98 ANNUAL EECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



sessed of a knowledge of the nature of these storms as shown 

 in the well-known works of Piddington, Reid, Redfield, and 

 others, and possessed of a trusty barometer, ^vas wise enough 

 to avoid the centre of the storm, and to even make good use 

 of tne stronir winds on its exterior circumference to waft him 

 more speedily on his journey. It can not be too often re- 

 peated that the rules laid down by the students of meteorol- 

 ogy are abundantly sufficient to enable any navigator, who 

 has a barometer with him, to avoid exposing in the least his 

 vessel and passengers to the fury of these terrible storms ; 

 nor can we too strongly deprecate the conduct of those nav- 

 igators who, like the ca^itains of the Hanimonia and Russia^ 

 intrusted with the responsibility of the care of hundreds of 

 lives, willfully steer their vessels directly through the fiercest 

 of the winds and waves. The portions of the coast of Nova 

 Scotia that could be reached by telegraphy were warned by 

 the Canadian system of storm signals of the approach of the 

 hurricane in sufficient time to effect, probably, a considera- 

 ble saving of life and j^roperty. Unfortunately there is, as 

 yet, no telegraphic communication with the Bermudas, and 

 consequently the approach of the storm was not known for a 

 sufficiently long period in advance to secure the safety of the 

 hundreds of vessels that were w- recked upon that coast. 



THE INFLUENCE OP THE MOON ON THE WEATHER. 



Dr. Wierzbicki has investigated the peculiarities of the 

 climate at Cracow, Austria, and especially the influence of 

 the moon in bringing about periodic changes. The material 

 at his hand for this investigation consisted of forty-six years' 

 observations conducted upon a uniform style at the observ- 

 atory in that city. With reference to the moon, he says that 

 the influence of this body on the earth's climate is gener- 

 ally believed in by the common people and the seamen. 

 This belief is very old, and seems to be an inheritance from 

 those times when men believed that the stars and other 

 heavenly bodies exerted an influence on the fate of men and 

 nations. The reality of the influence of the moon on the 

 weather has been disputed by most scientific students, and it 

 has been shown by Bouvard that in France it is scarcely, 

 if, indeed, at all discernible. Wierzbicki has studied the ar- 

 rangement of the cloudy and the rainy days in comparison 



