528 



TRANS. OF THE ACAD. OF SCIENCE. 



4. — Table showing the quality of Atmospheric Electricity, by six 

 daily observations, during seven years, from 3 861 to 1867, at St. 

 Louis, Mo. 



1861—1867. 



January . . 

 February . 

 March 



April 



May 



June 



July 



August . . . 

 September 

 October. . . 

 November 

 December. 



Positive 

 Electricity. 



1,091 

 955 

 979 

 821 

 914 

 878 

 919 

 956 

 780 



1,013 

 986 

 921 



times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times, 

 times. 



11,213 times. 



Negative 

 Electricity. 



27 times, 

 36 times, 

 66 times, 

 65 times, 

 42 times, 

 22 times, 

 44 times, 

 41 times, 

 27 times. 

 24 times. 

 27 times. 

 19 times, 



440 times. 



No Electricity 

 at all. 



171 times. 

 177 times. 

 241 times. 

 335 times. 

 307 times. 

 319 times. 

 357 times. 

 286 times. 

 432 times. 

 266 times. 

 233 times. 

 342 times. 



3476 times. 



(5) The appearance of negative electricity (mentioned in 

 table 4) was connecter] — 



160 times with thunderstorms. 



158 times with rain, without thunder and lightning. 



103 times with dry storms (high winds without rain, and 

 without thunder and lightning). 

 17 times with snowing. 



(6) Main, without thunderstorms, appeared — 



159 times with positive electricity. 

 153 times with negative electricity. 

 365 times with no electricity at all. 



(7) Snowing was accompanied — 

 162 times with positive electricity. 



17 times with negative electricity. 

 42 times with no electricity at all. 



(8) Fog is always accompanied with high positive elec- 



tricity. 



(9) Numerical proportion in direction of tomds in 1861— 

 67, in St. Louis, Missouri : 



E. N. N.E. S. S W. W. N.W. S.E. 



655 1279 1676 1856 1935 1950 2072 3631 



REMARKS. 



Since the days of Benjamin Franklin, who discovered the 

 identity of lightning with the electricity developed on a small 

 scale by electrical machines, atmospheric electricity has been 

 explored by scientific men of all nations. The result of these 

 researches was that not only during thunderstorms, but al- 

 most always there is some electricity to be found in the sur- 

 rounding atmosphere in a certain elevation above the ground ; 



