METEOROLOGY. 421 



by E. D. ArcLibald, in wbicb tlie autbor seems to conclude tbat beat, 

 moisture, and tbo "shuffling' of atmospberic strata" will not explain tbe 

 semi-diurnal and otber oscillations of tbe barometer. [Already in 1865 

 tbe present writer bad occasion verballj'^ to express to several meteor- 

 ologists and pbysicists in Europe bis conviction that the intricate ana- 

 lytical formulfe deduced by Ferrel in 1858-1860 would eventually be 

 found to demonstrate these oscillations as a dynamic result of the mo- 

 tion of the atmospbere due to the diurnal and annual variations in the 

 action of tbe sun upon it as a wbole. — C. A.] {Nature, xxiii, ji. 557.) 



IX. — Storms. 



Tbe idea propounded by Mr. Oliver tbat tbe axis of a cyclone is in- 

 clined is no new one, and is controverted by E. D. Archibald, wbo also 

 quotes Ley and Ferrel as showing that it is far more probable tbat tbe 

 axes are inclined a little forward. {Nature, XXYI, p. 222.) 



Mr. Adams is preparing to communicate by telescopic si|vnals between 

 Mauritius and Eeunion, a distance of 134 miles. He uses a beliostat by 

 day, and a petroleum lamp witb a flat wick by nigbt. With this method 

 of signaling, if successful, it will often be possible to telegrapb tbe 

 approacb of tbe cyclone twenty-four to thirty-six bours before it bas 

 reacbed Mauritius. {Nature, xxvi, p. 612.) 



An interesting popular article on tornadoes in Nature, after alluding 

 to some cbaracteristics of these storms in America, makes tbe following 

 remarks relative to similar storms in England. 



In examining cyclones phenomena occasionally present themselves 

 wbicb strongly suggest tbe idea tbat they include witbin tlieir circuit, 

 as an independent meteor, tbe whirlwind or tbe tornado, the phenomena 

 in question being most frequently met with in those cyclones which pre- 

 sent, in close continuity, masses of air diifering very widely from each 

 other in temperature and humidity. Of such cyclones the great storm 

 of October 11 last appears to be one. On that occasion the changes of 

 temperature and humidity were sharp and sudden, particularly from the 

 Grampians to the Cheviots, the great fall occurring when the wind changed 

 to northward. As we have already stated {Nature, xxiv, p. 585), 

 off the Berwickshire coast tbe darkness accompanying the changes 

 of wind, temperature, and humidity was denser and more threatening 

 than elsewhere, and almost simultaneously with the approach of these 

 changes a hurricane, or rather tornado, broke out with a devouring 

 energy which bore everything before it. Tbe tornado character of tbe 

 storm off Eyemouth is shown by the accounts of some of tbe survivors, 

 who describe the wind as blowing straight down from the sky with an 

 impetuosity so vehement and overmastering tbat tbe sea for some ex- 

 tent was beaten down flat into a stretch of seething foam by tbe wind, 

 while outside this tract the waves seemed to be driven up to a height 

 absolutely appalling, which in their turn engulfed many of tbe boats 

 yet remaining. Similar seas, witb level wastes of seething foam, bounded 

 immediately bv waves of a height and threatening aspect never before 



