308 Scientific Intelligence. [April, 



Greenland, to pass through Davis's Straits, and to proceed, if 

 possible, in a N.W. direction beyond the supposed northern shore 

 of America. The success of these plans obviously depends upon 

 the suppositions that Old Greenland is an island or a cluster of 

 islands, that Baffin's Bay is a part of the ocean, and that the 

 continents of America and Asia are completely detached. Al- 

 though these points are all uncertain, yet the evidence that we 

 are able to collect is much in their favour ; and there are indeed 

 many circumstances respecting the direction of currents, the 

 drifting of wood, and the course which the whales are observed 

 to pursue, that can scarcely be accounted for upon any other 

 hypothesis. But whatever may be the result of the expedition, 

 it is certainly a most favourable opportunity for instituting the 

 experiment, and we can scarcely fail to derive much valuable 

 information from it, not only with respect to the hydrography of 

 the Arctic circle, but on many other topics of natural philosophy. 



The vessels that are to proceed along the eastern side of 

 Greenland are named the Dorothea and the Trent, under the 

 command of Capt. Buchan and Lieut. Franklyn ; those that 

 are to pass through Davis's Straits are the Isabella and the 

 Alexander, under the command of Capt. Ross and Lieut. 

 Parry. 



IV. On the Nomenclature of Clouds. By C. Johnson, Esq. 



(To the Editors of the Annals of Philosophy.) 

 GENTLEMEN, Lancaster, Feb. 10, 1818. 



Annexed is Mr. Heaton's table of the results of his meteoro- 

 logical register for another year (see Annals of Philosophy, vol. 

 ix. p. 215). The rain table is taken, as before, from the Lancaster 

 Gazette. No rain seems to have been collected in the month of 

 April, all that fell on the six showeiy days having probably 

 passed off by evaporation. The rain which was collected at 

 Kendal, during the year 1817, amounted to 49*74. 



Permit me to assure your correspondent Glosterian* that my 

 remarks on the nomenclature of clouds have no reference what- 

 ever to the terminology of Mr. Howard. 



When drawing up my communication on clouds last year, I 

 wished to acknowledge the information derived from some papers 

 on the same subject, which I had perused with considerable 

 interest many years ago ; but I could not then recollect the 

 author. On turning over Nicholson's Journal, vol. xxvi. and 

 xxvii., I have lately found the object of my search, and beg 

 leave to refer your correspondent Glosterian to the observations 

 of Dr. Bostock inserted in those volumes, and to assure him 

 that the clouds I have attempted to describe are always suc- 

 ceeded by much rain in this part of the country. 

 I am, Gentlemen, your obedient servant, 



Christopher Johnson. 



• Vol. x, p. 306. 



