea Bay being situated at the mouth of the Bristol Channel, and having its
shores lashed by the waves of the Atlantic, often exhibits in its undulations the im-
pression of distant gales propagated over the surface of that broad mass of water
long before the atmospheric disturbance itself has reached the coast.
The height of the tidal wave in Swansea Bay is consequently dependent on the
direction and force of the wind passing over the Atlantic, being increased when
westerly and reduced when easterly. Another influence which belongs to this sub-
ject, although of minor import, is the pressure of the atmosphere at the time of high
water. La Place seems to think that this flux and reflux at Paris is attributable to
the tidal waves which form a variable base tci*the atmosphere.
The Swansea tide tables contain the heights of water in the river for every day during
the year ; but these tables being computed without reference to the disturbing causes
alluded to, their accuracy is destroyed as often as the wind blovvs stronglyfrom either of
the points mentioned. Thus the depth of water on the bar is not always the greatest on
the day mentioned in the Tide Table. This discrepancy occurred during the high tide
of 1846, when the highest tide did not occur on the day stated in the Tide Table, but,
on the contrary, the second tide on the following day was the highest. Again, on one
occasion, in the Tide Table the depth of water on Swansea bar is stated to be 23 feet,
whereas it amounted to 30 feet ; an increase in the tidal wave equal to two-thirda
the average depth of water on the bar at high water during the lowest neap tides.
It is much to be desired that the amount of disturbance occasioned by the various
winds should be ascertained and arranged as the equation table is for the sun-dial,
so that persons who may be interested in the inquiry may be enabled to ascertain
the accurate height of tide at high water.
24
REPORT — 1848.
Tables of Meteorological Phcenomena
Mean height.
30'25 a.m.
30-24 p.m.
3003 a.m.
30-05 p.m.
30-17 a.m.
3008 p.m.
29-92 a.m,
29-92 p.m.
30-05 a.m.
30-05 p.m.
29-71 a.m.
29-51 p.m.
3006 a.m.
30-06 p.m.
29-81 a.m,
29-76 p.m.
29-68 a.m.
29-66 p.m.
29-98 a.m.
29-65 p.m.
29-91 a.m.
29-93 p.m.
29-90 a.m.
29-89 p.m.
29-97 a.m.
29-88 p.m.
30-14 a.m.
3016 p.m.
30-11 a.m.
30-12 p.m.
30-34 a.m.
30-34 p.m.
29-89 a.m.
29-93 p.m.
29-96 a.m.
29-97 p.m.
30-50 a.m.
30-48 p.m.
Highest.
i. 3.
30-57 p.m.
30-45 a.m.'
31.
31-30 p.m.
^ 3. 4. 14.
30-26 a.m. & p.m.
30-55 p.m.
17.
30-42 p.m.
19.
30-46 a.m. & p.m.
19.
30-47 a.m.
12,
3008 a.m. & p.m.
^9.
30-60 p.m.
15.
30-23 a.m. & p.m.
30-30 p.m.
21,
30-32 a.m.
16, 17,
30-46 p.m. & a.m.
30-43 a.m. & p.m.
23. 24.
30-70 p.m. & a.m.
19.
30-52 p.m.
29.
30-58 p ro.
24,
30-68 a.m.
26,
29-60 p.m.
29-63 a.m. &p.m,
10,
29-79 p.m.
24,
29-44 a.m.
23.
28-98 a.m.
24,
28-85 a.m. & p.m.
27.
29-38 a.m.
12,
313 p.m.
27.
28-91 p.m.
21, 22,
29-43 p.m. &a.m,
4.
29-41 a.m.
16,
29-59 a.m.
29-14 a.m.
5. 23,
29-77 p.m.&a.m,
22,
29-67 p.m.
15.
29-92 a.m.
27>
1-28 p.m.
23.
29-44 a.m.
31.
29-86 p.m.
Hygrometer.
9 A.M.
Dry. Wet.
65-9
640
66-9
61-1
51-5
46-6
47-7
43-7
39-3
45-8
51-8
57-7
61-8
64-4
66-3
64-7
52-2
45-6
48-0
59-5
59-7
64-3
58-0
48-8
455
46-9
42-3
37-5
44-0
50-9
56-5
59-5
61-6
63-5
60-8
50-2
45-1
47-4
6-4
4-3
2-6
31
2-7
1-1
0-8
1-4
1-8
1-8
0-9
1-2
2-3
2-8
2-10
3-9
2-0
0-5
0-6
3 p.m.
Dry. Wet
700
66-2
69-9
62-9
53-3
47-3
48-2
44-9
41-0
48-9
53-9
58-8
63-6
66-7
69-1
68-0
53 6
47-1
49-0
61-9
61-3
66-2
58-6
50-3
46-2
47-5
44-0
39-3
46-8
53-1
57-8
60-9
63-4
651
64-0
51-8
46-2
48-4
Mean
temp,
of dav.
Mean
temp.
of night.!
70
66
71
63
53
46
47
44
40
48
54
58
68
71
72
72
57
50
51
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.
25
observed at Swansea,
Thermometer.
Date.
Direction of Wind in days.
Weather
in days.
Remarks.
Maximum on
Minimum
on
No. of
observ.
!5
H
«
i
i
1
1
10, 12,
82
21,
58
58
1842.
June
No observa
on the wi
tio
tid
IS
in
aken
fune.
22
7
1
Rain in
inches, tenths.
1 4
lines.
2
i6,
74
7.
57
62
July
7
2
2
7
3
23
10
8
20
8
3
2
3
17.
86
25.
56
62
August ...
3
11
1
4
6
23
1
9
20
7
4
1
3
8
I. 4.
69
20, 21,
51
60
September
2
19
6
13
3
17
21
5
4
4
8
9.
63
26,
38
62
October...
1
24
3
4
4
2
24
21
8
2
3
10, 11, 12, 13, 19,
51
6,17,
39
60
November
11
3
16
4
12
5
7
10
11
9
9
6
13.
54
24, 27,
37
62
December
15
5
11
19
10
12
7
12
3
5
7
26, 28,
51
12,
32
62
1843.
January...
3
2
1
9
8
12
27
11
12
8
3
2
J, 21,
49
15,
26
56
Februaiy ..
2
29
6
12
1
1
5
21
4
3
1
4
7
19.
62
3.
31
61
March
1
5
7
29
4
14
2
19
6
6
1
5
9
19.
64
10, 12,
41
60
April
3
8
4
4
5
17
9
8
13
12
5
3
6
1
2,
68
4, 19, 20,
52
62
May
6
2
22
1
17
6
9
15
9
7
3
8
2
*^8^'
7. 2. 9,
44
60
June
1
11
3
7
22
7
12
17
9
4
2
7
7
II, 16,
80
21, .
46
60
July
10
1
1
17
21
7
18
9
4
2
2
5
8l'
22,
43
62
August ...
5
4
1
7
1
24
11
6
21
5
5
2
8
7
8!'
28,
37
60
September
6
9
2
13
4
15
5
34
27
2
1
6
2
a. 4.
71
26,
30
60
October ...
6
1
6
12
3
8
14
11
6
4
9
1
4. 5. 6,
57
30
60
November
8
6
4
9
5
10
10
8
12
12
6
5
7
2
1 16, 17, 18,
! 54
2, 13.
37
62
December
9
5
5
8
5
9
8
11
20
3
8
1
1
3
1
26
REPORT — 1848
,
Table '
Barometer.
Hygrometer.
Mean height.
Highest.
Lowest.
9 A.M.
Diff.
3 P.M.
Diff.
Mean
temp,
of day.
Mean
temp.
af night.
37
Dry.
Wet.
Dry.
Wet.
30-18 a.m.
30-18 p.m.
II,
30-56 a.m,& p.m.
6,
29-33 a.m.
421
41-7
0-4
44-3
43-5
0-8
48
29-78 a.m.
29-79 p.m.
21,
30-38 p.m.
25.
29-33 p.m.
40-3
38-8
1-5
41-9
41-1
0-8
45
33
29-97 a.m.
29-98 p.m.
29,
30-67 a.m, & p.m.
16,
39-48 a.ra.
45-0
43-1
1-9
47-2
45-1
2-1
52
36
30-31 a.m.
30-30 p.m.
9.
30-68 a.m. & p.m.
4.
29-81 p.m.
54-2
60-9
3-3
57-2
532
40
62
41
30-32 a.m.
30-30 p.m.
2,
30-61 p.m.
7.
30-03 p.m.
60-8
54-3
6-5
63-5
570
6-5
70
41
3014 a.m.
30-13 p.m.
16,
30-43 a.m.
18,
29-54 p.m.
63-1
58-5
4-6
66-3
61-0
5-3
71
52
29-84 a.m.
30- 13 p.m.
26, Zc,
30-45 p.m., a.m. & p.m.
30,
29-73 p.m.
66-4
61-2
5-2
69-5
63-2
6-3
69
64
3001 a.m.
30-02 p.m.
19.31.
30-44 a.m. & p.m.
3.
29-32 a.m.
61-6
58-3
3-3
64-7
60-8
3-9
64
59
30-22 a.m.
30-20 p.m.
I,
30-52 p.m.
17.
29-94 a.m.& p.m.
61-8
59-3
3-5
65-0
61-5
3-5
64
60
29-84 a.m.
29-83 p.m.
27,
30-39 a.m.
IS.
29-07 p.m.
521
51-3
0-8
54-3
63-2
1-1
54
51
29-91 a.m.
29-91 p.m.
21,
30-47 Jum. & p,m.
8,
29-08 p.m.
47-0
46-2
0-8
48-4
47-3
1-1
49
42
30-04 a.m.
30-01 p.m.
4.
30-36 a.m.
16,
29-32 p.in.
35-9
33-9
2-0
37-5
36-0
1-5
38
32
29-86 a.m.
29-86 p.m.
7.
30-28 a.m.
28,
29-11 p.m.
41-1
40-1
1-0
431
42-0
11
44
36
30-01 a.m.
30-01 p.m.
i»»
30-44 p.m.
23,
29-49 a.m.
36-8
35-4
1-4
39-7
38-2
1-5
40
32
30-08 a.m.
30-09 p.m.
21,
30-50 p.m.
3.16.
29-78 a.m.& p.m.
39-8
37-5
2-3
43-5
41-3
2-2
44
32
29-94 a.m.
29-92 p.m.
16,
30-45 a.m.
9.
29-21 p.m.
52-9
49-3
3-6
56-7
52-6
4-1
57
44
30-02 a.m.
30-02 p.m.
15.
30-43 p.m.
10,
29-61 a.m.
56-7
52-5
4-2
58-9
54-8
4-1
60
46
30-07 a.m,
30-05 p.m.
9, 10,
30-47 p.m. & a,m.
5.6,
29-58 p.m. &a.m.
64-6
60-6
4-0
67-6
62-8
4-8
69
53
30-04 a.m.
30-03 p.m.
5.
30-28 a.m. & p.m.
31.
20-62 a.m.&p.m.
64-2
61-C
3-2
66-6
62-9
3-7
66
64
* On Sunday night the 23rd of June and Monday morning, a thunder^
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS
27
(conlinued).
Thermometer.
D.itc.
Direction of Wind in days.
Weatlier
in days.
Remarks.
Maximum on
Minimum
on
No. of
Observ.
4
i
10
4
m
ai
5
2
3
34
fr
I
$
6,
53
I, 15, 16,
16,
27
23.
62
1844.
January...
Rain in
inches, tenths, lines.
3 1 2
A heavy gale of wind,
barometer not affected.
49
26
68
February ..
4
12
1
6
1
12
3
19
20
6
3
3 4 4
27,29,30,31,
58
2^8
62
March
3
14
3
6
1
8
8
19
23
2
6
.3 2 8
26,
72
6,
34
60
April
3
1
9
3
29
10
4
28
2
1 1 1 5
14.
70
19,
37
62
May
7
22
4
8
2
5
4
9
29
1
1
g
|o 8
30,
81
I,
46
60
June*
1
4
6
1
30
9
9
27
3
a
a
s 1 3 7
1,^3.
81
6, 17,20,
48
62
July
6
2
5
2
17
8
22
27
4
1 1 7 9
31.
73
16, 17,
47
56
August ...
3
1
8
2
13
7
28
20
11
a
|4 8 7
1,2.4.
76
30,
42
60
September
1
21
4
6
2
12
2
12
25
2
3
1 1
4.
65
23,24,26,
38
62
October...
1
8
15
1
12
5
20
15
15
1
^5 3 4
16, 17, 18, zo,
55
25.
32
60
November
1
13
4
19
1
8
8
4
22
4
4
3 8 5
29.
48
10,
24
62
December.
9
29
24
24
4
1
4 6
5.
49
24.
49
28
7.
27
62
56
1845.
January...
February ..
4
3
5
6
1
19
27
1
15
4
2
1
9
13
18
21
6
4
5
2
3 2 8
Jan. 12th, fog;
2gth, snow.
3 4 2
Feb. 10th, snow.
27.
55
14,
17
62
March
2
29
1
4
15
4
6
25
3
3
2 3 11
6l'
12,
34
60
April ......
2
14
17
1
18
3
4
20
5
5
2 5
April 22nd, thunder.
30,
70
7.
39
62
May
9
21
2
3
1
12
1
13
21
8
2
1 1 9
sJ'
4.
46
60
June
4
3
1
25
12
17
11
2
3 1 9
V'
16,29,30,
47
62
July _
1
8
7
3
25
5
13
21
8
2
July 2, min. and max.
temp, alike.
3 4 6
storm ; on Tuesday the 25th a large halo round the sun.
28
REPORT — 1848.
Table
Barometer.
Hygrometer.
Mean height.
Highest.
Lowest.
9 A.M.
Diff.
3 P.M.
Diff.
Mean
temp,
of day.
Mean
temp.
of night.
Dry.
Wet.
Dry.
Wet.
3000 a.m.
30-01 p.m.
29. 3°>
30-45 a.m., p.m. & a.m.
9.
29-55 a.m.
62-5
59-9
2-6
64-9
61-5
3-4
64
53
30-03 a.m.
30-02 p.m.
I,
30-41 a.m.
19.
2902 p.m.
59-7
57-7
2-0
62-1
59-9
22
62
50
3009 a.m.
30-08 p.m.
^3,
30-59 a.m. & p.m.
8,
29-29 p.m.
54-7
53-2
1-5
56-8
55-2
1-6
57
47
29-78 a.m.
29-76 p.m.
30-35 a.m. & p.m.
19.
29-18 p.m.
49-4
47-6
1-8
50-9
490
1-9
50
43
29-92 a.m.
29-91 p.m.
12,
30-43 p.m.
20,
29-05 a.m.
44-7
43-4
1-3
46-2
44-6
1-6
45
38
29-83 a.m.
29-82 p.m.
9>
30-60 a.m. & p.m.
19.
29-16 p.m.
47-1
460
1-1
48-3
47-2
1-1
48
41
3005 a.m.
3005 p.m.
10,
30-43 p.m.
24,
29-48 p.m.
46-6
44-8
1-8
49-2
47-2
20
49
41 i
29-88 a.m.
29-87 p.m.
12,
30-63 a.m.
23.
29-26 a.m.
48-5
45-6
2-9
520
48-6
3-4
52
39
29-83 a.m.
29-82 p.m.
3°.
30-42 a.m.& p.m.
2.
29-19 p.m.
52-0
48-8
3-2
54-6
51-2
3-4
56
42
3005 a.m.
30-04 p.m.
29. 30.
30-46 p.m. & a.m.
i8,
29-06 a.m.
60-4
55-6
4-8
63-7
58-2
5-5
66
50
30- 18 a.m.
30-17 p.m.
30-48 a.m.
29-72 a.m.
73-0
660
7-0
76-8
68-8
80
73
59
29-99 a.m.
29-99 p.m.
28,
30-34 a.m.
29-35 p.m.
67-1
62-6
5-5
70-2
64-9
53
68
56
29-66 a.m.
29-64 p.m.
25.
3-41 a.m. & p.m.
29-57 p.m.
68-0
67-0
1-0
70-3
65-5
4-8
71
57
30-84 a.m.
.30-83 p.m.
30-53 a.m.
29-49 p.m.
65-6
60-5
5-1
68-9
63-5
5-4
70
54
29-76 a.m.
29-73 p.m.
27,
30-35 a.m. & p.m.
IS.
2900 a.m.
54-1
51-8
2-3
56-5
540
2-5
57
46
28-94 a.m.
28-93 p.m.
10,
30-49 a.m.
20,
29-23 a.m.
48-7
47-2
1-5
50-7
490
1-7
49
40
29-95 a.m.
29-95 p.m.
30. 31.
30-55 p.m. & a.m.
28-89 a.ra'.
37-3
36-1
1-2
39-1
37-8
1-3
40
32
29-52 a.m.
29-50 p.m.
30-36 a.m.
24.
29-17 a.m.
39-5
38-3
1-2
41-3
40-4
09
43
36
3000 a.m.
29-99 p.m.
21,
30-38 a.m.
8,
29-54 p.m.
39-9
38-0
1-9
430
40-9
2-1
44
34
* 8th of February heavy gale of snow from 9 ta 1, during which time 8 inches fell, measured on a level.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.
29
Thermometer.
Jirection of Wind in days.
Weather
in days.
Remarks.
Maximiuu on
Minimum
on
No. of
Observ.
Date.
4
4
(4
m
19
5
30
17
1
11
^
3°,
74
16, 17,22
47
62
1845.
August ...
3
Rain in
iifcbes. tenths.
6 4
lines.
6
I, 12,
69
24,
37
60
September
1
4
4
16
2
17
1
12
17
6
7
3
8
3
; 62
26,
37
62
October...
3
18
17
24
22
8
1
2
1
; 56
23.
31
60
November
5
1
22
10
6
16
15
9
6
4
3
2
i6,
52
22,
30
62
December
1
8
14
5
34
11
9
10
4
4
6
29, 30. 31.
53
2,
34
62
1846.
January...
15
1
19
8
17
15
6
9
Dec
6
. 13, mist.
1 2
25, 28,
56
11,
28
56
February .
6
7
9
3
7
24
19
8
1
1
9
2
15.
58
19.
29
62
March ...
2
5
1
6
2
23
6
17
12
15
2
2
4
3
J6.
61
7.
35
60
April
5
1€
1
10
2
13
4
14
17
10
3
2
5
1
IJ'
15,
43
62
May
5
4
11
3
26
7
5
23
8
1
8
SB'
24,
53
60
June
2
1
8
4
41
1
3
20
9
1
1
6
8
31.
84
5?'
62
July
2
2
1
9
1
23
11
13
16
11
4
3
8
4
6,
80
14.
51
62
August ...
2
11
1
5
2
26
4
11
15
8
8
3
3
2
12,
(. 77
29,
46
60
September
3
4
1
15
1
19
5
12
24
5
1
2
5
6,
64
27,
37
62
October...
1
10
2
6
27
4
12
11
13
7
5
1
^6
30,
28
58
November
10
5
24
1
14
2
3
17
8
4
3
3
5
19, 20,
49
16.
23
62
December
6
28
2
4
3
12
23
3
1
2
9
9
23, 27,
49
IS, 16, 17,
52
12, 18, 19
28
27,
20
62
56
1847.
January...
February .
1
1
15
6
3
37
9
2
2
10
8
1
3
4
14
16
17
5
6
6
2
2
Jan. 2,
2
Feb
6 2
snow and fog.
4 8*
3, snow.
ih, snow all day at i
ntervals.
Mails t
rora Llanell
yc
ea
set
Ot
rai
^
ba
gs
bei
ng
ca
rried or
horseback.
30
REPORT — 1848.
Table
Barometer.
Hygrometer.
Mean height.
Highest.
Lowest.
9 A.M,
Diff.
3 A.M.
Diff.
]\Iean
temp.
of day.
Jlean
temp.
of niglit.
Dry.
Wet.
Dry.
Wet.
30-OG a.m.
3004 p.m.
30-57 a.m. '
20,
29-50 p.m.
46-3
43-8
2-5
50-0
46-7
3-3
51
38
29-89 a.ra.
30-15 p.m.
20,
30-99 p.m.
8,
29-45 p.m.
509
47-6
3-3
54-0
50-0
4-0
59
41
29-95 a.m.
29-95 p.m.
31.
30-58 a.m.
8,
29-52 a.m.
60-0
55-8
0-2
64-3
58-7
5-6
68
50
30-09 a.m.
30-4G p.m.
iS,
30-95 p.m.
IS.
29-55 a.m.
62-8
57-9
4-9
67-8
60-4
74
75
52
30-20 a.m.
30-20 p.m.
1,
30-43 p.m.
7.
29-92 a.m.
68-2
63-5
4-7
726
67-
5-6
71
57
30-17 a.m.
30-16 p.m.
14.
30-42 a.m.
29-74 p.m.
64-0
598
42
69-9
65-7
4-2
72
54
30-08 a.m.
30-09 p.m.
2f!,
30-34 a.m. '
16,
29-67 a.m.
58-2
55-5
2-7
64-2
61-4
2-8
66
52
29-94 a.m.
3005 p.m.
24,
3082 p.m.
22,
29-14 a.m.
53-6
52-5
1-1
57-8
556
2-2
59
49
3004 a m.
30-23 p.m.
30-95 p.m. '
28,
29-19 p.m.
48-2
46-2
20
52-3
50-4
1-9
54
44
29-83 a.m.
29-83 p.m.
I,
30-35 p.m.
7.
29-07 a.m.
42-0
40-7
1-3
450
43-5
1-5
46
38
29-80 a.m.
29-94 p.m.
12,
30-48 a.m.
31.
29- 12 a.m.
361
353
0-8
39-5
38-3
1-2
41
32
29-07 a.m.
29-63 p.m.
18,
30-46 a.m.
13.
28-00 p.m.
43-1
.421
1-0
466
45-4
1-2
48
38
29-69 a.ra.
29-61 p.m.
8,
30-28 a.m.
28-92 a.m.
43-9
41-8
2-1
49-7
47-2
2-5
51
38
29-86 a.m.
29-87 p.m.
30.
30-20 a.m.
i3,
29-28 p.m.
49 6
45-5
4-1
55-2
51-0
4-2
57
42
30-194 a.m.
30-308 p.m.
22,
30 42 a.m.
17.
29-51 p.m.
61-2
54-6
6-6
68.7
61-5
7-2
70
52 '
29-906 a.m.
29-905 p.m.
30-32 a.m.
39-44 a.m.
62-2
57-7
4-5
655
610
4-5
67
52
30-090 a.m.
30-149 p.m.
3°.
30-84 p.m.
20,
3084 a.m.
63-5
59-9
3-6
68-7
64-1
4-6
70
55
i
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.
31
contimied).
Thermometer-
Date.
Direction of Wind in days.
Weather
in days.
Remarks,
Maximum on
Minimum
on
No. of
observ.
■i
»
(B
i
i-
i
i
1
si
en
P
j8,
58
I, 4.
32
62
1817.
March .,...
3
18
22
1
11
3
11
21
5
5
Rain in
Indies, tenths.
3 6
Rain.
lines.
7
a, 13, 14, 20,21, 29,
60
2,
30
58
April
4
8
3
1
17
11
16
15
10
5
1
5
Rain.
1
27, 28, 31,
74
4.
38
56
May
1
1
2
20
4
27
4
2
16
12
3
3
1
5
I,
81
II.
42
54
June
6
7
2
24
9
12
31
7
2
2
7
3
12,
81
23.
51
50
July
7
8
1
9
26
6
6
22
8
1
2
5
8
26,
79
4,24.
46
54
August ...
6
15
15
2
24
19
9
3
3
8
8
I,
70
6,
41
54
September
4
I
8
13
10
34
11
15
4
3
3
2
12,
68
6,
39
58
October...
1
2
3
23
2
16
5
10
13
10
8
7
3
1
6,
62
19.
31
60
November
4
5
1
14
16
6
15
13
9
3
2
7
8
y-
22, 31,
29
60
December.
3
10
1
16
5
3
14
7
10
6
1
8
4.
54
28,
20
54
1848.
January...
11
24
3
10
2
5
7
21
7
3
1
2
4
28,
53
I,
28
58
Februaiy ..
3
2
2
3
29
5
18
13
7
9
6
4
3
31,
64
17.
31
62
March
9
8
9
1
4
6
20
17
7
7
3
9
9
k
10,
33
60
April
13
12
1
7
a
12
2
8
16
8
6
3
6
J4.
79
I,
44
63
May ......
4
6
8
4
30
3
6
26
3
2
2
2
6
19.
76
I,
42
58
June
1
1
8
«
30
8
12
8
15
7
3
4
6
14. 17.
. 80
I,
45
63
July
6
3
5
26
15
7
15
9
6
3
5
3
82 REPORT — 1848.
On Meteorological Observations continued at Alten in Finmark.
B^JoHn Lee, LL.D., F.R.S.
Dr. Lee presented to the British Association the observations made by Mr. J. H.
Grewe at Alten in 1846 and 1847.
The annexed tables contain the principal results of those observations reduced to
the English scale, the observations being made with French instruments.
These Meteorological Observations are a continuation of others presented by Dr.
Lee to the Society at York, Cambridge and Southampton for the years 1843, 1844
and 1845, and which were made by Mr. Grewe and Mr. J. F. Cole.
The observations for 1846-47 have been made by Mr. Grewe alone, Mr. Cole
having returned to England. They contain the twelve tables for the months, with
the daily observations, as formerly, for 1846, and the same for 1847 ; also two
tables with the summary of the contents and the results for each year.
The former observations for 1843, 1844 and 1845, contained in addition the half-
hourly observations made on the 21st of each month, which have been discontinued,
as Mr. Grewe had no assistance as formerly, and his avocations at the proper hours
prevented him, as also did occasional illness. There was no want of zeal or inat-
tention to the subject.
Mr. Grewe and Mr. Cole were both assistants in the employ of the British Copper
Mining Association established at Alten, and only able to devote their leisure time
to these subjects as an amusement and an object of gratification. They laboured
under great disadvantages, not only from climate, but from the want of encourage-
ment and the means of communicating with persons of science. They carried on
their observations in a climate in which in the winter they could hardly touch their
instruments, and where they are deprived of the light of the sun in the winter for
several months. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, they fixed a thermometer on
the highest mountain (Storvandsfjeld) to the west of the Alten Copper Works before
the winter commenced, and examined it again in the spring. Dr. Lee recommended
a similar experiment to be tried at Swansea. Also they observed the auroras during
the winter, and in a former year presented a paper concerning them.
These Alten Observations have not been already without some use and interest.
Col. Sabine has referred to them in one of his papers on the Meteorology of Bom-
bay, and Mr. Birt, in his papers on the atmospheric wave, sets great value on the
Alten Observations. So likewise do Mr. Ronalds of Kew and the Rev. Mr. Fisher
of Greenwich.
With respect to the Christiania Observations, Dr. Lee remarked, that since his
arrival at Swansea he had received the Christiania Observations for 1847 from J. R.
Crowe, Esq., Her Britannic Majesty's Consul-General at Christiania in Norway.
They are a continuation of others made last year, and which Dr. Lee had the
honour of presenting to the Association, in Mr. Crowe's name, at Oxford*. Mr.
Crowe formerly was the British Consul at Alten, where he resided for several years,
and it is in a great measure owing to his judgement and zeal that the meteorological
observations were commenced at Alten, and continued, since his promotion and re-
moval to Christiania, by Mr. Grewe and Mr. Cole.
Mr. Thomas, the Manager of the Alten Copper Mining Works, and a pastor, a
Professor Loestadius, an eminent botanist, are, I believe, the principal patrons of
science at Alten.
Christiania, N. lat. 59° 54' l", long. 10° 45' O" east.
Alten, N. lat. 69° 58' 3" +, long. 23° + east.
Observations upon the Meteorological Observations for 1846 and IS'i? from
Alten in Lapland, in a Letter from Mr. J. F. Cole to Dr. Lee.
London, July 22, 1848.
Sir, — According to your desire I have examined the Alten Meteorological Obser-
vations for 1846 and 1847, which you have recently received from my former col-
league, Mr. Grewe, and I have derived much pleasure from their inspection.
* See the Report of the Association for 1847, Transactions of the Sections, p. 33.
Table <ars 1846 and 1847, being a conti
»bove ground; reduced to Fahrenheit's scale).
H7.
Day and
time of
1846.
Februa^'^
March,
10
April
3-6
May 4-5
June ,4-2
July 47
August""^
Septeu'
Octobi
Noven
Means
Minimum 3 p.m.
24th,
morn.
5th,
morn.
4th,
morn.
3rd,
night.
2nd,
night.
4th,
night.
11th,
morn.
10th,
morn.
29th,
morn.
15th,
mom.
28th,
morn.
Day and
time of
1847.
1 A 23rd,
Decen<i4 ^^^^^
7-3
31st,
morning.
12th,
morning.
14th,
night.
3rd,
night.
14th,
night.
8th,
night.
4th,
morning.
14th, 31st,
morning.
15th,
morning.
24th,
morning.
16th,
morning.
22nd,
morning.
1846.
7-6
-14-8
0-4
+ 8-6
6-8
320
19-4
230
27-5
10-4
- 2-2
-11-2
1847.
-1-3
-31
-31
+2-3
140
320
37-4
410
32-9
12-2
10-4
5-9
7-6 151
almost calm, and 10=hurricane ; and
uded, and 8 = all clear.
Highest 1846. The year 1847 was warmer th
Lowest ■ The atmosphere was drier, the wind
Total ral'l from the Alten results in French milli
Snheit. Hours of observation 9 a.m., 3
Table oi' the principal Results of the iVIeteorological Observations made by .1. H. Gb
by I
I the Alten Copper Works, Finmark, in Norway, during the years 1846 and 1847, being s
. J. H. Grewe and J. F. Cole. — N. lat. 69° 58' 3", E. long. 23°.
[Brit. Asaoc. Report, Sectione, p. 32.]
I of those made at Alteo in 1843, 1844 and 184^,
......
Baro^Ccr (cor.ec.cd ior m correction, and reduced to the led of the .c).
-»„...„«„ On . ha shad., S f«, ab.va groand ; „da„d „ F.hranh.i.-s sadc,.
wu.a.
Cad..
Oearsk,.
Monthly mdos.
HighMt.
L«w«t.
Ranga.
in English inches.
Monthly means.
M.a.™3P.„.
„,n..n„
,.M.
Range.
MonthJr mean
,22°z
S?'K'5o°ad°'i,
.and...
,..., ,.,.
Da; and
IsiV
^t"?
....
,«,.
^a"?
°m."f
,«.
.a„,
iq.|6.
,a.r-
1846.
,...
,.«.
.....
Da^-d
IB46.
Da7 and
.„..
toe"?
"Sa"?
.8.6.
M7.
...,.
...
.«..
:..
,...
,8.7.
.....
.....
January ...
29-69767| 29?i;i:)8
3rd,
3 P.M.
Sth,
9 a.m.
30-34994
3031490
1st, [ 4th,
28-95191
29-0944.1
1-39803
1-22047
047244
3-95669
15-930
30-086
19th,
night.
1st, 17th,
aftet-n.
42-8
47-3
24tli,
31st,
morning.
- 7-6
-1-3
50-4
48-6
1-817
3-033
0-366 1 0-516
2860
1-786
Januar?.
February..,
2950165 29'6U87
8th,
9 p.ii.
23rd,
3 p.m.
29-90663
30-31923
10th, 1 Sth,
3 P.M. 1 9 A.M.
28-88262
29-16136
1-02401
1-15787
2-50000
1-43700
12-596
14-821
28tb,
25th,
9 p.m.
30-2
38-3
5lb,
12th,
morning.
-14-8
-31
45-0
41-4
1-428
1-857
0-476 0-369
2-613
3262
Febmary.
March
29-652Se| 29-77558
24lh,
9 a.m.
25lh,
9 P.M.
30-17317
30-34246
14th, 1 13th,
29-03144
29-10900
1-14173
123346
0-48031
1-71653
26-907
21-198
31st,
19th,
3 p.m.
40-6
41-0
4th,
14th,
night.
- 0-4
-3-1
41-0
44-1
1-806
1-566
0-419
0-478
3-376
2-667
March.
April
29-89709 29-79823
23rd, ' 14lh,
30-42514
30-24325
28th, 1 3rd,
9 P.M. :9 a.m.
29-13380
29-22120
1-29134
1-02205
1-29921
0-22441
33-426
25-777
24th,
17th,
46-4
536
3rd,
night.
3rd,
night.
+ 8-6
+2-3
37-8
51-3
2-000
1-332
0733
0500
2-628
3322
AprU.
May
29-87967:30 02671
21st, i 6th,
9 P.M. 19 A.M.
30-24561
30-64364
27th, ' 22nd,
9 A.M. 3 P.M.
29-33065
29-54837
0-91496
0-99527
1-67322
0-32283
38-071
36-612
20lh,
7th,
55-4
54-5
2nd,
night.
14th,
night.
6-8
14-0
48-6
40-5
1-720
1-605
0-838
0-462
2-419
3-000
May.
June
29-86409 29-84256
23rd, 1st.
9 P.M. : 9 A.M.
30-24010
30-30309
14lb, 1 25th,
»p.M. 3 p.m.
29-35742
29-51569
088268
0-78740
1-06299
0-21260
50-482
54-590
27th,
24th,
75-2
84-2
4th,
niRbt.
Sth,
night.
32-0
32-0
43-2
62-2
2-366
1-400
1-133
0-800
2-665
2-955
JuDe.
July
29-70590 29-95282
301h, 6lh,
30-15742
30-58498
7th, 9th,
9 P.M. 9 P.M.
29-21254
29-56963
0-94488
1-01535
1-48031
0-18110
59128
57-687
26th,
27tb,
83-3
84-7
lltb.
4th,
morning.
19-4
37-4
63-9
47-3
1-742
2-097
1-032
1-000
2-107
3-430
July.
August ..
29-91058^ 29-71522
30lh, 26th
30-18498
30-22277
7th, 2lBt,
9 a.m. ! 9 A.M.
29-52750
29-16923
0-65748
105354
1-34252
2-437O0
57-786
68-453
15tb,
4th,
78-8
83-3
10th,
I4tb, 31st,
morning.
23-0
41-0
56-8
42-3
1-182
2-134
0-978
0-903
3-216
2134
August.
September
29-69318 29-67720
8th, 28th,
30-16309
30-53144
14th,
9 P.M.
7th,
9 a.m.
28-97435
29-15349
1-17874
1-37795
3-20865
1-87008
46-164
49-210
9lb,
4tli,
3 p.m.
68-0
64-4
29th,
15th,
morning.
27-6
33-9
40>6
31-6
1113
1-423
0-672
0-811
1-568
1-933
September.
October ..
29-78022! 29-61248
28th, : 3pd,
9 A.M. '9 P.M.
30-29915
.30-46096
12th,
9 a.m.
2l8t,
3 p.m.
29-00388
2S-75585
1-29627
1-70511
110236
2-61968
39-316
34-844
9th,
aflern.
17th,
64-5
47-3
15th,
24th,
morning.
10-4
12-2
44-1
35-1
1-877
2107
0-344
0-591
3-000
2-452
October.
November
29-79950 29-47415
3rd, 1 10th,
30-41720
29-91963
21it,
a P.M.
30th,
9 a.m.
29-13419
28-91569
1-28307
1-00394
3-03149
1-31890
28-492
30-916
6th,
Sth,
50-0
47-3
28th,
16lh,
morning.
- 8-2
10-4
62-2
36-9
1-339
3-244
0-447
0-570
1-894
3-344
December
29-687371 29-87844
9tli, ' 31st,
9 a.m. 9 p.m.
30-240ie
30-63380
30th,
3 P.M.
6lh,
29-00782
28-40152
1-23228
2-23228
0-53150
0-61023
9-570
23-632
30th,
3 P.M.
Sth,
aftem.
37-4
41-4
23rd,
22nd,
morning.
-11-2
6-9
48-0
35-5
0-899
2-03I
0-133
0-322
3633
4-290
December.
Means
29-75755 2976316
... i ...
30-2327!
30-36835
29-12901
29-13462
1-10371
1-23373
Total Total
18-18500 16-80705
35-001
36-609
66-2
57-3
7-6
16-1
47-e|42-2
1-611
1-974
0-624
0-610
2503
2-796
Means.
l=almost calm, and 10=
onderi, and8=8llclear.
n 1846. The year 1847
r. The atmosphere was
Bnromttet. IMS. JU/.
Highestpointoftbeyear ... 30-42514 30-63380
Lowest point of the year ... 28-88262 28-40J52
Highest point of the year ... +83-3 Fahr. +84-7 Fahr.
Lowest point of the year ... —14-8 ... — 3-1 ...
sky is snpposed to be divided into eight parts, and = all c
Mean height of the barometer was greater in 1847 tlian
in 1846, and the reverse was the ease with the thennomet
1846.
was warmer than 1846. The oscillation of the barometer was greater in 1847 than
drier, the wind was rather more powerful, and the sky was clearer in 1847 than in
J
2-23228 I Total range of tlie year ,,
e n-ith the thermometer, ibe
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 33
I find that several blanks occur in the course of the observations ; also that the
half-hourly observations on the 21st of the month are entirely discontinued. All
this is not to be wondered at, since Mr. Grewe is nowr without any scientific assist-
ant ; and allowing for all the accidents of health and occupation, I consider that
this gentleman deserves great praise for his diligence and perseverance in carrying on
the observations as he has done. The Alten Meteorological Observations for 1843,
1844 and 1845 do not contain a single blank, as Mr. Grewe and I made it a point
to endeavour to obtain three years' observations complete, so as to sei-ve as a basis
in comparing any observations that had been made at Alten before that time, or
that might be made hereafter, and also to serve in comparing observations with any
other part of the world. As those observations have been presented by you to the
British Association, I have no doubt that they will prove highly interesting in assist-
ing persons in their endeavours to find out meteorological laws or in following out
any theories that meteorologists may advance.
The observations for 1846 and 1847, now forwarded by Mr. Grewe, and which
you intend to present to the British Association, will prove interesting in conse-
quence of what has already been done.
These observations show, that the mean of the barometer for 1846 was 755'8432
millim. or 2975755 Engl, inch., and for 1847, 755*9854 millim. or 29-76315 Engl,
inch.
The mean of the thermometer for 1846 was -|- 1*667 Centig. or -f-35°0006 Fahr.,
and for 1847, +2*594 Centig. or +36°*6692 Fahr.
The mean fall of rain per day was, for 1846, 1*266 millim. or 0*04984 Engl,
inch,, and for 1847, 1*186 millim. or 0*04669 Engl. inch.
Themeanforceof the wind was, for 1846, =1*611, and for 1847, =1*974 (accord-
ing to the scale of forces adopted at Alten, viz. 1 = almost calm and 10 = hurri-
cane ; these means will fall between almost calm and gentle breeze) .
The mean proportion of clear sky for 1846 was 2*502 parts, and for 1847, 2*796
parts (the sky is supposed to be divided into eight parts).
The highest range of the barometer for 1846 was 772*80 millim. or 30*42514
Engl, inch., and the lowest range was 733*62 millim. or 28*88262 Engl, inch.,
being a total range for 1846 of 39'18 millim. or 1*54252 Engl. inch.
The highest range of the barometer for 1847 was 778*10 millim. or 30*63380
Engl, inch., and the lowest range was 721*40 millim. or 28*40152 Engl, inch., being
a total range for 1847 of 56*70 millim. or 2*23228 Engl. inch.
The highest range of the thermometer for 1846 was -f-28°*5 Centig. or -f- 83°-3
Fahr., and the lowest range was — 26°*0 Centig. or — 14°*8 Fahr., being a total range
for 1846 of 54°*5 Centig. or 98°*1 Fahr.
The highest range of the thermometer for 1847 was -)-29°*3 Centig. or +84°*74
Fahr., and the lowest range was — 19°*5 Centig. or —3°* 10 Fahr., being a total
range for 1847 of 48°*8 Centig. or 87°*84 Fahr.
From the foregoing it will be seen that 1847 was much warmer than 1846, and
that the mean height of the barometer was greater in 1847 than in 1846.
The total oscillation of the barometer was much greater in 1847 than in 1846,
but the reverse was the case with the thermometer.
The atmosphere was drier, the wind was rather more powerful, and the sky was
clearer in 1847 than in 1846.
I feel grateful that my humble labours, or rather amusements, and those of my
excellent friend Mr. Grewe, have been deemed by you worthy of being introduced to
the notice of the British Association of Science, and I beg to subscribe myself.
Sir,
Your obedient and humble Servant,
To John Lee, Esq., LL.D., 8fc. (Signed) John Francis Cole.
Hartwell,
On two cases of uncommon Atmospheric Refraction.
By Matthew Moggridge.
About midday on the 27th of January last we saw a schooner which appeared
erect and resting on the top of the high sand-hill east of the mouth of the Neath
1848. D
34 REPORT — 1848.
River, the whole of her hull being visible. As we passed on the image retained its
position for some time, but vanished when we came to a turn of the road.
On arriving at a point where I could look down the river, I saw within about 150
yards of the sand-hill above referred to a schooner lying dry, which was evidently
the vessel we had previously observed. She was much out of the proper channel,
but had gone ashore by accident and remained there many weeks. The top of her
masts was below the level of the sand-hill, so that her picture was thrown up more
than the height of her masts.
The weather was cold, with a strong north-easterly wind and a bright sun ; the
schooner lying under the sand-hill, protected from the wind and in the full sunshine,
which was powerful for the season. Two very different conditions therefore ob-
tained in the atmosphere at that place ; the air immediately surrounding the vessel
being warmed by the sun, not under the influence of the wind, and probably chai'ged
with vapour evaporating from the wet sand ; while the air above the level of the
sand-hill was rapidly changed by the keen, frosty wind, and must have been of a
very different temperature and density.
The other phenomenon to which I would direct attention occurred about nine-
teen years ago, and was witnessed by many most respectable parties, among others
by the then vicar of Swansea, the late Dr. Hewson. The whole promontory
of the Mumbles was seen reflected in the sky, so that at the same time the true
image and the counterfeit were visible. There was a width of sky seen between the
two of a breadth about equal to the height of the Mumble rocks, and the refracted
image was a correct copy of that below, except that the perpendicular objects — as
the lighthouse — were somewhat too tall, and became still more so before the disap-
pearance of the illusive image, which was observed during about ten minutes.
Observations accompanying Wind and Current Charts of the North Atlantic.
By Lieut. Maury, U.S. Navy.
[A. Letter addressed to Prof. H. D. Rogers, by whom it was communicated to the Association.]
Ts^ational Observatory, Washington, July 10, 1848.
These charts are offered not for what they are, but for what they may be. They
are a mere first attempt, a rough beginning, incomplete and faulty, by reason of the
very defective materials used in their construction. They are compiled from abs-
tracts of old sea logs kept without order, system or arrangement. Some are with-
out record as to cun-ent, temperature or variation; and others are faulty in many
respects. But it was found necessary to make a beginning in order to attract the
attention of navigators to the subject, and so procure labourers for the field; and
this these charts have succeeded in doing, in this country at least.
Every navigator who will apply, is furnished gratis with a set of them and .with a
blank form, for recording results of the requisite observations. And though but a few
weeks have elapsed since the publication of these charts, such has been the eager-
ness of navigators to procure each his copy, and such their readiness to contribute
the requisite data for a more complete set, that fleets of ships are now engaged in
all parts of the world (as they go to and from across the sea), in making and record-
ing all — by a prescribed form — the necessary observations.
I have secured the co-operation both of the military and commercial marine of
the United States, and before the end of the year, probably, not less than a thousand
vessels will be collecting materials for the completion of these charts. Could the
vessels of Great Britain be engaged in like manner, the value of the results would be
greatly enhanced, because then we should probably have vessels enough engaged to
afford synchronous observations for the space of a year, or longer, should it be
desired, of the winds, currents, temperature of the ocean, &c. in all parts of the world.
The plan is, to construct similar charts of the three great oceans, to lay down the
tracks of all the vessels engaged, in colours according to the season. Thus the
tracks in winter will be all black; those in spring, green; in the summer, red; in
the autumn, blue. Each track has marked on it, in such a manner as to show at
once the daily experience of the navigator who made it, the winds, currents, tem-
perature of the water, variation of the compass, &c. j thus placing at a glance before
fl
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 35
each one, the combined experience of all who have sailed before him over the same
part of the ocean.
To illustrate the importance of this undertaking, I may be excused for alluding to
some of the practical results already obtained.
In consequence of the better knowledge afforded by this chart with regard to the
winds in the North Atlantic Ocean, the average passage from the ports of the United
States to the Equator (and consequently to all ports the way to which leads across
the Equator) has been shortened several days. I have the tracks of four vessels
which have been to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, by the new route proposed on this
chart. They have invariably made shorter passages than vessels sailing at the same
time by the old route. The average passage by the old route to the line, is forty-one
days ; the mean of the four which have tried the new route is thirty-one days, the
shortest being twenty-four days, the quickest of the season, and the longest thirty-
nine days.
The information already collected has enabled me to strike out numerous vigias
and fabulous dangers which deface our best general charts of the ocean, and which
greatly increase the sources of anxiety which at all times surround the navigator.
The positions of these vigias are laid down on the chart as doubtful, and when the
ship is in the vicinity of any of them, it is a sleepless time with her master. I have
the tracks of several hundred vessels which pass over and within 5° of some of these
vigias, so that, if they were in existence, they certainly would have been seen by one
or more. But they are not mentioned in the log, and it may therefore be fairly con-
cluded that they do not exist. At the proper time I shall publish a list of vigias
which these charts show ought to be erased.
The grouping together such a mass of facts in the manner proposed, will lead to
many collateral, highly interesting and valuable results. Take as an example what is
shown on the charts before you. If you will examine sheet No. 3, you will see that
the trade-winds between tlie parallels of 5° and 10° N. from the coast of Africa
nearly to the middle of the Atlantic, lose their trade character and become the
baffling, variable airs known to sailors as the doldrums, whereas between the same
parallels (sheet No. 2) on the American side, they blow with great regularity from
the northward and eastward. In the former case, the sun shining upon the plains and
deserts of Africa rarefies the air to windward, and this calls upon the winds of the
sea to return and restore the equilibrium. In the latter case, the sun shining upon
the plains of South America heats the air to leeward, and causes the trade-winds to
hasten on and restore the equilibrium. In the one case the rarefaction takes place
to windward, in the other to leeward, and the effect produced is clearly indicated by
the chart, and is precisely such as might be expected.
Again, examine the winds in the Gulf of Mexico, sheet No. 1. The prevailing
winds here are from the southward and eastward, while between the same parallels
(sheet No. 2) and upon the broad ocean, the prevailing winds are the N.E. trades.
As soon as the effect is seen the cause becomes obvious. Is it not to be found in
the action of the sun upon Texas and the States of Northern Mexico ? There is an
immense body of land in this direction, and the heat of the sun upon it causes the
winds to set towards it from the Gulf of Mexico. What effect a day of rain or of
clouds over this body of land has upon the winds off the Pacific coast of Tehuan-
tepec and Central America, is one of the interesting results to be anticipated from
the work before us.
But perhaps the most interesting- result yet obtained — and the undertaking is but
just commenced — is the discovery within the limits of the N.E. trades in the At-
lantic, of a region in which the prevailing winds are from the southward and west-
ward.
This region is limited in extent, and is somewhat in the shape of a wedge, with its
base towards the coast of Africa between the Equator and 10° N, It extends from
long. 10=" W. to about 25° W., being bounded by the Equator for one side, and by a
line drawn from lat. 10° N. long. 10° W. to lat. 5° N. long. 25° W. on the other.
How the case may be to the south of the Equator, I am not prepared to say. But
to the north of it, I have discussed 2292 independent observations made within the
above-described region by different vessels on their voyages across it. Included
among these observations, calms were encountered on 246 occasions, leaving 2046
V2
36 REPORT^ — 1848.
observations upon tlie winds. Of these, the winds were found from the northward
and eastward (tiie regular trade quarter) 442 times.
From the S. and E 408 „
„ „ S. andW J)51 „
„ „ N.andW 245 „
Tlie law which governs the trade-winds is here reversed : they blow from the oppo-
site quarter. And the natural tendency of winds cannot be so suddenly and com-
pletely reversed without creating violent atmospherical disturbances. Accordingly,
the facts show this region to be one of violent squalls, sudden gusts of wind, of
thunder-storms, heavy rains, lightning, baffling airs and calms. It is known to
sailors as the region for the equatorial ' doldrums.'
To the westward of this region and between the same parallels, the winds again
assume their normal direction, and prevail from the eastward.
It is not a little singular that vessels bound from any of the ports in the United
States to Brazil, should cross the Atlantic nearly twice, and if they be bound round
the Cape of Good Hope they cross it three times. The usual route of vessels bound
from the United States to any port beyond the Equator is to steer almost an east
course, many of them making the Canaries, and most of them Cape de Verde islands,
as the chart will show. Tliey then shape their course through this " doldrum "
region and steer to the southward and westward for their port. Now the log-books
in my possession show that southward-bound vessels in traversing this region may
expect to encounter either head winds or calms about 1400 times out of 2292.
The navigator would therefore have about two chances to one against a fair wind in
this portion of the route.
To the west of this region and more directly in the straight line from the United
States, the chart shows a blank space through which a straggling vessel passes only
now and then. The chart indicates, and facts subsequently obtained show, that here
the prevailing vvinds are more favourable than they are by the usual route, for a
short passage to the Equator. The materials so far collected— and they are ex-
tensive — show that if a Rio bound vessel were to keep to the westward of 25°, the
wager instead of being two to one against fair winds, would be three to one in favour
of them. Between the meridians of 25° and 35° W. I have 800 observations ex-
tending from the Equator to 5° N. Of these, —
257 give the wind from N. and E.
366 „ „ S. and E.
102 „ „ S. andW.
30 „ „ N.andW.
and 45 calms.
Hence it appears that in this region there are three calms and four S.W. winds
to the east of long. 25°, to one calm and one S.W. wind to the west of that meri-
dian. The wager against head winds and calms by this route, and in this part of it,
would be one head wind for three fair one?, instead of two head winds for one fair
one by the usual route. Moreover the distance by the new route is nearly 1000
miles less than by the old.
It may be asked, why has not a route which is so obviously better and more direct
been tried before? The answer is ready j sailors more than any other class of men
are prone to follow in the wake of their predecessors. They know and feel that the
experience of any one of them as to winds and weather at sea is at the best very
limited. It is confined to the spot where he may be; they are therefore prone to
follow their guide-books. Cook went that way in 1776. Hydrographers put his
track on their chart as a guide, the next to come after him took the same track, and
each has continued to follow the other.
Meteorological Observations at Huggate for 1847. By Thos. Rankin.
Greatest degree of cold, therm. 16°, March 11 th; 7° colder than last year. Hot-
test day 78°, July 14th; 5° less than last year. Greatest range of therm, for any
given day 33°, July 3rd ; least range 1°, Jan. 8th. Greatest range for any given
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 3/
month 43°, March ; least range 20°, December. Range for the whole year 4° greater
than 1846.
Maximum of barometer 30"33, March 4th ; -20 less than 1846. Minimum 27'80,
December 6th ; -52 less than 1846. Greatest range for any month 2-05, December ;
•65 greater than 1846. Least range -12, February; -33 less than 1846. Range
for the year "59 greater than 1846.
Rain fallen 30'232 inches ; 4-838 inches less than 1846. Least rain in any month
1-000 inch, February; most, 5-375 inches. May.
Winds: east 2 days, west 45, north 2, south 1, north-east 15, north-west 27,
south-east 8, south-west 39-
Weather: clear 127 days, rain 48, frost 23, snow 18, mist 18, thunder 3.
The author adds remarks on aurorae, characteristic clouds, and other phsenomena.
Remarkable Tide in the British Channel, Friday, July 7, 1848, as it
appeared at Lyme Regis, Dorset. By George Roberts.
Weather warm and calm. Dead neap tides. Fine for twenty-four hours before
the phsenomenon. About two hours and a half before the phsenomenon, at 14 a.m., it
blew hard for ten minutes. The wind before and after this gust was gentle, and had
gone round to all points of the compass. At dead low water, or perhaps just after
the water had begun to flow at 4 a.m., the tide began to run into the Cobb, so that
a boat rowed with two oars could not make head against it, but was carried along
with it. My informant estimates the height of the water to have been a.bout six or
seven feet, and that it took eight minutes to flow in, or at most ten minutes, and
the ^ame time to flow out. Then when out it began to flow in again, and so con-
tinued till eight o'clock, a space of four hours, when the sea was quite calm, and so
continued all the day. The same was experienced at Dartmouth and Portland. Some
of the sailors said it was a bore ; others that it was caused by thunder- weather ;
some said there had been an earthquake in the ocean : some sailors say the tide ran
ten knots an hour *.
Note on ' Shooting Stars ' seen August \0, ai Armagh.
By the Rev. T. R. Robinson, D.D.
Though last night was mostly cloudy here we saw a good many 'shooting stars.'
From 12'' to 12'' 45"° thirty were seen through a thick covering of the stratus family ;
their light was bluish-white, and most had long red trains. Towards morning it
cleared, and from 1'' 41" to 2'' 41'" three of us counted 117 ; but as two used deep
spectacles in which the margin of the field of view must be indistinct, it is probable
that many of the smaller were missed. Many of them were large and brilliant, and
with few exceptions their motion was directed to a point which I estimate to be
near r) Ophiuchi. It is remarkable that nearly five-sixths of the whole were north
of the prime vertical. Several seemed to explode in their course, and so decidedly
that we actually listened for explosions. None were however heard, though the night
was perfectly still.
In the earlier part of the evening aurora was seen in the N.E., and it must have
been rather intense, or it could not have been visible in the moonlight.
On certain Effects produced on Soimd by the rapid motion of the observer.
By J. Scott Russell, F.R.S. Ed.
Until the production of the very high velocities now given to railway trains, no
* In Mr. Roberts's Collection of Historical Matter respecting Lyme Regis, are three en-
tries made by old clerk Read as follows : —
" May 31, 1759 : the sea flowed three times in one hour.
" Aug. 18, 1797 : the sea flowed three times in one hour, attended with lightning.
" Jan. 26, 1799 : the sea as above about 4 o'clock a.m."
Upon a summer's day about 1813 something similar took place. Mr. Roberts asks whe-
ther the Seiches of the Swiss lakes are referrible to the same cause as these movements of
the water of our British Channel.
38 REPORT— 1848.
opportunities have existed of observing any phsenomena in which the velocity of the
observer has been sufficient to affect the character of sounds. The author having
had occasion to make observations on railway trains moving at high velocities, has
been led to notice some very curious effects in sounds heard at 50 and 60 miles an
hour. These effects are not heard by an observer who is stationary. He found
that the sound of the whistle of an engine stationary on the line was heard by a
passenger in a rapid train to sound a different note — in a different key from that in
which it was heard by the person standing beside it. The same was true of all
sounds. The passenger in rapid motion heard them in a different key, which might
be either louder or lower in pitch than the true or stationary sound. The explana-
tion of this was given as follows. The pitch of a musical sound is determined by
the number of vibrations which reach the ear in a second of time — 32 vibrations per
second of an organ-pipe give the note C, and a greater or less number give a more
acute sound or one more grave. These vibrations move with a velocity of 1024 feet
per second nearly. If an observer in a railway train move at the rate of 50 miles
an hour towards a sounding body, he will meet a greater number of undulations in
a second of time than if at rest, in the proportion which his movement bears to the
velocity of sound ; but if he move away from the sounding body he will meet a
smaller number in that proportion. In the former case he will hear the sound a
semitone higher, and in the second a semitone lower than the observer at rest. In
the case of two trains meeting at this velocity, the one containing the sounding body
and the other the observer, the effect is doubled in amount. Before the trains meet
the sound is heard two semitones too high, and after they pass two semitones too
low — being a difference of a major third. There were next explained the various
effects which the noises of a train produced on the ears of passengers at high velo-
cities. The reflected sounds of a train, from surfaces like those of bridges across
the line, were at ordinary velocities sent back to the ear changed by less than a
tone, so as to cause a harsh discord, which was an element of the unpleasant
effect on the ear, of passing a bridge. In a tunnel also the sounds reflected from
any irregularities in the front of the train or behind it were discords to the sounds
of the train heard directly. He showed however that at speeds of 112 miles an
hour these sounds might be those of a harmony with each other and become agree-
able, for the sounds reflected in opposite directions would have the interval of a
major third.
On the Lengths and Velocities of Waves. By Capt. Stanley, R.N,
• (^Extract from a Letter to the Rev. Dr. Whewell.)
The method I adopted for the determination of the length and speed of the sea,
was to veer a spar astern by the marked lead-line, when the ship was going dead
before the wind and sea, until the spar was on the crest of one wave while the ship's
stern was on the crest of the preceding one. After a few trials, I found that when
the sea was at all regular I could obtain this distance within two or three fathoms
when the length of wave was fifty.
In order to ascertain the speed of the sea, the time was noted when the crest of
the advancing wave passed the spar astern, and also the time when it reached the
ship ; and by taking a number of observations, I have every reason to believe we have
obtained a result not very far from the truth. The officer noting the time in all
these observations having only to register the indications of the watch when the
observer called stop, had no bias to induce him to make the differences more regular.
For measuring the height of the waves, I adopted a plan recommended to me by
Mrs. Somerville, which I have tried for ten years with great success. When the
ship is in the trough of the sea, the person observing ascends the rigging until he
can just see the crest of the coming wave on with the horizon, and the height of his
eye above the ship's water-line will give a very fair measure of the difference of level
between the crest and hollow of a sea. Of course in all these observations the mean
of a great many have been taken, for even when the sea is most regular apparently
there is a change in the height of the individual waves.
I regret that we have had so few opportunities of making these observations, but
it is only under very favourable circumstances, when the ship is going directly
before both wind and sea, that they can be made with any chance of success ; but
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.
39
I mean to lose no opportunity of obtaining more. The foUovring is a summary of
the observations : —
Date.
Il
1*
It
a,"
CO
•li
1*
ii
1 s g
1*1
aS
l-s
II
Remarks.
1847. ■
knots.
fflpt.
fath.
seconds.
knots.
April 21.
5
7-2
22
55
100
27
/Ship before the wind, with a
\ heavy following sea.
... 23.
8
5
(50
20
43
8-0
24-5
Ditto.
... 24.
6
4
60
20
50
10-0
240
Ditto.
... 25.
9
4
50
...
35to40
7-8
221
Sea irregular.
... 26.
4
6-0
33
7-4
221
Heavy following sea.
May 2.
6
(4-5)
70
22
57
10-4
26-2
/ Sea irregular. Observation not
\ very good in consequence.
... 3.
7
5
7-8
17
35
8-9
22
r Wind and sea a little on Port
\ Quarter.
Note. — The numbers denoting the strength of the wind are those used by Admiral Beaufort.
On the Fall of Rain on the Table-land of Uttree Mullay, Travancore, during
the year 1846, from observations made by General Cullen, Resident in
Travancore. By Lieut.-Colonel Sykes, V.P.R.S.
At the Meeting of the British Association at Southampton I communicated to the
Physical Section some meteorological records of General Cullen made at certain sta-
tions in the south of India. The results exhibited singular discrepancies in the fall
of rain at the several localities, particularly at Cape Comorin, although the differ-
ences of temperatures were unimportant at stations not differing greatly in their
level above the sea or in their latitude. The most remarkable feature was the small
quantity of rain at Cape Comorin and Vaurioor at the extremity of the peninsula,
amounting only from 18 to 25| inches in the years 1841, 1842 and 1843, while
from 100 to 131 inches fell at places on the Malabar coast, and about 290 inches
fell on the table-land of Uttree MuUay, not far in the interior. I suggested to Ge-
neral Cullen an examination of local physical circumstances, with a view to ac-
count for the variations. In a letter in reply, dated the Gth of January last, from
Trevandrum, General Cullen said that the General Tables were ready for 1844,
1845 and 1846, but that public business had left him without leisure to comment
on them, or to complete the barometrical sections which he contemplated ; and all
that he could then do was to transmit to me a continuation of the rain and tempe-
rature observations for 1846 on the table-land of Uttree Mullay at 4600 feet above
the level of the sea, adding in an abstract, in parallel columns, the comparative fall
of rain at Trevandrum and Quilon. For a future communication therefore is re-
served General CuUen's views of the question submitted to him, and the present
notice is limited to his daily observations of the fall of rain and the temperature at
Uttree Mullay. The fall of rain was recorded twice daily, at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.,
and the temperature thrice daily, 6 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. In 1844^5 the fall of
rain had been 290 inches : in 1846 it was only 235'8 inches. It has been formerly
stated that Uttree Mullay is under the influence of both monsoons. Rain fell in
every month in the year, although the months of February and March may almost
be considered exceptions ; for in the former month rain fell only twice to the amount
of 0'45 of an inch, and in the latter month on five occasions, but to the amount only
of 0*72 of an inch. The greatest monthly fall of rain was in the month of June,
51 inches, in the S.W. monsoon, and the next greatest fall in October, in the N.E.
monsoon, 38'25 inch. In the months of May, June, July and August the S.W. mon-
soon may be considered to have prevailed, and 143 inches of rain fell. A comparative
40
REPORT — 1848.
cessation occurs in September, when the monthly minimum of 22 inches in August
of the S.W. monsoon is reduced to 7'3 inches. The N,E. monsoon commences in
October with 38-2 inches, gradually diminishing in amount until January, the last
month of the N.E. monsoon, when the fall in 1846 was reduced to 4-6 inches, the
whole fall in the four months of the N.E. monsoon being about 75 inches. Fe-
bruary, March and April are the precursors of the S.W. monsoon, and September
intermediate between the termination of the S.W. monsoon and the commencement
of the N.E. monsoon. The average annual fall of rain upon this elevated table-land
during the day and during the night does not appear to differ materially, although it
is somewhat in excess at night, being 123'1 inches to 112-7 inches during the day.
The excess at night however does not hold good through all the months. In May
there were 17*1 inches by night and 19'7 inches by day; in August 8-8 inches by
night and 13-3 inches by day ; and in September l-Q inch by night and 5-6 inches
by day. Neither is there any uniformity in the fall of rain in the same months of
the two monsoons in successive years, but the maximum monthly fall will be found
in one of the four months of the respective monsoons, although it may occur in
May in one year and in August in the following, or in October of one year and in
December of the next in the N.E. monsoon. While 235-8 inches fell in 1846 at
Uttree Mullay, 69-9 inches only fell at Trevandrum, and 74'7 inches at Quilon ; in
May 11-4 inches fell at Trevandrum, but 22-7 inches at Quilon on the coast; in
October the case was reversed, 17'5 inches fell at Trevandrum and only 9-4 inches
at Quilon. In 1844-45 an instance was given of a fall of 9 inches of rain in one
daj', on the 10th of October, at Uttree Mullay; and on the 26th of November of
7-35 inches. Nothing similar to the first fall occurred in 1846, the greatest being
7-6 inches on the 25th of May ; and there are three instances of a daily fall of nearly
7 inches on the 24th of April, 12th of July, and the 13th of October. The monthly
mean temperature at Uttree Mullay, at 6 a.m., varied only from 57°-5 in January to
65°-75 in August and September ;'at 2 p.m. from 66°-25 in June to 73°-75 in April ;
and at 6 p.m. from 62°-25 to 67° in the months of April and July. The annual
mean at the respective hours was 63°, 69° and 65°- 16, and the mean of the whole
observations 65°-66. The extreme annual range of the thermometer was from 55-5
on the 31st of January and 15th of December to 78° on the 6th, 21st and 22nd of
April, so that the extremes differed from the mean by only 10°- 16 minus and 12°-34
plus. With such limited general results it would be superfluous to particularize
monthly variations of temperature.
Abstract.
Months in 1846.
Uttree Mullay.
Kain.
Thermometer.
Day.
Night.
Total.
6 A.M.
2 P.M.
6 P.M.
inches.
3-050
0-400
0-550
4-050
17-100
28-700
17-400
8850
1-925
23-750
10-325
7100
inches.
1-600
0050
0-175
5-550
19-700
23-300
14-675
13-375
5-600
14-200
11-350
3-200
inches.
4-650
0-450
0-725
9-600
36-500
51-050
33-325
22 125
7-325
38-250
21-675
10-200
57i
60
62f
64i
64f
Qi\
63
65|
65f
64i
634
60
66|
68f
7U
73|
72
m\
68
m\
70k
68
66f
64
64|
67
66J
64f
67
66i
66i
64^
65
63|
July
September
November
December
Grand total...
123-200
112-775
235-875
63
69
65i
Mean 65|
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.
41
Eain in 1846.
1846.
On Uttree
Mullay.
Trevandrum.
Quilon.
inches.
0000
2-900
1-600
22-700
17-650
10-550
3-800
1-300
9-400
4-755
0-100
inches.
4-650
0-450
0-725
9-600
36-500
51-050
33-325
22-125
7-325
38-250
21-675
10-200
inches.
0-100
1075
4-025
11-425
17-750
6-925
3-675
0-750
17-500
4-400
2-300
July
Total
235-875
69-925
74-755
On Atmospheric Disturbances, and on a remarkable Storm at Bombay on
the 6th of April 1848. By Lieut-Colonel Sykes, V.P.R.S.
Numerous are the expressions of surprise in England at the extraordinary cha-
racter of the meteorological phsenomena since last year. Mr. Glaisher of the
Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in remarks on the weather during the quarter
ending the 31st March last, says, "The weather during the past quarter has been
remarkable in many respects. The daily temperature has been above the average ;
yet there has been exceedingly cold weather between the 20th and 26th January ;
and the temperature of the preceding quarter was in excess to the amount of 3°-4.
The mean temperature of evaporation and of the dew-point above the average ; the
mean weight of water in a cubic foot of air of the same value as for the preceding
six years. The quantity required to complete saturation 0-47 of a grain ; the ave-
rage for the preceding six years being 0-36 of a grain. The barometer was 0-132
below the average of seven years and the readings remarkable ; and the great fluc-
tuations in the readings appear to have been general, and differing from any period
since 1800." A sympeisometer in my house in Albion Street, Hyde Park, in De-
cember last, fell 1 inch in twenty-four hours without a storm ; and I have frequent
records of rain without the sympeisometer being moved. A correspondent of the
Times, in a letter dated Bermondsey, 7th Dec. 1847, speaks of the sudden and extra-
ordinary changes in the atmosphere, and adds that his barometer, which stood at
29-92 at 11 P.M. Sunday, 5th Dec, had on Monday the 6th, at 8 a.m., sunk to
28*92, a difference of 1-2 inch in nine hours ; and at 12 o'clock Monday night of
the 6th, it stood at 28-54 ; a difference of 1-38 inch in twenty-five hours, the air in
that interval having been relieved of pressure at the rate of 326 lbs. on every square
foot of superficial area. Magnetic instruments also have shown unusual disturb-
ances. The fall of rain has been nearly double that of the preceding six years, and
2^ inches above the average since 1815. Tlie range of a protected thermometer was
from 7l°'5 to 15°-7 or 55°-7 ; but a thermometer on the grass at Durham fell below
zero ; and on the 12th of July preceding it stood at 87 in the shade in London.
In the north of Scotland in January, correspondents wrote, " We have had the
extremes of weather." Strange as it may appear, two gentlemen, Mr. Stericker and
Mr. Whilburn, were frozen to death in September in Invernesshire. Short intense
frosts and rapid thaws characterized the winter in England. At Madrid, in January,
the cold was intense, yet in Lancashire there were some fresh sprigs of hawthorn
3 inches in length, and leaves of the honeysuckle open ; and the primroses and fox-
gloves were as much advanced as if it had been the month of March ; and the wild
fowl, which usually pass in November, did not pass until the middle of December.
On the 12th of December, near Penzance, four whirlwinds occurred, unroofing
houses and overturning furze and turf-ricks, and carrying with them great quan-
42 REPORT — 1848.
titles of snow, tiles, slates, &c. They were like inverted cones of vapour, — revolved
swiftly on their axes, and coursed along at the rate of 20 miles an hour. Rotatory
whirlwinds in the midst of winter, which are only seen in tropical climates in the
most intensely hot weather, seem remarkable phenomena. Amongst the other phy-
sical phenomena in accord with the tumults amongst men, was that of the eruption
of Vesuvius, which during my stay in Naples the last days of March and beginning
of April in the present year, was pouring out four fiery streams of lava amidst ex-
plosions.
But meteorological anomalies were not confined to Europe ; and if we look to
the records of India for the last year, we shall find that observers have had equal
cause for surprise and comment.
"Tuesday, February 16. — From the Bombay papers it appears that they have
actually had ice at Poona." — From Bengal Hurkaru.
This was almost a miracle, for such a circumstance had never been recorded
before.
" The cold weather, which bo suddenly and unexpectedly returned upon us, has
now taken what we may consider its final departure for the season." — Calcutta
Hurkaru, Feb. 18, 1847.
" There had been a very severe storm in the northern hills — al; Simla snow lay
three feet deep and all the high grounds about the Dehra Dhoon were covered." —
Bombay Times, May 2, 1847.
From the Deccan the accounts, on the 22nd of February, 1847, state, — " We have
had rain all over the Deccan from the south-east, strange at this season ; the rain
was also heavy and continuous, quite monsoon weather."
On the 15th of November, 1847, the editor of the Bombay Times, Dr. Buist, a
distinguished meteorologist, has the following remarks in his paper respecting the
great anomaly of a large fall of rain in November, a month of the dry season : —
" November has opened as if another monsoon were just commencing. On Sa-
turday and Sunday the thermometer rose on the Esplanade as high as 90° ; in the
coolest and most airy buildings in Colaba it stood at 87° ; the wind dry and blowing
strong till past noon from the north-east. On Sunday evening there was some
thunder and a few drops of rain, and on Monday a stiff breeze blew about sunset
from nearly east, and the sky looked most threatening. All yesterday it was close,
hot and muggj', a slight shower having fallen in the morning — thermometer 85°,
the barometer slightly down." — Bombay Times, Nov. 3.
" We mentioned in our last that we had had some thunder with a threatening of
November showers : they have come in greater abundance than was expected.
About midnight on Tuesday a very heavy fall of rain commenced and continued for
a couple of hours, and all over the morning it looked thick and lowering. Little
rain fell next night, but there were showers over the morning, and bet\vixt one and
three on Thursday it rained heavily, and continued cloudy all the afternoon and
evening. About ten o'clock a thick close rain commenced, with a bleak north-east
wind : both have continued ever since. Yesterday was more like the middle of the
monsoon than a day in clear and dry November. The thermometer, which on Sunday
stood at from 85° to 90°, has all at once plumped down to betwixt 70° and 75°—
a change great and sudden enough to be very iinpleasant to the feelings. More than
3 inches of rain fell. The barometer has all this while stood high, and made no sign I
The rains appear to have been general all along and below the Ghauts : the Maha-
buleshwar range seems to have suffered severely. We have just heard of much
mischief having been occasioned to the unstacked rice all over the island, and the
damage must be general wherever grain crops are still in the field : all the low
grounds are flooded, and the dry channels running torrents.
Fall of rain in the Fort during November. in.
Up to 6 P.M. 1st Nov 0-00
„ 2nd „ 000
„ 3rd „ 0-65
» „ 4th „ 0-06
„ 5th „ ^
—Ibid. Nov. 6. 3-58 "
TRANSACTIONS OF THE) SECTIONS. 43
" The weather has taken this week almost as sudden a change as if did last, but
on the present occasion fortunately it is in the right direction. The rain, which
continued to pour in torrents till early on Saturday morning (upwards of two inches
of rain fell during Friday night — making a total fall of nearly six inches during
November), faired up on that day. We have now in fact fairly got into the cold
season with all its nipping freshness : a coat is at no time unpleasant — blankets
overnight indispensable. The thermometer ranges from 72° to 79°. So thoroughly
drenched have been the paddy-fields that we have still two or three inches of water
all over the surface of the flatter portions of the ground."' — Ibid. Nov. 10.
" The weather has now set in steady and cool, the thermometer ranging from
70° to 79° — water in exposed situations falling as low as 65° overnight. The sea
and land winds are fresh and strong." — Ibid. Nov. 13.
" From out stations we gather the following items : —
" SuRAT. — A letter from Surat informs us of an unexpected flood which had oc-
curred on the Taptee, which had commenced at nopn on the 7th, the river continu-
ing to rise for about twenty hours, when it had attained near the town a depth of
fifteen feet above its previous level. The cut connecting the river from Burcutcha
with the sea relieved the flood and saved the city from desolation similar to the visi-
tations of this sort which formerly afflicted it in cases of freshes in the river. Seve-
ral pattimars had been driven from their anchorages ; some cattle had been drowned,
and three carts on their way from Broach were said to have been carried away. A
heavy fall of rain in the Malwa district was supposed to have been the cause of the
flood. The -rains which prevailed here betwixt the 3rd and 5th must in fact have
been very general ; the commencement of them at the former date on the Coro-
mandel coast is mentioned by our Madras contemporaries : at Foona upwards of
three inches of rain fell ; and a heavy fall occurred at Belgaum ; while all along the
Ghauts the storm seems to have prevailed. It is curious that at Poona more than
twelve inches of rain have this year fallen in April and November — both falls in the
fair season." — Times, November 13.
These notices of atmospheric disturbances, which I could very considerably in-
crease, I have thought to be suitable precursors of a notice of a remarkable storm
in Bombay on the 6th of April last, in which the barometer rose instead of falling ;
the facts being supplied by the Magnetic Observatory, and the comments by that
very zealous and able promoter of scientific research. Dr. Buist, LI^.D,, the Editor
of the Bombay Times.
The Stokm of the 6th of April 1848.
State of the Weather.
April 6th, 9a.m. Nimbi, cirrocumuli and cirri throughout, except in the S, W., which
is clear.
10 a.m. Overcast by nimbi and cirrocumuU.
11 A.M. Overcast by nimbi and cirrocumuli ; a few breaks in the N.
12 a.m. Nimbi scattered throughout.
I P.M. Nimbi in the horizon from N.E. to S.W. (by E.) ; masses of fleecy
clouds scattered throughout the zenith.
2 p.m. Nimbi scattered ; clear in the S.W.
3 P.M. Nimbi all round the horizon, and cirri in the S.W. ; zenith clear.
4 P.M. Nimbus and cumuli all round the horizon, very dense in the S.E. ;
zenith clear.
5 p.m. Nimbus; cumulostratus extending from N.E. to S.E. ; cirri scat-
tered throughout the whole of the sky.
6 P.M. Electrified cumuli extended from N. to S.E., and nimbi scattered
throughout; masses of scud coming from the S. and W.
7 P.M. Nimbus and scud coming from the S.W. and forming into dense
masse§ in the N.N.E. and S.E. ; lightning at intervals of 5 min.
8 P.M. Densely overcast ; thunder in continued peals, N. and E. of zenith ;
vivid lightning, flash after flash, from N. to S.W. (by M.) ; rain
in large drops since 7'' 30"",
9 P.M. Densely overcast; thunder and lightning increased, and in all
44
REPORT — 1848.
quarters. Drizzling rain, in large drops, has continued to fall
since last observation.
April 6th, 10 P.M. Densely overcast; squalls of wind and rain; lightning flashing
and thunder pealing in all quarters ; at 9*" 20"" violent gusts of
wind, which lasted 20 minutes.
11p.m. Densely overcast ; drizzling rain — thunder and lightning still con-
tinuing.
April 7th, midnight. Overcast ; rain falling in small drops ; thunder and lightning
decreasing.
1 A.M. Overcast; no rain; lightning in the S. and S.W. at two seconds
interval ; the thunder has ceased.
2 a.m. Do. do. do. do.
3 a.m. Nimbi; stars faintly seen ; lightning in theS. at intervals of 15 min.
4 a.m. Nimbi; zenith clear; lightning in the N.W. horizon.
5 a.m. Overcast; lightning in the N.E. ; thunder in the N.
6 A.M. Nimbi.
7 A.M. Nimbi ; fleecy clouds moving from the N.E.
8 A.M. Nimbi; cirrocumuli in the zenith.
9 a.m. Cirrostratus and cirrocumuli ; many breaks in the zenith.
Abstract of Meteorological Observations from the Observatory Report, from 9 a.m.
April 6, to 9 a.m. April 7, 1848.
Bombay, Magnetic Observatory, 8th April, 1848.
Standard
barometer
i
1^
II
3 to
■|-s
Wind.
Rain
Extent
of
Days and hours.
corrected.
e
^1
fiS
K
Direc-
tion.
Force in
lbs.
inches.
sky.
6th April, 9 a.m.
29-847
8d'-5
77-0
0-772
0-85
S.S.E.
0-05
s
10 a.m.
29-857
85-4
77-0
0-818
0-90
s.s.w.
0-05
whole
11 a.m.
29861
87-6
78-0
0-833
0-89
W.N.W.
0-05
i
12 a.m.
29-827
87-4
78-0
0-836
0-89
W.S.W.
0-16
1
I P.M.
29-782
89-2
790
0-858
0-89
W.S.W.
0-21
1
2 p.m.
29-745
890
79-0
0-860
0-89
w.s.-w.
0-10
f
3 P.M.
29-701
88-0
79-0
0-871
0-90
W.S.W.
0-36
whole
4 p.m.
29-707
86-0
79-1
0-897
0-92
W.S.W.
0-42
5 p.m.
29-727
85-0
79-0
0-904
0-92
W.S.W.
0-36
a
6 p.m.
29-764
83-5
79-0
0-921
0-95
S.W.
0-46
a
7 p.m.
29-799
82-7
770
0-847
0-93
s.
1-00
f
8 P.M.
29-798
79-5
77-5
0-902
0-98
s.
1-25
001
whole
9 P.M.
29-830
77-5
75-0
0-826
0-97
N.E.
1-20
0-01
whole
10 P.M.
29-920
69-3
700
0-734
1-00
E.N.E.
2-10
0-34
whole
11 P.M.
29-857
71-2
70-0
0-713
0-98
N.N.E.
1-78
0-08
whole
7th April, midnight
29-789
72-0
700
704
0-97
E.N.E.
1-52
0-03
whole
1 A.M.
29-784
73-4
72-0
0-760
0-98
S.E.
0-10
whole
2 a.m.
29-761
75-0
72-5
0-759
0-97
S.S.E.
1-04
whole
3 a.m.
29-766
75-8
72-0
0-733
0-95
S.E.
0-94
i
4 a.m.
29-777
75-5
72-5
0-755
096
S.S.E.
0-62
5 a.m.
29-779
75-7
73-0
0-771
0-96
S.
0-62
whole
6 a.m.
29-799
77-0
73-0
0-757
0-95
s.
0-52
whole
7 A.M.
29-827
78-5
74-4
0-793
0-95
s.
0-52
whole
8 A.M.
29-872
80-4
75-2
0-803
0-93
s.
0-36
i
9 a.m.
29-876
81-3
74-0
0-747
0-90
S.S.E.
0-05
i
Total
fall of r
0-47
Note. — Remarks on the Thunder and Liyhtning Storm of the 6th of April 1848.
At 6 o'clock in the evening the appearance of the sky in the N. and E. was very
remarkable : — Cumuli, cumulostrati, and scud, were cumulating in the N. and
across the E. to S.E., rising to an elevation of nearly 60° from the horizon. Upon
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 45
these were masses of nimbi that came floating from the S.W., from which quarter
the wind was blowing with a force of 046 lbs. ; deep mutterings of thunder were
heard : and lightning was seen to flash vividly, upwards, from the summit of the
clouds along their whole breadth, or from N. to S.E.
At e*- 45"".— The wind changed from S.W. to S., and the clouds in the N.E.
and E. became more threatening in their appearance ; and at this period the light-
ning, which was of a brilliant purple colour and very vivid, flashed continually ;
each flash was followed by loud peals of thunder. The character of the lightning
in this second appearance was more terrific than before, as every flash was vertical,
and several times these vertical streams were visible simultaneously, and as many as
five were distinctly counted, at irregular distances from each other, varying from 2°
to 12°.
At 7'' 30". — Rain began to fall in large drops ; the thunder and lightning in-
creasing till 9^ 00", when the wind moved round to N.E. (by E.), and the whole
of the sky presented^ one dark mass of nimbi ; the thunder and lightning still conti-
nuing.
At 9'' 15". — A gale of wind came on from the N.E. with a force of nearly 6 lbs. ;
and at 9^ 20" it reached its maximum force, which was nearly 9 lbs. ; the whole
time which it lasted was about 20 minutes. During this gale the barometer rose
(instead of falling) to 29'920, or about O'l of an inch above its true level ; when the
gale was over, it rapidly descended to nearly its former readings, as will be seen from
the accompanying observations of the meteorological instruments ; at lO*" 40" the
wind became due north.
The thunder and lightning continued, but at greater intervals ; and the rain faUing
till midnight, at which time the rain ceased. But the thunder and lightning may be
said to have continued all night.
From the peculiar rise of the barometer during the worst part of the gale, it is
supposed that a heavy storm was felt somewhere on the mainland to the E.N.E. ;
and the gale which we felt was only the momentum that the air received when
rushing towards that place ; it is also possible that the storm was raging there very
heavily at sunset. During the worst part of the gale the temperature suddenly de-
creased 10°.
It may be here remarked, that during the continuance of the gale, which was felt
along the coast, and very slightly in Bombay, in April last year, our magnetic in-
struments remained perfectly steady ; but as soon as the gale passed away, they be-
came disturbed, and continued so for 54 hours. This year precisely the same re-
markable phsenomena have taken place, as during the whole time of the meteoro-
logical disturbance of the last few days they remained steady, but at 8 o'clock this
morning they became disturbed (or the magnetic storm commenced), and continue
so up to the present time.
The rising of the barometer with the storm and the falling after it ; the magnetic
instruments remaining quiescent during the storm, and being disturbed after it ; and
the sudden fall of temperature of 10°, are all sufiiciently remarkable facts. Upon
the above return Dr. Buist observes, — " The disclosures made are singular ; the
wind on the morning of the 6th blew from S.S.E., an unusual quarter ; from this it
swept round by S. and S.W. to N.N.W., and then moved back again to W.S.W.,
where it remained till evening. It then set first to S.W., and then veered round to
S. From this it travelled round in an easterly direction to N.E,, E.N.E., N.N.E.,
and so swept back by E. to S., — having in the course of twenty-four hours twice
swept round three-quarters of a circle and so swept back again, leaving the segment
betwixt W.N.W. and N.E. untouched. At ten o'clock (p.m.), when the storm was at
its wildest, the barometer actually rose instead of falling, and that by no less than about
OO'OS above the level due to ten o'clock, interpolating from the readings of nine and
eleven. The diurnal curve, indeed, is remarkable. On the 6th the mercury reached
its maximum elevation at eleven a.m. instead of a quarter before ten — the average
hour for maximum, and its afternoon minimum at three instead of a quarter past
four; so that instead of six hours and a half, the usual time, there was less than
four hours of an interval between the epochs of maxima and minima. These things
are of very great importance as subjects of attention, considering the smallness and
extreme inequality of our range. It attained its maximum at the proper hour, ten
46 REPORT — 1848.
P.M. — this, as already stated, being marked by a sudden jump of no less. than eight
hundredth parts of an inch above what was due. The epoch of morning minimum,
again, was two o'clock, or two hours earlier than usual, the interval having been
this much shortened. The return does not afford the morning maximum of the 7th,
but the mercury continued steady till nearly nine o'clock, and would probably reach
its turning-point at ten, giving an interval of no less than eight hours of time. The
range betwixt the evening minimum and maximum on the 6th was '219, or, if we
subtract '080 for the jump, "139, — a high range for the season. At ten o'clock the
air was saturated with moisture, the wet-bulb standing '7 higher than the dry, the
latter having in two hours' time tumbled down from 79° to 69°, and in the course of
the ten hours having had a range of no less than 20'^ — a very unusual circumstance
in Bombay. From the rise of the barometer, it was inferred at the observatory that
a storm was raging on the mainland somewhere to the E.N.E. of us. Just after the
gale had ceased, the magnetic instruments began to be disturbed, and this is tlie third
time the same thing has happened at the observatory on the back of a storm within little
more than two years — on the 4th of December 1845, and in April 1847 and 1848.
On the first-named of these days there was a magnificent display of Aurora in the
northern sky, and a great magnetic disturbance all over the world ; on the last two
occasions just named we have seen no account of any irregularities anywhere but at
Bombay. Now that it has occurred so frequently as to call attention and forbid the
idea of the coincidence being accidental, it will be interesting to learn from other ob-
servatories what has occurred, and to watch with extreme care whether these things
always occur coincidently, or whether there are local laws at work here to stir the
magnets after a storm at certain seasons only. The first notice of the subject we
remember is that published by Mr. Orlebar in the Bombay Courier of December
1845 ; for the three preceding years the magnetometers were in general remarkable
for their steadiness during tempests. On the evening of the 6th we had streams of
electric fluid rushing like a handful of beads in rapid torrents to the ground ; this
beautiful and sublime appearance, only witnessed when the thunder-clouds are near
us, has been frequently before described.
" Since writing the above we have been favoured with the following notice of the
state of the weather at Nassick on the 6th and 7th. From this it will be seen that
the conjecture of a storm having occurred to the north-eastward of us about sunset
proves correct. It is unfortunate that Dr. Stuart should not have been possessed of
a barometer or any other means of measuring pressure, or we should in this case
have been able to trace the analogies or anomalies existing at the two localities.
Nearly all the phfenomena observable at Bombay betwixt nine and twelve were ob-
served at Nassick betv^ixt five and eight, or with a regular interval of four hours.
The following will show with what exactness these things may be made out : —
Nassick. Bombay.
" 6^ P.M. — Strong breeze from SE. " 9 p.m. — Gale of wind came on from
This soon became a perfect hurricane, N.E. Lasted about twenty minutes. At
and so continued a little more than half ten wind bore due north. Thunder,
an hour, when it suddenly abated. It lightning and rain continued till two a.m.
was accompanied by heavy rain and some Wind had veered round from S.E. to
hail ; vivid flashes of lightning speedily S.S.E.
followed, with crashing peels of thun-
der, till three o'clock a.m., when the
breeze again freshened from S.E.
"The storm at Nassick was in reality in the sky seen at sunset from Bombay,
though it did not reach us till four hours afterwards. The duration of this irregular
state of things leads to the inference that atmospheric disturbances must have
stretched far into the interior. The Nassick storm moved towards Bombay at the
rate of twenty-four miles an hour."
Dr. Buist concludes by observing, " at present the irregularities of the weather at
this usually regular and tranquil season of the year are so remarkable as to deserve
every attention from the meteorologist." He then adds the letter giving an account
of the storm at Nassick on the first eight days in April.
Subsequently to this storm, the Bombay papers of the IQth of June speak of an
earthquake which extended over 10° of latitude and as many of longitude, having
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS.
47
been felt all along the line from Bombay to Simla ; 35 inches of lain had also fallen
in the first nineteen days of June, a quantity nearly equal to one-half of the average
fall for the whole four and a half months of the monsoon.
Meteorologists need a philosophic and comprehensive explanation of the causes of
such atmospheric disturbances, which not only have an important bearing upon
vegetable development, but unquestionably have a most disastrous effect upon the
public health. At one period during the last quarter in London the excess of deaths
exceeded by 200 daily or 1400 per week the usual average, and this mortality,
chiefly from influenza, exceeding that from the Asiatic cholera, was attributable to
atmospheric causes.
I have thought it right to append the following rain-table as a valuable record.
Register of the Pluviometer at Bombay from 1817 to 1847.
June.
July.
August.
September.
October.
Total fall in
June, July,
Years.
Total fall
Total fall
Total fall
Total fall
Total fall
Aug., Sept.
in the
in the
in the
in the
in the
and October
month.
month.
month.
month.
month.
in each year.
inches.
inches.
inches.
inches.
inches.
inches.
1817
45-72
23-67
9-34
24-87
103-60
1818
22-54
17-69
28-45
10-39
2-6o
81-14
1819
15-95
31-60
20-24
10-11
77-96
1820
18-82
28-37
19-49
10-66
77-34
1821
15-18
20-60
28-52
18-29
82-59
1822
29-64
26-59
33-83
22-16
112-22
1823
21-76
15-96
19-70
4-28
61-70
1824
3-89
8-07
17-86
1-78
2-'27
33-97
1825
24-45
25-17
12-94
9-68
72-24
1826
17-75
26-97
8-40
23-50
1-87
78-49
1827
4915
10-29
10-51
1016
0-92
81-03
1828
23-53
52-75
17-22
22-08
6-40
121-98
1829
27-86
19-78
12-40
4-95
0-66
65-65
1830
20-96
32-46
10-66
7-78
71-86
1831
2216
27-31
27-64
22-34
2-08
101-83
1832
13-63
48-05
4-65
7-11
0-65
74-09
1833
12-50
21-80
13-35
23-54
0-20
71-39
1834
14-16
21-83
18-05
12 55
3-88
70-47
18.35
9-99
4-27
35-76
12-17
0-42
62-61
1836
21-36
24-05
37-41
4-69
87-99
1837
12-61
24 39
22-43
5-15
64-58
1838
29-70
8-70
7-34
504
50-78
1839
18-28
32-19
18-45
4-70
68-62
1840
25-04
24-24
4-20
7-55
2-12
63-15
1841
25-27
21-21
2053
1-27
3-21
71-49
1842
16-84
26-45
37-10
10-41
4-36
95-16
1843
9-33
22-49
18-20
900
0-25
59-27
1844
14-17
35 52
6-55
9-16
65-40
1845
19-70
20-44
6-56
8-03
54-73
1846
31-71
40-56
5-60
8-45
1-16
87-48
1847
35-47
16-80
8-92
5-80
0-32
67-31
Aver
age annua
fall in th
e last 31 }
ears ......
75-42
On the Compensation of Impressions moving over the Retina, as seen in
Railivay Travelling. By Sir David Brewster, .ff..ff'.,Z).C'.Z., F.R.S.,
Sf V.P.R.S. Edin.
At the Meeting of the Association at Cambridge I communicated to this Section
the general fact of the existence of a neutral line, or a line of compensation, when
the retina is submitted, in succession, to impressions moving with different veloci-
ties and in the same direction. When we look, for example, at the lines into which
the stones and gravel or other objects are drawn out by the velocity of the railway
48 REPORT — 1848.
carriage, and quickly transfer the eye to the same lines further back, the stones or
gravel or other objects are, for an instant, distinctly seen, just as we see distinctly
rapidly revolving objects in the dark when they are, for an instant, illuminated by
an electric flash, or seen in daylight through rapidly revolving slits. I have observed
the same phaenomenon less perfectly when travelling in a mail-coach, when its ve-
locity was ten or twelve miles an hour. It may be also seen and studied by means
of the revolving disc of the phenakistoscope. If we suddenly transfer the eye from
the marginal parts of the disc, where the velocity is greatest, to the parts nearer the
centre of rotation, where the velocity is less, we shall, for an instant, perceive di-
stinctly the figures drawn upon that part of the disc. I have not been able to find
a satisfactory explanation of this phsenomenon. It may be connected with the
transverse motion which appears upon closing the eyes when under these moving im-
pressions*, or from an opposite secondary motion accompanying the primary one,
the velocity of the primary one being diminished during the transference of the eye
to lines moving with the velocity to which the impression is then reduced.
The principal object of this notice is to describe a new fact which presented
itself to me lately. If we look directly through a slit at the lines of moving stones,
and suddenly look away from the slit, so as to see the moving lines through the slit
by oblique or indirect vision, the stones will be distinctly seen.
This neutral line, or line of compensation, arises from a quite different cause from
the former, and admits of a satisfactory explanation. When the eye is turned away
from the slit, a part of the retina, not previously subjected to any impressions, must
see the stones for an instant, but only for an instant, as their motion immediately
obliterates the first distinct impression. The neutral line thus produced is not so
easily observed as in the other experiment, where the stones are seen by the part of
the retina on which vision is most distinct, the vision being in the one case oblique
and in the other direct.
On the Vision of Distance as given by Colour.
By Sir David Brewster, K.H., D.CL., F.R.S., ^ V.P.R.S. Edin.
When the boundary lines on a map are marked with two lines of different colours,
the one rises above or is depressed below the other, and the two lines appear to be
placed at different distances from the eye. This remarkable effect is most clearly seen
when we look with both eyes through a large reading-glass, spectacles being used along
with it by those who require them. The more the two colours differ in refrangibility,
the greater, and consequently the more distinctly seen, is the difference of distance
at which the lines appear to be placed. The effect is finely seen in the coloured
patterns of red and blue paper which Prof. Wheatstone has had executed on paper
for exhibiting the mobility or shaking of one part of the pattern. The difference of
distance of the coloured lines or spaces may be appreciated even with one eye.
The explanation of this phsenomenon is very simple. In binocular vision the con-
vergency of the optic axis to different points at different distances corresponding to
the different points in the eye, to which the differently coloured rays are refracted,
gives us the vision of a different distance for each coloured line, in the same manner
as it is given in the stereoscope f. In monocular vision the distance is given by an
analogous process to that by which the single eye sees distances.
On the Visual Impressions upon the Foramen Centrale of the Retina,
By Sir David Brewster, K.H., D.C.L., F.R.S., ^ V.P.R.S. Edin.
The foramen centrale of the retina is an opening in that membrane varying from the
30th to the 50th of an inch in diameter. Although there is no nervous membrane over
this opening, it is nevertheless the part of the eye which gives most distinct vision,
and hence it has been supposed that the retina is not the sole agent in conveying
visual impressions to the sensorium. Various attempts have been made to discover
the existence of \he foramen centrale by optical means, or to discover any effect pro-
duced by it on the incident light. In making some experiments on vision I was led
* See Report of 1845, Trans, of Sect. p. 8.
t See Edin. Transactions, vol. xv. p. 360.
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 49
to the solution of this difficulty, and at the last meeting of the Association at Oxford
I mentioned the general fact, that when the eye had been for a short time closed
and rested, and was then opened and directed to a moderately illuminated surface, a
dark circular spot with a reddish brown penumbra, corresponding to the size of the
foramen, was distinctly seen. The same effect was produced when the eye was not
closed, but merely protected from light, which proved that the spot was not pro-
duced by the act of closing the eye, or by any pressure of the eyeball on its socket.
By various measurements of the diameter of this spot I found it to subtend an
angle of about 4 degrees 35 minutes ; and by taking the radius of curvature of the
retina atO-5 of an inch, I found the diameter of the spot to be the ^Vth of an inch,
a result corresponding with sufficient accuracy with the measurement of the fora-
men in the dead eye, as given by Soemmering, who makes it about the-5\jth of an inch.
From this experiment it follows that when the eye is in its normal state, or in a state
of rest, the choroid coat is less sensible to certain luminous impressions than the re-
tina with the choroid coat behind it.
I now put the eye into an abnormal state, by exposing it for some time to a con-
siderable degree of light, and upon repeating the preceding experiment, I saw upon
the white ground a luminous spot, proving that when the eye was fatigued, or its
sensibiUty diminished, the choroid coat was less affected than the retina and choroid
acting together. Between these two extreme conditions of the eye, namely, when
the eye was neither in a state of rest or fatigue, no spot whatever appeared, the cho-
roid coat alone and the retina and choroid coat acting together, being equally sen-
sible to light.
Anatomists have differed in opinion respecting the true form of the foramen cen-
trale. Soemmering, the original discoverer of it, makes it circular. Some describe
it as a. fold in the retina, while others represent it as a double opening in the form
of a cross. I have seen it myself in this latter form in the eye of a healthy person
a few hours after death; but there can be no doubt that the process of removing
the eye from its socket, and the pressure upon so tender a membrane as the retina
by its separation from the membrane containing the vitreous humour, must alter the
form of a circular foramen, shutting up the aperture and producing the appearance
of a fold, or causing a double fold when it has the appearance of a cross. The
roundness of the spot of variable sensibility I consider as establishing the true form
of the /oramere centrale, or of the limbus luteus which surrounds it.
An Examination of Bishop Berkeley s " New Theory of Vision."
By Sir David Brewster, K.H., D.C.L., F.R.S., S,- V.P.R.S. Edin.
The object of this paper was to examine the theory of Dr. Berkeley — the founda-
tion of the Ideal Philosophy — in its optical relations. The author demonstrated (in
opposition to the fundamental assumption of Dr. Berkeley*), " that distance, both in
monocular and binocular vision, is represented by lines on the retina." Hence every
proposition of Dr. Berkeley's founded on that erroneous assumption falls to the
ground. But even if the fundamental proposition on which he rests his theory had
been true, it would have been true only in vision with one eye, and therefore could
not be applicable to human beings, whose vision is performed by two eyes.
In support of his opinion that we see outness and distance directly by the eyes, and
distinctly within a certain range of limited extent, while we judge of difference of
distances beyond that range by various acquired means, the author described a
number of experiments in binocular vision, where the eyes placed the object at a
fixed distance, which the nicest sense of touch, and the most accurate knowledge of
the true place of the object, could not in the least degree influence ; and he supported
his views by showing that the lower animals perceive distance at the instant of their
birth, and that in every well-described case of the sudden restoration of sight in man
by the extraction of the crystalline lens, or by the formation of an artificial pupil,
outness and distance were invariably seen.
• " It is I think agreed by all, that distance of itself, and immediately cannot be seen ; for
distance being a line directed endwise to the eye, it projects only one point on the fund of the
eye, which point remains invariably the same, whether the dista.'ace be longer or shorter." —
An Essay, &c. § 1.
1848. E
50 REPORT — 1848.
CHEMISTRY.
On the Action of the Red, Orange and Yelloio Rays upon Iodized and Sromo-
iodized Silver Plates after they have been affected by daylight, and other
Phenomena of Photography. By A. Claudet.
It was shown by M. E. Becquerel, that the light which permeates red and yelloW
glasses had the propertj' of continuing on a Daguerreotype plate the action of th6
light which causes the condensation of mercurial vapour on the surface. This pro-
perty being in contradiction to that announced by Mr. Claudet when operating paf-
ticularly with bromo-iodide of silver, he made some new experiments which com-
pletely confirmed the first, but showing at the same time the correctness of the fact
discovered by M. E. Becquerel, as far as the action relates to a certain coating of
iodine.
M. Gaudin, experimenting on the discovery of M. E. Becquerel, had found that
red and yellow glasses not only continued the effect produced by light, but that
an image might be developed under their influence without the action of mercurj'.
Investigations on these various subjects have enabled Mr. Claudet to discover that
light alone also produces an image without mercury, quite similar to that obtained
by M. Gaudin with the second action of red or yellow glasses. This curious fact,
■which had escaped Daguerre and all his followers, affords to Mr. Claudet a meand
of offering an explanation of the phaenomena elucidated by M. E. Becquerel, and
proposing a new theory of the formation of the Daguerreotype image. '
Mr. Claudet thinks that the image produced by light alone is due to the decora-
position of the iodide of silver, by which silver is precipitated on the surface in A
finely divided powder or crystals, producing an effect similar to that caused by th6
condensation of mercurial vapour.
The red or yellow rays having a photographic action of their own, very slow on the
non-affected parts, but capable of operating more strongly on the parts already affected
by white light, continue that precipitation of finely divided silver, and when the ac-
tion of the red or yellow rays is added to the condensation of mercurial vapour, it
doubles the effect by which the image appears visible. This would explain the ac-
tion called continuation by M. E. Becquerel, as well as the phsenomenon of the image
developed by the red or yellow glasses according to M. Gaudin's discovery; the
only difference being that M. Gaudin continues the action of the red or yellow rays
until they have fully and visibly determined the precipitation of the silver.
Mr. Claudet concluded by stating, that he had been able to ascertain that the pure
light of the sun can produce on the surface of bromo-iodide of silver the change of
modification by which it acquires the aflSnity for mercurial vapour in the inci'edible
short space of time of about toW^h part of a second.
On the Laws of Chemical Combijiations and the Volumes of Gaseous Bodies,
By the Rev. Thomas Exley, M.A.
Were we acquainted with the laws of force at minute distances, as we are with
gravitation, the grand difficulty respecting chemical combinations would be over-
come; but while these laws remain unknown the subject will remain in its present
state, involved in a labyrinth. It has been of late too much the fashion to discard
hypotheses. Newton discovered the lavv of gravitation ; but how ? by first admit*
ting it hypothetically, and then testing the hypothesis by calculation. Newton failed
to assign the laws of force at very small distances ; he carried the law of gravitation
to a limit near the centre of an atom, and concluded from phenomena which he
obsen'ed, that there follow several spheres of force alternately attracting and re-
pelling. So long as the laws of these forces remain unknown, no true theory can
be estabhshed. It is therefore best to assign some hypothesis which fixes some pro-
bable law of force, and then to calculate the effects ; the author assumes nothing
more than that the force of gravitation is continued to the centre of atoms, and that
it acts outwardly in a small central sphere, constituting a small sphere of repulsion :
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 51
this is the peculiar feature in his new theory of physics ; and all the varieties of
atoms arise from differences in their absolute forces and the extent of their spheres
of repulsion. Deductions from this theory agree with experiment and observation.
From this theory he has deduced the alternate spheres offeree observed by Newton
with electrical attraction and repulsion, not as peculiar forces, but as circumstances
dependent on the combinations of the classes of atoms mentioned below, and the
following laws of chemical combination, viz. — Law I. That two atoms, simple or
compound, combine one with one without the intervention of a third, and that the
volume remains unaltered, or is contracted one half. Law IL Two atoms combine
by the intervention of a third, and the volume remains the same as that of the two
combined atoms, or is reduced exactly one half. These laws he has examined in
about one hundred cases, in which he finds them confirmed by experiment without
exception.
In order to explain these laws, he takes what is presented by many phsenomena,
that there are three classes of atoms. — Class L Such as have comparatively a small
sphere of repulsion and a great absolute force ; such are the common elements of
chemists; hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, &c. Class H. Such as have a large sphere
of repulsion and a small absolute force ; these he is persuaded constitute the electric
fluid. Class IlL Such as have a very large sphere of repulsion and a very small
absolute force, which, when in motion, as it seems to him, constitute caloric, light
and actinic rays, one or other, according to their velocity.
Now if into a vessel containing atoms of the second and third classes under com-
pression there be introduced a considerable number of those of the first class, each
of these will become a supporting centre against the reaction of the other classes :
it is evident that these centres will be uniformly disposed, and that their distances
will be equal to the distances between the atoms of the interior surface of the vessel
and the adjacent atoms of the gas, and the pressure between the atoms will increase
with the number of these, considered as supporting centres ; hence under a given
pressure the volume will depend on the number of supporting centres. Thus if the
same number of atoms of nitrogen be substituted for the hydrogen, the volume will
not be altered, although the nitrogen is fourteen times heavier than hydrogen ; it will
be still the same if we have the same volume of chlorine, which is thirty-six times
heavier than hydrogen. The same observations apply to iodine, bromine, &c. and
to oxygen, taking its atomic weight at sixteen ; thus we find that the volume depends
not on the absolute force and sphere of repulsion of the atoms, but on the number
of supporting centres.
The same holds good in compound atoms; thus, muriatic acid is H.'.Cl, nitric
oxide O.'. N, carbonic oxide O.-. C, which are instances of the first law where the
volume remains unaltered, and this doubtless takes place when the electric matter
collects between the combining atoms ; thus light acting on a mixture of hydrogen
and chlorine causes the electric fluid to collect between them ; hence the number of
supporting centres remains the same, and the distance between the atoms of hydrogen
and chlorine is unaltered ; which holds good in the other examples, and all similarly
combined. Examples where the volume is contracted one half are, cyanogen N C,
E. Davy's carburet of hydrogen H C, &c. ; here the electric fluid collects on the
exterior sides.
As illustrations of the second law take water vapour H(0)H, carbonic acid
0(C)0, alcohol H^CCHaOCHj, ather vapour H4C3(HsO)C2H4, oenanthic Kther
H4 CsCHas Ci4 Oa, H30)C2 H4, etlial H,6 CgCHa 0)Cg Hig, &c., in which and all such
the volume is the same as that of the extremes, where the connecting atom makes no
l)art of the volume, being protected and prevented from becoming a supporting cen-
tre by the intervening electric fluid, which produces the combination ; thus, for in-
I stance, in oenanthic aether, the forty- five atoms of oenanthic acid do not alter the
I distance of the elherine H4 C3, H4 C2, and the same in all such cases, where the
i volume is the same. As examples, where the volume is reduced exactly one-half,
I we have olefiant gas HCH, nitrous acid ONO, benzin or Dr. Faraday's carburet of
hydrogen HC, HC, HC, where the extremes connected by the intermediate atom
are reduced to one centre of support, the electric fluid collecting on the exterior sides ;
sulphur vapour is analogous to benzin, being S, S, S reduced to one centre of sup-
port. In all cases where the specific gravity of the gas is found, these laws of com-
e2
52 REPORT— 1S48.
bination and volume are found to hold universally. On these principles Mr. Exley
calculates the specific gravity of gaseous bodies by multiplying the atomic weight, on
the hydrogen scale, by 10, and dividing by 144, when the volume is contracted one
half; and again, by 2, when the volume is unaltered; thus, for aether the atomic
weight is 74, then 740-f- 12 X 12 X 2=2-5694. Gay-Lussac finds it 2-586 by ex-
periment. Thus are these laws established.
Since it is shown by the theory, and proved by experiment, that equal gaseous
volumes of hydrogen H, nitrogen N, nitrous acid OoN, olefiant gas HjC, etherine
HjCo, cetine HigCs, &c., contain an equal number of atoms, the centres or centres
of gravity of the atoms, simple or compound, are equidistant, and that distance is
not altered when every two are united by intervenient electric atoms, or by such
atoms and any number of elementary atoms whatever, if they are screened by the elec-
tric atoms, so as not to become centres of support.
On the Motion of the Electric Fluid along Conductors.
By the Rev. Thomas Exley, M.A.
Professor Wheatstone made some valuable experiments, showing that in traversing
a long conductor the electric spark occurs at the same time at each end of the circuit,
and latest at some part near the middle ; this has been considered as a proof that
there are two electric fluids ; but this conclusion is too hasty, for it may be shown
that the phenomena ought to be such on the supposition of a single fluid.
When an electrical charged plate is discharged, there are only three ways, worthy
of notice, by which the equilibrium can be restored ; —
1. The passage of the fluid through the circuit, commencing either at the posi-
tive or negative end.
2. Its passage in pulses beginning at one or the other end.
3. Its passage in pulses taking their rise simultaneously at both ends and closing
about the middle.
In order to obtain correct views we must attend to the phenomena of charging
an electric plate.
If the knob of the prime conductor, electrified to a certain intensity, were pre-
sented to the bare surface of a thin plate of glass, the particles of the glass would
receive and retain a small quantity of the electric fluid without suffering it to pass on
far, or they would give a small quantity without receiving a fresh supply from distant
particles ; a higher intensity or a nearer approach of the prime conductor would give
or take another spark, and the neighbouring particles of the glass would receive or
give fluid to a small distance farther, where the progress would be arrested.
But when the plate is furnished with the usual coating, the spark of electric fluid
affects in like manner all the superficial particles of the glass to the limits of the
coating. If now an uninsulated conductor be presented to the opposite side, a spark
will pass between it and the coating, and at the same time another spark between
the prime conductor and the coating, and a succession of simultaneous sparks on the
opposite sides will occur so long as the same intensity of the conductor is maintained,
until the plate is charged.
These phsenomena assure us, that although the fluid penetrates only to a very
small depth in the glass plate, yet the additionor abstraction of the fluid affects the
particles of the plate, as far as the opposite side, producing in them a tendency to
give fluid to, or to receive fluid from, the uninsulated conductor on the other side.
Thus the particles of the glass have obtained a tendency to receive fluid on the sides
towards the positive conductor and to give it from their opposite sides. Thus will
all the particles of the glass which are situated directly between the opposite con-
ductors be affected ; but at a distance from that line of particles, both sides of the f
plate will be in the same condition as the prime conductor by which the charge is j
made. When the charged plate is removed, the receiving sides of the particles will '
be towards the negative surface of the plate, and the delivering sides towards the]
positive surface, llie discharging rod being now applied with its knobs at such a :
distance as not to receive a spark, the same condition of the particles will remain in
the plate, and will be propagated in the same direction on the particles of air conti-
guous to the rod through the whole circuit ; the particles of air contiguous to th(
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 53
rod will be in a condition to receive on the sides facing the positive coating, and
of giving on the sides facing the negative coating ; that the rod is neutral in the
middle arises from the opposite and equal tendencies of the extremes. Now let the
knobs approach to make the discharge. This is not effected by a continuous pas-
sage of the fluid from one end to the other, since, at any break in the circuit, a card,
being interposed, is pierced so as to have a bur on both sides, showing that the pas-
sage was made in pulses ; nor do these commence at either end and proceed to the
other, for the one end cannot wait to receive or to give during the time of the pas-
sage. The pulses must therefore commence simultaneously at both ends, and close
about the middle, where, consequently, the spark would be last seen. Besides there
is no reason whatever that the motion should begin at one end rather than the other ;
and the same follows from this, that the one side of the discharging rod is positive,
and the other equally negative, while it is neutral in the middle.
Therefore, on the supposition of only one electric fluid, the spark ought to be seen
precisely at the same time at the two extremities, and latest of all about the middle
of the rod : also the explanation by one fluid presents fewer difficulties than by two
fluids. The observations made were applied to the explanation of some other elec-
trical phcenomena, as the residual charge, the charging of thin and thick glass, the
star and brush, &c. _^____
On the Identity of the Existences or Forces of Light, Heat, Electricity, Mag-
netism and Gravitation. By John Goodman.
The author has already shown in a former communication that the substance
potassium, which displays the highest chemical properties, possesses also the most
exalted electrical powers. In order to show the further prominence of this metal
in its calorific phfenomena, he devised several experiments, and has succeeded in
showing that potassium contains also the greatest known amount of caloric of any
solid material body.
When this metal was subjected to percussion or screw compression in a steel
cyUnder by means of an air-tight piston, also of steel, aflame of considerable dimen-
sions was discovered to issue from a minute orifice — being given otF from the interstices
of the metal as water from a sponge — and this frequently accompanied by a loud ex-
plosion. By enlarging the orifice the flame and explosion would gradually diminish,
until large portions only of red-hot metal would exude during percussion.
The explosion was found by experiment to be caused by the combustion of the
finely-divided particles of heated metal which escaped, depriving the atmosphere of
its oxygen and producing an instantaneous collapse of the surrounding air, as is
represented to be the case immediately after the transition of lightning.
The author attributes the escape of caloric through so small an orifice, and by the
sides of the piston, instead of by radiation to the adjoining excellently conducting
cylinder, to the intense attraction of caloric for potassium.
The pure flame seen in these experiments was projected in vacuo as in oxygen,
but with considerably diminished splendour, showing that it exists independently of
combustion.
The author ascribes to caloric attraction for other kinds of matter, and supposing
fhat all bodies are naturally either minus or plus as regards their amount of caloric,
and attract each other simply as in electrical phsenomena, proposes to explain thus
the force of gravitation and the attraction of cohesion.
He points out the great precision with which the numbers given by philosophers
to represent capacity correspond with the powers of electric affinity of the various
metals, as exhibited in thermo- and mechanical electricity, and suggests that electrical
affinity and " capacity" are not improbably analogical.
" Potassium is thus found (says the author) to possess a vast amount of caloric
and to exhibit calorific phenomena, of which no other solid substance in nature
is known to be capable, and it is therefore not improbable that its extraordinary
chemical and electrical powers are derived from the quantity of latent heat which it
contains."
Employing the argument used in his former communication that chemical and
electrical phsenomena are one and the same thing, because the substance producing
54 REPORT — 1848.
the highest chemical, developes also the most exalted electrical, phaenomena, the
author infers that chemical and electrical forces and caloric are one and the same
thing, because the substance developing the highest chemical and electrical powers
displays also the greatest capacity for, and contains the most intense quantity of
heat. Thus chemical and electrical forces appear to be only modifications or mani-
festations of calorific agency.
The author shows that M. Melloni employs the same arguments for the proof
of the analogy of light and heat. He adduces certain experiments of Professor
Draper to show that a strip of platinum heated by the voltaic current corresponds
with minute precision in the development of light and heat at all times ; but that
author has overlooked the equally manifested analogy of these two forces with the
force from which they are developed — the fountain whence they are derived — employed
in these experiments.
On the peculiar Cooling Effects of Hydrogen and its Compounds in cases of
Voltaic Ignition. By W. R. Grove, F.R.S.
This communication was illustrated by an experiment, in which it was shown that
a platina wire, rendered incandescent by a voltaic current, was cooled far below the
point of incandescence when immersed in an atmosphere of hydrogen gas. This'
remarkable cooling property of hydrogen of course became the subject of experi-
mental examination in comparison with other gaseous media. By a peculiar arrange-
ment, tubes containing coils of platina wire were filled with hydrogen and other
gases, and then being plunged into water in which delicate thermometers were
placed, the wires were traversed by the same current from the battery, and it was
found that the water was always more heated in a given time by the wire in the tubes
of oxygen, nitrogen, or carbonic acid, than in those of carburetted hydrogen, defiant
gas or pure hydrogen. It became necessary now to ascertain the cause of this pe-
culiar phsenomenon of hydrogen. It was found not to be due to specific heat, to
specific gravity, nor to any conducting power of the gases; and some difficulty was
found upon examination to exist if it was attempted to refer it to the greater mobility
of the particles of hydrogen gas as the lightest known, than of oxygen, nitrogen,
carbonic acid, &c. It was found that this peculiar property also belonged, but to a
less extent, to all the hj^drocarbonous gases. The author considered it might be
due to a readiness of convection of heat from the ignited surface, hydrogen being,
as compared with the other gases, in the same relation to the heated body as a black
surface is when compared with a white one.
On the Colouring Matters of Madder. By James Higgin.
The author, after describing tbe three colouring matters of madder, xanthin, ru-
biacin and alizarin, and the means he emploj's to separate them in a pure form, pro-
ceeds to show that the opinion usually entertained — that it is the alizarin only which
is the valuable part of madder — is incorrect ; and experiments are adduced to prove
that in proper circumstances, such as obtain in ordinary madder-dyeing, the xanthin
and rubiacin contribute very materially to the efl^ect. They are shown not to act
directly, but through becoming changed into alizarin, which then combines with the
mordants. This change is considered by the author to be induced by a peculiar azo-
tized ferment, found in madder, whereby xanthin becomes rubiacin and this latter
alizarin ; and the opinion is held out that all colouring matter in madder is derived
primarily from xanthin.
On the Influence of Light in preventing Chemical Action.
By Robert Hunt.
Having called attention to several experiments in which certain luminous rays had
been found to protect photographic agents from chemical change, particularly in the
researches of Sir John Herschel, the author proceeded to describe his own experi-
mental investigation of this subject.
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 55
Taking a piece of highly sensitive photographic paper, which would blaclcen in a
few seconds by the light of an Argand gas-burner, he threw upon it a condensed
spectrum which had been previously analysed by a peculiar yellow medium, and then
by means of a mirror reflected the strong light of the sun upon the paper. It was,
therefore, under the influence of the reflected radiations without any change, and
also of the spectrum from which the chemical agency had been as nearly as possible
separated. The result was, that the paper was blackened over every part, except
that portion upon which the strong line of spectral light fell, which was protected
from change and preserved as a white band in the midst of the darkened paper. This
experiment was thought by the author strongly confirmatory of the view which he
had taken, that actinism, or the chemical principle, and light, so far from being
identical, were opposed in action to each other.
Analysis of Wrought Iron produced by Cementation from Cast Iron.
By Prof. W. A. Miller, M.D., F.R.S.
The following are the results of an examination of the chemical composition of a
specimen of brittle cast iron, which was by a subsequent process converted into
malleable iron by cementation.
The ore from which this iron was obtained is the Lancashire brown haematite
from the neighbourhood of Ulverstone ; it is smelted with charcoal instead of with
coke : the articles to be rendered malleable are first of all cast in the desired form.
They are in this state formed of a nearly white, very hard, brittle iron, which exhi-
bits a crystalline grain on fracture. To convert these extremely brittle articles into
malleable iron fit for the forge, they are imbedded in powdered haematite and maintained
at a red heat for some hours ; the carbon is thus gradually removed by inverting the
usual operation of converting bar-iron into steel, and the result is the production of
a tough iron, which may be hammered either hot or cold.
A careful qualitative analysis showed that besides iron, carbon and silicon, traces
of aluminum, sulphur and phosphorus w^ere present, while no arsenic, antimony or
manganese were there ; titanium was not detected.
The author stated in detail his process for the analysis, and added the following
observations : —
It is to be noticed that considerable change in the specific gravity occurred in the
iron after cementation ; it was forged, and was then found to have increased in den-
sity : the brittle iron had a specific gravity of 7'684 ; the malleable, 7'7l8.
The results of analysis are briefly these ; the quantity both of carbon and silicon
are materially diminished by the cementation, though still the proportion of both is
greater than in good bar-iron. It also appears that the portion of carbon which is
insoluble in acids is nearly the same both before and after the iron has been rendered
malleable, the diminution being confined almost to that portion of carbon which
was chemically combined with the metal, and which therefore would be in a state
for propagation through the mass more readily by cementation.
Cast Iron.
Brittle. Malleable.
Specific gravity 7*684 7"718
Iron
Carbon 2-80 0'88
Silicon 0-951 0-409
Aluminum trace trace
Manganese none none
Titanium
Arsenic none none
Sulphur 0'015
Phosphorus trace trace
Sand 0-502
Carbon combined 2-217 0-434
Ditto uncombined 0'583 0-446
56 REPORT— 1848.
Prof. Miller also had occasion to examine a specimen of iron known as cold-short
from the Staffordshire district. In texture it appeared to be entirely destitute of
the fibrous character, but to consist of a series of small larainse or plates. In
addition to carbon and silicon, he found phosphorus, an appreciable quantity of cop-
per and decided traces of potassium. The copper he has no doubt is derived from
the coal employed in the smelting, from an examination of several species of coal
lately made in the laboratory of King's College by Mr. Vaux. Copper is found in
manv, none being met with in the Newcastle coal, but a quantity distinctly appre-
ciable in the ashes of the Staffordshire coal. The potassium, it is just conceivable,
might have been derived from the glass vessels in which the operation was con-
ducted, but the author has little doubt it was furnished from the iron itself : upon
this point however further experiments are needed to remove all ambiguity.
Red-short iron is frequently supposed to owe its defective qualities to the pre-
sence of sulphur. In a specimen, however, which he examined with great care.
Prof. Miller could not find any notable proportion of sulphur, and indeed though
minutely examined for tin, arsenic, antimony, titanium, manganese, chromium, alu-
minum and calcium, he could not find, with the exception of a trace of the latter,
any substance beyond the ordinary constituents of wrought iron, viz. iron with a
small quantity of carbon and silicon. A trace of phosphorus was however distinctly
ascertained (it did not exceed 0"0114 per cent.), and the sulphur was not more than
0-016.
He believes, however, that traces of potassium exist in this iron also.
Staffordshire Iron.
Hot-Sliort. Cold-Short.
Specific gravity 7-426 7-921
Iron
Carbon 0-245 0-275
Silicon 0-232 0-288
Aluminum none none
Manganese none none
Titanium none none
Arsenic none none
Chromium none none
Copper 0-041
Sulphur 0-016 trace
Phosphorus 0-011 0-337
Calcium trace none
Potassium traces trace
On the existence of Ozone in the Atmosphere. By Dr. Moffatt.
On a peculiar property of Coke. By James Nasmyth.
The following fact, which was observed by the author some years ago, appears to
furnish additional evidence as to the identity of the diamond with carbon. Mr. Nas-
myth states that coke is possessed of one of the most remarkable properties of the
diamond, in so far as it has the property of cutting glass. He uses the term cutting
expressly in contra-distinction to the property of scratching, which is possessed by
all bodies that are harder than glass. The cut produced by coke is a perfect clear
diamond-like cut, so as to exhibit the most beautiful prismatic colours, owing to
the perfection of the incision.
Coke hitherto has been considered as a soft substance, doubtless from the ease
with which a mass of it can be crushed and pulverized ; but it will be found that the
minute plate-formed crystals, of which a mass of coke is formed, are intensely hard,
and, as before said, are possessed of the remarkable property o{ cutting glass.
This discovery of the extreme "diamond-like" hardness of the particles of coke
will no doubt prove of value in many processes in the arts as well as interesting in
a purely scientific sense.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 5/
On the Chemical Character of Steel. By James Nasmyth.
Were we to assume as our standard of the importance of any investigation the
relation which the subject of it bears to the progress of civilization, there is no one
which would reach higher than that which refers to the subject of steel ; seeing that
it is to our possession of the art of producing that inestimable material that we owe
nearly the whole of the arts. Mr. Nasmyth is desirous of contributing a few ideas
on the subject, with a view to our arriving at more distinct knowledge as to what
(in a chemical sense) steel is, and so of laying the true basis for improvement in the
process of its manufacture.
It is well known that steel is formed by surrounding bars of wrought iron with
charcoal placed in fire-brick troughs from which air is excluded, and keeping the iron
bars and charcoal in contact and at a full red heat for several days ; at the end of
which time the iron bars are found to be converted into steel. What is the nature
of the change which the iron has undergone we have no certain knowledge ; the
ordinary explanation is, that the iron has absorbed and combined with a portion of
the charcoal or carbon, and has in corisequence been converted into a carburet of
iron : but it has ever been a mystery, that on analysis so very minute and question-
able a portion of carbon is exhibited. It appears that the grand error in the above
view of the subject consists in our not duly understanding the nature of the change
which carbon undergoes in its combination with iron in the formation of steel.
Those who are familiar with the process of conversion of iron into steel, must have
observed the remarkable change in the outward aspect of the bars of iron after their
conversion, namely, that they are covered with blisters. These blisters indicate the
evolution of a very elastic gas which is set free from the carbon in the act of its com-
bination with the iron. Mr. Nasmyth is led to think that these blisters are the result
of the decomposition of the carbon, whose metallic base enters into union with the
iron and forms with it an alloy, while the other component element of the carbon is
given forth, and so produces in its escape the blisters in question. On this assump-
tion, that steel is an alloy of iron with the metallic base of carbon, it would be a most
interesting subject of investigation to endeavour to ascertain what is the nature of
the evolved gas which produces these blisters. In order to do this, the author pro-
poses the following process : — Fill a wrought iron retort with a mixture of pure
carbon and iron filings, subject it to a long-continued red heat, and receive the
evolved gas over mercury. Having obtained the gas in question in this manner, then
permit a piece of polished steel to come in contact with this gas, and in all probabi-
lity we shall then have reproduced, on the surface of the steel, a coat of carbon re-
sulting from the reunion of its two elements, namely, that of the metallic base of
the carbon then existing in the steel w^th the (as yet) unknown gas, thus synthe-
tically, as well as by analytic process, eliminating the true nature of steel and that of
the elements or components of carbon.
On some of the Alloys of Tungsten. By John Percy, M.D., F.R.S.
Dr. Percy detailed a series of experiments upon the economic use of tungsten in
alloys. The tungsten employed was obtained in the form of steel-gray powder from
tungstate of ammonia in the usual way. It was heated at a very high temperature
with gold, silver, copper, nickel, and the alloy of metal, copper and zinc, called
German silver, respectively, charcoal powder being added to prevent oxidation.
Apparent alloys were thus obtained ; but on testing them by the ordinary manufac-
turing processes of rolling, scratching and polishing, it became evident that the
tungsten was simply diffused through the mass in minute grains. A mixture, for it
cannot be called an alloy proper, of copper and tungsten was produced containing
22 per cent, of tungsten ; the colour of the copper was not thereby very minutely
altered, so that tungsten does not possess the whitening property of nickel. The
results of these experiments were quite unsatisfactory in regard to the economic
application of tungsten. The subject still deserves the attention of metallurgists.
58 REPORT — 1848.
On some Properties of Alumina. By R. Phillips, F.R.S.
It has been observed by Wittstein, that the precipitate which is obtained from the
persulphate or perchloride of iron, if kept for a great length of time in water, loses
almost entirely the property of being soluble in acetic acid. Mr. Phillips had noticed
a similar phajnomenon with alumina, arising without doubt from the action of the
cohesive forces. Whereas the sesquioxide of iron requires one or probably two years
for the production of the effect, alumina undergoes the change partially in a very
short time ; the precipitated alumina does not, however, assume a crystalline ap-
pearance — stated to be the case with the cohering sesquioxide of iron. If the pre-
cipitated alumina is kept for two days moist and in the solution from which it was
precipitated, even sulphuric acid does not immediately dissolve it. Experiments
were brought forward in proof of this fact. It was also shown that the interposition
of magnesia or of carbonic acid prevented the alumina from cohering.
On Common Salt as a Poison to Plants. By W. B. Randall.
In the month of September last, three or four small plants in pots were shown to the
writer, nearly or quite dead ; and he was at the same time informed that their destruc-
tion was a complete mystery to the party to whom they belonged, and that Dr. Lindley
had expressed his opinion, from the examination of a portion of one sent to him, that
they were poisoned. Having searched in vain for any strong poison in the soil, and
in the plants themselves, he inquired more minutely into the circumstances of the
case, and found that these wore only specimens of many hundreds of plants both in
the open air and in green-houses (but all in pots) which exhibited, in a greater or
less degree, the same characteristics. The roots were completely rotten, so as to be
easily crumbled between the fingers ; the stems, even in young plants, assumed the
appearance of old wood ; the leaves became brown, first at the point, then round the
edge, and afterwards all over, while the whole plant drooped and died. At least
2000 cuttings in various stages of progress, and 1000 strong healthy plants had been
reduced to this condition, including different varieties of the fir, cedar, geranium,
fuchsia, rose, jasmin and heath. The sight of this wholesale destruction, coupled
with the fact that all the plants were daily watered from one particular source, sug-
gested the conclusion that the cause of the evil might be found in the water thus used ;
and this was accordingly examined. It yielded the following constituents, making
in each impei-ial pint of 20 fluid ounces, nearly 9^ grains of solid matter, entirely
saline, without any organic admixture : —
Carbonate of lime 0'600
Sulphate of lime 0-462
Chloride of calcium 0'200
Chloride of magnesium 1*252
Chloride of sodium 6"906
9-420
The mould around the plants, and an infusion of the dead stems and leaves also
afforded abundant evidence of the presence of much chloride of sodium. Further
inquiry showed that the well from which the water was procured had an accidental
communication, by means of a drain, with tli£ sea, and had thus become mixed with
the salt water from that source, and had been used in this state for some weeks, pro-
bably from two to three months. From about that time the plants had been observed
to droop, but it was not until nearly the whole of a valuable stock had been destroyed
that any extraordinary cause of the evil was suspected. To place it beyond doubt
that the water was really the cause of the mischief, twelve healthy fuchsias were pro-
cured from a distance and divided into two parts, half being watered morning and
evening with the water in question, and the others with rain-water. In a week the
six plants watered from the well had turned brown and ultimately died, while all
the rest remained perfectly flourishing. Assuming from these facts that the com-
mon salt in this water was the chief cause of the results described, it is proved that
water containing about seven grains of salt in each pint is, in its continued use, an
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 59
effectual poison to the weaker forms of vegetation, or that when a soil is continually
watered with a weak solution of salt it gradually accumulates in it until the soil be-
comes sufficiently contaminated to be unfit to support vegetable life. In either case
an interesting subject of inquiry is suggested — What is the weakest solution of salt
which can produce this poisonous effect ? or in other words, at what degree of dilu-
tion does the danger cease ? For salt is an important natural constituent of much
spring-water, quite independent of any infiltration from the sea, as in this instance.
Thus, the water of the Artesian well, Trafalgar Square, London, con-
tains in each gallon about 20*0 grains.
That at Combe and Delafield's brewery 12"7 „
That at Woolverton Railway Station 6*0 „
One lately sunk at Southampton for supplying a private manufactory 40'0 „
May it not be asked whether the subject of the suitableness of waters in general
for the various purposes to which they are applied, — be it in manufactures or for
steam-engines, domestic purposes or drinking, — is not worthy of a greater share of
scientific attention than it has hitherto commanded ?
On a Neio Process for analysing Graphite, Natural and Artificial. By
Professor R. E. Rogers, and Professor W. B. Rogers, University of
Virginia.
The present abstract will be limited to a brief statement of the principal steps of
the new process, and such reference to the results as is necessary to give assurance
of its accuracy. The details of the operation, with a description and drawing of the
apparatus employed, will appear in the forthcoming number of tiie American Journal
of Science.
The extreme obstinacy with which graphite, natural as well as artificial, resists
oxidation by liquid re-agents is shown by the fact that neither nitric nor sulphuric
acid, used singly, even with the aid of heat, produces any sensible effect upon the
flakes of this substance. Sciiafhaeutl succeeded in oxidating scales of artificial
graphite by surrounding them with boiling sulphuric acid and then dropping concen-
trated nitric acid upon the liquid, but the action was so slow as to require several suc-
cessive digestions of the same specimen to dissipate the whole of the carbon.
The new process is founded on the fact that a mixture of bichromate of potassa
and sulphuric acid, when applied in great excess to very minutely-divided graphite,
converts the carbon rapidly and completely into carbonic acid. The fact of such a
reaction was noticed by us more than two years ago, but the details of the present
process were not matured until the winter of 1847, since which time we have used it
in a number of instances for determining the carbon of graphite, and always with
consistent and satisfactory results.
Our method of proceeding is briefly as follows : —
1. Apparatus used.—The object of the experiment being to convert the carbon of
the graphite into carbonic acid, and by absorption to collect the whole of the latter,
with the view of deducing from it the weight of the carbon, the apparatus is con-
structed of the following parts -.—First, a retort for receiving the powdered graphite,
bichromate of potassa, and sulphuric acid; second, a large drying tube of chloride of
calcium to arrest moisture ; third, a Liebig tube charged with standard solution of
potassa followed by a small U-tube of fragments of potassa, both designed for the
detention of the carbonic acid evolved ; fojirth, an additional U-tube to arrest the
moisture which might otherwise pass backwards from the aspirator,- &n A, fifth, a
large aspirating apparatus, to be used at the close of the experiment. The neck of
the retort is bent upwards at right angles and enclosed in moistened cloth or by a
glass refrigerator, to prevent the passage of sulphuric acid vapour into the chloride
of calcium.
2. Preparation of the Graphite. — To ensure a prompt and complete result, the
graphite must first be brought to the most viinute division. This cannot be effected
by triturating it alone, but is readily done by grinding it with pure quartz sand, or
what is better, with small fragments of granular quartz, adding this substance in suc-
cessive portions during the grinding, until it amounts to some thirty times the weight
60 REPORT — 1848.
of the graphite used. The success of the oxidating process is greatly dependent on
this preparation. Ground in the ordinary way, we have found 6 grains of pure
graphite to require upwards of twelve hours for complete oxidation, while the same
amount finely ground with silica was completely dis^ipated in about thirty minutes.
3. Mixture. — With a retort of about 13 cubic inches we find 6 grains of graphite
a convenient quantity to operate with. When prepared as above, it is to be mixed
with 500 grains of powdered bichromate of potassa, and the whole being transferred
to the retort, we add 1 cubic inch of water, and then pour slowly upon the mass
5 cubic inches of sulphuric acid of the common density, taking care to mingle the in-
gredients by gentle agitation as we add the acid. A moderate lamp-heat soon excites
brisk reaction, which is afterwards to be regulated by withdrawing or renewing the
heat. At the close, the small tube attached to the tubulure of the retort is opened
to permit aspiration, and a volume of air, equal to two or three times the capacity
of the retort, is drawn through the apparatus.
Results. — The consistency of the results obtained by this method will be seen from
the following examples, selected as fair specimens of a number of experiments per-
formed in the same way : —
Native Graphite. — A crystalline variety found in Albemarle county, Virginia. It
occurs in long flat narrow plates of a curved form, packed closely together like the
fibres of asbestus.
6 grains of this mineral yielded —
In the first experiment Carbonic acid, 2079
„ second „ Carbonic acid, 20-82
The mean corresponds in 100 grains to Carbon 94-56.
/Irtificial Graphite or Kish. — In large crystalline plates with adhering iron and
slag. The former was removed by digestion in acid, but some of the vitreous matter
remained.
6 grains of this substance yielded —
In the first experiment Carbonic acid, 16'58
„ second ,, Carbonic acid, 16'63
The mean corresponds in 100 grains to Carbon 754 grains.
To test the accuracy of the results, weighed specimens of graphite were carefully
burnt to ash in a current of oxygen gas. The weight of carbon found by subtraction
closely corresponded with that determined by the liquid process applied to the same
specimen.
It is proper to add, that the native graphite used in these experiments was first
freed from any adhering carbonates or organic matter, by digestion in dilute sulphuric
acid and subsequent ignition.
We have made numerous experiments to test the applicability of this process for
determining the carbon of coals. In the driest varieties of anthracite, the results
presented a good degree of uniformity in repeated trials with the same specimen ;
but wherever the coal contains a volatile compound of carbon, this is in greater or
less part evolved without oxidation in virtue of the high temperature of the reaction.
In the case of perfectly dry coke however the process gives uniform and accurate
results.
Oxidation of the Diamond in the Liquid Way.
By Professors R. E. Rogers and W. B. Rogers.
The processes for oxidating the diamond hitherto described, consist in actually
burning this gem, either in the air, in oxygen gas, or in some substance rich in oxy-
gen, as nitrate of potassa. In all these experiments a very elevated temperature is
required. We have therefore been much interested by discovering that the diamond
may be converted into carbonic acid in the liquid way and ata moderate heat, by the
reaction of a mixture of bichromate of potassa and sulphuric acid; in other words, by
the oxidating power of chromic acid. This fact, although suggested in the progress
of our experiments on graphite, was not unequivocally ascertained until lately.
The method of proceeding is much the same as in the oxidation of graphite, but
the progress of the oxidation is a great deal slower.
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 61
To succeed in this experiment, it is necessary first to reduce the small chips of
diamond used in the process to a very tine powder. This is done by crushing them
in a steel mortar, and then grinding the coarse powder that results with repeated
portions of pure siliceous sand in a mortar of agate. By patient manipulation we
have in this way succeeded in bringing the diamond to very nnnute division.
A single grain weight of the gem will suffice for several experiments. In our re-
peated trials we have never used more than half a grain, and we have obtained clear
evidence of oxidation, by the evolved carbonic acid, with even one-tenth of a grain.
In operating with half a grain, we employ a retort of about ] 5 inches capacity fitted
up as in our apparatus for the oxidation of graphite. The Liebig tubes and U-tubes
of that arrangement are replaced by tubes or small bottles charged with perfectly clear
lime-water, and connected by bent tubes and perforated corks, so as to be air-tight at
all the junctures. The drying tube of chloride of calcium is omitted, and in its place
a slender tube connected with the beak of the retort carries the gas through a short
test-tube containing a small quantity of water. This is adopted as a precaution in
the event of sulphuric acid vapour escaping uncondensed.
As the process is slow we find it necessary to use a large amount of the oxidating
materials. In our experiments with half a grain the retort is charged with 4 cubic
inches of sulphuric acid and 500 grains of bichromate of potassa.
It is important to remark that these materials, of themselves, when heated to the
temperature at which oxygen is evolved, never fail to yield a small amount of car-
bonic acid. This result, due no doubt to the presence, in the bichromate, of a trace
of carbonate or some carbonaceous matter, we have found it impossible entirely to
prevent by re-crystallization or the addition of acid to the salt, or even by continued
ignition. But we avoid all chance of error from this cause, by first heating the acid
alone in the retort to about 350'', then adding the bichromate by degrees, and
stirring the mixture so as to effect a complete separation of the chromic acid. A
very brisk reaction takes place, much oxygen is disengaged, and with it any carbonic
acid which these materials themselves are capable of evolving.
By using successive tubes of lime-water to test the evolved gas, and occasionally
applying a lamp to the retort, we readily ascertained when the oxygen ceases to be
mingled with carbonic acid ; and as soon as we are assured of this we add the
powdered diamond, and begin the main experiment.
The evolution of carbonic acid is soon evinced by the growing milkiness of the
lime-water, and this continues slowly to augment as long as there is free chromic acid
in the retort.
Operating in this way with half a grain of diamond-powder and the proportions of
sulphuric acid and bichromate above stated, we have in a first process obtained
about six-tenths of a grain of carbonate of line, about one-seventh of that due to the
weight of diamond considered as pure carbon, showing that about one-seventh of the
gem had been consumed in the process. By washing out the contents of the retort
with distilled water, and carefully collecting the powder suflfered to subside in a
covered glass jar, we have found that in a second similar process it yielded an amount
of carbonic acid nearly as great as at first ; and in like manner, in a third trial, we
have found it still capable of giving milkiness to the lime-water.
In order to complete the oxidation at a single trial, it would be necessary to have
the diamond still more finely comminuted, or to use a much larger amount of the
oxidating agent than in the experiments here cited. The chief point of interest in
the subject however is the fact which we believe has now for the first time been shown,
that diamond is capable of being oxidated in the liquid ivay, and at a comparatively
moderate temperature, ranging between 350 and 450 degrees.
On the Absorption of Carbonic Acid by Sulphuric Acid.
By Professors R. E. and W. B. Rogers.
Notice of Pseudomorphous Crystals from Volcanic Districts of India.
By J. Tennant, F.G.S.
62 REPORT — 1848.
On a Galvanometer. By W. S. Ward.
This was a modified form of an instrument exhibited at Oxford, in which a coil of
■wire conducting the electric current was suspended around the poles of a U-shaped
permanent magnet. The coil had fixed upon it a small beam to which scales were
attached : the improvement particularly described consisted in the length of the
beam being so adjusted that the weights required to counterbalance the deflecting
force gave the measure of the current in grains, corresponding to the number of
grains of zinc per hour dissolved in each cell of the battery when a short coil was
used, and corresponding to sixteen grains balanced by the electromotive force of one
pair of Grove's elements when a long coil of fine wire was used.
On the Electromotive Force, Dynamic Effect and Resistance of various
Voltaic Combinations. By W. S. Ward.
Tables were exhibited showing the results of measurements made with the gal-
vanometer described in the paper previously read to the Section.
On the Chemical Composition of Gtitta Percha.
By Francis Whishaw, C.E.
GEOLOGY AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
On Fossil Femains recently discovered in Bacon Hole, Gower ; also other
Remains from beneath the bed of the River Tawey. By Spence Bate.
The cave in which the fossil remains were found, to which allusion is chiefly made
in the following paper, is formed by a fissure or fault in the mountain limestone. It
is situated on the sea-coast, about 20 feet above high-water mark, on the western
coast of the headland of Gowev, and about nine miles from Swansea. It is upon the
southern side of tlie anticlinal axis, which passes through Gower from a little to the
north of the Worm's Head, tbiough Cefn Brynn, crosses Caswell Bay, and loses itself
in the sea at the back of the Mumble Head. The strike of the limestone in which
the cave is situated is nearly north and south, with the dip to the east. The cave
narrows rapidly from the mouth, but is 30 feet wide about the centre of the main
channel. It is 128 feet long, and possesses evidence of having once been a great
deal more extensive, since the rocks below its mouth are strewn with blocks and
large masses of breccia, together with broken fragments of stalagmite, which must
have fallen both from its roof and floor. The floor of the cave, from the extreme
end where it is divided into two chambers, caused by the fault separating itself into
two fissures, gradually rises towards the entrance, and in such a manner as to indi-
cate that the mouth itself was at a time when the cave extended to a greater length
blocked up, and argues that this could have been the only entrance which the cave
ever possessed, and that no communication through the roof, as is sometimes found,
could have existed by which the angular fragments now fonuing the bone-bed of the
cave could have existed. Since in the bed of stones no stalagmite is found, and in
the stalagmite not a single stone has become entangled, we may infer the introduc-
tion of the stones, together v.ith the bones found amongst them, to have been a simul-
taneous injection, since which natural causes have qiTietly put a seal upon them.
The elevation of the cave exceeds, scarcely 12 feet at the highest point of the main
cavern, where, as in the two inner cliambers, it becomes mucli more lofty. This cave
seems in itself to afibrd sufficient evidence that thickness of stalagmite is no proof of
age, since the greatest thickness of carbonate of lime follows the line of the fissure
throughout, being greatest where the two faults meet, in which place it attained a
thickness of 2 feet and more, and required blasting for its removal ; it decreases in
substance gradually on either side and towards the entrance, where it in some places
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 63
scarcely exceeds an inch. This corresponds with the deposits of carbonate of lime in
the roof, where the fault is choked up by the material, but which hang in no graceful
stalagmites but unite in one large mass, except near the entrance, at which extremity
a square original-shaped portion impends, which in the eye of the tradition of the neigh-
bourhood has assumed tlie form of a flitch of bacon, hence the peculiar cognomen
Bacon Hole, by which the cave is known. From the fault on either side the roof
descends in a direct line until it meets the flooi-, forming a triangular entrance.
The most important remains which yet have been found in this cave consist of
teeth of the ox, deer, and other ruminants, together with a portion of the cranium of
a deer and a few bones of a bat; all the last save one were found in such close prox-
imity as to lead fairly to the inference that they belonged to the same bird ; and
many other bones, the most of which seem to belong to the deer. Teeth of cai-nivo-
rous animals were also found, among which were the left under canine of an old Ursits
spelcBus ; also the canine and molar of a young bear of the same species ; also a molar,
the milk tooth, probably of a young hysna.
At the same time were exhibited many specimens of antlers of the Cervus elaphus,
and one probably of the moose deer ; these are all attached to portions of the skull,
affording evidence of having not been cast in the annual shedding season. These,
together with a human skull, were discovered at the depth of six feet in the clay below
the bed of the river Tawey.
On the Sources of the Nile in the Mountains of the Moon. By Dr. Beke*.
This paper was in continuation of one 'On the Nile and its Tributaries,' read be-
fore the Royal Geographical Society of London during the Session of 1846-47, and
printed in the 17th volume of that Society's Journal.
The author's hypothesis is, that the principal sources of the Nile, according to
Ptolemy, are in the coimtry of Mouo-Moezi, near the east coast of Africa, and that the
name " Mountains of the Moon," arose from the translation of the word Moezi,
which signifies moon in the language of the Sawahilis, or " dwellers on the coast,"
from whom the Greek merchants and seamen of Alexandria trading with India and
Eastern Africa, obtained the particulars respecting the Upper Nile which are re-
corded by Ptolemy.
Dr. Beke exhibited two maps, showing the Nile and the east coast of Africa, the
one according to Ptolemy, and the other according to his own hypothesis; and ap-
plying the positive knowledge possessed at the present day to the correction of the
fundamental error of Ptolemy's map, namely its general extension much too far
southwards, he inferi-ed that the head of the Nile, which that geographer places on
the western side of the country of the Anthropophagi, bordering on the Barbaricus
Sinus, in the vicinity of the island of Menuthias, is most probably situate in about 2° S.
lat. and 34° E. long., at the extreme eastern edge of the table-land of Eastern Africa,
and at a distance of about 300 or 400 miles from the island of Zanzibar, which island
he identified with Menuthias.
The author next showed how, in his opinion, Ptolemy fell into the very natural
error of making the Mountains of the Moon extend from east to west across the con-
tinent of Africa, at right angles to the general direction of the course of the rivers
flowing from them ; whereas the actual direction of the eastern edge of the table-land,
which to the Sawahilis or natives of tlie coast has the appearance of an extensive
range of lofty mountains, and which Dr. Beke identifies with the Mountains of the
Moon, is from about S.W. to N.E. ; aud by measuring 600 miles in the latter direction
— such being the distance that Ptolemy makes exist between the two heads of the
Nile in those mountains — he hypothetically placed in about 7° N. lat. and 39° E. long.,
the source of that geographer's second arm of the river. This second arm Dr. Beke
identifies with the Sobat, Telfi, or river of Habesh, which joins the Bahr el Abyad or
White River in about 9° 20' N. lat., and which was considered by the officers of the
Egyptian exploring expeditions, who ascended it 80 miles, to contribute to the Nile
nearly a moiety of its waters.
The author adverted particularly to the fact, that the confluence, at Kharttim fit
15° 37' N. lat., of the White and Blue Rivers — commonly but erroneously called the
■" Printed in extenso in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, vol. xlv. pp. 221-251.
64 REPORT — 1848.
White and Blue Nilcs — is merely the junction of the Astapus with the Nilus ; and that,
in reality, the confluence of Ptolemy's two ai'ms of the Nile, namely the White River
and the Sobat or River of Habesh, is in 9° 20' N. lat., upwards of 6° beyond Khart-
I'un ; and while establishing that these two principal arms of that river have their
sources at the extreme eastern edge of the table-land of Eastern Africa, he showed,
further, the existence of a third great arm of the Nile, namely the Bahr el Ghazal or
Kei'lah, which joins the central stream from the west in about 9° 20' N. lat., and
which there is reason to regard as the Nile of Herodotus and other writers anterior
to Ptolemy.
In conclusion. Dr. Beke called attention to the journey undertaken by Dr. Biallo-
blotzky into Eastern Africa, for the purpose of exploring the southern hmits of the
basin of the Nile ; and he solicited subscriptions in support of this undertaking.
jiddition by the Author. — The Rev. Mr. Rebmann, of the Church Missionary So-
ciety's East-Africa Mission, has lately sent home an account of a journey made by
him into the interior. Within 200 miles due west from Mombas he came to the
eastern edge of the table-land, which thus appears to be much nearer to the coast
than I had been led to conclude. Directly before him Mr. Rebmann saw a lofty
mountain, named Kilimandjaro, the summit of which is covered with perpetual snow.
This mountain may be .^pproximatively placed in 4° S. lat. and 36° E. long., and
its elevation cannot well bo less than about 20,000 feet. It is crossed by the road to
the country of Mono-Moezi ; and there is now scarcely room to doubt that it forms a
portion of Ptolemy's Mountains of the Moon (Moezi), the snoivs of which are de-
scribed by that geographer as being received into the lakes of the Nile. It is by
proceeding into the interior in this direction that Dr. Bialloblotzky may be expected
to discover the sources of that river. — See Athencciim, No. 1119, of the 7th inst. —
April 14, 1849. [Mr. Rebmann's Journal, with a Map, is since published in the
Church Missionary Intelligencer for May 1849, vol. i. p. 12 et seq.']
On the occurrence in the Tarentaise of certain species of Fossil Plants of the
Carboniferous Period, associated in the satne bed ivith Belenmites. By
Mr. Charles Bunbury.
The fossil plants were stated to be in a very bad state for examination, being washed
up together in a taleose schist, and often curiously distorted by the molecular action
which the rock has undergone. In the Turin collections, Mr. Bunbury had made
out nine species of Ferns, two Calamites, and three Asterophyllites, which he consi-
dered identical with Carboniferous species ; a conclusion formerly stated by M.
Adolphe Brongniart.
On a Boulder of Cannel Coal found in a vein of common bituminous Coal.
By Starling Benson of Swansea.
Whilst the shales and sandstones of the lower coal-measures of South Wales appear
to have been for the most part deposited or formed in comparatively quiet water, the
Pennant series of rocks above them, which are easily traceable throughout the coal-
field iroiii the greater hardness of their sandstones, contain frequent conglomerates
of rolled pebbles of coal and ironstone, drifted plants, and occasionally small boulders
of granite, with other proofs of drift to a considerable extent having occurred during
their formation.
The boulder, which is 13 inches long, 7 wide, and 3 deep, was found in a seam of
common bituminous coal at Penclawdd near Swansea, which is in geological position
one of the lowest in the Pennant series. In the subjacent measures some seams of
cannel coal are known to exist about 700 yards below the Penclawdd vein, and lying
conformably with it. If the boulders and drift, which occur throughout the lower
portion of the Pennant se.'ies, were derived from the subjacent coal-measures, it might
have arisen from a partial destruction of the south-west portion of those measures during
the formation of the Pennant rocks; and if the boulders of granite are, as supposed,
equivalent to that of Pembrokeshire, they would also point to the same line of drift.
The writer concluded by remarking, that if the suggestion is admitted that these
boulders are derived from the lower measures of the same coal-field, the inference
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 65
would follow that sufficient time elapsed between the deposit of two successive veins
to allow the perfect crystallization and formation of the lower one.
It also yielded information interesting with reference to the ascertaining of the
manner of the formation of coal, as it would authorize an inference that the material
of which in this instance the bituminous vein was formed, was originally too soft and
yielding, notwithstanding its present hardness and density, to fracture the boulder
during the period of pressure necessary for its formation ; and also, that any mixture of
gases or other ingredients acting or escaping during the formation of the bituminous
coal, do not appear to have in any way affected the cannel coal deposited within it.
On the relative Position of the various Qualities of Coal in the South Wales
Coal- Measures. By Starling Benson of Swansea.
The varieties of coal found in the mineral basin of South Wales may be classified
under three heads : —
1. Bituminous; the small of which will coke.
2. Free-burning ; which burns with rapidity, emits a considerable volume of flame,
and is best adapted for steam purposes, but of which the small does not coke.
3. Stone coal and culm, or anthracite.
These three varieties are not suddenly altered as they approach each other ; on the
contrary, there is often a gradual change from bituminous to free-burning within the
limits of the same colliery, whilst the free-burning coals would also appear to become
culms, burning without flame, probably from the diminution of volatile matter, before
the quality of the true anthracitic coal and culm is attained.
The annexed sketch of the coal-measures between Pontypool and Kidwelly will
serve to illustrate the position of each variety of coal.
With a few exceptions, arising from portions of seams of coal removed from their
original relative positions by favdts or anticlinals, a central line of quality may be
assumed to extend from Merthyr to Pembrey mountain near Llanelly; the bitumi-
nous veins of coal on the south gradually becoming less so until they are free-burning
in the centre, whilst these again change into culms, burning without flame, imtil the
true anthracitic coals and culms are found on the north crop.
Exclusive of the Pembrokeshire portion of the coal-measures, which is anthracitic,
the area between Pontypool and Kidwelly, where both crops merge in the sea, may be
estimated at fully 750 square miles, of which about y^ths consist of stone-coal and
culms, T^ths of coking, smelting and free-burning coals.
It is often remarked that each vein on the south crop gradually loses its bituminous
quality as it dips to the north, but the more southern veins not so rapidly as those
'above them : and it has been suggested, that a line or plane a dipping to the south
might be so placed as to intersect each vein at a point where its relative proportion of
bituminous quality has disappeared.
South.
North. \ Bituminous.
Anthracite.
Supposing anthracitic coal to be formed by the removal of certain volatile matter,
chiefly oxygen, from bituminous coal by means of heat, may not a line, b, drawn at right
angles to this intersecting plane, point to the direction whence such heat was derived
from beneath the carboniferous measures? The surface-map, which shows that the
seams of coal east of Merthyr are not anthracitic, but retain more of the bituminous
1848. f
66
REPORT 1848.
quality, would also imply that the source of heat lay rather to the north-west of the
existing coal-field.
The existence of this variety of coals in the South Wales hasin is an object of such
interesting inquiry, that the writer ventured to offer these remarks in case they might
in any way tend to assist in leading the minds of others to the discovery of a true
solution of the cause.
N
t
1. Anthracite. 2. Culms. 3. Free-burning, gradually becoming 4 and 5. Bituminous.
Notice of a Map of Ancient Egypt of the Time of Antoninus Pius.
By Joseph Bonomi.
It is divided into Nomes or provinces from C. Ptolemy's Geography, and contains
the roads from the Roman Itinerary. Against the towns in the land of Goshen are
written the Hebrew names from the Book of Exodus, which mark the march of the
Israelites, and a reference to Isaiah, chap. xl. 15, explains that the head of the Red
Sea had been separated by the sands since that interesting event, and left in the form
of a lake. The Lake of Mceris is also laid down as discovered Isy Linant in 1843.
On the Discovery of some Remains of the Fossil Sepia in the Lias of Glou-
cestershire. By Prof. BucKMAN, F.G.S.
Remains of the Belemnite and other animals allied to the recent Cuttlefish, abound
in the lias formation, but the chambered portion of the Belemnite is seldom present,
and the ink-bag of the Sepia is still more rar6. One specimen discovered by Mr.
Euckman in the lower lias is rather more than half the shell or "bone" of a Sepia,
nine inches long and six inches wide ; in the centre of the specimen is preserved the
ink-bag, which consists of about six drachms of a jet-black, hard and splintery sub-
stance, easily ground down, and capable of being used as sepia or Indian-ink. An-
other specimen is four inches long and two inches wide, and is marked by three raised
lines, which meet in a point at the base ; the ink-bag is seen in the centre of this spe-
cimen also. They were obtained from a bed of fissile marl about four inches thick,
in the upper lias near Cheltenham, along with plants, insects. Ammonites, and four
species offish, besides the uncinated arms of another fossil Cuttlefish.
On the Plants of the "Insect Limcstotie" of the Loicer Lias.
By Prof. BucKMAN, F.G.S.
The band of limestone at the base of the lias is well known in Gloucestershire and
the adjoining counties from its use in flooring barns and kitchens, and to the geologist
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. Bf
fi-om having afforded abundance of insect remains, resembling those of ordinary
occurrence in temperate climates. The plants associated with these insects at
Strensham in Worcestershire are Ferns (Otopteris), Calamites, Confervse, Naidita
lancL'olata, Brodie, Hippuris, and Equisetum Brodiei, Buckman. The ferns occur in
fragments, and may have floated from some distance; the rest are small aquatic
plants, which confirm the opinion that this limestone was deposited in an estuary,
and in a temperate climate.
On some Experimental Borings in search of Coal.
By Prof. Buckman, F.G.S.
The first experiment was made four miles from Droitwich in Worcestershire, on an
estate purchased by a gentleman mainly from belief in a prevalent tradition that coal
had been found there many years before. Having sent into StaiTordshire for some
practical miners, a boring was made to the depth of 100 yards, and not being attended
with success, Mr. Buckman was consulted, and by his advice the undertaking was
abandoned. In this locality the lower lias approached closely to the experimental
ground, so that, in order to reach the coal-measures, the whole thickness of the Keuper
marls and new red sandstone must have been piissed through.
A second attempt for coal was made near Malmsbury, Wilts, where former unsuc-
cessful trials had been made, and where, as upon all Crown-lands, " mining rights " were
reserved at sales ! The formation at this place is Oxford clay, which occasionally con-
tains small beds of lignite; a shaft had been carried to a depth of nearly 100 yards
without getting below the Oxford clay, when Mr. Buckman was consulted, and the
attempt given up.
On Marginopora and allied Structures. By Dr. Carpenter.
On a Pecidiarity in the Structure of one of the Fossil Sponges of the Chalk,
Choanites Konigi, Mantell. By William Cunnington.
The author requests attention to some peculiarities in the structure of those fossil
sponge-like bodies of the chalk-formation to which Dr. Mantell, in his ' Geology of
Sussex,' gives the name of Choanites,
He describes them as being of a subcylindrical form, with root-like processes, and
having a cavity or sac which is deep and small in comparison with the bulk of the
animal. The inner surface is studded with pores which are the terminal openings of
tubes, disposed in a radiating manner, and ramifying through the mass.
" The species named by Mantell C. Konigi is figured in the ' Geology of the South-
East of England,' tab. 16, fig. 19 and 20. A partially decomposed specimen of one of
these fossils, which I discovered some years ago, disclosed a long spiral canal winding
round the siliceous cast of the central cavity. This I was at first disposed to think was
the shell of a Serpula, but subsequent investigation, and the dissection of a large series,
have convinced me that it forms part of the original fabric of the Choanite itself. It
commences near the base of the central cavity, and quickly attaining its full diameter
(about the eighth of an inch), it ascends with considerable regularity in a spiral
direction, and terminates on the upper surface at a short distance from the centre. In
large specimens there are as many as five or six volutions. Many of the tubes, which
radiate from the central cavity, anastomose with the spiral canal, and an intimate
connection is thus established between it and the other parts of the sponge. I have
not found a similar structure in Polypotheeia, Hallirhoa, or any of the allied genera
which are associated with the Choanites in the chalk and chalk-flint. With regard
to the purposes which this remarkable canal served in the economy of the animal,
I can only conjecture that it may have been connected with the reproductive system,
probably constituting the ovarium." ^_^_^^
Reply to an Objection of Mr. Hopkins to the ' Chemical Theory of Volcanos,'
contained in the last volume of the Transactions. By Dr. Daubeny.
The difiiculty in question, which, as Mr. Hopkins states, was first suggested by
M, Gay-Lussac, has never, in his opinion, been explained away. It consists in
f2
68 REPORT — 1848.
the supposed admission of air and water to the lower regions of the volcanic mass
through fissures conducting the sea- water to the fluid lava; for supposing such fis-
sures to exist, it would seem that the fluid matter below ought to ascend into them
and fill them, provided the hydrostatic pressure at the bottom of each fissure was
greater than the weight of the descending column of water, which must often happen,
especially in such volcanos as Stromboli, in whicli the permanent position of the sur-
face of the fluid mass is known to be at a great height above the level of the ocean.
In reply to this Dr. Daiibeny remarks, that M. Gay-Lussac does not deny that
water gains access to the focus of volcanos, but, on tlie contrary, asserts that the ad-
mission of water cannot be doubted, since no great eruption ever occurs that is not
followed by the evolution of an enormous quantity of aqueous vapour, which, with that
of the muriatic acid accompanying it, cannot be conceived to take place without an
admission of sea-water to the interior of the volcano. The French philosopher, in-
deed, urged the difficulty alluded to only as militating against the notion of the inte-
rior of the earth being in an incandescent condition, and gives it as a reason for pre-
ferring the very theory which Mr. Hopkins impugns. The difficulty started, therefore,
although it may call for explanation from mechanicians, cannot obh'ge us to reject the
fact itself, established, as it is, on undeniable evidmce; and all that chemists are
concerned in is to speculate upon the consequences tnat might result from the admis-
sion of water to the interior of the earth, as Dr. Daubeny has attempted to do in his
lately-published Work.
Nevertheless, it may be suggested, that the immense pressure exerted by a deep
incumbent ocean, coupled with the resistance of a considerable thickness of solid rock
intervening between its bottom and the focus of the volcanic operations, might oppose
an obstacle to the ascent of lava sufficient to occasion lateral fissures, through which
the melted matter would find an easier vent at some point on the contiguous land.
It is true, that fissures of some sort must be supposed to have existed in the rock
which the sea- water percolates, but these may readily be supposed to have been
stopped up, at the commencement of each volcanic crisis, by injections of lava, which
latter cooling in its progress upwards, would create an impediment to the further
egress of melted matter by the same channels.
It may be observed, that volcanos do not occur in the vicinity of shallow seas, such
as the German Ocean, and that many parts of the Mediterranean, near which active
vents are found, are of great depth.
Nor is it necessary to suppose the elastic force equal to what would be required for
elevating a column of lava to the summit of Etna or Teneriffe, but only such as
might be adequate to produce the modern eruptions, which ahvays take place from the
flanks of these mountains ; and this degree of elasticity, it is conceived, might be re-
pressed by the weight of a deep sea, coupled with that of a considerable thickness of in-
tervening rock, and thereby miglit determine the issue of the lava at some distant part.
The recurrence of eruptions Dr. Daubeny has always referred to the cracks occa-
sioned by cooling in the incumbent rock, whereby a fresh ingress of water to the vol-
canic focus might be allowed. Be that however as it may, the fact of the presence of
water stands unaffected by the truth or error of these attempts to account for the
mode of its introduction.
Notice of Discoveries among the British Cystidese, made since the last Meeting.
By Prof. E. Forbes, F.R.S.
At Oxford Prof. Forbes had given an account of this group of fossils, considered
by Baron von Buch as the lowest Radiate animals and representing the rudimentary
forms of the superior orders, but believed by the author to be higher than the Cri-
noids, and leading up from them to the Starfishes and Sea-urchins. Since last year, a
specimen formerly discovered by Dr. Bigsby in North America, and figured in the
Zoological Journal, but mislaid, had been re-found, and proved to be a remarkable
member of this tribe, having a globular body like a sea-uvchin, with five depressions
radiating from the oral aperture, in whicli arms were lodged; in the space between
two of the arms was a circle of six ovarian plates. Another specimen very like this,
but specifically distinct, had been discovered by the geological surveyors in the oldest
Silurian rocks of Wales, showing that species provided with better arms than any
other Cystideans appeai-ed as early as the armless species. Some other species had
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 69
been discovered in a Silurian stratum in North America by Mr. Vanuxem, and de-
scribed by the name of Agelocrinites. They were all provided with stems like the
Sphaeronite and Pseudo-crinite.
On the Polarity of Cleavage Planes., their conducting Power, and their
Influence on Metalliferous Deposits. By Evan Hopkins, C.E., F.G.S.
The writer states that, taken on a large scale, " all the primary crystalline rocks, and
the sedimentary beds in contact, have been more or less cloven in a direction approach-
ing the meridian, and in planes but slightly varying from the perpendicular." These
cleavage planes he compares with the structure of the medullary rays of a tree, the
contortions of the schist he compares with the bending of the grain in the neighbour-
hood of knots, and the ascending sap is represented by " the polar current and the
mineral solutions." An action, commencing in the moist crystalline granite, has
formed, and still forms, this laminated and fibrous polar structure ; the granite is
transformed into gneiss, the gneiss into micaceous schist, and the termination of
the crystalline transition into clay-slate. These great cleavage planes are the cause
of the varying structure of the primary rocks, and give rise to the mistaken idea of
their being sedimentary rocks subsequently thrown verticallj'. He says they are
developed on a gigantic scale in South America ; they cut the Isthmus of Panama
transversely and extend into Mexico and the United States ; and that the same
phsenomena have been observed in Scotland, and in fact in all Europe. He then
compares the effects of the polar force with those produced in the magnetic battery,
and states that he has seen masses of claj', in old mines and moist rocks, lodged in
fissures acquire a cleavage identical with that of the bounding rock. He insists
that cleavage planes must in every instance be developed in the same direction as
the internal molecular polar current ; and that the polar elongation of the crystal-
line rocks gives rise to tension, and consequently east and west fractures, thus pro-
ducing mineral and other veins. The subterranean current in the semifluid mass
always causes, according to the author's experiments, a westerly deflection of the
magnetic needle. When sea-water is employed the variation amounts to about
10°. Hence the direction of the conducting polar structure, or cleavage planes, will
always he found to run N.E. of the undidating magnetic meridians. After showing
the important practical bearing of this subject on all questions connected with rocks,
veins, minerals, dislocations, &c., the author concludes by stating, that "polarity of
matter is the key by which we obtain a clue of the cause of the great changes virhicli
have taken place in the surface of the earth, and is the agent which is silently work-
ing within the crystalline film on which we exist ; perpetually moving and modifying
and rendering it suitable to our wants during all ages of transformation, and con-
stantly providing inexhaustible stores of mineral wealth for successive generations."
On the Position of the Chloritic Marl or Phosphate of Lime Bed in the Isle
of Wight. By Capt. L. L. Boscawen Ibbetson, K.R.E., F.G.S.
In this communication the author pointed out the position of the chloritic marl or
phosphate of lime bed in the Isle of Wight, and called the attention of the proprietors
and farmers in the island to the importance of knowing the true position of this va-
luable manure. It is a gray mai-1 full of green grains of a silicate of iron and fine
quartz sand ; it is very fossiliferous (the author appended a list of the fossils found
in it in the Isle of Wight). The upper part of the bed forms in some places a con-
glomerate of pebbles and small boulders, and the fossils ai-e broken as if rolled on a
beach. The lower beds contain the fossils whole, and appear to have been formed
in still water. Ammonites varians, Am. splendens, and Scaphites striatus, are the
most characteristic fossils ; but it also contains abundantly nodules of a coprolitic form,
which Mr. Thomas Hetherington Henry hns kindly examined, and finds they contain
a large per-centage of phosphate of lime.
Mr. Austen mentions it being found near Guildford, and Mr. Nesbit has found it
near Fareham, containing in the nodules 28 per cent, of phosphate of lime, and in the
whole mass 2 to 3 per cent. Mr. Morris and the author have also found the chloritic
marl very abundant at Chaldon near Lulworth, and also in the railway cutting of the
70
REPORT — 1848.
Wilts and Weymouth railway at Holywell. (The author mentioned the fossils oh-
tained from these localities*.) The strata at Chute Farm consist of chloritic marl,
but the fossils are more numerous and varied.
The general position of the chloritic marl in the Isle of Wight is as follows: —
From C'ompton Bay along the south slope (adjoining the chalk marl) of Shalcomb,
Mottestone, Brixton and Lammerstone Downs; near the farms of Compton, Coomb,
Rancomb, Northcourt, Shorwell, Chillerton ; between Chale Farm and Chillerton
Down ; largely developed near Gatcomb ; between New-barn and Gausons on the
Bridle road and hill between Gausons and Carisbrook; a great thickness on the road
from Mount Joy to Whitconib, near the farms of West Standen, Sullons and Arre-
ton ; the south slope of Arreton, Messley, Ashey, Brading, and Bembvidge Downs ;
near the farms of Messley, Grove, Upper Martin and Yaverland ; running into the sea
near the Culver Cliff. The chloritic marl is also found on Shanklin, St. Boniface, Kew,
Week, Appuldercoomb, St. Catherine's, and Niton Downs ; at the top of the Undercliflj
Ventnor Sliute near Steep-hill Castle ; in large blocks on the sea-shore, and also near
tlie farms of Shanklin, Luccomb, Wroxhall, Winson, Span, Kew, Week, Dean, Little
Stenbury, Slieep Wash, Niton and Chale, always immediately imder the chalk marl,
and separating it from the upper greensand. This cliloritic marl or phosphate bed
may be applied with great profit on the adjacent arid ferruginous sandy soil so common
and unproductive in the centre of the south side of the island, viz. at Brixton, Chale,
Kingston, Godshill, Newchurch, Bleak Down, Rookley, Queen's Bower, Sandy-way, &c.
The drift or gravel beds of the island on the north side are com])osed of angular flints
very little waterworn, and in some places perfectly shai'p, and they are interstratified
with a fine brown sand and marly brick earth. The sand and clays in which they arc
imbedded are the same ; it has every appearance of being similar to the flint gravel
in the neighbourhood of London, &c. The nortli side of St. George's Down is thickly
covered with this gravel, but at the south end, beyond the greensand and gault, there
is a thick bed of very hard flint and chert conglomei'ate. Strongly cemented with
iron, it is stratified in places with zones of the broken ferruginous bands of the upper
beds of the lower green sandstone, on which strata it is reposing; and the sands and
clays in which they are imbedded are debris derived from the lower greensand. The
whole of the drifts in the centre of the south side are the same but do not form con-
glomerates, but merely ferruginous flinty gravels stratified with ferruginous sands.
It appears from the above that the drift beds on the north side are the detritus
derived from the flints of the chalk and sands and clays of the tertiary series, and do
not appear to have been accumulated on a sea-beach, in consequence of the angular
form presenting little evidence of their having been subjected to much attrition.
On the south side of the chalk range the drift has resulted from an admixture of
chert and flints, probably from the upper greensand with the debris of the sands of
the lower greensand, and appears to be local. The tops of the highest liills are not
covered by this drift ; on them we find only the angular or unrolled flints without any
intermixture of sand or clay.
The author does not regard a vertical upward movement as the cause of the singular
position of the chalk and tertiary beds, but conceives that slides occasioned by the de-
composition of the fuller's-eavth and the abrasion of soft sandstone by currents of water
may have produced these effects.
Since writing the above paper, the author has found that Mr. Nesbit has analysed
some of the strata, and found that a nodule in the lower chalk at St. Catherine's Down
contained ID'OO percent, phosphoric acid and 3900 per cent, phosphate of lime, and
that the upper greensand contains, on an average of twenty difterent specimens, 16 per
cent.>phosphoric acid and 25 per cent, of phosphate of lime.
Account of an extensive Mud-slide in the Island of Malta.
By A. MiLWARD.
The writer gives this account with the view of elucidating the motion of viscous
* Note by Professor E. Forbes. — Hitherto no species of Neoera, so far as I am aware, lias
been found in cretaceous strata. Capt. Ibbetson discovered a species of Nesra in tlie oolitic
rocks, and several are known in the tertiary and recent formations. This cretaceous form
supplies the deficient link in the series of Nesera in time.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 7l
bodies and the analogous phiEnomena of glaciers. Previous to the autumn of 1846, a
large quantity of mud, dredged from the harbour of Valetta, was deposited on level
ground between the harbour and cliff, and covered about two acres of ground ; the
autumnal rains, aided by the overflow of a tank on the cliff, caused the main body of
tlie mud to flow from the side next the sea, where it was piled up highest, towards the
cliff; the mud descended in streams whose inclinations were greatest at their origin,
and their surface was marked by alternate curved bands of coarse and fine material,
the rough bauds being slightly in relief; where the descent was steepest, the curved
bands were broken and irregular ; as the surface of the mud dried, two sets of fissures
were formed, one in the direction of the stream, the olher following the curved bands.
In the spring of the present year a smaller slide took place, in which the surface of
tlie mud was raised into curved bands or waves li to 2 feet high, the ridges being
formed of the coarser materials. It appears that in the first instance the surface-mud
was semi-fluid, and flowed over a comparatively dry and hardened surface, but after-
wards the surface-mud dried by exposure, whilst that below remained moist.
An attempt to illustrate the Origin of " Dirt-bands " on Glaciers.
By A. MiLWARD.
The surface of a glacier is composed of alternate bands of porous and compact ice,
and the former becoming discoloured more readilj' than the latter, give rise to " dirt-
bands," which follow the direction of the hyperbolic curves marked by the outcrop
of the structvu-al planes, known as the "ribbon" structiu-e, which are elongated low
down the glacier and compressed near its source; they are also most apparent low down,
where the ice has been longest exposed to the weather. The writer suggests that the
porous bands may be formed during the winter season, when the ice is less saturated
with water and forms more slowly; and that the compact bands mark the quantity of
ice added to the glacier each summer, when its motion is greatest. He also recom-
mends the examination of the upper part of glaciers, with the view of ascertaining
whether their surface is originally marked by waves such as those before described on
the mud-slides.
On some Bones found in the Bed of the Tawey. By W. Morgan.
On the Subsidences ivhich have taken place in the Mineral Basin of South
Wales, between the Llynvi Valley on the East, and Penllergare on the
West. By F. Moses.
Mr. J. G. Jeffreys exhibited specimens of the following rare and recent British
shells, and species which he considered identical with them in the Crag formation.
RECENT. FOSSIt.
Buccinum ovum, Turt. ^ Dalei, Sow.
Fusus scalariformis, Gould. Id., Sow.
Saxicava arctica, var.?, Forbes SfHanley. Sphenia cylindrica, Sow.
Natica helicoides, Johnst. Id., Soiv.
sordida. Lam. N. cirriformis, Wood.
The Marquis of Northampton read a letter from M. Boguslawski on the fall of a
Meteorite, in two pieces, at Braunau in Bohemia, on the 11th of July 1847. Another
meteorite of larger size, but exactly agreeing in appearance and chemical composition,
had been dug up from a depth of fourteen feet at See Lcesgen.
On the Geology of the County of Wicklow. By Prof. Oldham, M.Tt.I.A.
This communication was illustrated by a new Geological Map of Wicklow and a
number of sections in the mining districts, published in connection with the Geolo-
gical Survey of Great Britain. Through the centre of the county passes the granite
ridge, which extends from Dublin to Waterford, nearly N. and S. ; its highest point,
72 REPORT — 1848.
Lugnaquilla, 3000 feet above the sea. On both flanks of the granite rests a series
of sedimentary deposits whose general strike is N.E., dip S.E., and therefore oblique
to the granite, -which cuts them all in succession ; the oldest of these rocks are at the
north end of the east flank of the granite, and consist of sandy and slaty beds altogether
from 4000 to 5000 feet thick (" Barmouth Sandstones"). These are followed by
argillaceous beds, and volcanic ash and breccia with contemporaneous greenstone ;
a considerable number of fossils have been found in these beds, the equivalents of the
lowest of all the Silurian remains in Wales. On the western flank of the granite only
this upper series is found. Both series of sedimentary rocks have been upheaved,
subjected to lateral pressure, contorted and fractured; besides which, they have all
been altered along the line of contact with the granite to the extent of 5000 or 6000
feet, and over a breadth of half a mile on the surface ; the influence of the formerly
heated granite is shown in alteration of structure, and in the production of minerals
not existing in the unaltered rock; in the conversion of sandstone into i]uartz-rock,
and of the volcanic beds into a crystalline hornblendic rock. The dip of the slate,
&c. is sometimes 70°, but usually much less ; the granite extends under them, and
is shown again at a distance by denudation ; portions of the altered slate remain upon
several summits of the granite hills, and show the original height of the surface of
the granite, which in these points has been preserved from the rapid decomposition
which has wasted it all around. The summit of Lugnaquilla is a mass of slate of this
kind, traversed by numerous large veins of granite ; similar veins pierce all the rocks
in contact with the granite, and many of these, having taken the direction of the
bedding of the rock, appear as if interstratified. In Glen-malur these granite veins
may be seen extending with parallel edges for hundreds of feet. Besides these and
the contemporaneous greenstones, there are numerous dikes like the Cornish Elvans
in the southern and metalliferous part of the county ; these never cut the older sedi-
mentary rocks, but abound in the upper series. Glen-malur, in which several lodes
of lead are worked, is formed by a great fault ; and there are several other nearly
parallel glens, some occupied by lakes ; the Vale of Avoca is also caused by a fault
which shifts all the lodes ; these dislocations extend into the granite itself In Wick-
low there are no formations newer than the lower Silurian, except the drift; but a
little westward the edges of the Silurian rock are covered by the conglomerates and
sands of the Old Red system. The drift consists of clays and sand mixed with lime-
stone boulders, which are scratched and furrowed ; in some parts of it organic remains
occur in such a manner as to prove they lived on the spot; some of the species how-
ever are Arctic, and occur 700 feet above the present level of the sea. In the north-
ern part of the county the drift is gravelly and mixed with angular fragments of older
rocks adjoining; Imge blocks of granite and quartz-rock are strewed over the county,
the lower surface occasionally retaining distinct scratches and furrows. The surface
of the county appears to have undergone extensive denudations since the deposit of the
drift, and many of the ravines and caldron-shaped hollows are quite free from drift.
On the Drainage of a Portion of Chat Moss.
By G. W. Ormerod, M.A., F. G.S.
The surface of the moss varies from 80 to 100 feet above the sea-level ; the bottom
at the deepest part proved, is at least 100 feet below the sea-level. Part of this moss
is now being laid dry by means of open drains, under the direction of M. Ormerod.
After cutting the drains, the level of the peat falls rapidly; near the main leader it
sunk pei-pendicularly 5 feet 6 inches in about nine months; and in one part 2 feet
6 inches in a single week.
Lieut.-Colonel Portlock communicated some observations on apparent changes in
the level of the coast near Portsmouth, and contended that as these evidences of sub-
sidence could be traced back to the most ancient times, so they had continued up to
the present day, and expressed his conviction that a parallel might be found in exist-
ing nature to all the phcenomena of ancient times. It appears that part of Fort Cum-
berland near Portsmouth stands on a bank of gravel and sand, and that owing to some
new groins made to protect it from the sea, a fresh direction was given to the tide, and
a portion of the bank undermined and washed awaj', in the course of which a thick
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 73
plank with a bolt was discovered, showing that tliis part of the bank had no great
antiquity. An Artesian well has also been made to supply Block-house Fort, which
for the first sixty feet exhibits nothing but clear shingle, and then a layer of sandy clay
full of common oyster-shells, another example of the great changes iu the ancient
coast and sea-bottom.
Hydrography of the British Isles. By Augustus Petermann, F.R.G.S.
Mr. A. Petermann exhibited a new Hydrographic Map of the British Isles, on
which about 1550 rivers are distinguished by names, 480 lakes and ponds, and 40
waterfalls- the canals with their altitude, as well as that of the I'ivers and lakes, and
the great drains in the fen districts. It was stated that there are 20 rivers in En-
gland, 10 in Scotland, and 10 in Ireland, each draining 500 square miles and up-
wards.
Of these, 18 drain an area = 500 to 1000 sq. miles.
14 ... ... 1000 „ 2000
8 ... ... 2000 „ 10,000
These last eight are, —
The Humber (including Trent andOuse), to Spurn Point... 9550 sq. miles.
Severn, to Flatholm Light 8580
Shannon, to Loop Head and Kerry Head 6946
Thames (including Medway), to Nore Light 6160
Barrow 3410
Great Ouse 2960
Bann 2345
Tay, as far as Rhynd 2250
The River Amazons drains a tract of 2,275,000 square miles.
On some points connected with the Physical Geology of the Silurian district
between Builth and Pen-y-bont, Radnorshire. By Prof. Ramsay, F.G.S.
In this paper Professor Ramsay first laid down certain established geological pro-
positions, on which much of the reasoning in the communication depended.
When a stratum rests unconformably on the upturned edges of another series of
strata, the lower rocks were denuded, either previous to or during the deposition of
the higher stratum, and we know of no power at any considerable depth beneath the
level of the sea fitted to effect such pheenomena, which therefore took place either above
or at its surface.
In the district described (near Builth in Breconshire), the Wenlock shale rests
unconformably on the Llandeilo flags, which there consist of black slates associated
with beds of trap and volcanic ashes. These rocks having been disturbed and raised
above the level of the sea, formed the land round which the lowest beds of the un-
conformable Wenlock shale were deposited, and gradually sinking beneath the level of
the sea was covered up by higher Silurian strata, which accumulated above it to the
vertical thickness of 5000 feet. A part at least of the old red sandstone was added
to this, and during subsequent oscillations of level these higher rocks (beneath which
the old land had been so long and deeply bTu-ied) were removed, and the Llandeilo
flags of the district are now land for the second time.
The sections exhibited also aflfbrded data, by which coxild be ascertained the angles
of inclination of the Llandeilo flags at the time they lay under the Wenlock and other
superincumbent beds, previous to the disturbance that raised these latter formations
into an anticlinal curve, the lowest bed of which rested unconformably on the up-
turned and denuded edges of the Llandeilo flags.
They also indicated a method by which it may sometimes be possible to determine
the vertical thickness of accumulations above certain other deposits, thus pointing to
a means of forming a proximate idea of the degree of heat the latter may once have
endured, supposing the same ratio of increase of temperature as we descend beneath
the surface to have existed at that geological epoch that now obtains.
74 REPORT — 1848.
On the Geology of Pennsylvania. By Professor H. D. Rogers.
Professor Rogers exhibited a general map of North America, the State Survey of
Pennsylvania, and many other maps and sections coloured geologically.
1. After pointing out the general accordance in the succession of the older rocks
in America with those of Europe, he stated that the rocks composing the great
Appalachian chain had been deposited near the eastern shore of the Palaeozoic Sea
in North America, and detailed a variety of circumstances in evidence of the exist-
ence of an ancient continent in the direction of the Atlantic.
2. Amongst these hills there is a well-defined series of rocks, containing a suc-
cession of fossils; but further west, where the same strata spread out to an enormous
extent (in Kentucky and Tennessee), we seem to have arrived at the deep-sea part of
these formations, in which ail distinctions melt away, and an uniform succession of
sedimentary deposits have accumulated to a much greater thickness than near the
coast. Wherever the tributaries of the Ohio, or the rivers of Virginia break through
the hills, we find beds of grit diagonally stratified, with conglomerates and all other
indications of a shallow sea ; but passing westward the same beds become finer and
finer, the conglomerate passing into grits and these into fine-grained sandstones. The
carboniferous limestone, which is but a few feet thick in the Appalachian, becomes
500 feet thick in the Mississippi.
3. After the elevation of the greater part of this region, the sea still covered the
whole of Florida, the great plains of Arkansas, and extended far up the Missouri, and
along the Atlantic plain as far as New Jersey; over this area was deposited first the
cretaceous series and afterwards the tertiary.
4. Between the tertiary plain and the Appalachian hills is a great tract of un-
fossiliferous rocks ("Azoic" and " Metamorphic"), at least 10,000 feet in thickness,
and along their western boundary, for 100 or 150 miles, the newer rocks all dip under
them. This extraordinary circumstance was first explained by Professor Rogers, who
has shown that it is the result of the folding of the rocks. The Appalachian chain
consists, in fact, of a series of parallel anticlinal and synclinal folds, all leaning over
to the west, so much as to invert the series of beds on the west of each synclinal ;
these folds are steepest where they plunge beneath the azoic series, and open out
gradually westward, until the strata become horizontal in the Ohio coal-field.
Professor Rogers then gave a summary of his theory of the origin of these great
parallel foldings in the Appalachian strata, which he attributes to a series of earth-
quake movements, flowing forward in a particular direction in parallel lines; and he
illustrated this view by a description of three remarkable earthquakes in the year
1833. The first, that of St. Domingo, was experienced by the officers of a British
vessel at sea, who stated that looking at the coast they had seen " the crests of the
hills waving like the back of a serpent in gentle motion ;" these undulations had
been traced along lines on which they were synchronous. 2. The earthquake in the
Vale of the Mississippi, in which the lines of synchronous shock ranged N.N.E. and
S.S.W. for 500 miles; at a parallel 300 miles east of the line the shock was ex-
perienced eight minutes later; and all along the Atlantic shore twenty minutes
later. The sensation was not that of a harsh grating of subjacent rocks, but a
billowy heave. 3. A few months later another earthquake affected the whole vol-
canic line of the Windward Isles and Bermuda simultaneously, and was attended by
a sudden return to activity of some of the dormant craters ; in the course of twenty-
two minutes it had flowed to the United States, and rocked the whole coast from
Florida to New York. All these phasnomena were considered to prove the doctrine
of a flexible crust resting on a fluid nucleus ; and, as in former times, the crust may
have been more flexible and the volcanic forces more energetic, the whole surface
may have been thrown into billowy undulations, and there have become permanently
fixed by the successive injection of lava into the craters and fissures of the various
folds, thus preventing their return to horizontality.
5. The three great coal-fields of America are, that of theOhio, 740miles long, and 180
wide, covering an area of 63,000 square miles, a surface greater than that of England
and Wales; the Illinois coal-field, covering 50,000 square miles; and the Michigan,
occupying 15,000 square miles. Besides these, there are numerous anthracitic
basins in Pennsylvania and Virginia, the furthest being 100 miles S.E. of the margin
of the Ohio coal-field. In passing across these coal-fields there is a gradual diminu-
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 75
tion in the quantity of bituminous matter from W. to E. In tlie Illinois it amounts
to 40 or 45 per cent.; in Western Ohio, from 35 to 40; in Eastern Ohio, 25 to 30;
in the table-land of the Alleghanies it is reduced to 18 or 20 per cent.; in a little
coal-field 20 miles E. of the great field it is only 14 or 15 per cent.; in the western
edge of the anthracite field 10 or 12 per cent.; and in the great body of the anthra-
cite only 1 or 2 per cent, of gaseous matter exists, and this not in the form of bitumen.
Further south, in Kentucky and Tennessee, the same change takes place, and the
associated rocks become metamorphic eastwards ; all the coal, of every kind, rests
on the same basis of rock, with the same fossils distributed through it, and the par-
ticular coal-beds can be identified even when separated by an interval of fifty miles.
The anthracite field is 5000 feet deep, and contains fifty seams of coal ; the bitumi-
nous coal-field of Ohio is 2800 feet dee[). The working of these coal-fields is in-
creasing rapidly; 3,000,000 tons of anthracite and 1,000,000 tons of bituminous coal
are annually raised; and 700,000 tons of iron manufactured. A process for melt-
ing iron-ore with anthracite was long wanted, and the government of Pennsylvania had
offered a premium for such a discovery,- this was first achieved by Mr. Crane, in
South Wales, by whom a patent was obtained in England ; and for the use of it in
America one iron-master guaranteed him a premium on all the ore melted; but for
want of an international patent-right, the process was soon imitated, and in some
cases improved upon, by other parties in America.
Drawings were exhibited of the anthracite coal-mines on the Lehigh-river, Penn-
sylvania, which are worked like an open quarry on the slope of a mountain rising
900 feet above the river; the coal is sixty feet thick, and surrounds the quarry in
black glistening walls, capped by forty feet of yellow sandstone; it is conveyed by a
self-acting railway for eight miles down a declivity of from 100 to 140 feet per mile ;
the whole cost of obtaining it being 2d. a ton. This great bed of coal splits np into
a number of divisions when quarried at some distance.
6. Professor Rogers then alluded to the subject of the drift, which had received
new interest in America from the visit of M. Agassiz. This deposit is spread over
the whole of the States and extends westward to the Upper Missouri; when it rests
upon the older strata its Jioor is worn and striated with furrows, which follow the
pre-established contour of the surface, diverging when they meet any obstacle, and
coalescing on the further side ; their general direction is N. and S. This drift is
strewed indiscriminately over all the high ground as well as the valleys ; neither the
White Mountains in New York, 6000 feet high, nor those between Lake Champlain
and the St. Lawrence, 5000 or 6000 feet high, being centres from which the drift
was dispersed. Besides this general drift, with its boulders, there are long trains of
angular masses of rock running N. by W. and S. by E. on the borders of New York
and Massachussetts, derived from great ragged chasms in the summits of the
Alleghanies 1000 feet above the plain. These angular blocks rest upon the surface
of the drift, which overspreads the country to the depth of twenty or thirty feet ;
they vary in size from that of a hogshead to a small house, one of them being fifty
feet long, and they do not much diminish in size from N. to S. One of these
trains has been traced to a distance of fifty miles, another parallel line at a distance
of half a mile is twenty miles long, and there are various others; they are about
200 yards wide, and the blocks are not in contact, but lie a little apart. They are
not strewed like moraines along the flanks of hills, but pass alike over mountain and
valley, climbing summits higher than that from which they originated.
Observations on the Great Anticlinal Line of the Blineral Basin of South
Wales. By William Price Struve, C.E,
The object of the few observations which 1 have to offer on this subject, is to
describe the great central uprise of the coal-measures in Glamorganshire, between
the Vale of Taffand the estuary of the Burry, in Carmarthen Bay.
In doing so, I will at the same time me:ition some of the governing features of the
South Wales coal-field, confining myself principally to that portion of it situated be-
tween the TafT Valley and Carmarthen Bay.
This district comprises Glamorganshire and portions of the counties of Carmarthen
and Brecon, and occupies an area of about 560 square miles. It is intersected by six
76 REPORT — 1848.
principal valleys, down which the mineral produce is convej'ed by canal or railway to
the several ports of Cardiff, Porthcawl, Port Talbot, Neath, Swansea, and Llanelly.
In order that the remarks which I have to offer may be brief and intelligible, I have
prepared, from my own notes and the information supplied by the Geological Survey
of Great Britain, seven sectional representations of the coal-fieid in the district alluded
to, and shall at once refer to them for a description of the stratification.
The base of our coal-measures is carboniferous limestone, which, it will be observed,
is basin-shaped, having a general rise from its centre towards the north and south,
to which all the coal-measures conform : and they may be described as consisting of
the following convenient divisions : —
^^'- Band. Coal.
Ft. In. In. Ft.
First.— The Farewell Rock or Millstone Grit, containing \ ^^^
no coal, and averaging a thickness of f
Secondly. — Argillaceous and arenaceous shales with "1 gg^ „q
some beds of sandston es /
Thirdhj. — Strata of a similar nature, containing several ~|
seams of coal, some of which are very thick, and associated I g^Q 22 ... 43
with mine, and are extensively worked at all the great iron- |
works J
Fourthly. — A similar stratification, but with some thick"]
beds of quartz rocks, called the Cockshuts, particularly well |
seen along the anticlinal line between Cwm Avon and S- 420 12 ... 3
Waesteg, and regarded by the miner as sure guides to some
of the accompanying rich coal beds J
Fifthly. — Arenaceous and argillaceous shales, with oc- | r 18 T
casional beds of sandstones, and containing black bands, [ .^^ J to I 11
worked extensively at Cwm Avon and Maesteg, and lately f '" [ 3(3 J
discovered at the Ystalyfera Iron- Works J
Sixthly. — A great accumulation of sandstones called the~|
Pennant Rock, intermixed occasionally with some argilla- \^qqq 7
ceous shale, repi-esented in this neighbourhood by the Kil- |
vey and Town Hills, measuring in thickness J
Seventh and last division, containing shales and some"! „qqq g-
thick masses of sandstone, and measuring about J
Making a total average thickness of 8260 60 36 101
In this statement I have only included the workable seams of coal and mine, my
object being to convey a correct impression as to the available portion of the South Wales
coal-field ; and in order that the geological arrangement of these divisions may be easily
understood, I have distinguished them on the sections by various shades of colour.
[The section was here explained.]
An important governing feature of the coal-field is the Pennant Rock, its outcrop
being nearly as well marked as that of the carboniferous limestone. It may be traced
in neai'ly its whole thickness from Swansea to Carmarthen Bay on the west, and east-
ward towards Briton-Ferry, Margam, Llantrissent, round by Pontypool, back to Mer-
thyr, and across the tops of the valleys to Pembrey, where it again disappears under
Carmarthen Bay.
On inspecting the Section No. 1, from Hirwain to Llantrissent, it will be observed
that the lower portion only of this deposit caps the hills about the Rhonddas, and that
it then bends over towards Llantrissent, accumulating the whole of its thickness, and
bringing in the Uyhewydd seams, which may be considered equivalent to Hughes's
seam, near Swansea, or to the commencement of the highest division of that coal-field.
The denudation from the Rhondda of this thick deposit of sandstone removes, as it
were, an impermeable cover, which, in other portions of tlie district where it is found
to prevail in its full thickness, must serve as a seal to shut out for ever from the uses
of man the lower thick beds of coal and mine so extensively worked along the margin
of the coal-field ; whereas, in this locality, they lie within an attainable depth for mi-
ning, and as flat as can be desired by the miner.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 77
The next Section, numbered 2, crosses Llangeinor Mountain ; here the Pennant
Rock accumulates considerably. It is, however, broken through at Maesteg, which
lies one mile to the west, by the central uprise of the coal-measures; the lower divi-
sion of which is brought up to the surface, and woiked extensively for the supply
of three large iron-works. As we proceed more to the westward and approach the
eastern confines of the Swansea Bay, the Pennant Rock becomes more extensively
broken through, so that the whole of the lower measures are brought to view, and
workings of a most extensive kind have been opened upon them for the supply of a
large iron-works, rolling-mills, tin-plate-mills and copper-works.
On inspecting Section No. 3, it will be observed that the Pennant Rock stands on
the north and south side of Cwm Avon, and that the lower measures must necessarily
pass under Margani Mountain and crop out towards the sea. In conformity with
this theory, pits are now being sunk in the neighbourhood of Port Talbot.
The next Section to which I shall refer is No. 5, from Caswell Bay, in Gower, to
the Great Mountain, in Carmarthenshire, constructed by Mr. Logan and myself,
and published in the Geological Survey. It will now be observed that the uprise has
completely removed the continuation of the southern portion of the coal-field which
exists between Margam and Llantrissent, and the limestone only is to be seen torn
up and contorted in the manner described in the section. Pi-oceeding still more west-
ward through Gower, the limestone is found completely broken up, and the old red
sandstone protrudes through from beneath, which is illustrated in Section No. 6, con-
structed by Mr. Logan, and which shows a small portion of the lower shales reposing
on the limestone at the western side of Oxwich Bay.
Section No. 4, also constructed by Mr. Logan, from Port Tennant to Castle Cerig
Cennen, is introduced for the purpose of illustrating, by an addition which I have
made to the section, the probable partial removal of the coal-measures under
Swansea Bay.
It would appear, therefore, that the great central uprise of our coal-field, which has
served so usefully to bring up the lower coal-shales in various portions of it, is merely
a continuation of what has acted with so much more violence in Gower ; and that
this movement may perhaps be traced back into Pembrokeshire, where, from the evi-
dence afforded by Sir Henry de la Beche's valuable surveys, it appears that a great
disturbance in the limestone and old red sandstone has also taken place.
I shall now close these remarks by some general observations. The annexed sec-
tions describe, with sufficient accuracy for general purposes, the governing features
of the South Wales coal-field ; which, from the description I have given, has been
shown to contain enormous mineral wealth. Section No. 1, for instance, exhibits 57
feet thick of workable coal; 60 inches of workable argillaceous mine ; and from 18
to 36 inches of black band, all within an attainable depth, averaging a distance by the
TaflT Vale Railway of about 20 miles from the port of Cardiff. One square mile of
such a coal-field ought to produce, according to ordinary calculations, 40,000,000 tons
of coal, 8,000,000 tons of mine, and 3,000,000 tons of black band.
The Swansea Section contains the coal-measures above the Pennant Rock, which
may be estimated at 25,000,000 tons of coal per square mile ; and to this may be
added the last estimate for the coal and mine below the Pennant, which is available
for many square miles at the tops of the valleys, where they are found to crop out in
proximity with the limestone, and on which all the great iron-works of South Wales
are established.
The extent of coal-field, therefore, which may be considered available chiefly to the
ports of Swansea and Cardiff, may be estimated at about 400 square miles. The
South Wales Raihvay will pass at the foot of all the valleys, so that on its completion
the whole extent of this country will be in a condition, with the aid of short branches,
to send its produce to either of these ports.
As regards the qualities of the coals, they may be classed in the following order : —
bituminous coal, free-burning coal, culm, anthracitic culm, anthracite : for all of
which there is an extensive consu.oiption. The boimdaries of these various qualities
I have endeavoured to sketch out on the annexed sections.
The bituminous and free-burning coal appear to occupy the largest portion of the
coal-field, and the anthracite and anthracitic culm the least. The anthracite com-
mences slightly at Hirwain, and increases as it advances into Carmarthenshire ; and
in Pembrokeshire the whole of the coal-field partakes of that quality. The other
78 REPORT — 1S48.
qualities take a similar direction, and gradually and imperceptibly pass into each other
till they become bituminous coals on the south side of the coal-field.
Eemarks on the Sources of the White Nile. By Ferdinand Werne, late
attached to the Expedition sent by Mohammed Ali Pasha to explore the Nile
(communicated by Sir Robert H. Schomburgk, K.R.E.)*.
The author distinctly contradicted the discovery, recently announced to have been
made by M. Antoine d'Abbadie, of the source of the Nile in 7° 49' N. lat. and
34° 38' long. E. from Paris. In 1840-41, the Egyptian expedition to which M.
Werne belonged, ascended the main stream of the Nile as far as the country of Bari,
in the fourth degree of north latitude, and they were there told by the natives that
the sources of the Nile lie still further 1o the south.
From the formation and direction of the mountains whose valleys are watered by
the Nile, an eye-witness would at once infer that the river comes from a distance of
several degrees furtlier south ; and Lakono, the king of Bari, and his people invariably
pointed to the south wherr describing the situation of the soui'ces of the river. The
European officers of the expedition arrived in Bari with the preconceived opinion that
the Nile came from the east, and they were, in consequence, the more precise and
careful in their inquiries respecting its source ; but by no means could they induce the
natives to deviate from their original statement that the river comes from the south.
Lakono himself, who asserted that he had been to the country of Anydn (Anjan)
in which the head streams of the Nile have their origin, said that the water in the
four rivulets whose confluence forms the main stream, came only to his ankles; and
as, above the extreme point reached by the expedition, the river comes direct from
among the mountains in the south in the form of a turbulent stream, running between
steep banks and over a rocky bed ; and as, further up, the declivity of its bed is ap-
parently much greater ; M . Werne regarded it as physically impossible that M. d' Ab-
badie's alleged source should be that of the Nile. In his opinion, M. d'Abbadie's river
is a tributary eitlier of the Blue River or of the Sobat ; and he expressed his conviction
that Ptolemy and the natives of Bari will be found to be correct in their statements
respecting the position of the sources of the Nile, and that those sources are in the
regions near the equator, where we shall also find the Mountains of the Moon.
The Dean of Westminster read a letter from the Rev. Dr. Moberley, describing a
large Plesiosaurus discovered in lias at the alum-works of Lord Mulgrave at Kettleness
near Whitby : length of the head, 3 feet 2 inches; neck, 5 feet 10 inches; back,
7 feet 1 inch; tail, G feet 10 inches; total, 22 feet 11 inches. Width of anterior
paddles nearly 13 feet.
The Dean of Westminster exhibited a Map of part of North Wales, and sketches of
rocks in the vallej^s around Snowdon, and pointed out the various indications of the
former existence of glaciers in these valleys. One of the best localities for observing
the effect of the moving masses of ice which formerly occupied the seven valleys that
descend from Snowdon, is at Pont Aberglaslyn near Bedd-gelert. Near Capel Cerig
also there is a great extent of naked rock exhibiting the effects of glacial action.
The most obvious exposures of the effects of ice are in the valley of Llanberris and in
the valley of Nant-Francan. Moraines occur on the margin of Llyn Ogwyn and of
Llyn Idwell, having been forced across these lakes when filled with ice. In all these
valleys the surface of the rocks below the superficial soil is rounded, furrowed and
striated in directions parallel to the sides of each valley. At Llyn-y-Gader near Bedd-
gelert there were very remarkable naked, round-topped hillocks, worn and smoothed
by friction of the ice.
The Dean then gave an account of the principal phaenomeiia of glacial action in
Switzerland, where they are believed to have formerly extended very much further
than at present.
* Since published, by M. Werne, in an appendix to his work, ' Expedition zur Entdeckung
der Quellen des Weissen Nil,' 8vo. Berlin, 1S4S. An English translation of this work, by
Mr. C. W. O'Reilly, has also been published in 2 vols. Svo ; London, 1849,
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 79
Supplemental Notice on the Geology of Lundy Island.
By the Rev. D.Williams, F.G.S.
In a former notice the author described some remarkable dykes in the slate and
granite of this island, and now exhibited a series of rock specimens showing every
intermediate condition between true granite and trap by the gradual introduction of
hornblende and lime. These specimens were obtained at the junction of the granite
with the slate rock at the south-east and south of the island. The author called
attention to the abundance of carbonate of lime in some of the primary rocks, from
-which he believed it had in many instances been dispelled by heat.
On the Geology of portions of South Wales, Gloucestershire and Somerset-
shire. By Sir H. T. De la Beche, F.R.S.
ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, including PHYSIOLOGY.
On the recent Species of Odostomia, a Genus of Gasteropodous MoUusks in-
habiting the Seas of Great Britain and Ireland. By J. G. Jeffreys,
F.R.S., F.L.S.
The author, after a few preliminary remarks, gave an historical account of the
genus, and proposed the coalition of all the species now composing the separate
gengra of Odostomia, Chemnitzia and Eulimella, in one genus, treating the others
as subgenera ; and he founded this view upon his observations of the animals, as
well as on the shells, of each of those so-called genera. After describing the charac-
ters and habits of these mollusks, he gave a synoptical view of the species, thirty-
two in number ; of these, nine (viz. notata, alba, duhia, acuta, diaphana, dolioliformis,
fenestrata, clathrata emd fo7-mosa) he described for the first time. Tlae author then
proceeded to an elucidation of their synonymy, which was previously in a state of
confusion, and the following is the result of his researches : — Out of the thirty-two
species enumerated and described by him, nine were new and hitherto unpublished ;
nine had been described and figured by Philippi as Sicilian shells ; one by Recluz as
French ; ten by Loven as inhabiting the Scandinavian coasts ; seven by Searles Wood
as crag fossils ; and one (for which the author proposed to restore the Linnean name
of lacfea for elegantissima) as indigenous to the middle and south of Europe.
(This paper is published entire in the Annals of Natural History for 1848.)
On the Os humero-capsulare of the Ornithorhynchus.
By Prof. Owen, M.D., F.R.S.
He referred to the discovery by Prof. Nitzsch of a small accessory bone articu-
lated to the coracoidand humerus in certain birds, called 'os humero-capsulare,' and
stated that he had discovered an ossicle attached to the head of the humerus and to
the capsule of the shoulder-joint of the Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. It was equally
distinct from the proximal epiphysis forming the head of the bone, and from that
which caps the great tuberosity in the young animal, and it was present in fyxW-
grovf nOrnithorlLynchi. It appeared to have escaped the notice of Meckel, and although
but a small instance of resemblance to birds, was interesting as an additional illus-
tration of the aflSnities of the paradoxical mammal.
On the Communications between the Tympanum and Palate in the Crocodiles.
By Prof. Owen, M.D., F.R.S.
Prof. Owen referred to the discrepancy in the opinions of anatomists relative to
the small perforation in the basisphenoid behind the posterior aperture of the nostrils
in the crocodiles. It was called ' arterial foramen ' by Cuvier in his ' Ossemens
Fossiles,' and was described in the 'Legons d'Anat. Coraparee, 1836,' as "leading
to a canal which bifurcated as it ascended, one branch traversing the sphenoid, the
other the occipital to terminate in the ear-chamber ;" but what passes through it.
80 REPORT— 1848.
or where the sphenoidal branch terminated, was not stated. Prof. Bronn had con-
tended that this so-called 'arterial perforation' was the posterior aperture of the
nostrils in certain fossil crocodiles, and had cited a letter from M. de Blainville ex-
pressing that anatomist's conviction of the accuracy of this view.
Prof. Owen stated that two short grooves converged, from without inwards and
from above downwards, to terminate in the fossa behind the true posterior nares, in
which fossa the median aperture in question was situated ; both that aperture and
those grooves led upwards to canals which conveyed air from the mouth to the ear-
chambers. The canal from the median aperture divides into an anterior (sphenoidal)
and a posterior (occipital) branch, and each of these divisions bifurcates to the right
and left to communicate with the tympanic cavities; the occipital bifurcations also
communicate with the beginning of two other eustachian canals, extending from the
tympanic cavities to the lower lateral apertures and grooves converging to the com-
mon median perforation. All these canals open by a common median orifice upon the
soft palate behind the true posterior nostril. The carotid canals commence by fora-
mina situated one in each exoccipital bone external to the base of the condyle, and
open also into the tympanic cavities, through which the arteries pass to enter bony
canals leading from those cavities to the sella turcica. Examination of the soft parts
in crocodiles and alligators that had died in the Zoological Gardens, and of the skulls
of these and of the gavial, had confirmed the correctness of the description of the
median foramen in question, as the " common terminal canal of the eustachian
tubes," given in a former ' Report' by the author. (Reports of British Association,
1841, p. 76.)
With regard to the homologies of the above-described complex palato-tympanic
air-passages in the Crocodilia, Prof. Owen stated that the lateral bony canals termi-
nating in the common median fossa by distinct fissures, answer to the simple eusta-
chian tubes of chelonians and lacertians, and the median canal with its dichotomy
into four tubes, would seem to be a peculiar superaddition to the palato-tympanic
air-passages in the crocodilian order.
Note on Sounds emitted hy Mollusca. By Lieut.-Col. Portlock, F.R.S.
I think it right to draw attention to the Helix aperfa, which is very remarkable
for its property of emitting, when irritated, a strong and well-marked sound. When
I first noticed the sound thus emitted on accidentally touching the animal, I was
peculiarly struck by it and immediately referred to Rossraaesler, who I found de-
scribes the quality of the animal in a very graphic manner, stating that the sounds
were such as indicated irritation. The Helix aperta is very abundant at Corfu, ap-
pearing thickly on the squill leaves in the spring, when about the beginning of March
the annual increment of growth of the shell is perfectly soft. If the animal be irri-
tated by a touch with a piece of straw or other light material, it emits a distinctly
audible sound possessing a singular grumbling or querulous tone. This it frequently
repeats if freshly touched, and continues so to do for apparently an unlimited space
of time, as I kept one for a considerable time in my house, and heard this sound
whenever I touched it.
As Rossmaesler has so fully described this fact, I shall only add that I have, on
more occasions than one, heard what I considered a similar, though very feeble
sound from the Helix aspersa, and I need not say that the explanation seems very
easy from the structure of the animal.
On a new Species of Argotiaut, A. Owenii, with some Observations on the
A. gondola, Dillwyn. By Loveli> Reeve, F.L.S.
Among the Argonauts captured by Sir Edward Belcher during the voyage of the
Samarang, are two species, one distinct from any hitherto described, the other iden-
tical with a species, A. gondola, described upwards of thirty years since by the pre^
sident of the Section, Mr. Dillwyn, in his ' Descriptive Catalogue of Shells,' but
which had been disposed of by subsequent writers as a variety or immature state of the
A. Mans or tuberculosa. Specimens of each species were taken alive in the Atlantic
by means of a gauze net at night. Drawings of the animal were exhibited made by
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 81
Mr. Adams from the living animal at the time of its capture ; and the author had
satisfactorily identified Mr. Dillwyn's species by means of these and other specimens
in different stages of growth, collected by Mr. Cuming in the seas adjacent to the
Philippine islands. The A. Owenii is distinguished from any species hitherto de-
scribed by its laterally compressed form and prominent development of the wrinkles.
The A. gondola is chiefly remarkable on account of the wide prolongation of the auri-
cles on either side of the spire, whilst the keel of the shell is unusually wide, with
the tubercles distant and more compressed. The lateral wrinkles are much less
numerous than in A. tuberculosa, to which Mr. Dillwyn's species had been ascribed,
and do not fade into solitary warts.
On the Influence of Tempet-ature upon the Distribution of the Fauna in the
^gean Sea. By Lieut. Spratt, R.N.
After the publication, by the British Association, of the highly interesting report
of the distribution of the fauna of the ^gean by Professor Forbes, I was led to ima-
gine that temperature might have a great influence on that distribution : with this
view I pursued the inquiry by making observations on the temperature of each
region, as opportunities offered for doing so, whilst employed on the survey of the
^gean seas during the summer seasons.
These results seem to show distinctly that temperature is the principal influence
which governs the distribution of the marine fauna.
Tlie summer temperature of the air in the Mediterranean is about 86°, and the
surface temperature reaches nearly that temperature generally at that season.
The zones of depth, as arranged by Professor Forbes, are as follows. — The first
region includes all between the surface and the depth of 2 fathoms ; but this he sub-
divides into a superficial or tidal zone of about 2 feet, the inhabitants of which, he
observes, are remarkable as being such as have a wide range in depth, eight out of the
eleven species peculiar to ic being widely distributed in the Atlantic. The temperature
of this zone ranges from 76° to 84° during eight months in the year. Its inhabit-
ants are consequently subject to great vicissitudes of climate during the summer and
winter. Nature having thus adapted them to these conditions, we consequently
find that they are wanderers through great geographic space, corresponding to the
vicissitudes of temperature to which they are subject.
The second region reaches to the depth of 10 fathoms, in which, with the last sub-
division of the first region, we have, says Professor Forbes, the characteristic fauna
of the Mediterranean. Now the temperature in this region is seldom lower than 74°
in the long summer season, and it is consequently the region upon which the Medi-
terranean temperature has a more permanent influence ; for which reason we find
in it the peculiar Mediterranean fauna.
The third region descends to 20 fathoms, and has a decreased temperature to 68 ° ; in
the fourth region it is 62° at the depth of 35 fathoms ; in the sixth region the tempera-
ture is 56° at the depth of 75 fathoms ; and in the seventh and eighth regions, to the
depth of 300 fathoms, the temperature decreases only to 55 or 551°, as far as I was
able to ascertain. Thus between the littoral zone and the lowest region there is a differ-
ence during summer of 26° and sometimes of 30° ; and between the second region
(the Mediterranean) and the lowest, the temperature is about 20°, thus standing at
the average temperature of a high northern latitude. After limiting the Mediterra-
nean fauna to the second region. Professor Forbes remarks that the third is a trans-
ition zone ; but in the fourth region the Celtic character of the fauna is remarkable,
there being in that region nearly 50 per cent, of species identical of northern forms.
In the sixth and lower regions he remarks, that although the identical Celtic spe-
cies were fewer in the lower region, " he found the representations of northern species
so great as to give a much more boreal or sub-boreal character than is present in
those regions where identical forms are more abundant."
Amongst the ^gean fauna are some which have a wide range in depth, there
being nine species common to six regions, seventeen to five regions, and two com-
mon to all, more than one-half of which are known to be wide geographic rangers.
They, like the cosmopolite species of the littoral tidal zones, being thus adapted to
climatal changes, become consequently ramblers over wide geographic space, as they
1848. G
82 REPORT — 1848.
ramble into representations of climate in regions of depth. Thus we have the climate
of a parallel represented in marine depths as in terrestrial elevation, and thus it ap-
pears that density or depth is not so great an antagonist to the existence of animal
life as is generally supposed.
The greatest depth at which I have procured animal life is from 390 fathoms ; but
I believe that it exists much lower, although the general character of the ^Egean is to
limit to 300 fathoms ; but as in the deserts we have an oasis, so in the great depths
of 300, 400, and perhaps 500 fathoms, we may have an oasis of animal life amidst the
barren fields of yellow clay, dependent upon favourable and perhaps accidental condi-
tions, such as the growth of nullipore, now found to be a vegetable instead of a coral,
thus presenting prolific spots favourable for the existence and growth of animal life.
These peculiar conditions of density and food develope necessarily a peculiar fauna,
upon which climatal influence nevertheless stamps its characteristic forms through-
out the species.
Notice of an Observation at Bathcaloa, Ceylon, on the Sounds emitted by
MoUusca. By T. L. Taylor.
" There is a curious thing here which I don't know whether you ever heard of.
Going at night on the lake in the neighbourhood of the fort, one is struck by a loud
musical noise proceeding from the bottom of the water. It is caused by multitudes
of some animal inhabiting shells, I believe ; at least the natives call them the ' Sing-
ing Shells,' and I have been shown what they said were those which made the noise.
Some people doubt, however, whether it is these shells that sing, or some others, or
fish of some kind. Whatever it be, I can answer for having heard the sounds re-
peatedly, so distinctly too that you cannot help hearing them even when the oars
and paddles are splashing, and the boat going fast through the water. The sounds
are like those of an accordion or ^olian harp, guitar or such-like vibrating notes,
and pitched in different keys."
Cases of impaired Vision m which Objects appear much smaller than nulural.
5?/ A.Waller, iTf.Z).
This paper contained some observations of impaired vision in which the principal
symptom consisted of an altered appreciation of the sizes of external objects. They
were presented for the purpose of elucidating the action of the nerves and of the mind
in the judgement of the dimensions of objects. In one case the illusion existed in
one eye only, which perceived objects much smaller than the other. In other ca-ses
the illusion in both eyes was temporary, merely lasting for a few minutes at a time
during the day, and then suddenly disappearing.
On the Luminous Spectra excited by Pressure on the Retina and tJieir appli-
cation to the Diaynosis of the Affections of the Retina and its appendages.
By A. Waller, M,D.
These observations relate to the luminous spectra which appear in the field of
vision when the eyeball is compressed, or when the head has received a sharp blow,
and in various other circumstances. After having described the discoveries of Sir
Isaac Newton and others, the author goes on to relate his own observations, and
finds that these spectra vary according to the part of the eyeball which is compressed.
If compressed at the upper part, they appear to be most bright, and consist of seve-
ral concentric rings alternately bright and dark. He shows that these spectra may
be employed with great advantage as a means of discriminating the diseases of the
retina and optic nerve from those which affect the crystalline lens, the iris, and the
other parts in front of the retina. In amaurosis, glaucoma and other affections of
the nervous parts, the spectra are found to become more faint in proportion as the
nervous powers are injured, and are entirely absent when the visual powers are more
deeply impaired. On the other hand, in those numerous affections of the eye where
the rays of light can no longer form their images on the retina on account of the
opacity of the parts which they have to traverse, the ocular spectra are found to be
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 83
unimpaired in their brightness. The author has cited numerous cases in confirma-
tion of this statement. _^____
Microscopic Observations on the Movement of the Human Blood in the Capil-
laries, and on the Structure of the Nerves in the Glands at the Inferior
Surface of the Tongue. By A. Waller, M.D.
The author describes some microscopic observations on the minute glands at the
inferior surface of the tongue. These minute glands, of about the size of a pin's head,
are rernoved by him from the living tongue, and immediately subjected to observa-
tion under the microscope, for which, by their transparent nature, they are particu-
larly adapted. He states, that by this means he has been enabled to discover seve-
ral points relating to the structure of glands which cannot be observed in these tis-
sues after death. The movement of the blood through the capillaries is there seen
for the first time, and is found to present all the same phsenomena as in the web of
the frog or other transparent tissues. The nerves distributed to the various cells of
which the gland consists are very numerous, and may be traced to the extremities
of the separate cells, where they terminate, some in free extremities, others in vesi-
cles, whose diameter is several times larger than that of the nerve-tube itself. Near
their union with the glandular duct is a small ganglion which contains the usual
elements, viz. vesicular globules and gelatinous and tubular fibres.
On the Structure and Functions of the Branchial Organs of the Annelida
and Crustacea ; illustrated hy Preparations and Diagrams. By Thomas
Williams, M.D.
The subject was treated under the following heads ; —
Explanation of a series of diagrams illustrating the history of ciliated epithelium
in invertebrate animals.
New observations proving the presence of ciliated epithelium in the lungs of rep-
tiles. Conclusions on the mechanism of breathing during hybernation.
Passing allusion by diagrams to the branchial organs of inferior moUusca, conchi-
fera, &c.
Illustrations of new dissections of the breathing organs of the Annelida found on
the coast of Swansea ; preparations and microscope.
Preparations illustrating the ultimate structure of the gills in crustacea.
Specimens showing the reproduction of Arenicolae, and their mode of respiring.
On the Physical Conditions regidating the vertical Distribution of Animals in
the Atmospliere and the Sea. By Thomas Williams, M.D.
The subject was treated under the following heads :
Pressure in the Atmosphere ; Rarefaction. — Experiment I. Illustrating the influence
of density and rarefaction of the atmosphere on birds, affording striking proofs of the
penetration and diffusion of air through all parts of the body in birds ; newts, frogs
and mice included in the experiment for the purposes of contrast.
Pressure in Water, and removal of. — Experiment II. Of removing atmospheric
pressure from water containing fishes and Actinia, demonstrating the mechanical
functions of the air-bladder, &c. — reflections on the distribution of fishes in the sea.
Experiment III. Of increasing the pressure of the atmosphere over water containing
fishes, &c. — curious results of sinking to the bottom, &c.
Experiment IV. Of increasing pressure hydrostatically — effects on fishes. Ac-
tinia, &c. &c.
Distribution of Light through Water. — Experiment illustrating the depth to which
light will travel through water — influence of, on distribution in depth of plants, zoo-
I phytes, &c.
I Air of Water. — Experiment proving its condensation at great depths, and its una-
i Tailableness for respiration in the deep regions of the sea.
Explains the uniform warmth of the water of the deep sea, as discovered by Sir
J. Ross.
G S
84 REPORT — 1848.
Conclusion. — Allusion to the observations of Forbes on the distribution of animals
in zones of depth, &:c. - doubts raised by experiment with respect to the statements of
Sir J. Ross, that the deepest regions of the sea are tenanted by animals and plants, &c.
Additions to the British Flora, and an exhibition of Drawings pre-
pared for publication in the Supplement to English Botany. By C. C.
Babington, M.A., F.L.S.
The author made a few remarks upon the causes of the recent great increase in
the number of recorded British plants, which he supposed had resulted chiefly from
the more careful and minute study of plants ensuing upon the attention of our younger
botanists being turned to the works of foreign, more especially German and Swedish
authors. He then noticed the necessity of attending to minute subdivision of species
before any correct determination of what constitutes a species could be obtained,
after which doubtless many of the so-called species would be combined into real spe-
cies. At present no good distinction of species and varieties is known.
Species and varieties noticed : —
Lolium linicola. Orobanche Picridis. Filago spatiiulata.
Apera interrupts. Maiva verticillata. F. apiculata.
Anacharis Alsinastrum. Trifolium Molinerii. Crepis setosa,
Simethis bicolor. T. strictum. and some others.
Ranunculus tripartitus. IVlelilotus arvensis.
Periodical Birds observed in the Years ISi? a7id 1848 near Llanrwst.
By John Blackwall, F.L.S.
On the jKirasitic Character of Rhinanthus crista-galli.
By Joshua Clarke.
Recent researches have discovered an interesting fact, that a whole group of plants
closely allied to the Rhinanthus, is parasitic ; but the reason for thus noticing this
habit in R. crista-gaJll, is its bearing on the practice of agriculture, viz. the in-
jury and sometimes the destruction of the barley crops on clay lands. The extent
of the evil due to this weed having been mentioned, the author stated the mode of
effecting the injury as follows : — The fibres of the root of the Rhinanthus attach
themselves to the fibres of the barley on which they grow. They then form small,
round tubers, or what perhaps might be more properly called spongioles, on the
sides of the fibres, which embrace the fibres so effectually, that they suck the juices
of the plant so as to starve it, and sometimes ultimately destroy it.
Note on the Development of Pollen. By A. Henfrey, F.L.S.
The object of this note was to offer evidence from original investigation that the
parent-cells of the pollen-cells are not formed through the agency of cytoblasts.
The poUiniferous tissue of the anther in Tradescantia at first exhibits a continuous
cellular structure ; in the cells composing this new cells are formed around the en-
tire periphery of the protoplasm, completely filling the original cells, the walls of
which then decay leaving the new cells (the parent-cells of the pollen) free. The
protoplasm of the parent-cells divides into two and then into four portions, so that
two septa, generally crossing at right angles, are found, dividing the original cavity
into four cells (the special parent-cells), each generally having the form of a quarter
of a sphere. The protoplasm of these again forms a layer around its whole periphery,
whereby a new cell (the pollen-cell) originates in each cavity. The walls of the pa-
rent and special parent-cells then decay leaving the pollen-cells fi-ee. The nuclei
never make their appearance before the formation of the septa in the parent-cells.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 85
On some Vegetable Monstrosities illustrating the Laios of Morphology.
Bg E. Lank ESTER, M.D., F.R.S.
The author stated that the only way of arriving at a proper knowledge of the im-
port and relation of the organs of plants, was to study the history of the development
of each organ from its primitive cells ; by this means those laws of morphology had
been evolved which were so successfully applied to systematic botany at the present
day. Although morphology must principally rest on observation, more especially
with the aid of the microscope, as experiment could hardly be made in this depart-
ment of inquiry, yet nature sometimes experimented as it were for us, and by
arresting organs in their process of development, presented to us in a permanent
form, the various transitionary stages of a normal development. Plants, or parts of
plants presenting these forms, were called "monstrous," "monsters," or "mon-
strosities," terms borrowed from the animal kingdom. These permanent forms of
the lower stages of development were found in all parts of the plant, and were worthy
of study as confirming or modifying the general laws of morphology. The follow-
ing instances had recently occurred under the author's observation, and he thought
them worthy of record.
In the earliest periods of the history of the development of the leaf its position was
alternate, one leaf above the other, subsequently the leaves in many families became
opposite or verticillate. An instance was given of the original alternate type remain-
ing in the Hippuris vulgaris, in which the leaves, instead of being in whorls, were
arranged alternately in a spiral upon the stem.
In the conversion of the leaf-bud into the flower-bud, bracts were the organs
which indicated the earliest change in the leaf. Two instances were exhibited, one
of Plantago major, found by the author, and the other Plantago media, presented
to him by Dr.Lindley, in whose garden it grew as a permanent variety, in which the
bracts normally situated at the base of the flower, and smaller than that organ,
retained the character of fully-formed leaves.
The sepals, petals and stamens exhibited still further departures from the ordinary
character of the leaf. These however often retained the appearance of the leaf after
the tendency to form the flower had commenced. As an instance of this specimens
were exhibited of the Brassica Napa, in which, in the place of the sepals, petals and
stamens, there were developed three rows of succulent leaf-like organs. This had
arisen from the attack of a fungus. Reference was also made to specimens of Tri-
folium repens, which had been gathered by the author in company with Professor
E. Forbes, Mr. A. Henfrey and Robert Austen, Esq., at Chilworth Manor, in which
the parts of the flower exhibited the characters of the leaves, and the short flower-
stalks were elongated into the character of the stem.
The highest tendency of the plant was the production of the flower, and where
this tendency was greatest we must seek the typical form of the vegetable kingdom.
This was found in the Composite. In this family the tendency to the production of
flowers was so strong, that arrests of development were seldom recorded. A speci-
men of Tragopogon pratetisis was exhibited in which the pappus was converted into
foliate appendages ; the corolla was of a green colour, and the style had assumed
also a foliaceous character.
The most central organ of the flower, the pistil, was also in its external parts in
the earlier stages of its growth identical with the leaf. In the Ti-ifolium repens and
Tragopogon pratensis insX, mentioned, it retained this form. The origin of the placenta
and ovules, within the carpellary leaves, must still be regarded as an undecided point.
An instance of the capsule of the Papaver somniferum was exhibited, in which, in the
interior of the capsule at its base, the growing point, there was present an abnormal
growth, consisting of four leaf- like organs, opposite each other, separate above and
united at the base, forming a kind of pedicel ; each of the leaves was partly united by
the margins, forming a kind of cavity which was covered by a curve of the leaf at its
apex ; one of the leaves was divided into two parts, each containing a cavity; on
the edges of the leaves above was a changed condition of the tissue resembling the
stigma, thus confirming the theory which regarded the stigma of Papaveraceae as
the result of the union of the two edges of two carpellary leaves. The author re-
garded this monstrosity as affording evidence against the theory of the development
of the placenta and ovules independent of the carpellary leaf.
86 REPORT — 1848.
Another morphological question existed, and that was as to whether an inferior
ovarj' should be regarded as the result of the growth of the carpellary leaf or of the
portion of the stem on which it was seated. Some gooseberries Were exhibited in
which bracts were growing from the surface of the berry, and which might be re-
garded as indicative rather of the axial than the foliar character of the fruit.
The proximate cause of these abnormal forms seems to be an over-nutrition of the
part, which is produced either by culture or the attacks of parasitic fungi or insects.
In these cases the formative energy of the plant seemed not able to resist the tendency
to produce its tissues in the simplest form, that of the leaf.
On a Peculiarity in the Protococcus nivalis. By Matthew Moggridge.
On the 12th of August 1845,nearDelvin Head,Gower, at a place where water oozing
out of the old red sandstone stagnates upon freshwater mud, I gathered Protococcus
nivalis, but was prevented from observing it satisfactorily under the microscope.
Since that period I have found it each year on the same spot ; and though the same
conditions apparently obtain in numerous places in the immediate vicinity, the ha-
bitat appears to be confined to one precise spot.
In 1846 I found KheProtococcus nivalis in pools in the rocky bed of the river Pyrddyn
(about 40 miles from the former station), a little above and below the Lady's Fall.
From 1845 to the present time I have made each year many observations (chiefly
with the \ inch) on this plant. The peculiarity to which I would draw attention is
the occasional presence and office of a tube, in length sometimes two-thirds the dia-
meter of the globule. Tliis I have myself repeatedly seen, and on one occasion showed
it to my excellent friend Dr. Hooker.
Agardt has figured the Protococcus GreviUii with a somevvhat similar appendage ;
but he regards it as being a jiedicle or means of attachment ; and the difference be-
tween this species and the nivalis has not been apparent to me, as in observations on
the same specimens carried on, sometimes for eight weeks, both forms occurred ; and
1 believe the species to be identical, as indeed would appear by Mr. Hassall's book.
In the cases above referred to, the passage of the granules from the globule through
the tube appeared very decided ; the granular mass in the interior being lessened —
the tube containing several granules, and in the instance which I exhibited to Dr.
Hooker, one granule being seen near the mouth of the tube, having to all appearance
.just escaped and being free in the water.
I may add, that on no occasion has any attachment of this tube at its extremity
been perceptible to me ; and would suggest that this is one — I do not say the only —
mode in which the granules escape from the parent cell.
On the Colour Stripes of a Rose (Rosa sempervirens), single.
By John Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.S.
After some observations on the colour in the cells of plants, and the distribution of
the tints according to structure, the author gave the following statement : —
The large firm petals of this beautiful single rose, when fully expanded and grown
in an open aspect, are white, with a delicate tint of yellow toward the base, and, in
very bright hot weather, an almost indiscernible blush of red. But there are on the
flower two bands of very full clear red, which commonly appear on one petal only,
and then generally converge and unite at an obtuse angle at or near the middle of the
free edge of the petal. These bands are visible on the outside of the flower only, for
the red dye does not penetrate to the interior. This is the usual appearance, but it
sometimes happens that, while two colour stripes appear on one petal, and are con-
vergent upon it, they do not meet at a point. When this happens, some portions of
red appear on one or more of the other petals of the flower, giving a slightly varie-
gated aspect to the whole. There are cases also of one stripe being on one petal,
and the other on parts of two others.
Since it appears clearly from the above examples of variation in the place of the
colour stripes, that they are independent of any structural peculiarity of the petals of
the flower, it appeared to me that their form and distribution must be dependent on
some other circumstance in the organization of the flower or the arrangement of its
envelopes. Watching, therefore, the unfolding of the flower from its early bud, I
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 8?
have found that the colour stripe is not visible in the petals while they are entirely
covered by the calyx ; but that when the calyx, 'opening in a slit across the apex of
the bud, presents to the light a portion of the petals folded on one another, this por-
tion, and this only, acquires the deep red dye which makes the colour stripe. When,
as is often the case, one petal is so folded as to cover or nearly cover all the others,
and the opening of the calyx passes over it alone, this petal receives the whole dye;
it alone is .striped, and the stripes converge to a point ; but when the outer petal does
not so fully cover the others, and the opening crosses not the surface of that petal only,
but also the edges and surfaces of one or more of the others, these edges and surfaces
partake of the red stripe, which is really in its origin one continuous band on the bud.
From these facts it may be concluded that the limited red dye of this rose is due
to light acting during a very short period of time on whatever cells of the petals
may happen to lie in the zone which is uncovered by the calyx and released from its
pressure j that there is no peculiar susceptibility for colour in these cells which di-
stinguishes them from the others, all being in fact susceptible of this colour, but only
in a particular stage of growth, viz. that which precedes the full opening of the calyx
into its five segments.
In a few cases it has happened that one of these rose-buds opening in a very
shady situation has received no red dye, but remained altogether white ; and by ex-
perimentally covering a bud with a black hood, the development of red dye has been
entirely prevented. A bud entirely covered with a glass case was very much re-
tarded in flowering, and opened colourless.
I have found, by examining many other roses, single and double, that the same
principle, of the colour depending on partial exposure of the petal to light at a par-
ticular epoch of growth, is capable of extensive application to white roses whose
outer petals are in any degree dyed red ; but it seldom happens that in rose petals the
susceptibility for a red dye is so remarkably limited as in the example chosen ; the
dehiscence of the calyx determines indeed in many cases a band or bands of darker
tint, but this generally spreads so far to the right and left beneath the leaves of the
calyx, as not to catch the attention.
I do not venture at present to offer this explanation of the tints of these roses as a
general view applicable to other flowers, in which, frequently, there is a specific de-
termination of colour to specific parts of the floral envelopes ; but I think it probable
that many striped and spotted flowers may yield to observation and experiment proof
that the distribution of their hues is in some degree governed by the manner in which
their buds are released from pressure and exposed to light.
On an apparently undescribed state of the Palmellece, toitha few Observations
on Gemmation in the Lower Tribes of Plants. By G. H:K. Thwaites.
The Palmellece are usually described as consisting of separate cells, imbedded in a
gelatine, each cell being supposed to represent a single plant. Mr. C. E. Broome,
however, has discovered that in an early stage of Pahnella botryoides of Greville, the
plant consists of a number of branched filaments without septa, containing endo-
chrome, and having their ultimate ramifications terminated by the ordinary cells of
the Pahnella; around each of these cells a quantity of gelatine is developed; they
subsequently become detached from the filaments, and develope the mucous pro-
longations, which, as Mr. Hassall has observed, are probably characteristic of most,
if not all the species of this tribe of plants. Mr. Broome's observations have been
confirmed by the author in the species above-mentioned, as well as in Coccochloris
rufescens, Brebisson ?, another species of the PulmeHece. Mr. Thwaites considered
that the separation of the cells from the filaments, and the fact of each of the cells
then assuming an independent vitality, should be viewed as a gemmation taking place,
being rather a division of the individual plant than a reproduction of the species ; and
therefore the subsequent fissiparous division of these separated cells would be a con-
tinuation of the same process of gemmation. The author proceeded to show to what
extent gemmation takes place in the lower tribes of plants, instancing the mosses, in
which it would appear to commence even in the subdivision of the contents of the
sporangium ; if the mass of sporules is to be considered, as seems probable, the repre-
sentative of one embryo in the higher plant, the phytons produced from the con-
88 REPORT — 1848.
fervoid filaments originating from the sporules are another form of gemmation in the
mosses ; and gemmation also takes place in the perfect state of the plant in Bryum
androgynum and other species. In the Lichens and Hepaticce there is also exhibited a
great tendency to produce gemmae. If the opinion now advanced with reference to
gemmation be the correct one, it follows that in some species of mosses, such as
Encah/pta streptocarpa, and of lichens, as Parmelia physodes, in which true repro-
duction by means of spores seems scarcely ever to take place in some localities, an
individual plant, by means of its gemmae or offsets, may attain the age of our largest
trees, and occupy as large a space in the economy of nature. The tendency to pro-
duce gemmae in the lower tribes of plants seems to warrant our considering that
what has been described by authors as a second form of fructification in some of the
Algae, should be rather referred to gemmation : for example, — the tetraspores of the
FloridecB, the Opseospermata of Draparnaldia and Chcetophora, and what has been
described by Thuret as the spore of Vaucheria. The author took occasion to observe
that he did not consider the cilia with which the last-named organ is furnished, as
affording any proof of a higher character of organization than if no such cilia existed,
and he was inclined to believe that these appendages are merely a modification of
cell-membrane, which latter is probably, judging from its mechanical properties,
made up of a mass of such delicate filaments as those forming the cilia.
On a supposed conneodon between an iiisiifficient Use of Salt in Food and the
Progress of Asiatic Cholera. By W. H. Crook, LL.D.
In this communication the author surveyed the geographical and social position of
the district in which this kind of cholera originates, and inferred that in that district
the use of salt, as an article of daily consumption, was (by artificial arrangements)
limited to an amount far below that which the healthy and vigorous sustentation of
the functions of life requires. He then examined the relation of fatality and preva-
lence of cholera in different countries of Europe to the price and consumption of salt,
and infers as not improbable that a deficient quantity of salt in the food of a nation
may predispose many of its inhabitants to receive and generate the virus of cholera,
or render them less able to resist its attacks.
An attempt to give a Physiological Explanation how Persons both Blind,
Deaf and Dumb from Infancy interpret the Commu7iications of others by
their Touch only. By Richard Fowler, M.D., F.R.S.
The facilit)' with which young blind and deaf persons acquire such efficiency in
their fingers as to enable them to substitute touch for loss of both sight and hearing,
admits of a physiological explanation from the following considerations : —
That the knowledge of objects and their various relations is not from the specific
nerve of each organ of sense, but from the muscular sense residing in the muscles
by w^hich they are adjusted. Mere contact without pressure gives no knowledge
of the forms or bulk of objects, and soon ceases to excite any sensation if the mus-
cles which move the fingers are not in action. This fact, that all our distinguishing
sensations are in the muscular sense of adjusting muscles, seems to afford a satisfac-
tory proof that it is by this objects appear erect, though in the dead eye they are
inverted when seen on the retina. When the head is unmoved and the eye alone
raised to look up at the ceiling, we have a contractile feeling in the elevator muscles
of the eye and forehead, and when we depress our eyes we have analogous feelings
in the depressing muscles. Such muscular sensations, like those of the larynx, pass
unheeded by those who can both hear and see, but the slightest sensations indica-
tive of the meaning of others are objects of anxious attention to the blind and deaf,
more particularly when new to them. This excitement by novelty of feeling is well
marked by Sir H. Davy, who said he felt an extended sense of touch when he had
for some time breathed the nitrous oxide gas, and this probably from the larger pro-
portion of oxygen than in atmospheric air. For I think it will be found, that simul-
taneously with retransmission of motor influence to the adjusting muscles of any
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 89
part, there is also retransmission to its arteries to ensure a supply of blood (the
source), from which both sensibilitj' and contractibility are sustained.
Captain Ibbetson read a paper which he had translated from the French, on the
Chemical and Physiological eflfects of feeding Fowls, and on the changes and chemical
composition of Eggs during incubation, by Dr. Sacc.
The first part of this paper gave an account of the results of feeding a bantam
cock and hen on barley alone. At the end of a week it was found that the cock
had gained 18 grammes (a granjme is 15J grains English) and the hen had lost 21
grammes, but had laid in the mean time an egg weighing 22 grammes ; in addition
to the barley a certain quantity of carbonate of lime had been consumed. The egg on
being examined was found to contain —
Albumen 19-49
Oil 27-84
Water 52-67 — 100-00
In hens ordinarily fed the egg contained —
Albumen 17
Oil 29
Water 54—100
Thus showing that the barley-fed hen laid eggs with a larger quantity of solid
organic matter than ordinarily fed hens.
It was found that hens during incubation lose weight. A hen before incubation
weighed 672-155 grammes, after it 483-202 grammes. During incubation eggs lose
weight in the following proportion : —
1st week 5 per cent. 2nd week 9 per cent. 3rd week 3 per cent.
losing altogether 17 per cent, of their weight. The shell of the egg was found to
weigh 18 per cent, of the egg, and to be composed principally of carbonate of lime.
The shell of the egg is not formed unless the animal has access to carbonate of lime
in some form or other. The carbonate of lime is deposited on the egg from with-
out, and is carried to the egg in a state of solution in carbonic acid. Phosphate of
lime and traces of iron were found in the albumen and the yolk of the egg, and also
soda. The function of the albumen or white of the egg appears to be, first, to
furnish the young bird with phosphate of lime for its bones and other earthy and
alkaline salts ; and, secondly, to supply water, the material for the muscles, and to
hold in solution the carbonic acid breathed by the young bird before it is hatched.
A communication is constantly kept up between the atmosphere and the chick by
the shell, which is the organ of the gaseous pulmonary and cutaneous excretions.
The yolk of the egg is principally composed of oily matter, which appears to be
taken into the system of the young chick, and is used in respiration for the purpose
of maintaining animal heat. Thus it is found that in the contents of the new-laid
egg there are the same principles surrounding the young chick as there is in the
vegetable kingdom for the supply of the whole animal kingdom. We have, first,
proteine for nutrition ; second, oil for combustion ; and, third, various salts for com-
bining with the agents of nutrition.
On the erroneous division of the Cervical and Dorsal Vertebra:, and the
connection of the First Rib with the Seventh Vertebra, and the normal
position of the Head of the Rib in Mammals. By Dr, Macdonald,
F.R.S.E., L.S., G.S. &SC.
Cuvier was most successful in the application of organic characters in systematic
zoology and palseontologj^ and from his data almost all our modern zoologists have
copied their elementary and systematic treatises.
From a very extended examination of the skeletons of the vertebral classes, Cuvier
early adopted and maintained, as an essential character of the whole class of mam-
mals, that they were distinguished by having seven cervical vertebrae as in man.
Unfortunately this was based on a hasty adoption of the anthropotomist, who had
90 REPORT 1848.
restricted his examination to the dried skeleton and the still drier descriptions of
human osteology. Had a more scientific course been pursued by the investigation
of the neurological distribution, we feel that this error would not have been so ex-
tensively adopted, and in fact would not have been proposed by so excellent an ob-
server as Cuvier. Even in the skeleton of man, as best articulated, nine of the
twelve ribs have their heads articulated opposite the intervertebral space, being
equally connected with each of the adjoining vertebrre. This we assume as the nor-
mal position in the mammals, and even in many of the reptiles, and therefore the
case of the first, eleventh and twelfth ribs in man are the exceptions.
A vertebra having a rib attached, is considered dorsal in the osteology of mam-
mals. The normal position of the head of the rib in the intervertebral space is
beautifully displayed in the disposition of the ligaments, which in a stellate or
divergent form unite by three tendons the head of the rib to the intervertebral car-
tilage and adjoining vertebrae.
In the turtle this arrangement is also very well marked. As twelve ribs require
twelve spaces and thirteen bodies to form these spaces, we require thirteen instead
of twelve dorsal vertebrae. This will reduce the number of the cervical to six. By
a very large induction and examination of the skeletons of recent as well as extinct
species of mammals, we are fully satisfied, that with few exceptions, it will be found
that there are only six cervical vertebrae in the mammal class, and that this should
be adopted as the normal type.
The elephant was the first instance in which we observed the confirmation of what
we had previously proposed as the true enumeration of the cervical vertebrae in man,
from a consideration of the distribution of the spinal nerves forming the brachial
plexus. We subsequently examined the very valuable Museums of the University
and College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and more recently enjoyed the opportunity of
examining those of the British Museum, College of Surgeons, and Guy's Hospital ;
and from these and others of a more limited extent, we found that there were only
six cervical vertebrae unconnected with ribs, or rather that the first rib was articu-
lated with the seventh vertebra in the following classes :— Quadrumana, from a very
great number ; Carnivora, from all but the seals ; Rodentia, Pachydermata, Pe-
cora, Cervi, Cetacea ; the only exceptions met with were the seals and one skeleton
of a kangaroo in Guy's Hospital Museum. In man, the first rib is occasionally in
the normal position opposite the intervertebral space ; and when we find that the
eighth vertebra has an undue share of costal attachment compared with all the rest,
we may easily suppose that this has arisen from the primary branchial arch in the
reptiloid phase of the foetus, causing the lowering of the head of the rib, thus at the
same time producing greater horizontality in closing in the summit of the thorax,
and giving greater freedom for the passage of the subclavian artery and vein over the
broad surface, instead of the sharp border or edge. There is another point of view
in which this has a bearing ; the usually defined exception of the Bradyjms tridactylm
affords grounds for the supposition that the cervical vertebrae are, like those of the
cranium, arranged in pairs, for there we have not an additional vertebra, but an
additional pair of vertebrae. In a former communication (read at the Cambridge
meeting of the Association) we presented a sketch of the arrangement of the cranial
vertebra.' in pairs as the only mode or principle of unravelling the maze in which they
have been so long and even still are involved.
The next subject for correction is that proposed by Prof. Owen, who considers the
scapulo-clavicular arch and anterior extremities as the divergent lamina of the occi-
pital bone. Without attempting a full analysis and critical examination of this theory,
we ma)' shortly state the foUov^'ing objections : — I. In the mammals this is really
composed of at least two laminae. 11. It is neurologically connected in this class
with the lower cervical and upper thoracic or humeral region. 111. It is also in the
same position in birds and in the chelonian reptiles ; it is attached anterior to the dor- '
sal vertebrae by the triquetron as a separate bone, and which is only typified by the
triquetral or triangular surface of the spine of the scapula over which the trapezius
plays, and to which the minor rhomboid is attached. IV. But the most striking
objection lies in the case of fishes. The author presented to meetings of the Asso-
ciation at Glasgow and Cambridge, proof that what had been misnamed and mis- .
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 91
taken for the thoracic or anterior extremity, and called by ichthyologists, judging
from external character only, the pectoral fin, was really the coxal segment and
leg, and not the humeral arch. Tlie author presented a sketch copied from the Lec-
tures on Comparative Anatomy by Prof. Owen, to show how the mistake had arisen.
The object of the diagram was to show that in the human foot, the analogy to the
human arm may be traced by merely elongating the calcls and scaphoid bones, so
as to represent the ulna and radius, while the astragalus may typify the very com-
pressed humerus ; in the fish the foot is turned with the sole or palmar aspect for-
wards, consequently what is the internal malleolus in man and mammals becomes
the external in the fish, and so very much developed, that it forms in the osseous fishes
the larger part of the tibia, meeting almost with its fellow from the opposite arch
under the mesobranchial or hyoid region, and called by Cuvier the scapulo-clavicu-
laire, and by Owen the coracoid, having the fibula more internal and called epico-
racoid by Owen.
Should the Section agree to this view of the pectoral being the coxal instead of
the scapular or respiratory extremity, they will perceive that it cannot be the diver-
gent lamina of the occipital bone. It would require too long a notice, and also a
demonstration of specimens, to render this subject fully evident ; but the author is
anxious to contribute, by a prompt correction of what he deems error, data to
secure the fundamental basis of this important branch of anatomical study.
On the Homologies and Notation of the Dental System in Mammalia.
By Professor Owen, M.D., F.R.S.
The Professor commenced by observing that one of the results of the deterniina-
tion of the homologies of parts of the animal body was the power of denoting them
by symbols, and gave, in illustration of the advantages of this substitute for verbal
definitions, some descriptions of the order of development and change of dentition in
different mammalia, and especially in the genus Macropus, Shaw. He had shown
that the formula which had been supposed by Cuvier to distinguish the small kan-
garoos {Halmaturus) from thz Macropus of Cuvier, was the same essentially in both
genera, the differences depending only on the length of time during which certain
teeth were retained. The true formula of the Macropodidce was —
.3—3 0—0
1— l' 0—0^1—1
The canines are never functionally developed, though minute germs occur in the
upper jaw of some of the smaller species, and in the embryo state of all kangaroos.
The author had not described the changes of the teeth or given the deciduous for-
mula of the kangaroos in his 'Odontography,' nor had any additional information
been given in later works. Mr. Waterhouse, in his ' Natural History of Mammalia,'
had confirmed the author's determination of the permanent formula of the dentition
of the Macropodidce, and had abandoned the Cuvierian one.
3 3 \ j^ 2 2
The deciduous dentition of Macropus Major was *t^;^j c-— , m— — = 18.
When the young kangaroo quits the pouch, the dii (milk-incisors) and dec (milk-
\ — \ 2 — 2
canines) are shed, and the dentition is t , m — -^ = 12. The incisors were i 1
(first permanent incisors) ; the molars were d 3 and rf4 (the milk-molars homologous
with those so numbered in the typical dentition of the horse, hog). The next stage
in the kangaroo is the acquisition of i 2 in the upper jaw (second permanent incisor),
and of m 1 (first permanent true molar) in both jaws, formulised by —
.2—2 , 2—2 1 — 1
I , d m ~ — -
1 — 1 2—2
3 3 2 2 ^ ^
At one vear old the dentition was i - — -, d m r — ; , m - — - = 24. The next stage
1 — 1 2 — - i — ^
is the shedding of d3 and the appearance in place of m 3. Then d 4 is shed and
succeeded by p 4, — the single premolar which displaces d 4 vertically. Finally,
92 REPORT — 1848.
m 4 — the last true molar — comes into place, and in Macropus gigas the premolar is
simultaneously shed.
Thus four individuals of the great kangaroo may be found to have the same nume-
4 4
rical molar series, viz. m , and yet not any of them have the same or homologous
4 — 4
teeth. The four grinders, for example, may be —
d 3, d i, m 1, m 2; or
d 4, m I, m 2, m 3 ; or
p I, m 1, m 2,'m 3; or
m I, m 2, m 3, m 4.
Prof. Owen, not having traced out when he published his ' Odontography ' all this
complex interchange and alternating sequence of the dentition of the kangaroo, had
been compelled to postpone any definition of the deciduous formula until all the
stages had been observed. The order described was not that followed in some of the
smaller kangaroos. In Macropus Bonettii, e. g. the acquisition of m 3 is not accom-
5 5
panied by the shedding of rf 3 : a skull of that species 5 in. in length, had m - — -, being
d3, di, m 1, m 2, and m 3 : both milk molars are shed and replaced by the single
premolar p 4, but this tooth is not pushed out by the rising into place of the last
molar, m 4 : hence the mature dentition shows five grinders on each side, or
] \ 4 4
p , m . Thus the total number of molar teeth developed in the kangaroos
^ 1 — 1 4 — 4
is 28, consisting of 2 deciduous molars, 1 premolar and 4 permanent molars on each
side of both jaws. The deciduous molars were the homologues of those in the
human subject, viz. d m 3 and 4 ; the premolar is the homologue of the second
bicuspid, orp4 ; the three anterior molars answer to the three true or tuberculate
molars in man, viz. m 1, 2 and 3 : the fourth molar in the kangaroo is a supernu-
merary tooth.
After describing other particulars in which the proposed notation for the indivi-
dual teeth was exemplified. Prof. Owen proceeded to observe, that the substitution
of signs for verbal descriptions was at once the power of the algebraist and the proof
of the exactness of mathematical reasoning. To gain the like power for anatomical
science should be the chief aim of its cultivators ; to this end the determination of
the homologies of parts was the indispensable step which should be followed by de- •
noting the part by a symbol representing it under all its modifications of form and
in all the species of animals in which such part existed.
As an example of the amount of information which might thereby be conveyed in
a small compass, several illustrations were given, amongst which were the follow-
ing : — The permanent dentition of the Anoplotherium was —
.3—3 1 — 1 4—4 3—3 ..
t , c , p , m - — - = 44.
3 — 3 1 — 1^4—4 3—3
This was stated to be an example of the typical series of teeth in the placental mam-
malia with true premolars. The deciduous dentition of the Anoplotherium was —
i-H^, c-^^, dm ~ = 32 : dml was succeeded hy p\, dm2 by »2, dm 3 by
3—3 1 — 1 4—4
p3, dm 4 hy pi : but m 1 was in place before dml was shed ; m 2 was coincident
with p 1 and p 2 ; next came m 3 and p 3 ; and then, coincidently, p 4 and m 3.
3 3 J J 3 3 3 3
The permanent dentition of the horse was i^^> ''tzZi'^^IIa' "^SUs"'*^'
3 3 \ I 4 4
its deciduous dentition is i , c -, dm - — - = 32 : dm 1 is not succeeded by
3 — a 1 — 1 4—4 "^
p 1 ; the other three dmm are succeeded by teeth which answer to p2, p3 and p 4
of the Anoplotherium.
In the dog, on the other hand, there are p- — - ; but only dm- — - : pi is not
° 4—4 o—o
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS. 93
preceded by a calcified dm], and the dmm (deciduous molars) in use answer to
dm 2, dm 3 and dmi ia the horse and Anoplotherium. The permanent molars of
2 2
the dog are - — -, answering to m 1 and m 2 in the upper jaw, and to m i, ml and
m 3, in the lower jaw of the horse. With regard to the human subject, of which
the deciduous and permanent teeth were formulised in the author's ' Odontography,'
the first dm answers to dmi'm the dog, horse, &c., and is succeeded in the eighth
year by a ^9 m, answering to p 3, and rfw 4 is succeeded hyp 4, before the completion
of the tenth year : m 1 usually makes its appearance in the sixth year ; m 2 between
the twelfth and fourteenth years ; m 3 at or after the eighteenth year, whence it is
called the ' wisdom-tooth.'
Now the description of the foregoing anatomical facts by the ordinary language
and verbal definitions of the teeth would occupy about five pages of type used in
' Bell's Anatomy,' and one disadvantage attending such tax upon the efl^orts of the
attention and memory was to enfeeble the judgement in forming its conclusions, and
to impair the power of seizing and appreciating the results of the comparisons.
Prof. Owen concluded by stating his conviction that nothing would influence
more the rapid and successful progress of the knowledge of the structure of animal
bodies than the determination of the nature of the parts by tracing their homologies,
and the condensation of the propositions respecting them, by attaching to the parts
so determined of symbols, or at least single substantive names, distinctly defined.
The bones might be denoted by simple numerals, as was proposed in his work on
the ' Archetype of the Skeleton.' And the effect of the few symbols for the teeth,
which, when explained, were so easily remembered, had been shown to be to render
unnecessary the endless repetition of the verbal definitions of the parts, to harmonize
conflicting synonyms, to serve as an universal language, and to convey the writer's
meaning in the fewest and clearest terms. The entomologist had already partially
applied this principle with much success, and the signs <J and $ for male and female
constantly occurred : the astronomer had early availed himself of it in the signs ©
and 2) for the sun and moon, and in the difi^erent symbols of the planets, &c. ; the
chemist was greatly advantaged by his extensive system of symbolical notation ; and
Mr. Babbage had ably advocated the use of this powerful instrument of discovery
in geometrical science, in his paper ' On the Influence of Signs in Mathematical
Reasoning.' _____
On the Value of the Origins of Nerves as a Homological Character.
By Prof. Owen, M.D., F.R.S.
He stated that he was led to offer a few remarks on this subject from the circum-
stance that the supply of nerves to the arms of man from the lower cervical pairs,
and not from cranial nerves, had formed a difficulty to some in accepting his deter-
mination of the general homology of the arms as ' diverging appendages of the costal
arch of the occipital vertebra.' Since the determination of a general homology was
dependent on that of the special homology of parts, it was requisite to inquire how
far the preliminary and minor conclusions were affected by that condition of the
nerves which had been supposed to invalidate the major proposition cited.
The author assumed that it would be granted that the arms of man were homolo-
gous with the fore-limbs of beasts, the wings of birds, and the pectorals of fishes. But
in the wing of the fowl the nerves were derived from the thirteenth and fourteenth
pairs counting backwards from the brain, whilst the homologous limb in man received
nerves from the fifth to the eighth pairs. Taking a closer instance of special homology.
Prof. Owen showed that the wings of the swan derived their nerves from very differ-
ent pairs from those that supplied the wings of the swift ; and he presumed that a
still greater difference in their relations to the neural axis must have characterized
the nerves of the pectoral paddles in the Ichthyosaur and Plesiosaur respectively.
The difference in the origins of the nerves of homologous parts was also manifested
in the ventral fins of fishes, which present such great varieties of relative -position
to the head as to afford the ichthyologist his characters of the orders Ahdominales,
Tkoracici, Jugulares.
Now, if these differences in the place of origin of nerves do not invalidate the con-
94 REPORT — 1848.
elusions of special liomolog)% the author contended that they were equally inconclu-
sive against the determination of general homologies. He briefly stated the facts
confirmatory of the ideas of Aristotle and Cuvier as to the special homology of the
arms of man with the pectoral fins of fish, and summed up the arguments that had
been given in his work on the 'Homologies of the Skeleton/ in favour of viewing the
attachment of the scapular arch to the occiput in fishes, as the normal one, in rela-
tion to the archetype, and as proving that arch to be the haemal one of the occipital
vertebra, and the pectoral fins to be the radiated appendages of such hiemal arch.
ETHNOLOGY.
On the Geographical Distribution of the Languages of Abessinia and the
Neighbouring Counti-ies. By Dr. Beke*.
Dr. Beke exhibited a map allowing the geographical limits of the various lan-
guages spoken in Abessinia and the adjoining countries, in conformity with the clas-
sification suggested in the Report on the Languages of Africa, made last year to the
British Association by Dr. R. G. Latham. The map comprised Classes 14 to 23 in-
clusive of that Report.
In his remarks in explanation of this map, the author agreed with Dr. R, G. La-
tham on all material points, except only as regards the aboriginal languages of Abes-
sinia, which Dr. Beke considers to consist of those not of the Ethiopic but of the Agau
class.
The author next proceeded to analyse a list of languages mentioned in the ' Athe-
iiteum' of the 12th of April 1845 (No. 911), of which M. d'Abbadie reports that he
has collected vocabularies; and he showed that, apparently, they may all be ranged
in one or other of Dr. R. G. Latliam's classes, which may consequently be regarded
as exhaustive of the languages spoken in Abessinia and the countries immediately
adjacent.
Dr, Beke also explained the probable origin of the fabulous stories which have
been related respecting the Dokos, an alleged nation of pygmies dwelling in the
south of Kaffa, but who appear to be a race of savage black people, of little less than
the ordinary stature of mankind.
On the Ante- Columbian Discovery of America.
By Professor Elton, D.D.
The Sagas of Erik the Red, and Thorfin Karlsefne, published by the Royal Society
of Northern Antiquaries in 1837, contain the history of the first discovery of Ame-
rica, A.D. 986-1013. The manuscripts published in the ' Antiquitates Americanse,'
give an account also of voyages made by the Scandinavians during tlie twelfth,
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They explored a great extent of the eastern
coast of North America, fought and traded with the natives, and attempted to esta-
blish colonies. The most northern region they called Hellialand, i. e. Slateland ; the
country further south, Markland, i. e. Woodland ; and the tract still further to the
south, Vinland, i. e. Vineland. The general features of the country accord with the
description given.
This discovery is confirmed by an inscription rock on the Taunton River, at
Dighton, Massachussets, found there on the arrival of the first New England colonists,
which contains the word Thoriinus, and 132. One of the Sagas states that Thorfinus,
an Icelandic chief, witli 132 men, made a voyage to Finland in 1000, remained there
three years, and was finally killed in a battle.
In support of the claims of the Welsh to the discovery of America, we have the fol-
lowing information. It is mentioned by three of their bards, Meredyth ap Rhys,
(iutwyn Owen, and Cynfrig ap Gronw, all of whom wrote before the discovery by
Columbus, that Madoc sailed from Wales in 1170, and after pursuing a westward
* Printed in extenso in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Magazine, vol. xlviL No. 93, for
July 1849.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 95
course for some weeks, arrived on a continent where the inhabitants differed from
Em'opeans. He returned to Wales, and subsequently equipped a fleet of ten vessels,
and sailed for the same continent ; but of that expedition no tidings were ever re-
ceived. All the information we have on this point at present must be deemed only
probable conjecture.
On a quantity of Human Bones discovered in a Field near Billingham, in
the County of Durham. By John Hogg, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S.
The author exhibited several human bones, selected from many which were dug
up this spring in an arable field, situate about half a mile to the west of Billingham,
in the coimty of Durham. These bones consisted of supra-occipital and parietal bones
of the skull, a humerus, portions of the upper and lower jaws with the teeth, &c. :
they were in excellent presei-vation, though some were more decayed than others.
The teeth being worn down in a remarkable manner, led to the belief that they were
those of a very early and primitive race, which had chiefly fed on hard substances,
such as parched pulse, nuts, acorns*, and the like. They were dug up at a trifling
depth with a common spade.
For many years past a vast number of human bones have been ploughed up ; so
much so that women whilst weeding in that field have collected them, and sold them
at the neighbouring water-mill, where machinery is used for crushing bones for ma-
nure. The field is called Nutton, or Newlon Heads, which has probably been so
named from the skulls or heads of men having been at times discovered in it. There
was nothing whatever to show that these remains had been interred in cofiins, or
after any regular plan of sepulture ; nor is there the least likelihood of the spot ha-
ving formerly been a burial-place belonging to any church or convent.
In the year 1804, a skull and several human bones were turned up when draining
in a grass-field near the same mill; and about the year 1830, in an adjoining grass-
field, three skeletons of men were found while some workmen were excavating a part
of the field for a line of railway ; they however rapidly crumbled to dust on exposure
to the air.
Mr. J. Hogg, in endeavouring to account for the appearance of these remains in
the fields respectively pointed out, attributed their interment in those spots to one of
the following causes, which several local histories have handed down to us : —
First. Hutchinson, in his ' History of Durham,' vol. iii. p. 106, says, " Billingham is
memorable for a great battle fought there by Ardulf, king of Northumberland ; " and
the same is related by a later author^ more fully thus : " a civil war broke out in the
kingdom of Northumberland, when the mal-contents assassinated Ethelred the king
at Corbridge, a.d. 795. Wada was chief of the conspirators, and was attacked by
Ardulf, who afcer a short interval had succeeded Ethelred (about a.d. 800), and a
pitched battle was fought near Billingham, which is represented to have been attended
with a very great slaughter."
Second. In one of the in-uptions of the Danes, about a.d. 910, a king called
Reingwald landed a great force (according to Symeon Dunelmensis, lib, 2. cap. 16)
on the coast of Northumberland, and expelled or murdered several of the principal
inhabitants; and one of his generals, called Scula, laid waste the country from Eden
Dene to Billingham J.
Third. In the tenth century, between a.d. 920-25, Edward the Elder reduced the
Danes throughout Northumbria.
The great quantity of human bones however that have been brought to light within
the last few years in the befoi-e-mentioned arable field, renders the first of these
causes the most probable. Yet some persons might perhaps be induced to assigu
their appearance in all those places, either to some battle consequent upon a later
incursion of the Danes or other hostile nation, or to a more recent fight between the
natives of that district and some marauding party of freebooters, although of any such
having actually occuri'ed nothing whatever is known.
• Many suppose that the common acorn could not be eaten on account of its great bitter-
ness ; but it is probable that there was some method adopted by the earlier inhabitants to
extract it. For a mode stiU used by the Sardinian peasantry, see Tyndale's Island of Sar-
dinia, vol. iii. p. 191.
t Brewster, Hist. Stockton, edit. 2, p. 10.
X See Brewster, Hist. Stock, p. 11, and Surtees, Hist, of Darham, vol. iii. p. 144.
96 REPORT— 1848.
The author then, in the absence of all further historical or traditional accounts, is
inclined to refer the interments of the numerous human bones in the fields previously
described to the period immediately after the great battle which was fought near
Billingham between king Ardulf and the conspirator Wada.
The subsoil of the arable field being very dry, and nearly a pure sand, would pre-
serve those remains for a great many centuries.
The supra-occipital and parietal bones of the skull did not present any physiological
peculiarity of structure.
Amongst the collection were an astragalus of a small ox, and a transverse process
of a lumbar vertebra, most likely of a horse.
Measurements of a Skull considered to be Burgundian.
By Professor Retzius.
Diameter. Metres.
Fronto-occipital 0-188
Frontal 0098
Occipito-vertical o, O-HS
Inter-mastoid 0-128
I nter-zy gomatic ,, 0- 12.5
Inter-orbital 0025
General character Germanic.
Notes on a Kirgis Skidl. By Professor Retzius.
Although belonging to the Turkish tribes, the Kirgis skull departs from the type
of the Turk, Cossack and Mongol skulls in being less round, and short, and more de-
veloped in its occipito-frontal diameter.
Remarks to accompany a Comparative Vocabulary of eighteen Languages
and Dialects of Indian Tribes inhabiting Guiana. By Sir Robert H.
SCHOMBURGK, Ph.D.
These vocabularies were collected by the author during the expeditions which he
undertook into the interior of Guiana, namely in the years ISS.'i to 1839, under the
direction of the Geographical Society of London, and in the yeai-s 1840 to 1844 as
Her Majesty's Commissioner for surveying the boundaries of British Guiana. The
territory, which extends from the shores of the Atlantic between the river Corentyn
(lat. 6° N., long. 57° VV.) to the east, and the Orinoco (lat. 8° 40' N., long. 60° 30' W.)
to the west, as far southward as the Rio Negro (lat. 1° 30' S.), and from the banks of
the Upper Corentyn (long. 56° 40' W.) westward to the Cassiquiare (long. 67° 40' W.),
that remarkable natural canal which connects the Orinoco with the Rio Negro, has
been more or less explored during the eight years which were dedicated to these
expeditions.
The number of vocabularies which he collected during his voyages amounts to
eighteen, none of which, as he observes, bear a closer affinity to each other than the
French and Italian. Without binding himself strictly to the following division, which he
considered merely provisional, he divided these vocabularies into six sections, namely, —
I. Caribi-Tamanakan. — 1. Caribisi. 2. Accawai. § Waika. 3. Macusi. § Zapara.
4. Arecuna. § Soerikong. 5. Waiyamara. 6. Guinau. 7. Maiongkong. 8.
Woyawai. 9. Mawakwa, or Maopityan. 10. Pianoghotto. § Zaramata. §§ Drio.
11. Tiverighotto.
II. Wapis'ian-Parauana. — 1. Wapisiana. 2. Atorai. § Taurai, or Danri.
§§ Amaripa. 3. Parauana.
III. Taruman. — Taruma.
IV. Warauan. — Warau, or Guarauno.
V. Arawakan. — Arawaak, or Aruaca.
VI. Lingua Geral (dos Rios Negro e Branco).
The subsequent remarks described the regions which are inhabited by the tribes
above enumerated, accompanied by some incidental observations respecting their
customs and manners, and were followed by a comparative vocabulary of a few words
from each, which are added herewith, as the greater number are new to our know-
ledge of philological ethnography.
TRANSACTIONS OP THE SECTIONS.
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TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 99
the
to ^ . . ^
comparative vocabulary, which consists merely of eighteen words, have afforded him
82 cases for comparison with 102 different languages and dialects of the New World.
These comparisons, he says, are not forced by a mere resemblance of a single syllable,
but are obvious; and hence the opinion shared by many ethnographers, that there is
a general afhnity between the races who now inhabit the American continent, has
received a new proof through these Guianian languages and dialects.
However, the Guianians are in language more closely allied to the North American
tribes of the present day than to the Peruvians and Mexicans. " Let us take," he
continues, "for example the word ' dog,' which offers an affinity in five Guianian dia-
lects to Esquimaux, Kliketat (on the north-west coast), Ottawa, Cherokee, Onondago,
Seneca, &c., and tiot one instance of resemblance to a South American dialect beyond
the province of Guiana, as far as 1 have had opportunity to compare these dialects."
The author concludes with the following words : —
" The Caribi-Tamanakan section of my Guianian languages is decidedly closer re-
lated to the North-American tongues than the other sections, and this circumstance
greatly confirms me in the opinion, that we have to look to Florida, Texas, and the
eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains, for the origin of the Carihi-Taniaiiakan races.
I consider the Tamanaks, including the Macusis, Arecunas, Pianoghottos, &c. the
continental Caribs of South America, and those races which are now known as Cari-
bisis and Accawais, the former inhabitants of the Lower Antilles."
On a Uniform System to reduce Unwritten Languages to Alphabetical Wri-
ting in Roman Characters. By Sir Robert H. Schomburgk, Ph.D.
The author, after remarking that the great evil connected with the confused state
of the orthography which has been hitherto adopted for expressing the sound of un-
written languagv?s has been of great disadvantage to the student of philological eth-
nography, the traveller, and the missionary, observes, that he used for his vocabula-
ries of the Guianian languages and dialects the sound of the Italian vowels and of
the English consonants, and rejected all diaci'itical marks.
He brought under notice that the Church Missionar}' Society, in connexion with
several other missionary institutions then engaged in vernacular translations of un-
wi'itten languages, have recently adopted a common system of orthography, which
recommends itself for simplicity, and coincides with the method which has already
been employed by the translators of African languages, and has likewise been suffi-
cient for expressing the sounds of many languages of the East as well as of Africa.
The system of the Church Missionary Society closely agrees with the one which
the author adopted in 1836 fur his vocabularies of the Guianian dialects, and is
likewise applicable for those who write in the German language. It has already
been employed by the great Missionary Institution at Basle, and likewise by others
for translating the Scriptures into Susu, Yoruba, Haussa and Tamneh. It is there-
fore to be hoped that the determination of these institutions to use common rules in
reducing unwritten languages, will materially assist to advance that laudable aim of
seeing a uniform orthography for unwritten languages introduced among scientific
men, travellers and missionaries. " And if the institutions," says the author, " who
have taken the lead are only determined to persevere, tlie circumstance that they
constitute not only a powerful party, but the only one at present who have to make
a practical application of such a system, will greatly contribute towards its general
adoption. Such scientific bodies as the Ethnological Societies of London, Paris, and
New York, might accelerate this desirable aim by giving their powerful assistance
towards its adoption."
Ethnographical Note on the Vicinity of Charnwood Forest.
By John Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.S.
While traversing on foot during several months in the early part of the year 1848
h2
100 REPORT — 1848.
a large area of country in the vicinity of Leicester, Nottingham and Derby, the at-
tention of tlie author was continually arrested by circumstances in the physical cha-
racter of the population which were very unexpected. If in this district (the district
of Danelagh) Danish settlers had re])laced or been mixed with a purely Saxon peo-
ple, the now existing inhabitants should exhibit mainly though not exclusively the
blue eye, light hair and ruddy complexion, and commanding stature of the Germanic
or Scandinavian races, — as in fact really happens among the mountains of Yorkshire,
Cumbria and Northumberland, where these races predominate. But instead of such
prevalent signs of Saxon or Danish origin, the author perceived with surprise very
frequent examples of black eyes and hair, uniform or rather dark complexion, and
contours of countenance which might with more appearance of truth be referred to
that branch of the Celtic stem which is represented by the ancient population of South
Wales, Cornwall and Armorica. Nor was this cii'cumstance confined to particular classes
which might be supposed to have immigrated, but was found to prevail even more posi-
tively in the rural populations and most retired situations. It was equally noticed in
children of various ages (e.xcept infants) and adults ; and by repeated estimates the
author was confirmed in his impression that in fully half of the rural population in a
large area round Charnwood Forest the phj'sical character of the Germanic or Scandi-
navian people is wanting or complicated with another and very different type, and
that only in a smaller part of the population is that character exclusively present.
May Ave suppose, in explanation of these observations, that a larger proportion of
the oppressed Britons was permitted to remain in their ancient midland sites than
historians generally admit? Were the Coritanian Britons in this respect peculiarly
favoured? Was it a circumstance more observable in the Mercian kingdom than else-
where ? The author, adopting for the present the affirmative on these points, rather
than the supposition of these black-eyed races being derived from a blue-eyed ancestry,
invited the attention of ethnologists to the curious problem of the actual distribution
of aboriginal and immigrated races which the British islands present, a problem very
important in history, but of which the solution, whether by philological or physical
demonstrations, is becoming every day less and less practicable, through the fusion of
dialects and the complication of races.
Oji the Ttimali Language. By Dr. L. Tutschek.
The materials for the Tumali language were collected by Dr. Lorenz Tutschek from
Dgalo Dgondan Are, one of the four young Africans with whose education he and
his late brother had been entrusted by the Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. The lo-
cality is one degree south of Obeyhda, in Kordofan. The Tumali area is divided by
the mountain-stream Tente into two kingdoms of unequal size — the Tumali-Tokoken
and the Tuniali-Debili. The first is the smaller, but, at the same time, the scat of
government ; the Eliot of Tumali-Debili being subordinate to the Ofter (or Wofler)
of Tumali-Tokoken, who is again subordinate to the king of Takeli, himself a tribu-
tary to the viceroy of Egypt.
The Tumali language is a dialect of the Deier language of Riippell, or vice versa.
It also agrees, to the extent of three-fourths of the words common to the two voca-
bularies, with the Takeli* of Riippell.
The details of this language, as communicated in extensohy Dr. Tutschek, may be
found in the Transactions of the Philological Society for June 23, 1848. Partially,
also, they appear in the Report of the present state of African Ethnographical Phi-
lology, in the last volume of the Transactions of the British Association.
On the Fazoglo Language. By Dr. L. Tutschek.
Collected from a boy born at Hobila, in the south of the Fazoglo country, purchased
out of slavery at Alexandria by the Duke Maximilian, and entrusted in the year
1844 to Dr. Tutshek for education.
By referring to a note in the Report of the Transactions of the Sections for last
year, it will be seen that the Fazoglo of Tutschek is nearly allied to, if not identical
* See Report of last year, Transactions of the Sections, p. 124.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 101
with, the Qamamyl of Caillaud. Out of sixty words, compared by Dr. Tutschek,
the following coincide : —
English. Fazoglo. Qamamyl.
Heart ago ago
Wing* midzeboe mezebe
Needle indiri ndilii
Tree n'ggole engoule
Rainbow massal mossol
Ostrich midzS amuru minsin merou
Breath amula amoula
Balance mudull moudulle
Hair buss bouss
Belly io io
Much duni dungue
Beak of bird... m\dz^ andn=bird's mouth missindu
White hoti foudy
Black mili mi\\ = blue
Ass shilerr chiler
Ring dolo toulou
Goat mia mya
Coal galgashys kelgui cho
Way gagal kagal
Horse mura mourha
Further details are to be found in the Transactions of the Philological Society for
April 1849.
On the Gael, Breton and Cymry. By Archdeacon Williams.
STATISTICS.
Observations on the means of maintaining the Health of Troops in India.
By Edward Balfour.
After some preliminary remarks, the author stated that intemperance, which had
been regarded as a great cause of mortality among the troops in India, would be
found to add but a very small proportion to the deaths from climatorial diseases,
which were known to continue in sjjite of the most regular and temperate habits.
There seemed to be an unjust impression abroad tiiat a soldier was a very intemperate
character; but supposing this to be true, it would be found that other clashes of our
countrymen did not enjoy a greater immunity from disease. What was the propor-
tion of deaths amongst the highly temperate civilians of India, who were the most
intelligent, best clad, best paid, best lodged, and most independent servants of the
Indian government? Although the mortality amongst the same class in England
from 1801 to 1832 averaged only 9-1 per 1000 annually, according to the accounts
of the Equitable Insurance Society, yet .\1r. H. T. Prinsep had stated that in the
twenty years, from 1809 to 1828 inclusive, the Madras civilians lost 23 8 per 1000 of
their strength, the Bengal civilians 2.")1 per 1000, and the Bombay civilians 31'7 per
1000. Tables were read to show that the human race enjoy better health in their
own than in any foreign country, whatever may be their rank, duties, or comforts.
Contributions to the Statistics of Darlaston. By Mr. Kenrick.
* Quere, bird's arm.
102 REPORT — 1848.
Progress and Character of Popular Edtication in England and Wales, as
indicated bi/ the Criminal Beturns, 1837-47. B>/ Joseph Fletcher.
The equability between the proportion utterly uninstructed in the commonest arts
of scholarship, in and out of gaol, in the kingdom at large, is equally found in many
of its provinces, but there is a double deviation from it which indicates a general
cause of extensive operation. In the least educated districts, the proportion wholly
uninstructed among the persons committed for trial is less than among the popula-
tion at large ; while in the most educated districts, the proportion of the wholly un-
educated among the persons committed for trial is proportionally above the average.
As this appears, in the southern parts of England, chiefly by comparison between
the metropolitan and the midland counties, it might admit of complete explana-
tion by supposing that many of the most ignorant and dissolute of the rural popula-
tion, finding their way to the metropolis, there entered the latter stages of an un-
happy career. But this will not explain the relative excess of the totally ignorant
appearing in the criminal calendar of Rutlandshire, the only one of the midland
counties remarkably advanced in popular education, nor the coincidence of the like
phsenomenon with the superior instruction of the East and West Riding of York-
shire, of Cumberland, of Northumberland and of Durham. Migration of the poor,
ignorant and depraved into these regions appears to be very improbable ; neither is there
any conceivable emigration of such persons to account for the proportionate defect of
the wholly uninstructed in Monmouthshire, South Wales, or Cornwall, or in the
whole of the most ignorant and densely populated of the manufacturing counties of
Cheshire, Lancashire, the West Riding, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire. In other
words, the proportion of the wholly uneducated in gaol is less than the propor-
tion of the population at large equally in the most purely agricultural districts of the
south and east, and in the most purely mining and manufacturing districts of the
north and west, which are respectively the most jiositively ignorant and criminal ;
while in the most instructed counties, whether of the north or the south, and
whether metropolitan, agricultural, mining, or manufacturing, the converse is seen.
The only explanation of this fact which suggests itself to my mind is, that there
is no less difference in the quality than in the amount of instruction given in the
most and least instructed portions of the kingdom respectively ; and that is only a
degree of careful uprearing of the young, far higher than that which can be tested
by the lowest attainments in reading and writing, that is alone blessed to the good
end of righteous living in a Christian hope. It is the abstraction of a greater num-
ber of the instructed from the criminal calendars of the better educated districts
which there throws the proportion of the totally ignorant into excess ; and the in-
ferior character of the instruction given in the worse educated districts, which per-
mits a greater number of the instructed to appear before the criminal tribunals, to
the reduction of the relative proportion of the wholly ignorant conijjrised in the
calendars. Thus regarded, these figures tend greatly to strengthen the impression
which I have derived from other sources, that around the moderate amount of really
efficient instruction, and really Christian training which prevails even in our best
educated districts, there exists a wide margin of spurious schooling, without any
good effect either upon the intellect or the heart; and that in the remotest of the
agricultural, as of the mining and manufacturing districts, it is this doubtful twi-
light that generally prevails, with no compensating superiority of vigorous education
among the middle and upper classes. Hence it results that the difference in the
amount of education, in any rational sense of the term, between one portion of the
kingdom and another, is far greater than that indicated by the var%-ing proportion
which the marriage registers show to be unable to write at all ; while as yet we have
no test that, for the population at large, will check against the gaol returns of those
who can read and write imperfectly, " and read and write well." If we had a test
of the latter range of scholarship for each county, in the population at large, it is my
conviction that it would furnish far stronger evidence in favour of good education.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 108
than that which we are now permitted to derive merely from a comparison of the
numbers wholly uneducated that appear in the marriage registers and in the criminal
calendars.
Let us, however, return to the comparative progress of " education," up to the
mark of bare reading and writing among the population at large, and those brought
up before the criminal tribunals of their country. Here, also, we see a great number
of curious coincidences in the contemporaneous increase of marks in the marriage
registers, and of the proportion of persons able neither to read nor write in the cri-
minal calendars of the country or district. There are likewise some anomalies, but
the general result is a decrease of the proportion wholly uneducated in the criminal
calendars at double the rate that it is found to decline in the marriage registers, after
reckoning for the difference of the intervals between the data yielding the figures
now compared. The decline is scarcely' perceptible in the western Celtic districts,
and next to them, it is least observable in the great northern and central mining and
manufacturing counties, where it has declined only one-thirteenth in five j'ears, while
in all the rest of the kingdom it has declined about one-tenth, except in the northern
and midland agricultural counties {contiguous to the comparatively stationary mining
and manufacturing counties), in which it has declined upwards of one-seventh. We
thus find the decline of total ignorance to be slowest in the most criminal and the
most ignorant districts, in which, nevertheless, its decline among those in gaol is
greater than in society at large ; everywhere indicating the very doubtful quality of
a great proportion of that which barely helps its recipients out of the category of
the totally ignorant.
The proportion of criminals " reading and writing ill " is seen now to be precisely
double that of the criminals " unable to read and write," having increased no less
than 5"7 per cent, in the fii'st period of five years, and 0"4 per cent, during a subse-
quent period of three years, making a total of 6" 1 per cent, in the eight years. The class
of " superior instruction" being very limited (in fact, in the centesimal proportions,
always under a whole figure), and likewise unvarying, this increase must necessarily
be derived from only one other of the four classes, besides those who can neither read
nor write. From this we have seen that there is a subtraction of 3'1 per cent, in
five years, and I'l percent, in three more, making a total of 4"2 per cent, out of the
6*1 per cent, of augmentation observed in the column of" reading and writing ill."
The other TQ per cent, is derived from the colump of "reading and writing well,"
in which the decline during the first five years was no less than 2"6 per cent., but a
retrograde movement during the last three years has reduced this proportion to 1"9.
It is, however, to this heading that I would call especial attention, for this alone
affords evidence, both conclusive and satisfactory, of a moral progress. A gradual
change in the standard designated " reading and writing well " could alone account
for this decline of one-fifth in the proportion of those possessed of this amount of
instruction ; but I would fain hope thai it is a correct indication of a real improve-
ment in the moral tone of the middle classes generally, springing from the source of
all truth and all goodness. Even if any portion of it arise from a practical elevation
of the standard designated by the heads of each column, this fact will only render
still stronger the conclusion already drawn from the increased proportion of those
reading and writing ill, which would have been yet greater, but for the retention of
some that might have been included in that column in the number of the totally un-
instructed.
104
REPORT — 1848.
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TRANSACTIONS OF THB SECTIONS. 105
Statistics on Mendicancy.
By Sir J. P. Boileau, Bart., F.R.S., V.P. Stat. Soc.
The writer regretted that there were no means at present of attaining a general
view of the statistics of mendicancy for the United Kingdom. It might be useful in
the mean time to examine some tables drawn up from the books of the Mendicity
Society of London, which show the progress which Irish mendicancy has made on that
Society. The number of meals given to Irish in January 1828, was 379, whilst in
January 1848 the number was 21,578; which being divided by 4, allowing each in-
dividual four meals a month, would show that 5396 individuals were relieved, and
indicate the enormous increase of about 5300, or 53 upon 1. From the Society's
books it appears that 50 per cent., or half of the 5396, were grown-up persons, while
in 1828, following the same rule, they amounted to 47^. While Irish mendicancy
appears to have so much increased, Ens;lish mendicancy does not seem to have varied
since 1828; it had in fact decreased in 1832-33 and in 1837-38. The increase in
Irish mendicancy was probably to be attributed to severe winters, the late failures of
the potato crop, the establishment of refuge-houses and soup kitchens in the metro-
polis, and the alteration in the poor law of 1837. Before that period it was the
practice to refuse admittance to Irish vagrants into the unions of the metropolis ;
since then it was considered that Irish vagrants had as good a legal right to relief as
any other persons. Another cause assigned as contributing to the influx of Irish into
London was, that the low lodging-housekeepers found means of obtaining tickets
from the Mendicity Society, and of offering them as orders for food to those who
would lodge with them. These causes induced old mendicants to flock to London.
This view of the case was supported by statistical proof exhibited in tables. These
were considered the most probable causes of the increase in Irish mendicancy. The
remedies suggested to meet the evils were to discontinue the establishments which
held out food to mendicants without inquiry as to character or the want of labour,
and to place tiie establishment of district relieving-houses under the superintendence
of the police.
Facts bearing on the Progress of the Railway System of Great Britain.
By W. Harding, C.E.
Contributions to Academical Statistics.
By the Rev. B. Powell, F.R.S., Sav. Prof, of Geom., Oxford.
On the desirableness of eodending to the Working Classes the opportunity of
purcJiasing deferred annuities, as a provision for old age. By Cadogan
Williams. .
Moral and Educational Statistics of England and Wales,
i??/ Joseph Fletcher.
[The abstract of this paper, which was read in 1847, was received too late for the
volume of that year.]
As it is of the whole kingdom that I purpose to speak, it is of the public enume-
rations that I must now chiefly make use ; and by the nature of the subject I am re-
quired to use principally the last Census of the Population ; the Income Tax Returns ;
the Reports of the Rea;istrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages ; the Home-
Office Tables of Criminal Offenders; the latest Reports of the Poor-Law Commis-
sioners j and a Summary of Savings Banks, published by the barrister appointed to
certify their rules. It is by the agency of such departments as produce these do-
cuments that the State takes cognizance of all or of certain classes of it» subjects, at
various period.<!, and under the occurrence of very dissimilar events ; and from the
records of this momentary cognizance the following results are derived ; while many
more of equal interest may he obtained by those who have the desire and the oppor-
tunity to elaborate them. I contribute on the present occasion only the results of
some first efforts, which, if they serve to indicate the direction in which another may
profitably proceed, will not have been made in vain.
106
REPORT — 1848.
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