Mr. Redfield's Reply to Dr. Hare. 315 



yields to its influence. But in the cause assigned for this force, 

 as well as in the specific directions of the movements produced, 

 we ddKer essentially. So far from ascribing this quickened gyra- 

 tion to the " suction" alleged by Dr. Hare, I know of no such 

 power in the uninclosed atmosphere ; conceiving, that neither 

 rarefaction nor any other known cause can here occasion " suc- 

 tion," according to the common use of this term. Air, whether 

 rarefied or not, can never ascend but in obedience to a pressure 

 ox force^ sufficient to exceed both its own weight and that of all 

 the atmosphere which lies immediately above it, or in the imme- 

 diate direction or locality of its motion. This erroneous hypoth- 

 esis of " suction," in some form or other, appears to lie at the 

 bottom of the various speculations and inductions of my oppo- 

 nents. 



In noticing the spirally involute and quickening motion which 

 I allege as observable in ■ all narrow and violent vortices,' Dr. H. 

 gives an erroneous reference for his quotation ; and the latter seems 

 also to be somewhat inaccurate. I do not see that his specu- 

 lations on this quickened motion ' towards the center br axis of 

 the whirl,' can affect either my views, or the disputed fact of gy- 

 ration ; and they are sufficiently answered by observations pub- 

 lished in my first paper,* as well as by the remarks made above 

 on centripetal force. 



Dr. Hare thinks that so far as my observations show the quick- 

 ening of the whirling motion towards the center of the tornado, 

 they tend to confirm the views of my opponents and to refute 

 those which I uphold. To me it appears that this is an entire 

 abandonment of his ground. It is the general fact of gyration 

 which I am chiefly concerned to uphold, and which has been 

 combated by him and his predecessor in this controversy. I dis- 

 pute with no one as to how it may be produced. Should better 

 explanations of this fact than mine be oflered, they will be cheer- 

 fully adopted. In the mean time, I shall adhere to my observa- 

 tions and opinions, rather than to the hypotheses and speculations 

 of my opponents. 



Dr. Hare thinks^ ''that any theory of storms which overlooks 

 the part performed by electricity, must be extremely defective." 

 I do not perceive that the part performed by electricity in a gale 



* See this Journal, Vol. xx, p, 45-46. 



