350 IMPORTANCE OF REGISTERS 



we believe, with M. Quetelet of Brussels ; and 

 this gentleman has been at the pains to print 

 and circulate ample directions for all those who 

 are willing to join in it, so as to insure that unifor- 

 mity of plan which is necessary for its success. 

 For our part, we consider the scheme so desirable, 

 and the ends which it is likely to answer so im- 

 portant, that we strongly recommend all willing 

 observers, who have not already adopted any other, 

 to fall in with it. They may thus lend their as- 

 sistance in a common cause, and do more perhaps 

 for the interests of science than they could do in 

 any other manner. We mean not to say that ob- 

 servations according to their own views, and un- 

 combined with those of others, will be useless. 

 On the contrary, they must always have a certain 

 value, if correctly made, and made in order to 

 determine the mean time of any periodic pheno- 

 menon whatsoever. For it would be desirable to 

 know the mean time of all the periodic pheno- 

 mena in nature without exception, as well as in 

 all places. But it must be immediately obvious, 

 from the boundless extent of such a field, what 

 an enormous mass of materials must be collected 

 in reference to such a purpose ; and how hope- 

 less would be the task of deducing any important 

 generalizations, for an almost indefinite time to 

 come, if each observer were left to choose for him- 

 self to what particular phenomena he should direct 

 his attention. It is far preferable, therefore, in 

 the present infancy of the attempt to arrive at 

 any fixed laws of climate in this manner, that we 



