OBSERVATIONS. 5^' 



From the time of Torricelli to the present day, 

 the variations of the barometer have continued 

 to attract the notice of men of science, and nu- 

 merous hypotheses have been formed to account 

 for those fluctuations in the weight of the atmos- 

 phere !)y which they are occasioned. As a 

 minute inquiry, however, into the merits of the 

 various opinions which have been broached on 

 this subject would far exceed the limits of a 

 paper, t shall confine my remarks to such par- 

 ticulars as are more immediately suggested by 

 my own observations. 



On attentively looking over my journal, I find 

 that great and sudden depressions of the baro- 

 meter, which generally happen in the winter 

 months, are, for the most part, accompanied 

 with high wind from the south, or some of the 

 intermediate points between that and the west; 

 and that with a northerly wind, whatever may 

 be its force, the mercury usually rises ; but that 

 it attains its greatest elevation in calm, frosty 

 weather: moreover, it appears that a rapid rise 

 frequently follows a sudden depression of the 

 mercury in the barometer, especially on a quick 

 transition of the wind from south to north of 

 the west. 



Subjoined are a few examples selected from 

 h2 



