126 CJironieles of Science. [Jan., 



ments were completed and the system was set in action. At 

 present, General Sabine, in the address above quoted, informs us 

 that the drum signal is hoisted at ninety-seven British stations, as 

 well as at Hamburg and Cuxhaven ; while telegraphic information 

 of storms is also sent to Holland, and to the Ministry of Marine 

 in France. 



The first of the new observatories only commenced operations 

 at the beginning of the present year, and we hope that ere long 

 some results from these magnificent instruments may be com- 

 municated to the pubhc. 



The only other result of the work of the office which has as 

 yet appeared has been a report by ]\Ir. Scott, " On the Connection 

 between Strong Winds and Barometrical Differences/' which has 

 been printed. 



The inquiry was undertaken with a view of testing, by inde- 

 pendent investigation of the weather reports published in ' The Times ' 

 for the period of nine months, the truth of the rule for foretelling 

 the direction of the wind proposed by Professor Buijs Ballot. The 

 rule has been very constantly brought before the public of late. It 

 may be thus stated : — 



Stand with your back to the wind, and the barometer will be 

 lower on your left-hand side than on your right. 



Accordingly if on any day the reading at Valencia is lower than 

 that at London, we may expect southerly winds. 



The report shows that strong winds are foretold correctly as to 

 direction nine times out of ten, and as to both direction ^n(\. force 

 six times out of ten. It is shown that in the case of our great 

 storms 90 per cent, of them gave unmistakable signs of their ap- 

 proach (in accordance with the rule) at least a few hours previous 

 to theu' commencement. Serious storms never blow unless there 

 be a considerable difference of atmospherical pressure within a 

 limited area. 



The results of the inquiry are fairly satisfactory, as a steady, 

 though shght, advance in the direction of placing the study of 

 weather on a firm scientific basis. 



A notice of the j)ilot charts for the Atlantic, which have just 

 been published by the Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty, is 

 necessarily postponed. 



In France, the magnificent series of charts — 'Atlas des Mouvc- 

 ments Generaux de 1' Atmosphere,' 1864, June to December, which 

 has been issued by M. Le Yerrier, next claims our notice. This 

 consists of daily synoptic charts of the Atlantic Ocean from the 

 equator to lat. 70^ N., including, in addition, Em-ope and a few 

 stations on the south and cast coasts of the Mediterranean, and on 

 the Atlantic seab(.)ard of North America. The charts are con- 

 structed on the type of those which appear in the daily * Bulletin 



