166 Meteorological Observations. [March, 



silex, both soluble and ins'iluble, is present. The amount of the 

 former will vary in the quantity, by the intensity of heat to which 

 the vegetable may have been subjected; and both will vary ac- 

 cording to the plant from which they may have been obtained. 

 Thus, the yellow pine which grows on the sandy lands west of 

 Albany, contains in its ash of the bark, nearly one-half of its 

 weight of silica. 



When the value of ashes is sought for, it may with propriety 

 be said, that they rank next to bone dust. Containing as they 

 do, phosphate of magnesia and iron, together with a large per- 

 centage of lime. The ash of forest, as well as fruit trees, is as 

 various as their own products; scarcely two agreeing either in 

 the amount of ash they yield, or in the elements which com- 

 pose it. 



We have already a large amount of important information re- 

 specting the ash of plants, which we shall soon lay before our 

 readers. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



BY A. HOPKINS. 



Dr. Emmons: — You will find below, a statement of the amount 

 of rain which has fallen here during the past year. The appara- 

 tus for measuring it is the same as was described in my last year's 

 report. I then gave the proportionate amount for the several 

 months, and the amount in inches for the year. I now give the 

 proportional amount, as before, in the first column, and the num- 

 ber of inches for each month, in the column adjoining. 



Amount, .... 29.693683 



The decimals for the months are not carried out at length, but 

 the whole amount is given at the foot. It will be seen that the 



