made in the Netherlands. 169 
The air scarcely ever became dry without the barometer de- 
scending instead of rising with the storm, and the lowering instead 
of the rising of the thermometer most frequently preceded the 
rain. ‘The rapid risings and fallings of the barometer were fol- 
lowed by weather more or less fine, and it rained at an elevatior 
above the “ very Jine weather,” while it was dry with a lowering 
below the stormy point ; and the hygrometer, like the manome- 
ter, harmonized with the reversed indications of the other instru- 
ments 
Winter opened with a frost of i1° of Reaumur the first day: 
this extraordinary cold will break the elasticity of the air, and 
a long thaw with continual rains will be the consequence of it: 
this thaw is besides indicated by all the habitudes of animals and 
plants: all the larve are found at the surface of the ground, and 
the roots of plants have risen: no retreat of any insect is deep, 
and they are rather put out of the reach of the rain than of the 
frost. Astronomical appearances indicate the same thing, and 
augur a humid and warm season from beginning to end. Acute 
rheumatisms (but as yet there is no intermittent fever) prognos- 
ticate the approaching humidity of the season. There have been 
searcely any but north winds during the whole year, and these 
have lasted whole weeks at a time. The wild or mountain 
plants have uniformly overtopped those sown, and the harvests 
have thereby suffered much. The fruits of autumn are still 
(February) prcens, and the fruits of winter, and even of spring, 
are eatable. 
The extraordinary temperatures of the season, Eifick of heat 
or cold, have not as usual been followed by extraordinary op- 
posite temperatures. The barometer rising with the stationary 
thermometer has not once indicated fine ‘weather, and in ge- 
neral the motions of the thermometer do not seem to have been: 
influenced by the inverse movements of the barometer. Never- 
theless the fine and prolonged rains, which I call the rebounding 
rains (p/uies de retente) have most frequently been the precursors 
of dry weather. The decrements of the moons have almost re- 
stored calmness to the air. I saw during the serene weather of 
September the thermometer ascend and the barometer descend 
at 11 o’clock at night; and when I rose, both instruments had 
returned to their station by day. At 3 o’clock no movement 
was remarked, and during the whole month the barometer was 
very changeable, although the manometer was stationary, and 
during the whole year the needle of this instrument, at other 
times so true, marked falsely. This proves that the air presses 
more by its elasticity than by its weight; and the winds, contrary 
to custom, seemed to be the cause instead of the effect of the 
changes ;—-I say seemed to le, because it is never so in _ 
he 
