3 30 Toaldo's Syjlem 



at this time was almoft incapable of producing either herbs 

 or grafs, and the leaves even withered on the trees. A 

 whitifh grey kind of duft was feen to fall towards the 

 ground ; and the fields in the night were often overfpread 

 with a blneifh mift, which was accompanied with a certain 

 pale fiery brightnefs and a fulphureous fmell. During the 

 nights when this fog prevailed, little or no dew fell. Phe- 

 nomena of the fame kind were obferved in Germany, 

 Holland, and other countries. 



II. An Account of To alvo's Syflem refpe&ing the Probability 



of a Change of Weather at the different Changes -of the 

 Moon. From Journal des Sciences Utiles. 



w. 



ERE the fun the only caufe of the variations of the 

 weather, the regular courfe of that luminary, from year to 

 year, would produce the fame weather in the fame feafons. 

 The principal variations of the weather, however, depend 

 upon fome other caufe not fo uniform, the difcovery of 

 which has long given employment to philofophers ; and as 

 we find that the motion of the fea feems to have an intimate 

 conneftion with the motion of the moon, it has thence 

 been believed, that the latter a£ts a principal part, not only in 

 this phenomenon of the flux and reflux, but that it could 

 not produce thefe variations on the earth, without having, 

 at the fame time, a confiderable influence on the atmo- 

 fphere. The difference of the fluids which compofe it, and, 

 above all, the great elafticity of the air, can alter this effecl:, 

 but not entirely deftroy it. 



It is well known that no philofopher has yet been able, 

 from mere theory, to form any proper conclufion refpecting 

 thefe variations of the weather. To fupply this deficiency, 

 M. Toaldo called in the aid of experience, and compared 

 the ftate of the atmofphere with the fituation of the moon, 

 where its activity appeared to be ftrongeft and wcakeft. 



Fiom, 



