424 ACCOUNT OF THE AKCTIC REGIONS. 



I merely give these illustrations, for the sake of 

 those readers who are not acquainted with the writ- 

 ings of Dr Hutton and Professor Leslie on this 

 subject; considering them, at the same time, the 

 more necessary, as this ingenious theory of rain, of 

 which I have attempted a brief explanation, is re- 

 ferred to in different parts of this volume. 



Rain is by no means common in the polar coun- 

 tries, excepting in the months of July and August, 

 and then only with southerly or westerly winds. Du- 

 ring all seasons of the year, however, with strong gales 

 blowing from a southern climate, rain is occasional- 

 ly observed in situations near the edge of the ice ; 

 but snow or sleet are more common even under such 

 circumstances ; and in remote situations among ice, 

 near the 80th parallel of latitude, rain seldom or 

 never occurs. 



Hail is a much more familiar meteor in temperate 

 than in frigid climates. In the Greenland Sea, in- 

 deed, this aqueous concretion is very rarely seen ; 

 and if we define it as consisting of pellucid spherules 

 of ice, generated in the atmosphere, it may be said 

 to be unknown in very high latitudes. This fact is 

 in favour of the electrical origin of hail, as it is well 

 known to be common in temperate climates, where 

 the air is in a higli state of electricity, and to be 

 the frequent concomitant of thunder and lightning. 

 The only substance resembling hail, that is generat- 



