Society of Arts, Sciences , &'c. of Bourdeajix. 121 



electrified vapour ; the latter being so held by caloric only 

 might be called calorified vapour — in speaking of the difTer- 

 ence between clouds properly so called, and those exhala- 

 tions which return to the earth in the form of dew. 



It will follow as a consequence from what has been ad- 

 vanced, that when a cloud by any means loses its electricity 

 in an armosphere below the freezing point, then snow 

 vi'ill be produced ; for the vapours will be frozen in thie act 

 of uniting : and for a similar reason it will follow, that par- 

 ticles of moisture united into rain, and passing through a cold 

 region in their descent to the earth, will come down in the 

 form of hail. 



The influence which I ascribe to electricity in the produc- 

 tion of all the phaenomena before recited, agrees also per- 

 fectly with the well known fact, that rains are more abun- 

 dant and frequent in mountainous than in flat countries. 

 Indeed, if the remarks I have presumed to offer are correct, 

 this becomesso self-evident that more need not be added on 

 the subject. 



XX. Extract from the yiccount of the Proceedings of the 

 Society of Arts, Sciences, and Belles Lettres, of Bour- 

 deaux, for the Year 1805. Drawn up by Messrs, Leu- 

 POLD and DuTROUiLH, Secretaries *. 



JVl. DucoM has given the society a new method of deter- 

 mining the latitude at sea by two altitudes : it is founded 

 upon this, that the time which we deduce from an observa- 

 tion made at the moment the sun passes by the prime ver- 

 tical is exact, whatever may be the error which afliects the 

 latitude by account, which is requisite to be used in most of 

 the methods now followed f- By this first observation, and 

 the exact time which we deduce from it, we regulate the 

 watch ; and at any other time of the day a new altitude, 

 with this exact time being known by the preceding opera-? 

 tion, will give the true latitude. 



* Extracted from Millin'-. Mu^iizin Enniclojitdique forMarch ISOfJ, p. 150. 

 + This iUea is cuntaincd iu a memoir of M. le Marquis de Vcrduu, printed 

 ^ fircit. 



The 



