TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 33 
the length of time it blows from a certain point of the compass, it 
is obvious that the velocity of the wind is altogether left out of ac- 
_ eount, and the high wind or storm of one day is placed on a par with 
_ the gentle breeze of the next, and therefore not an attempt can be 
made to infer the total quantity; or what he had ventured to term 
the integral effect of the wind. Mr. Whewell then proceeded to ex- 
hibit large diagrams, giving the results of the observations recorded 
at the Cambridge observatory, under the care of Professor Challis, and 
at the house of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. The similarity 
_ of the curves showed a general coincidence, but some discrepancies 
__ were accounted for by the circumstance, that the dome of the Equa- 
torial sheltered the anemometers placed at the observatory on the north 
side, while that placed upon the house of the Philosophical Society was 
well situated for receiving the wind from every quarter. Anemome- 
ters on this principle had been also erected by Professor Forbes and 
Mr. Rankin, at Edinburgh, and by Mr. Snow Harris and Mr. South- 
wood at Plymouth; but he was not at present prepared to state the re- 
sults of these observations, though he had little doubt they would be 
interesting and useful. 
An Account of his Observations with Mr. WHEWELL’s Anemometer. 
By Mr. Soutuwoop. 
Mr. Southwood noticed some imperfections in the original construc~ 
tion of the instrument, which only forced themselves upon his atten- 
tion as the evils which arose from them became obvious in the practi- 
eal working of the machine. He pointed out the remedies which he 
had adopted. The most important were, the use of the successive 
_ letters of the alphabet, a, B, Cc, &e. to mark the successive points to 
_ which the wind shifted in the register ;—a ready means of unclamp- 
ing the nut carrying the pencil, (which descends 1-20th of an inch 
for ten thousand revolutions of the fly,) as soon as it has reached the 
_ bottom, and replacing it at the top ;—also ready means of placing a new 
fly on the axle when any accident occurred to the one which had been 
_ there ;—a means of protecting the parts most liable to injury from wet ; 
__ —and various other points, which his attention to the performance of 
_ the machine had made him perceive the importance of. 
by 
An Account of a New Registering Anemometer and Rain- Gauge, now 
at work at the Philosophical Institution at Birmingham, with dia- 
grams giving a condensed View of the Observations recorded during 
the first eight months of the year 1837. By FotLett OSLER, of Bir- 
—mingham. 
_ Having about eighteen months ago constructed an instrument to re- 
_ gister the variations in the direction and force of the wind, as well as 
* the quantity of rain that falls, which instrument has been in constant 
_ operation since November last, the author was induced, at the request 
i of several scientific members of the Association, to lay before the Meet- 
VOL. vi. 1837. D z 
