346 ACCOUNT OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 



unless from occasional historical remarks of the form- 

 ation of ice in particular lakes, rivers, or parts of 

 the sea, or from the capability of the earth, in any 

 region, for producing certain fruits or grain which 

 cannot now be raised, or the contrary. 



Until after the 17th century, meteorology seems 

 to have been principally attended to, at least as far 

 as regards the indications of wind and rain, by illi- 

 terate persons ; the success of whose occupations de- 

 pending considerably on their ability to anticipate 

 the most particular atmospheric changes, necessi- 

 tated them to study the face of the sky. The va- 

 rious appearances of the clouds, of the sun, moon, 

 and stars, together with the notes or peculiar ac- 

 tions of certain animals, were their principal signs. 

 But since the invention of the barometer, and more 

 particularly of late years that it has become of ge- 

 neral use, the farmer avails himself of its oscilla- 

 tions, in predicting such clianges as affect his inte- 

 rests, by endangering the fruits of his industry. In 

 consequence of this increased use of the thermome- 

 ter and barometer, — instruments approaching so near 

 to perfection, that their indications in the most dis- 

 tant quarters of the globe can be compared, and the 

 comparison relied on, — meteorology, as a science, has 

 made a considerable advance. Not only has it received 

 an increased attention from professed philosophers, 

 but also from retired persons of a scientific turn, who, 

 within the last few years, have been in the habit 



