PROCEEDINGS OF ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 45 



Mr. Hunt remarks upon these results, that 



" The table bears out the general experience at St. Michaels, that the 

 southwest wind brings most moisture, and that it is followed in the 

 order of humidity by the cardinal points, west, north, and east. Du- 

 ring the six years ending with December 31st, 1845, the mean of 

 twenty-five days was north, 111 northeast, 18 east, 42 southeast, 17 

 south, 52 southwest, 74 northwest, and 8 perfectly calm, which num- 

 bers, multiplied by their respective mean annual amounts of vapor, and 

 divided by 365, give a mean of five grains of vapor for the whole 

 year. As might be expected, there is more vapor in summer than 

 in winter. The thermometer rose to the extraordinary height this 

 month (August, 1846), on three different days, of 90° F., and the va- 

 por only amounted to 6.65, which is less than with the thermometer at 

 75°." 



Mr. S. P. Andrews stated that he had in course of prepara- 

 tion a memoir on the Chinese language, according to the re- 

 quest of the committee of the Academy upon that subject ; and 

 that he should also, at an early day, be prepared to present 

 and explain before the Academy detailed charts of Chinese 

 syllabic or sound words, with their ramified significations, in 

 illustration of the theory he maintained. Mr. Andrews farther 

 stated, in brief, that he believes that he shall be able to demon- 

 strate conclusively that 



" All the numerous meanings of the same vocal syllable or word in 

 the Chinese language, being in some instances as many as several hun- 

 dreds, and seeming at first view to have no connection with each other, 

 are in fact legitimately and closely related in idea ; in other words, 

 that all of these numerous significations constitute a family of ideas, 

 which family is denoted generically by the single Chinese word, while 

 they are severally or specifically signified in other languages by a 

 family of words ^ which then have corresponding etymological re]ai\on' 

 ships ; — hence, that ideas are distributed into genera and species, and 

 that a true and thorough insight into the structure of the very remarka- 

 ble spoken language of China conducts directly to a knowledge of this 

 distribution, and of the laws by which it is governed. From this it seems 

 to result, that, out of the philosophical study of the Chinese will issue a 

 light which cannot fail to illuminate the whole field of etymology, and, 



