209 



Science, one addressed to His Worship the Mayor, the other to Dr. 

 Dickinson, President, announcing that the invitation to hold the 

 Meeting of the Association, for 1854, in Liverpool, had been very 

 favourably received by the Members of Council present in London, but 

 that the decision of the question belonged essentially to the General 

 Committee at the Hull Meeting. 



Dr. TuRNBULL made some observations on the properties possessed 

 by Sugar of Milk in all pulmonary diseases. 



Mr. Hartnup read a paper entitled "Results of Meteorological 

 Observations taken at the Liverpool Observatory, during the two years 

 ending December 31st, 1852. — Vide Appendix I. 



The Secretary communicated a paper by Mr. W. Stevenson, of 

 Dunse, — 



ON THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE STORMS 

 WHICH PASS OVER THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Although the storms of this temperate climate are very rarely com- 

 parable, in point of violence, to the destructive hurricanes and tornadoes 

 of the tropics, yet the loss which they every year occasion upon our 

 coasts is truly appalling. Humanity and self-interest should alike impel 

 the inhabitants of this great maritime country to employ all the means 

 which science and ingenuity can suggest, or wealth accomplish, to pre- 

 vent, as far as possible, the deplorable loss of life and property caused 

 by such visitations. To control them, in any degree, is beyond human 

 power ; but, timely warning of their approach, so as to admit of proper 

 preparations being made to await their arrival, would obviously tend to 

 diminish, in no small degree, the damage, which, without these prepjuti- 

 tions, would certainly ensue. The science of Meteorology is but in its 

 infancy, yet sufficient knowledge of the laws which regulate storms has 

 been attained, to be of gi'eat value if practically applied. Since the 

 publication of Colonel Reid's admirable work, on the Laws of Storms, 

 many valuable lives, and a vast amount of property, have been saved, by 

 attention to the practical instructions which he lias laid down ; and 

 there can be no doubt that the time is rapidly approaching when the 

 barometer will be reckoned a pait of a ship's furnishings, as essential as 

 the compass, and a knowledge of the laws of storms no less necessary to 

 seamen than a knowledge of navigation. 



In this Paper I propose to state, as concisely as possible, some of the 

 more important general conclusions regarding storms, to which I have 

 been led by long-continued observations, made in the Merse of Berwick- 

 shire, compared with observations made in other locahties ; and then to 

 28 



