WIND. 19 



advantage of the telegraphic warnings issued by a meteorological 

 office. 



I may here mention, as an example of a purely local cloud 

 prognostic, one which is a pretty reliable indication of a south- 

 east gale at the Cape of Good Hope. The atmosphere there, 

 during and in advance of south-east gales, is heavily charged 

 with moisture. When, therefore, a gale is approaching, this 

 vapour is condensed on coming into contact with Table Mountain, 

 and hangs about its flat top as a white cloud of a form which 

 has earned for it the name of "Table-cloth." Thus when the 

 " Table-cloth " is seen upon Table Mountain, you may be pretty 

 sure a south-east gale is not far distant. A somewhat similar 

 cloud hangs about the rock of Gibraltar, with an easterly wind 

 blowing up the Mediterranean, notwithstanding that the sky at 

 the time may be blue and clear. 



Another indication, which at the Cape foretells the approach 

 of a "south-easter," is an exceptional transparency in the 

 water of the ocean. I am quite unable to suggest any reason 

 for this. 



Lunar rainbows, or halos, or a hazy moon with a falling 

 barometer, are almost certain signs of wind. 



A bright yellow sky at sunset, a red sky in the morning, and 

 what is termed a "high dawn," or when the sun rises over a 

 bank of clouds, are also indications usually associated with bad 

 weather ; while a rosy sky at sunset, whether clouded or clear, 

 a grey sky in the morning and a low dawn, or when the first 

 signs of dawn appear on the horizon, generally indicate fine 

 weather. 



Waves or rollers, coming in without any apparent cause, as 

 frequently noticed by those engaged on sea-works, are often 

 forerunners of a gale. They may, however, as elsewhere 

 described, be only swell set up by a distant gale which does not 

 blow home. 



In regard to swell preceding a storm, Reid cites a notable 

 case, as follows : 



" I was in Bermuda when the hurricane of September 8 to 14, 

 1839, occurred, and distinctly heard the sea breaking loudly agaiust 

 the south shores on the morning of September 9, full three days 

 before the storm reached the islands, as recorded in tables of the 

 state of the weather kept at the central signal station. 



