148 BOARD OF ACxRICULTURE. 



produce wind. When the moon comes to the meredian after 

 sunrise in the morning, or along in the forenoon, the conditions 

 of the atmosphere are extremely favorable for the action of the 

 sun in the early part of the day, so that it is not common for 

 storms to take place that day. Clouds and rain are produced 

 by cold. The vapor is condensed into cloud, fog, rain and snow, 

 according to the intensity of the cold ; and of course, if the con- 

 ditions of the atmosphere are favorable for the action of the sun 

 in the forenoon, the tendency is to break up the conditions of 

 condensation, because the heat expands the atmosphere. 



The question may now arise. Why should the fact that the 

 moon comes to the meridian in the forenoon dry off the storms ? 

 Or, why should the action of the sun be more favorable to produce 

 that effect than at any other time ? The answer is this : Our 

 atmosphere is material — a subtle, elastic fluid. Being material, 

 it is subject to the laws that govern matter, including, of course, 

 attraction, and a capacity for condensation or expansion. The 

 moon being also material, its attractive power is familiar, and 

 admitted ; it is constant and universal. The atmosphere is, 

 therefore, subject to the influence of the moon's attraction. All 

 are familiar with the influence of the moon in causing the tides 

 of the ocean, and know that they can be calculated with perfect 

 accuracy. The tides of the ocean are influenced also by the 

 form of the continents, or solid parts of the earth. But it is not 

 so with the atmosphere. That rises, it may be, hundreds of 

 miles above the surface of the earth, and it can, therefore, ride 

 smoothly over that surface, even over mountains and continents, 

 invariably culminating, like the waters of the ocean, to the 

 moon. This point may be considered settled then, that there is 

 a vast aerial tide, obeying the same laws as the waters of the 

 ocean, but following more closely the attractive power of the 

 moon. A little reflection will enable any one to see what the 

 result must be. If the atmosphere were uniformly, and at all 

 times spread evenly over the surface of the earth, wo should 

 have a condition of things entirely different from what we have 

 now. The air being material, and culminating toward the moon, 

 having a convex surface toward the sun, it constitutes or 

 becomes a burning-glass. That must be the result of the facts 

 as we know them to exist. Now when the conditions supposed 



