80 THE CLIMATE. 



inches in the latter year. During these months, rain was never accompanied hy thunder and 

 lightning, nor were the winds ever very violent, although it is the period when the greatest 

 inequalities occur in the atmospheric pressure. In the same latitude of the northern hemi- 

 sphere, fluctuations of the barometric column through an inch and a half are not extraordinary ; 

 but at Santiago it was never half so much in the three years of observation ; indeed, the whole 

 oscillation was from 27. 817 to 28.506 inches, or rather less than seven tenths. Of course, one 

 would not expect storms of wind with so uniform a pressure, and the only instance remembered 

 when a moderate gale occurred was during a temporal on the 24th July, 1851. At Valparaiso, 

 the violence of the wind caused the loss of several vessels, though the only damage at the 

 capital was the prostration of a few evergreen trees covered with dense foliage, and the blowing 

 over of a little observatory erected for an instrument lent to the government students. I was in 

 Valparaiso at the time, and quote from the account Lieut. MacKae wrote me : 



" We had quite a fright this morning. Our old friend, the sergeant, who lives at the Castle, 

 came down with news that the instrument in the lower house was broken ; and having forgot- 

 ten, at the moment, the little telescope in the Castle yard, I supposed it was the meridian 

 circle. On repairing to the spot, we found that the wind had partially capsized the little 

 building, and that the polar-axis had broken off the weather-boarding, though the instrument 

 remained uninjured. As the wind continued blowing violently, we commenced dismounting 

 it ; but Mr. Phelps's strong back saved all trouble, as he picked up the whole affair stand 

 and all and carried it into the room of the Castle, where our boxes were originally stored. 

 I think it probable that one of the discipulos (students) neglected to hook the braces ; for, 

 although the wind blew stronger than I have ever felt it here, I do not think it would have 

 turned the house over had they been secure. This has been the first sailor-work we have had 

 to do since our arrival in Santiago shortening sail on an observatory ; and it was done in a 

 manner that startled Mr. , the discipulo, whom we sent for." 



And well it might. The stand, counterpoises, and telescope, must weigh well nigh 400 

 pounds no trifle to shoulder in a gale of wind, and march off with the greater half of it tower- 

 ing above one's head. The wind at the time was from N.W., and the barometer about three 

 tenths of an inch below its mean elevation, as it was at Valparaiso also. 



Much as the winter is complained of by natives, and unpleasant as it is to all, when com- 

 pared with other seasons, it must not be inferred that these months are wholly without 

 cheerful days. Sometimes weeks occur in succession when not a drop of rain falls ; there are 

 no clouds to obscure the sky, the temperature is charming, and the sun lends additional glory 

 to the snow-mantle of the Cordilleras. A long line of cumuli, perhaps, hangs half-way up the 

 mountain-slopes ; but there is not a speck to interfere with vision of the crests limiting the 

 horizon in every direction, and the blue of the heavens seems even darker than in summer. On 

 nights succeeding such days, the planets and stars are extraordinarily brilliant, and exact ad- 

 miration from every one. The inexperienced supposed we should find these the most favorable 

 for observations ; but it was almost always far otherwise, owing to the rapidly varying temper- 

 ature of a nearly saturated atmosphere. Towards daylight, and more especially of the August 

 mornings, when the bed of snow is deep and low on the Andes, the roofs become covered with 

 white frosts ; and, in exposed places of the fields, or along the ravine through which the river 

 flows, a skim of ice may sometimes be found on little puddles of water. Yet, as the mean 

 temperature of the season is 49. 6, and its mean minimum temperature (42. T) is nearly eleven 

 degrees above the freezing-point, it is not considered necessary to protect many of the green- 

 house plants ; and the Floripondia, (Datura arborea), Calla Ethiopica., and Heliotrope,, load 

 the air of the gardens with their fragrance. 



These are the months when the zodiacal light is brightest, and its perfectly formed pyramid 

 is most distinctly traceable in the evening twilight. In no other part of the world have I 

 ever remarked it so well. It is a pyramidal, or rather a lenticular body of light, which 

 appears in the plane of the sun's equator, and is consequently inclined to the horizon after 



