54 Professor CErsted on Water-Spouts. 



consists sometimes of water, sometimes of solid portions, ac- 

 cording as the water-spoirt passes over land or over water. 

 Some have separated water-spouts over the land and over the 

 water from each other, but this creates confusion, for water- 

 spouts have been observed wliich were formed over water and 

 advanced over land ; and vice versa we have accounts of water- 

 spouts which were formed over land, asid afterwards were 

 suspended over the surface of water. They have also been 

 seen cutting right across a river, and then continuing their 

 course over the land ; or crossing straight over an island, 

 and then proceeding over the sea. The hitherto generally 

 employed term wasserhose (water-spout) seems to me to be 

 not altogether a correct one, and I have therefore made use 

 of the less common one " wettersdule^' (literally storm-pillar), 

 although perhaps the name wirbelsdule (whirl-pillar) or luft- 

 rcirbel (Avhirlwind, air-whirl or vortex) might be equally ap- 

 propriate. 



Form of the Water-Spout. — The uppermost portion is al- 

 most alwaj^ wider above than below ; and has sometimes the 

 form of an inverted cone, sometimes of a funnel, and some- 

 times of a somewhat twisted horn. The middle portion is 

 commonly much narrower, is frequently bent, and sometimes 

 exhibits opposite sinuosities. The lower portion is apparent- 

 ly much widened, but probably only apparently so, owing to 

 the portions of water and earth hurled round itself by the 

 vortex. Occasionally water-spouts present expansions or con- 

 tractions, but these instances are only exceptions from the 

 general rule. Generally there is only one water-spout sus- 

 pended from one cloud, and it is only now and then that there 

 are several ; on one occasion no less than fourteen were no- 

 ticed, all of which seemed to belong to one and the same cloud. 



Dimensions of Water- Spouts. — The height of water-spouts has 

 been very variously estimated. I have been able to meet with 

 no actual measurements, and have only seen accounts found- 

 ed on mere calculations by the eye. A height of from 1500 to 

 2000 feet has been assigned to most water-spouts ; but some 

 have been seen at such distances, that the height cannot have 

 been less than from 5000 to 6000 feet. Some observers have 

 given a very low estimate of the height, reducing it even to 



