38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



But it is just here that we have found the record of the disturbance of the 

 magnetic needle of great importance ; for the photographic tracing of the Toronto 

 Observatory, which Mr. Stupart has placed at the service of Mr. Harvey and 

 myself, shows a great disturbance just at the time when the spot crossed the central 

 meridian of the sun. This shows, (or at present seems to show) that the solar 

 energy passes radially from the sun to the earth, and that the outbreak of spots 

 causes an immediate transmission of energy through the solar system. 



I long ago called the attention of this Institute to the fact that hurricanes 

 have been far more numerous near the period of sun-spot maxima, than minima. 

 This is so true that taking the four years near the maximum, we find more than 

 double the number of occasions when the wind moves more than thirty miles per 

 hour at Toronto than we get in the same number of years at sun-spot minimum. 



The spot of September, 1898, broke out during the minimum period, and this 

 enables us to trace the coincidences with a better chance of seeing and detecting 

 real connections from chance coincidences than at a time of spot maximum. 



In this connection it may be of some importance to notice the fact that a 

 terrific hurricane swept the Windward Islands on September 10th, just the time 

 when the spot was ci-ossing or very near the central meridian, and we also had a 

 most destructive tornado in the Niagara district when the spot was on the eastern 

 limb or near it. 



It has been found that as a rule spots at the commencement of a new cycle 

 are far from the solar equ.ator, and that they gradually approached the equator 

 and were as. a ru.le near it at maximum. The spot of September was, however, 

 near the equator, though we must be near the minimum of the sun-spot period. 



