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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



EQUINOCTIAL STORMS. 



From many years' observation, we have formed an 

 opinion that the common notion about the equinoc- 

 tial storm, or line gale, is erroneous. We have 

 often said to our friends, of the contrary belief, about 

 the time the sun crosses the equator, that we had no 

 storm, but they have said that it would come soon ; 

 and after waiting so long for the line gale that a 

 storm could not be considered as coming under that 

 head, they have observed that it must have been such 

 a storm that happened some days, or a week or two, 

 before the equinox. This is a subject of considerable 

 practical importance to fanners, as they are intimately 

 interested in the condition of the weather ; therefore 

 we copj' the following very interesting article, on this 

 subject, from the Ohio Cultivator, which we are 

 happy to meet with, as they confirm our ojiinions, 

 which we think are founded on truth. We invite a 

 close investigation of this subject in future. 



" THE EaUINOCTIAL STOEM " EXPLODED. 



(I P)-oi-g all things — holdfast to that which is good." 

 Among the many errors that have been allowed 

 almost undisturbed possession of the public mind, 

 perhaps for centuries past, few are more common than 

 the belief in equinoctial storms : and, as we shall pres- 

 ently show, few notions are more destitute of sup- 

 port either from science or actual observation. Our 

 attention has been called to this subject for eight or 

 ten years past, owing to the occurrence of the agri- 

 cultural fairs in the month of September, and the 

 objection which would invariably bo made against 

 holding a fair during the week when the equinox 

 would occur, on account of the supposed probability 

 of bad weather. But on observation, we have no- 

 ticed that from the 20th to the last of September 

 was, if any thing, more commonly fine weather than 

 any other period ; hence we discarded the popular 

 doctrine of ot^iiinoctial storms. 



At the meeting of the Board of Agriculture in 

 Cincinnati last spring — the time for the State Fair 

 being under discussion — this "equinoctial storm" 

 theory was strongly defended ; and knowing that 

 Dr. Ilay, of Woodward College, had for many years 

 kept an exact daily record of the weather, we have 

 requested him to favor us with the result of his ob- 

 servations upon this point. The following communi- 

 cation is his answer, and we think it is conclusive ; 

 but if anj' important facts or arguments are adduced 

 on the other side, the Doctor has the daily records, 

 and will give them. — Ed. 



Equinoctial Storms. — Is the weather, at that period 

 of the year denominated the Autumnal Equinox, 

 (Sept. 23,) generally stormy, or of a more unfavor- 

 able character than at other periods ? 



This question is proposed in reference to the 

 Northern and Middle States ; though what is true 

 in regard to them, cannot vary materially in the 

 Southern States. 



In reply to this question, it may be observed, that 

 popular opiyiion has long since decided in the affirm- 

 ative. The time when the " sun crosses the line " is, 

 in the estimation of numerous individuals, a very 

 important astronomical event, and quite worthy of 

 being celebrated with storms of wind and rain, and a 

 general disturbance of the atmosphere. 



The "line" {equator) is also regarded as some 

 great physical development, like the mountain ridge, 

 encircling the earth. In regard to popular opinion, 

 it is onh' necessary to observe that it is a very unsafe 

 guide, both with regard to the existence of facts, and 

 the causes of phenomena, but especially the latter. 



There are, however, two methods of answering the 

 question, both of which we shall briefly notice. 



First. Is there any thing at the period of the equi- 

 nox, in the particxilar relation of the great operating 

 causes, that has a tendency to produce an unusual 

 state of the weather ? In reply to this it may be 

 said, we have the equinox. And pray, what consti- 

 tutes the equinox ? Simply the fact that the sun 

 has no declination, or for a moment of time (and only 

 a moment) is vertical at some point of the imaginary 

 LINE on the earth's surface called the equator. But 

 the svui is always vertical to some point on the earth's 

 surface ; can it then be supposed that the mere fact 

 of its being vertical at a certain point equally distant 

 from the poles, shall have such a due influence as to 

 conjure up vapors, storms, winds and rain, as if na- 

 ture designed, by raising a great commotion in the 

 atmosphere, to celebrate one astronomical period, 

 while others, equally important so far as the earth ia 

 concerned, are permitted to pass by unheeded and 

 unsignalized ? Thus the periods when the earth 

 passes through the aphelion and perihelion points 

 have an important relation to the climate of the 

 earth, and to the seasons of the year ; but as they 

 are not generally so well known as the period of the 

 equinox, they have not been furnished with storms 

 to celebrate their advents. 



Seeo7id. What is the testimony of recorded obser- 

 vations ? To this I reply, no writer on meteorology 

 that I have consulted, makes any mention of such a 

 phenomenon as in common parlance is denominated an 

 equinoctial storm. I refer particularly to Kaemtz, 

 Daniel, Howard, and Ferry, all of whom in their 

 respective works treat of the subjects of rain, winds, 

 and storms. One of these (Kaemtz) furnishes tables 

 of the number of storms occurring at different places 

 during each month of the year ; but at no place did 

 the greatest number of storms occur either in Sep- 

 tember or October. Now it can hardly be supposed, 

 if such a phenomenon as an eqtiinoctial storm existed, 

 that it would have entirely escaped the observation 

 of men whose hves were devoted to the collection of 

 facts pertaining to the science of meteorology, and 

 reasoning from them. 



My own observations extend through a period of 

 fifteen years, but the records of 1835, except the 

 abstract, are not now to be found, so that I can only 

 refer to them since that period. During this period 

 oi fourteen years, te^i of these equinoctial days were 

 either clear, or fair and pleasant days ; while two, 

 though partly clear, were more than one half cloudy ; 

 and two only were entirely cloudy and partly rainy. 



But those who maintain that there is usually a 

 "6arf spell of weather" at or near the equinox, may 

 wish to know how many such spells happen within 

 some given period, of which the equinox was the 

 middle. For the satisfaction of such, I would state, 

 that by taking a period of one month, that is, about 

 two weeks before and two weeks after the equinox, 

 we have had five bad spells of weather, while on nine 

 of the years there was no weather that could be 

 called unpleasant. 



From those data it would seem, that if a great pub- 

 lic meeting were to be held in the month of Septem- 

 ber, it would be advisable to fix it for the 23d — the 

 very day of the equinox ! — as the probabiUties are 

 very strong (6-7) that it would be a dry day, and 

 pretty strong (-5—7) that it would be fair, that is, more 

 than half clear ; while the probabilitv that it would 

 be wet is very small (1-7.) JOSEPH KAY. 



Woodward Col., Cin., Nov. 1819. 



Fat Cattle. — Hezekiah Taylor, of Westficld, 

 Mass., has five pairs of steers, whose aggregate 

 weight is 22,220. The several pairs weighed as fol- 

 lows: 4,620, 4,020, 3,990, 3,880, 3,760. 



