562 



the steps taken by these public departments for diffusing practical 

 knowledge concerning the laws of winds and storms, and of weather 

 in general, among mariners and others more especially standing in 

 need of such information, as well as to the practice now followed, of 

 lending trustworthy meteorological instruments to commanders of 

 ships able and willing to make an adequate return in the shape of 

 accurate meteorological records, and of supplying other such aids, of 

 a kind specially suited to their wants, to various of the most exposed 

 and least affluent fishing villages. 



Notice was then taken of some of the more important practical 

 results derived from meteorological inquiry, especially the remark- 

 able fact, now fully established, of the constancy of barometric 

 pressure between five and ten degrees of north latitude ; the phe- 

 nomena of cyclones, and the explanation afforded of their production, 

 following Dove's theory of polar and equatorial currents in the atmo- 

 sphere. 



In treating of the main subject of his communication, the " Royal 

 Charter Storm " and the severe gale of the first two days of Novem- 

 ber last, the author made use of illustrative diagrams, which were 

 exhibited to the Meeting. Of these, four, of large size, showed suc- 

 cessive phases of the storm on the 25th and 26th of October ; the 

 first at 9 A.M. and the second at 3 P.M. on the 25th; the third at 

 3 A.M. and the fourth at 9 A.M. on the 26th. These were intended 

 to show simultaneous or synchronous direction and force of wind 

 over a certain area within a few minutes of time, any noteworthy 

 difference of longitude having been allowed for. Smaller diagrams, in 

 like manner, showed simultaneous direction and force of wind from 

 the 22nd of October to the 2nd of November. In both cases the 

 direction was indicated with reference to the true meridian, and the 

 force according to estimation only, which, however, was checked by 

 many comparisons with velocities and pressure instrumentally ob- 

 tained at the observatories of Greenwich, Cambridge, Oxford, 

 Wrottesley, Liverpool, and at other well-known establishments. The 

 same charts also showed curves of barometric pressure and curves of 

 temperature. These diagrams or charts were compiled by Mr. Ba- 

 bington, assisted in copying by Messrs. Pattrickson, Simmonds, 

 and Symons ; but notwithstanding the large amount of materials 

 already made use of in their compilation, the author observed that 



