THE NEW SCIENCE OF METEOROLOGY 



the names cirrus, cumulus, stratus, etc., afterwards so 

 universally adopted, were first proposed. In this paper 

 Howard acknowledges his indebtedness to Dalton for 

 the theory of evaporation ; yet he still clings to the idea 

 that the vapor, though independent of the air, is com- 

 bined with particles of caloric. He holds that clouds 

 are composed of vapor that has previously risen from 

 the earth, combating the opinions of those who believe 

 that they are formed by the union of hydrogen and 

 oxygen existing independently in the air; though he 

 agrees with these theorists that electricity has entered 

 largely into the modus operandi of cloud formation. He 

 opposes the opinion of Deluc and De Saussure that 

 clouds are composed of particles of water in the form 

 of hollow vesicles (miniature balloons, in short, per- 

 haps filled with hydrogen), which untenable opinion 

 was a revival of the theory as to the formation of all 

 vapor which Dr. Halley had advocated early in the 

 eighteenth century. 



Of particular interest are Howard's views as to the 

 formation of dew, which he explains as caused by the 

 particles of caloric forsaking the vapor to enter the cool 

 body, leaving the water on the surface. This comes as 

 near the truth, perhaps, as could be expected while the 

 old idea as to the materiality of heat held sway. How- 

 ard believed, however, that dew is usually formed in 

 the air at some height, and that it settles to the surface, 

 opposing the opinion, which had gained vogue in France 

 and in America (where Noah Webster prominently ad- 

 vocated it), that dew ascends from the earth. 



The complete solution of the problem of dew forma- 

 tion which really involved also the entire question of 



TOL. Ill U 



