790 



clouds, 463 ; cirrus and cumulus, 464 ; 

 stratus, 464 467 ; cirrocumulus and 

 cirrostratus, 467; cumulostratus, 467; 

 nimbus, 468 ; statistics of rain, 468 

 474- formation, nature, and localities 

 of snow, 474478 ; of hail, 478480 ; 

 of dew, 480 482 ; of hoar frost, 483. 



Arabia, wells of, 262 ; is nearly rain 

 less, 471 ; intense heats of, 495 ; flora 

 of, 563 ; locust-eaters of, 597. 



Arabian Gulf, fishes of, 577. 



Arabs, the, improved and enlarged the 

 astrolabe or armillary sphere, 16 ; 

 began their career by the destruction 

 of the Alexandrian library, 17 ; their 

 mental cultivation began with the 

 Abassidian dynasty, 18 ; in astronomy 

 and geography adopted the system of 

 Ptolemy, 18; their inventions and 

 discoveries detailed, 18 ; Arabian cul 

 tivation spread to various countries, 

 18; were acquainted with the rare 

 faction of the atmosphere, 25. 



Arago, M., observations of, 116, 121, 

 141, 469, 499, 517, 522. 



Aral, lake or sea of, 824, 423, 578. 



Ararat, Mount, 203, 593 ; view of, 488 ; 

 varying climate of, 489; vegetation 

 of, 557. 



Aratus, quotations from, 144, 147. 



Araucaria, fossil, 706. 



Arbela, battle of, its date determined, 

 58 ; site of, 308. 



Arcadia, view of limestone mountains 

 on the coast of, 616. 



Arched forms of strata, 628. 



Archipelago, Grecian, 247, 347, 357, 

 374 ; Chonos, 568. 



Arctic region, flora of, 560 ; animals of, 

 688 ; intense cold in, 597. 



Arctophylax, the Bear-keeper. See 

 Bootes. 



Arcturus, the star, 2, 176. 



Area of land on the globe, 696. 



Arethusa, fountain of, 259. 



Argali, the, 606. 



Argo, asterism of the ship, 165. 



Aries, or constellation of the Ram, 149. 



Ariosto, a noted saying of, 619. 



Aristarchus, of Samos, his ingenuity, 

 9,10. 



Aristotle, 2; astronomical physics of, 

 founded on false data, 13; is not 

 answerable, however, for the vain 

 Inventions of all who called them 

 selves Aristotelians, 14 ; mentions an 

 occupation of Mars by the moon, 14 ; 

 speaks of mirrors being used in his 

 time for observing eclipses, 16 : cited. 

 627, 535, 671. 



Armillary spheres early used by the 

 Alexandrians, 16. 



Aromatic plants grow best in the cen 

 tral lands of the tropics, 654. 



Arran, isle of, 647, 652, 653, 655. 



Artesian wells, account of, 265. 



Ascension Island, 379. 



Asia, great levels of South-western, 

 were the birthplace of astronomical 

 knowledge, 2 ; that district possessed 

 many advantages for observation 

 what they were, 2; Central, the 

 cradle of the human race, 594 ; popu 

 lation of, 696 ; intense cold in the 

 north-east of, 697 ; granite mountains 

 of, 645 ; fossil elephant of, 753 ; 

 mastodon of, 755. 



Asia Minor, view of the coast of, 398 ; 

 electrical phenomena in, 517. 



Ass, native country of the, 688. 



Asterias, fossil, 721. 



Asteroids. See Planetoids. 



Asters, botanical region of the, 661. 



Astrolabes, or armillary spheres, early 

 used at Alexandria, 16; were im 

 proved and enlarged by the Arabs, 

 16. 



Astrology, judicial, origin of, 3. 



Astronomers-Royal, different, 36. 



INDEX. 



Astronomical discovery, history of, 

 132. 



Astronomy the most perfect and ancient 

 of all sciences, 1. 



Atchafalaya, great raft of the river, 

 593. 



Athos, Mount, 326; promontory of, 

 661. 



Atlantic Ocean, the, 329, 337; coasts 

 of the, 345 ; basin of the, 346 ; sea 

 weeds in the, 348 ; current of, 359, 

 361 ; trade-winds of the, 438 ; winds 

 of the, 473. 



Atlas, range of Mount, 203. 



Atmosphere of the earth, 75 ; of the 

 moon doubtful, 81 ; of the earth and 

 its currents, chapter on the, 435 

 460; its height, 435; weight, 436; 

 movement, how caused, 436; velo 

 cities, 437 ; trade-winds, 438 442 ; 

 monsoons, 442 444; land and sea 

 breezes, 444 446; Etesian winds, 

 447 ; Khamsin, Samiel, Simoom, Har- 

 mattan, and Sirocco, 447 450 ; Mis 

 tral, Autun, Bise, 450 ; hurricanes, 

 451456, 458; land -storms, 456; 

 water-spouts, 457 ; winds of Great 

 Britain, 459 ; is principally composed 

 of oxygen and nitrogen, 622. 



Attica, ancient boast of its natives, 

 609. 



Attraction, that between bodies mutual 

 and proportioned to size and distance, 

 40; causes perturbation, 40; its 

 action is inevitable and universal, 

 183. 



Augite, the mineral, 623, 645, 652. 



Augustine, St, 574. 



Aurora, do sounds accompany the ? 528 ; 

 elevation of the, 629. 



Aurora Australis, 526. 



Aurora Borealis, 523526; views of, 

 524, 626 ; phenomena of, 527629. 



Aurora Island, 326. 



Australasia, plants of, 668, 562 664 ; 

 animals of, 691, 594 ; population of, 

 596. 



Australia, plants of, 662; contains 

 peculiar forms of insects, 573; ani 

 mals of, 591. 



Author of the universe known only to 

 man, 595. 



Autun, a hot and unwholesome wind, 

 450. 



Auvergne, extinct volcanoes of, 427 

 429, 656 ; geology of, 619. 



Avalanches, their formation and de 

 vastations, 206 ; their effects, 412. 



Avernus, lake of, 403. 



Avon river, at Bristol, tide of, 358. 



Aymestry limestone, 678, 680. 



Azara, Senor, 600. 



Azoic period, 638. 



Azore islands, volcanic, 375. 



Azov, sea of, or Palus Maeotis, 371. 



Back, Captain, 318, 322. 



Bacon, Lord, 613. 



Baden, grand duchy of, its hot springs, 



270. 

 Bagnes, Val de, inundation of, 413 



415. 



Bahamas, the, 333, 348. 

 Baiae, territory of, with illustrative 



chart, 403 ; view at, 774. 

 Bahr Assal, lake of, 317. 

 Baikal, Lake, Siberia, 311, 318, 320. 

 Bailey, Professor, 777. 

 Baily, Mr, discovers letters of Flam- 

 stead, 37. 

 Bakewell, Mr, 270, 412, 428, 647, 651, 



729. 



Bala limestone, 662, 664. 

 Bala-pool, or Pimble-Mere, 325. 

 Baltic, waters of the, 328 ; has scarcely 



any tides, 357; climate near the, 



606. 



Banana, or plantain, the, 557. 

 Banda Oriental, the, 669, 687. 



Banyan, or pagod tree, account and 

 view of the, 654. 



Baobab, the gigantic tree, 550, 562. 



Barbadoes, hurricanes in the island of, 

 454. 



Bareges, 663. 



Barren Island, 375 ; view of, 78S. 



Barrens of North America, 234. 



Barrow, Mr, 332. 



Barrow's Strait, 589. 



Basalt, peculiarities of, 626, 627, 652 

 654 ; illustrations of its forms, 626 

 653. 



Bases of earths, alkalies, and alkaline 

 earths, 623. 



Basin, the great European geological, 

 660 ; tertiary basins of Europe, 739, 

 et al. ; five grand basins in which the 

 oceanic waters are divided, 196. 



Bass Rock, view of the, 370. 



Bath, city of, its thermal waters, 269 ; 

 stone of, 725, 727. 



Bats, order of, 691. 



Bauhinias of the tropics, 655. 



Bauman's Hohle, in the Hartz, 254. 



Bayer, John, his Uraiwmetria, 14U. 



Bayonne, port of, 402. 



Beachy Head, land-slip at, 392. 



Beads, St Cuthbert's, 677. 



Bear, constellation of the Great, or 

 Ursa Major, is the most conspicuous 

 in the northern hemisphere, 152 ; 

 sometimes called Charles's Wain, 152; 

 and Helici 4 , 152 ; its place in the 

 heavens, 153 ; indicates the Pole-star 

 by its Pointers, 153 ; is important in 

 navigation, 153 ; diagram of its move 

 ment around the pole, 153. 



Bear, the polar, 342, 588; common, 

 589. 



Bearings of strata, G27. 



Beaufort, Captain, 397. 



Beaver, the, 689. 



Beccaria, 130. 



Beche, Sir H. de la, 657, 721. 



Bed of the ocean, 326 ; upheavings of, 

 374385. 



Beds, successive, of the New Red Sand 

 stone system, 708. 



Beech-trees, habitat of, 553. 



Beechey, Captain, his researches, 384, 

 625, 529. 



Behemoth, the, 75C. 



Belemnites, 720. 



Beloochistan, plains of, 484; view of 

 the, 485. 



Belus, temple of, 2. 



Ben Lair, 659. 



Ben Lomond, atmospheric apparitions 

 seen from, 641 ; view of, 646 ; outline 

 of, 647. 



Ben Nevis, our highest mountain, 205 ; 

 electrical observations made on, 617. 



Benares, annual rain-falls at, 471. 



Bengal, annual rain-falls in, 471; bay 

 of, 579. 



Bennachie, Mount, 648. 



Bennet and Tyerman, Messrs, 482. 



Benzenberg, Professor, 131. 



Berghaus, his theory of mountains, 

 201; his estimate of the human 

 family, 696. 



Berg-mehl, 776. 



Bernard, hospice of Great St, 206 ; its 

 dogs, with an illustration, 477. 



Bex, salt-mines of, 712. 



Bible, the, a book for general use, and 

 therefore adapted to popular compre 

 hension, 31 ; wrong conclusions have 

 been drawn from it in past times and 

 present, 32. 



Bifurcation of the Orinoco, 298. 



Bimana, order of, 595. 



Biot, M., his account of the Fata Mor 

 gana, 540. 



Birch-tree, regard of Linnaeus for the, 

 652. 



Birds, great dispersers of plant-seeds, 

 647, 666 ; the class of, 680684 ; are 



