TRANSACTIONS OF NORTHERN ILL. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 271 



My suggestion is, that this wind is always a modification of the great 

 equatorial current of which I have already spoken. In this latitude this 

 current ordinarily moves toward the northeast in the higher regions of the 

 atmosphere, and approaches the earth in the polar regions, and, as I 

 stated at our last annual meeting, is the source of tlie aurora borealis, 

 and, of course, is the origin of all our northerly winds. This current 

 would approach the earth still further south as the sun recedes from the 

 summer solstice, until by the time of the autumn equinox the aurora is 

 frequently visible to us. A variety of causes may bring this current down 

 upon us even as far south as this, and the result would most certainly be 

 a cold southwest or west wind, such as occurred on tiie 4th of December. 

 If the depression was further north, the course of the wind must depend 

 upon a variety of local circumstances, but it would come to us from the 

 northwest, north, or rarely from the northeast. 



I wish to call your attention to one feature of these winds which has 

 attracted much attention, and should, in the future, be the subject of spe- 

 cial observation. I have reference to the electrical display which has 

 given them the name oi magnetic storms. According to my theory of an 

 electrical atmosphere, this equatorial current should always be charged 

 with electricity in the same proportion that it retains its watery vapor, 

 and when the rain or snow from this current strikes the wires of the tele- 

 graph, the electrical effect will be seen in the offices in the immediate 

 vicinity. This was the case at Milwaukee and several other stations, on 

 the 4th of December, and has been observed in various places as a 

 remarkable feature of these great storms. This not only furnishes an 

 additional proof of the correctness of my theory, but by observation can 

 be made a test of the source of the storm, and the direction in which it 

 will probably move. 



I would suggest that the committee on meteorology have a more sys- 

 tematic organization, and, if possible, be supplied with apparatus that 

 will enable them to give the definite results of a series of observations of 

 these magnetic storms, and to test the existence of an electrical atmos- 

 phere. G. WRIGHT. 



Dr. Pennington wished to make the subject of the essay practical, 

 and asked Mr. Wright to explain the difference between heat and elec- 

 tricity, and how electricity, when in superabundance, affects living tissues, 

 and how it operates in turning sweet milk into sour. 



Mr. Wright explained that the effect of electrical action is always 

 to decompose substances. In the case of the milk the air is decomposed 

 and ozone developed, which produces the effect ui)on the milk. He said 

 that if we go into the discussion of the relation of heat and electricity, it 

 will lead us farther from our legitimate course as a horticultural society. 

 He further explained that the direction of storm centers may be deter- 

 mined by observing the course of the wind ; for instance, that to-day, 

 the wind being east, a storm is approaching ; if it changes into the south 

 we know that the storm center is passing to the north of us; but if it 



