THE 



EDINBURGH NEW 



PHILOSOPHICAL JOUENAL. 



Is it possible, in the present state of our knowledge, to foretel 

 what Weather it will be at a given time and place ? Have 

 we reason, at all events, to expect that this problem will one 

 day be solved ? By M. Arago, Perpetual Secretary of the 

 French Academy of Sciences, &c. &c. 



Engaged as I am, both from inclination and duty, in 

 meteorological studies, I have often asked myself if we should 

 ever be able, by a reference to astronomical considerations, 

 to determine, a year in advance, what shall be the state, in 

 a given place, of the annual temperature, the temperature of 

 each month, the quantities of rain compared with the ordi- 

 nary mean, the prevailing winds, &c. 



I have already laid before the readers of the Annuaire the 

 results of the investigations undertaken by natural philoso- 

 phers and astronomers, regarding the influence of the moon 

 and of comets on the changes of the weather. These results 

 clearly shew, in my opinion, that the influences of both these 

 bodies are almost insensible, and, therefore, that the predic- 

 tion of the weather can never be a branch of astronomy, pro- 

 perly so called. And yet our satellite and comets have, at 

 all periods, been considered as preponderating stars in meteor- 

 ology. 



Since the publication of these opinions, I have regarded 

 the problem in another aspect. I have considered whether 

 the operations of man, and occurrences which will always re- 

 main beyond the range of our foresight, might not be of such 



VOL. XLI. NO. LXXXI. — JULY 1846. A 



