S16 On Ihe Theory of Miml Gases, 



air coming, from remote plkces. The (limi^ 

 nution of spring in the atmosphere is shewn by 

 the fall of the barometer ; and the subsequent 

 ascent of the mercury indicates the arrival of 

 •the restorative currents^ According to this 

 explanation, the barometer will rise slowly but 

 gradually in the centre of the rainy district^, 

 while the motions of it will be more rapid and 

 less regular towards the verge of the storm. 

 High winds will also prevail in wet seasons, 

 which will blow towards the parts where the 

 elastic force of the air is. least; that is, where 

 the rains are most abundant.— I know not what 

 claim to originality is due to the foregoing hints 

 towards the theory of the barometer; they 

 have, however, the merit of being a natural 

 consequence of an established fact; I mean 

 the great dilatatibn of air saturated with mois- 

 ture, which must undergo a proportionate con- 

 traction when deprived of water. 



