On Atmospher'ic Ph(snomena. 115 



<lancc, that but a small proportional quantity is consuiiied 

 in the only useful way to which it has hitlierto been applied, 

 namely, I'uel. 



Before I conclude this paper I shall also observe, that the 

 experiments which have been described nuist be regarded 

 only cis a mere sketch of that which may be peribrmeJ ; 

 whilst the facts which have been ascertained respecting the 

 resins, balsams, gum resins, and gums, serve to prove that 

 much may be expected from regular chemical examinations 

 of these bodies. But such investigations, in order that sci- 

 ence may truly be promoted, should be strictly regular : that 

 is, they should not be taken up in a desultory njanner, but 

 these substances should '.le comparatively and systematically 

 examined with all the accuracy which can be employed iu 

 the present state of chemical knowledge; for, as this know- 

 ledge concerning the composition of organized bodies is 

 confessedly very imperfect, I am persuaded, that, like others 

 of the sciences, chemistry will be less liable to error when 

 guided by comparative experiments and comparative analyses. 



XTX. On Atmo'ipherk Pha-nomcva : part icularlij the Form' 

 athm of Clouds ; their Permmieuce ; their Precipitafinj/ in 

 Rain, Snoiv, and Hail; and the con>eq?icnt Rive of the 

 Barometer. Bi/ Mr. Cornelius Varley *. 



1 DELiEVE few will contend that any of the hypotheses which 

 have yet been offered respecting atmospheric phsenomena 

 are perfectly satisfactory. 1 shall therefore be deemed the less 

 presumptuous in offering the present hints, in the hope ihat 

 they n)ay prove useful to meteorologists, and assist in form- 

 ing a more correct theory on this intricate subject than we 

 are yet possessed of. The remarks which f offer are founded 

 on actual observations, which any person may easily verify, 

 and on the known and admitted laws of electricity. Ihe 

 inferences which I have drawn from the latter, I have, for 

 brevity's sake, in some instances blended with the observa- 



* Communicated by the AutJiur. 



U 2 tions 



