1853.] 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



143 



takes place, without the plant or the organ perishiup;. Thus cold does 

 not kill vegetation by a mechauical action proceeding from tlio con- 

 gelation uf the liquid as some uatuialists pretend. We must rcccgiii;:e 

 rather a phvniological actioi) ; that the vitality ot tlie tii-sue is destioycd 

 by a certain degree ot cold followed by a certain degree of heat, 

 according to tlie peculiar natuie of each plant. Tlie vegetable ancl 

 animal kingdom, according to this view, AviU act alike. In the same 

 manner as tlu^ g.i ngreuc that sets in after the thawing of a frozen part 

 causes the death of an animal tissue, so the change or putrefaction 

 which follows a rapid thawing will be the piincipal cause of the death 

 of the vegetable tissue. Is is well knoAvn in practice how to manage 

 the transitions of temperature to preserve the organs of vegetables.' 



Since 1838, uutU my connection "with the Academy of Geneva ceased, 

 I stated in luy annual lectures that cold may act in two ways on vege- 



tation : — either physically, by the contraction or congelation of the 

 liquids, which often does not kill tlieni ; and p/u/^iv ' r/it-a/Zt/, by an 

 action upon the tissues and upon vegetable life, whuli tlie law.s of 

 physics do not account for. The most striking example of this Inst, is 

 the immediate death of hot-honse plants when exm sed tn a temper- 

 ature of 1 -[- or -|- 2° C, V. hich causes no r( ngelation. T he action of 

 the same degree of temperature is very diiferen: on two allied speci(S, 

 and sjuietiines on two varieties of the same species." 



Shoolhg Starr. — M. Coulvier Gravier reports {Comptcs Hcndiin Acad. 

 Sci, Aug. 16, 1652) that according to his observations at Paris from 

 June 18 to Aug. 13, 18.52, the average hourly number of shooting stars 

 seen (by one observer ?) at midnight was in the first ha'f of July about 

 8, from the I6th to the 21st, 11 ; from the 22d to y7lh, 91 ; from Aug. 

 2d to 6th, 38 ; on the 10th, 63 ; on the 11th, 50 ; on the 12th and 13th, 45. 



Monthly Meteorological Register, at Her Majesty's Magnetical Observatory, Toronto, Canada West.— December, 1853. 



Lalilude 43 den. 39.4 min. North. Longitude, 79 decj. 21 min. West. Elevation above Lake Ontario : 108 /erf- 



Sum oj the Atmospheric Current, in miles, resolved irjo the four Cardinal 

 directions, • 



West. South. East. 



2228.30 1370-34 1516.54 



North. 

 1096.30 

 Mean velocily of (lie w 

 Maximum velocity - - 

 Most windy day - • 

 Least windV day - • 

 Most windy hour - ■ 

 Least windy hour - ■ 

 Mean diurnal variation 

 The column headed 

 of eachdMy, 



ind 



'Ua 



- 6-54 miles per hour. 



- 21 3 inl'sperh'r.from 1 to 2p m. on 23lh. 



- 17lh : Mean velocily, 14.14 miles per hour. 



- lOlh : Mean veloeitv, 2.77 diiio. 



- noon: Mean velocily, 8.37 ditto. 

 -9 ,p.m.Mean velocity, 5,26 d;llo. 



- 3 11 miles, 

 el" is an allempt to distiniruish the character 



aids the Ireqnency or extent of the fliietiiaiions of the 

 MaL'iielic ileeJn.Tlion, indicated by iheself-regi.<teringinslnimenls at Toronto. 

 The chis.^ilK-.iiKin is, to some exient, arbiirary, and may require future 

 modification, Lut has been found tolerably definite as lar as applied. It is as 

 follows :— 



(17) A marked absence of Magnetical disturbance. 



(4) Unimportant movements, not to be called disiiirliance. 



((■) Marked di.-iiurbance— wnether shewn by fieqiiency or amount of 

 devialion from ihe normal curve— but of no great iinporlance. 



{d) .\ greater deL-rce of disliirlianee— but not of long continuance. 



(f) Coiu-iiderable disturbance — lasiing more or less ihe whole day. 



(/■) A Magnetical disturbance of the first cla.'ss. 



This is the'imldesl December since 1831, (ihe earliest date of observations 

 at Toronto.) 



The day is reckoned from noon to noon. II two letters are placed, ihe first 

 applies 10' the earlier, the latler to the later part ol'lhe trace. Although the 

 Declination is particulaily relerred to, ii rarely happens that the same lerms 

 are not applicable to the chanses of the Horizontal Force also. 

 Highest Barometer - - 30^210, at 4 P. M., on 22d ) Monthly range: 

 Lowest Barometer - - 28.966, at 6 A.M., on 28th 5 1.244 inches. 



HiohestobservedTemp. - 51.0, at 2 P. M., on 7ih ) Monthly range: 



Lowest regist'd Temp. - 13.2, at A.M., on 21sl S 37 8 



Mean Highest observed Temperature - - 36-54 ? Mean daily range: 



Mean Rfoisiered Minimum 26 ..58 J 9.96 



Greatest daily range 22.2 from 6 A.M., to 10 P.M.. on I7lh. 



Warmest day - - 7th - - - .Mean Temperature - 47,65 ( Difference : 

 Coldest day- - - 21st - - - Mean Temperature - 16.72 J 30.93 



The "Means" are derived from six observations daily, viz., at 6 and 8, 

 A. M., and 2, 4, 10 and 12, P. M. 



Compai-ativc Table for December. 



