5 6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



is bound to fit herself to our notions ; but I shall deal with the matter 

 entirely from the point of view of history, and I shall place before 

 you three kinds of evidence entirely based upon what we know of the 

 forms of animal life which ai*e contained in the series of stratified 

 rock. I shall endeavor to show you that there is one kind of evidence 

 which is neutral, which neither helps evolution nor is inconsistent 

 with it. I shall then endeavor to show you that there is a second 

 kind of evidence which indicates a strong probability in favor of evo- 

 lution, but does not prove it ; and, lastly, I shall endeavor to show 

 that there is a third kind of evidence which, being as complete as 

 any evidence which we can hope to obtain upon such a subject, and 

 being wholly and entirely in favor of evolution, may be fairly called 

 demonstrative evidence of its having occurred. 



-*- 



THE MOON'S INFLUENCE ON THE WEATHER. 1 



By Pbofessob M. A. F. PEESTEL. 



A SUDDEN and considerable fall of the barometer is of frequent 

 occurrence ; but to find a case identical with that of Novem- 

 ber 22, 1873, I had to search my journals for many years back. It is 

 worthy of note that, in 1854, an equally sudden and considerable fall 

 of the barometer took place here on the coast of the North Sea on 

 precisely the same days as in 1873. According to observations made 

 at Emden, the barometric column on November 21, 1873, at 6 a. m., 

 was 762.3 millimetres, and it then fell steadily till 2 p. m. on the 

 22d, when it reached the minimum, 732.5 millimetres, and then it again 

 began to rise. At 6 a. m. of November 21, 1854, the barometer 

 stood 760.7 millimetres, and the mercurial column then steadily fell 

 until 6 A. m., November 23d, when it was 734.7 millimetres ; it then 

 began to rise. The point to which I would call special attention is 

 that, on the occasion of both of these great falls of the barometer, the 

 position of the moon with respect to the earth was precisely the 

 same. There was new moon at 3 a. m. of November 20, 1873, 

 and at 8 a. m. of November 20, 1854; in 1873 the moon entered 

 the southern lunistice at 3 a. m. on November 23d, and in 1854 at 

 6 A. m. of November 23d ; in both years the moon's declination on 

 November 23d was 27 south. 



Still, the occurrence of storms and barometric minima over North- 

 western Europe on November 22, 1873 and 1854, at the period of the 

 lunistitia and of the new moon, might be merely accidental ; but that 

 it was not accidental is shown by sundry mutually corresponding 

 phenomena in the atmosphere, which were observed during these two 



1 Translated from the German by J. Fitzgerald, A. M. 



