Mr King on a New Self-registering Thermometer. 113 



seconds. It is said there have been no shocks of equal vio- 

 lence, and so much prolonged, for seventy years. No other acci- 

 dents took place from its immediate effects, except overturning 

 and rending several edifices ; but the fright which it occasion- 

 ed made people leave their houses with such a degree of pre- 

 cipitancy as to produce many misfortunes. 



By a letter from Guadaloupe, we learn that this earthquake 

 was felt in that island, a distance of thirty-five leagues to the 

 N. W. of Martinique, with a violence not less great, but a 

 quarter of an hour later, if it is possible to credit the rigorous 

 exactness of the hours indicated by the correspondence of Fort 

 Royal and that of Pointe a Pitre. 



The prevailing opinion in the Antilles, that these phenome- 

 na are not unconnected with the state of the atmosphere, is 

 supported by new proofs. It was remarked that the rain be- 

 gan to fall immediately after the earth had shaken ; and this 

 singular coincidence has been so often observed, that many 

 people incline to think it is not to be attributed to chance. — 

 Revue Encyclopedique, Fev. 1828. 



Art, XIX. — Account of a New Self-registering Thermometer. 

 By James King, Esq. Communicated by the Author. 



I find the common maximum registering thermometer is par- 

 ticularly liable to be deranged, by the little moveable metallic 

 register getting entangled among the mercury with very slight 

 agitation, which renders it almost impossible to be transported 

 a short distance safely, even with the utmost care. Its indica- 

 tions cannot be relied on at sea, as the motion of the ship is 

 liable to move the index, and besides, a powerful magnet is requi- 

 site to arrange the instrument every time it is used. These 

 remarks apply equally to Sykes's day and night register ther- 

 mometer. The plan of a new register thermometer has conse- 

 quently occurred to me, which I think sufficient to remedy these 

 inconveniences. It may also have defects, which can only be 

 discovered on trial ; but it is out of my power to get one made 

 in the colony. If the following description and accompanying 

 drawing of it deserve a place in your valuable Journal, they 

 are at your service. 



VOL. IX. NO. i. JULY 1828. H 



