Foreign Literature and Science. ibs 
at evidently appears from this t Si. 
ist. That in a synodical Ba a of the moon, 1 te be 
rometer rises regularly from the second octant, when it is 
the lowest, to the second quadrature, when it is the highest ; 
and then descends to the second octant to commence again 
its rise, &c. 
2d. The varying declination of the moon also modifies 
her influence upon atmospheric pressure. It is greatest (at 
least in the latitude of Viviers,) when the moon’s declina- 
tion is south ; whence it evidently results that the barometer 
is higher in the northern rag than in the southern. This 
observation is contrary to what M. de Laplace had conclu- 
ded from his theory, viz. “ pe the sign (signe) of the veal 
clination of the two luminaries (sun and moon) has no s 
sible influence on the modifications of the atmosphere.”* 
d. Lastly, the action of the moon, in diminishing the 
pete of the atmosphere, varies with its distance from the 
e mean height of the barometer is less when the 
ree is in perigee than in apogee, whence we may infer 
that her action m diminishing pressure, is greater in the for- 
mer than in the latter Bin 
There exists. betw: the. phases of the moon and the 
days of rain which aelieda with these phases, a constant 
relation which would a eEpent very singular, if what we = 
observed with respect to the barometer did n 
immediate erilenston, Agreeably to the extract which I 
have made from my meteorological journal of the rainy days 
which coincide with the days of the moon’s phases and with 
those of the perigee and apogee during the period of nine- 
teen Fons, I have found the number of those days as follows. 
ae OF THE MOON. | 
Bek al cas éjieiitae: ole BO hoon: ie. Perigee | Apogee 
No. ofrainv days ys) 
coincident with | © 77- | ~ 82 79 60 93 78 
the days of the f days. | days. | days. | days. | days..| days 
Moon’s phases. iia 
We perceive by this table that the number of rainy days 
which coincide with the days of the phases, &c. follows the 
same march with the mean heights of the barometer corres- 
* Mécanique celeste, t. ii, p. 298. 
