200 ON THE EFFECTING OF 



it, afford a good supply of that very valuable material ; 

 one island alone, as I have been correctly informed, fur- 

 nishing several pounds of down. Besides, the old birds 

 are so anxious for the safety of their progeny as to be 



needle. From what cause this singular coincidence proceeds, it will 

 still longer I fear remain to be explored. The facts, however, which 

 are herein exhibited, may be relied on for the accuracy and faitlifulness 

 of report, and may induce some enlightened and able mind to study a 

 satisfactory illustration of the phenomenon. It is right also to inform 

 the reader, that during the formation and continuance of the radiation, 

 no irregular motion of the compass was observable ; the entire process 

 appearing to go on at an elevation far too great to admit of any 

 influence on the needle. The state of cloud, its being invariably a 

 base of distinct cirrostratus in a curved chain, the radiation always 

 issuing as it would appear from behind the cirrostratus, and having a 

 cirrus consistence, and all those appearances being usually succeeded 

 by a wind fi-om the opposite point, besides the correspondence with the 

 variation, are circumstances well worthy of the philosopher's attention. 

 At noon the sky became free of every speck of cloud, when a light 

 breeze from the W. by S. carried the ship slowly to the eastward : 

 light cirrus formed: latitude observed 75° 12' N. 



July 22 : ther. 33°, 38°, 34° : wind very variable : from midnight 

 the wind blew furiously fi-om S. W. a strong gale ; changed at noon to 

 N.W. light air with fog : about six p. m. a light breeze from W. con- 

 verted the fog into light rain : in the evening later tlie wind became 

 very variable, inclining to northward, with rain : at ten p. m. the wind 



