612 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to a temperature of eighty-five degrees, but abovn that point they fall off 

 very rapidly. This fact, however, is not hard to account for, since a 

 considerable amount of energy is required to be objectionably out of 

 order, and at such conditions of heat this seems hardly available. 



Bakometee. — Considering the liability that accidental conditions 

 affect the validity of our curves at their extremes, the results shown in 

 Fig. 4 prove conclusively that low conditions of pressure are accom- 

 panied by excesses in suicides, with corresponding deficiencies for the re- 

 verse barometrical readings. We can not, however, suppose that it is 

 the actual density of the atmosphere which produces this marked effect. 

 A difference of pressure as great as that between the two extremes for 

 New York City would be experienced in going to the Adirondacks, and 

 five times as great in a trip to Colorado, without producing tendencies 

 to personal annihilation, so we must look for our explanation elsewhere. 

 It is probably to be found in the relation which exists between atmos- 

 pheric pressure and some other weather states — possibly storms. The 

 peculiar mental and physiological conditions which prevail for a consid- 

 erable period just preceding violent storms or marked changes of 

 weather have long been recognized, and it may be that in them we have 

 the solution. Persons afflicted with gout or rheumatism, or even corns, 

 can 'feel' the approach of such meteorological conditions, and certain 

 mental peculiarities are probably just as prevalent. Many weather 

 proverbs are based upon the unusual activities of members of the animal 

 kingdom at such times, and as a storm is often preceded by a low condi- 

 tion of the barometer, we have perhaps an explanation of their cause. 

 More work, however, must be done to demonstrate this as a scientific 

 fact. 



Humidity. — The results of the study of suicide for this condition 

 (Fig. 5) are in themselves conclusive, but directly opposite to those 

 found in similar studies made for Assault and Battery, Deportment in 

 the Public Schools and the New York City Penitentiary, and the be- 

 havior of the insane.* For suicide the excesses are for high humidities; 

 for the others mentioned they were for low. 



The showing for suicides seems to be what would be naturally ex- 

 pected if we were to theorize on the matter, as those unendurable 'sticky' 

 days, when one feels it his prerogative to be 'out of sorts,' are usually of 

 high humidity. There are some interesting conclusions to be drawn 

 here by a comparison of this curve with that for precipitation. The lat- 

 ter showed deficiencies of suicide for rainy days, while this gives an ex- 

 cess for humid ones. Now, all rainy days are humid, but not all humid 

 days are rainy, and our logical conclusion must be that the excesses 

 shown by the present figure must have been for the humid variety, yet 



* See 'Conduct and the Weather.' 



