Hayes.] 390 [December. 



ments were furnished to the Expedition by Professor Bache, Super- 

 intendent of the United States Coast Survey, under whose super- 

 vision the constants had been carefully determined, and to whom 

 the instruments will be returned for correction. 



Near the observatory, a suitable shelter was erected for a number 

 of thermometers, which were read hourly every seventh day, and 

 three times daily in the interval. These instruments were carefully 

 compared at every 10° of temperature down to — 40°, and these re- 

 cords were referred to a standard which was brought homo, and has 

 been placed in the hands of the maker, Mr. Tagliabue, for further 

 comparison. Some of the instruments were manufoctured by Mr. 

 Green, of New York, and were a gift from the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion. The remainder were presented by Mr. Tagliabue. These 

 observations were continued during our stay at Port Foulke, from 

 September, 1860, to July, 1861. 



Throughout the cruise, a bi-hourly registry of atmospheric tem- 

 perature was made with a single instrument, mounted on the vessel 

 when at sea, and on a post upon the ice when in winter harbor. A 

 like number of barometer readings was also made and recorded. A 

 careful record of meteorological phenomena, including direction and 

 force of wind, and general atmospheric conditions, was kept up 

 during the cruise. 



Although there has been no discussion made of these observations, 

 yet there are some manifest general results which may interest you. 

 Our winter was much milder than either of the winters 1853-51 and 

 1854-55, passed by Dr. Kane at Ilcnsselaer Harbor, twenty miles 

 further north. The weather was, unlike that experienced by Dr. 

 Kane, generally "stormy. Northeast winds, frequently very strong, 

 prevailed — a fact at least in part, accounted for by the open water 

 which was, during our stay at Port Foulke, constantly visible out- 

 side of the harbor; and it was, doubtless, due to the same fact, that we 

 experienced a modiiication of temperature. March was the coldest 

 month. It was during this month, and while absent at Rensselaer 

 Harbor, that I recorded my lowest temperature, — 68° F. It is re- 

 markable that on the same day, the lowest temperature registered at 

 Port Foulke was only — 29°, and on the day previous, when I ex- 

 perienced a temperature of — 66.5° near Rensselaer Harbor, the tem- 

 perature at Port Foulke was — 27°. 



I have made at Port Foulke a valuable set of tidal observations, 

 which will, when reduced, exhibit some interesting results. The 

 average rise and fall was about eight feet. The readings were made 



