472 PHILOSOPHY OF STORMS. 



The narrations, however, generally consist of instances of 

 destruction of property and life, and it is only incidentally 

 that instructive meteorological facts are named. But such 

 accounts are nearly all that we have to rely upon ; and we 

 have, therefore, only to make the best use we can of them. 

 The great storm of January, 1839, to which attention would 

 be more particularly drawn, was so exceedingly violent, 

 and caused the destruction of so much property both on sea 

 and land, and the loss of so great a number of lives, as to 

 cause an unusual number of accounts respecting it to be 

 published all over those parts of the country where it raged. 

 It is, consequently, more worthy of attention than any other 

 that has occurred in this part of the world for a long time 

 past. 



In the present state of our knowledge, it cannot be said 

 there is any established or generally recognised theory of 

 storms. It has, for a considerable time, been considered 

 that they were connected with an intermixture of the gene- 

 ral atmospheric currents ; but in what way that intermix- 

 ture was effected was not known. Recently, Mr. Redfield, 

 in America, and Colonel Reid, in this country, have attempt- 

 ed to show, that all great storms are whirlwinds, and they 

 give facts to support their theory; but they do not attempt 

 to show how the storms originate. Mr. Espy, of Philadel- 

 phia, lately explained in this room, and still more recently 

 at the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, a new 

 theory which he has advanced. This theory is, that, from 

 certain causes, which he explained, the lower part of the 

 atmosphere, in particular places, moves upwards, leaving 

 an approach to a vacuum in those places, which causes the 

 adjoining lower portions of the atmosphere to rush in from 

 all around, thus forming converging streams rushing to- 

 wards a centre. These streams (as he represents), when 

 they arrive at the central space, rush upwards ; and this 

 process continues while the storm lasts. Mr. Espy exhibit- 



