PROFESSOR LOOMIS'S STORM. 293 



hand of government, would be directed to the means of af- 

 fording relief to those vessels and crews at sea, which may 

 be presumed to be in distress from the perils which it is 

 known they must have encountered. 



My motive in making this public testimonial of the cor- 

 rectness of Mr. Espy's announcement on the 19th of De- 

 cember, as a practical illustration of his theory has been, to 

 suggest the propriety of concert among observers in this 

 important department of science, for the purpose of learn- 

 ing more fully the course of storms and tornadoes, in trav- 

 ersing the earth's surface. 



Many observations important to pilots and navigators 

 might be elicited, on a subject in which every step of ad- 

 vancement made, and every peril removed or obviated, is 

 fraught with the happiest consequences to society. 



While engaged on this subject, it is proper to mention, 

 that a valuable contribution to the science of meteorology, 

 is contained in a memoir on " the Gales and Hurricanes of 

 the Western Atlantic, 7 ' published last 'summer, by Mr. W. 

 C. Redfield, in the transactions of the Naval Lyceum. 



Yours, truly, S. C. WALKER. 



P. S. Since writing the above, I have been favored by 

 Dr. Emerson, with the perusal of a letter addressed to him 

 by his correspondent, Mr. Gardiner, of Gardiner, Maine, 

 which states that the barometer attained its maximum 

 height in the afternoon of the 20th, and its minimum at five, 

 P. M., of the 21st; that there was a violent gale at seven, 

 A. M., of the 21st, and that the rain commenced at ten, 

 P. M., same day. Thus the principal phases of this storrn 

 at Gardiner, Maine, occurred almost a day later than here, 

 and they furnish a link in the chain of evidence required 

 to warrant a just and definite conclusion, concerning the 

 identity of these two storms. S. C. W. 



