WEATHER. 



WEATHER. 



Mr. Towers (Quart. Jour, of Agr. vol. ix. p. 

 39) relates the case of a person in Somerset- 

 shire who had been haymaking nearly 40 years, 

 and had hardly in one instance failed to carry 

 in good condition. He had observed that in the 

 month of June, earlier or later, there are three 

 or more days wherein the wind blows from the 

 northeast, and that period is invariably dry. 

 When that wind first occurred, he seized the 

 opportunity of cutting his grass and carrying 

 the crop before the wind veered to the south. 

 This theory holds good as respects the south- 

 western counties, where the wind from any 

 quarter between north and east is the sure con- 

 comitant of dry weather. 



The following predictions of the weather are 

 met with in the Holy Sciptures ; and, applying 

 with equal correctness in the present day as at 

 the time they were written, I subjoin them : 

 A south wind, or great heat in summer, por- 

 tends a whirlwind. (Job xxxvi. 9.) Cold or 

 fair weather is indicated by the north wind, 

 which drives away rain. (Ibid, xxxvii. 9, 22.) 

 A red sky in the evening foretells fair weather; 

 in the morning, foul. " When it is evening ye 

 say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. 

 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to- 

 day, for the sky is red and lowering." (Matt. 

 xvi. 2, 3.) " When ye see a cloud rise out of 

 the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a 

 shower; and so it is. And when ye see the 

 south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat ; 

 and it cometh to pass." (Luke, xii. 54, 55.) 



It results from observations made by M. 

 Schow, that in the north of Europe the west- 

 ern winds are more frequent than the eastern. 

 This rule is without exception ; but the west- 

 ern winds diminish more and more as we ap- 

 proach the centre of the Continent, being more 

 frequent in England, Holland, and France than 

 in Denmark and the greater part of Germany; 

 and more frequent in these latter countries than 

 in Russia and Sweden. At London, the east 

 wind is to the west as ! to 1-7; at Amsterdam, 

 as 1 to 1-6; at Copenhagen, as 1 to 1-5; at 

 Stockholm, as 1 to 1-4; at Petersburg, as 1 to 

 1-3. The west winds seem to incline the more 

 to the south according to the propinquity of the 

 Atlantic sea ; towards the interior of the Con- 

 tinent they incline more to the northwest. The 

 north winds appear to increase towards the 

 east. Amongst the winds which come from the 

 west, that of the southwest predominates in 

 England, Holland, and France ; that of direct 

 west in Denmark and the greater part of Ger- 

 many; at, Moscow the northwest predominates; 

 at Petersburg and Stockholm the north wind is 

 much more frequent than in the western parts 

 of Europe. In the western and middle districts 

 of northern Europe, such as England, France, 

 Denmark, Germany, and Norway, the west 

 winds are much more frequent during the sum- 

 mer than during the winter or spring. This 

 does not appear to be the case in Sweden and 

 Russia. During the winter the west winds are 

 more southerly; during the summer more di- 

 rect and more northerly. (Jahrb. dcr Phys. und 

 Chemie, 1828.) 



With regard to the supposed influence of the 

 inoon upon the conditions of the weather, and 

 1106 



the strong evidences to prove that this satellite 

 exerts no influence in controlling the atmosphere, 

 so far as wet and dry weather are concerned, 

 see MOON, INFLUENCE OF. 



Under the head of BAROMETER it has been 

 observed that changes of weather are indicated, 

 not by the actual height of the mercury, but by 

 its change of height. One of the most general, 

 though not absolutely invariable, rules, is, that 

 where the mercury is very low, and, therefore, 

 the atmosphere very light, high winds and 

 storms may be expected. 



In winter the rising of the barometer pre- 

 sages frost ; and in frosty weather, if it falls 

 three or four divisions, there will follow a thaw; 

 but if it rises in a continued frost, snow may 

 be expected. 



The mercury generally rises very fast after 

 great storms of wind, when before it was very 

 low. In England it has been observed to rise 

 an inch and a half in six hours, after a long- 

 continued storm of southwest wind. 



The words on the plate of a barometer are 

 not strictly to be adhered to, though they will in 

 general agree; for a fluctuating and unsettled 

 state of the mercurial column indicates uncer- 

 tain or changeable weather. The height of the 

 mercury does not so much indicate the wea- 

 ther as its motion up and down : to know, there- 

 fore, whether the mercury is actually rising or 

 falling, observe 



1st. If the surface of the mercury is convex 

 (or stands high in the middle), it is then rising. 



2d. If the surface is concave (standing low 

 in the middle), it is then falling. 



3d. If the surface is plain, or a little con- 

 vex, it may be considered as stationary. 



4th. A small tap on the barometer case, by 

 shaking the tube will sometimes bring the mer- 

 cury to its approaching height. 



The greatest heights of the mercury are on 

 easterly and northeasterly winds ; and its low- 

 est station on southerly winds. 



If the weather is about to be cold, frosty, or 

 foggy, it rises pretty high ; but if going to be 

 windy or tempestuous, it will then sink very 

 low, and, as soon as the first storm is over, it 

 will rise again apace. 



The domestic barometer would become a 

 much more useful instrument if, instead of the 

 words usually engraved on the plate, a short 

 list of the best established rules, adapted to the 

 particular locality in which it was situated, 

 accompanied it, which might be either engrav- 

 ed on the plate, or printed on a card. It would 

 be right, however, to express the rules only 

 with that degree of probability which observa- 

 tion of past phenomena has justified. There 

 is no rule respecting these effects which will 

 invariably hold good. 



In the following table the mean temperature, 

 mean highest, and mean lowest, have been 

 calculated from observations made on regis- 

 tering thermometers, hung on a post 2 feet 

 8 inches from the grass, facing the north, 

 and in no way sheltered. The barometer is 

 in a vestibule. No corrections of any kind 

 have been made in registering the barometer. 

 (Johnson's and Shaw's Farmer's Jllmanac, vol. i- 

 p. 157.) 



