Professor Olmsted's Reply to t)r. Christie. 375 



the taps of the tents. On the hail falling, the air became on a sudden 

 disagreeably cold, as it had been before oppressively hut. The same 

 gentleman also witnessed a hailstorm at Masalapatain, on the coast of 

 Coromandel, in 1822 (he thinks in the month of April) ; and others, 

 at diflerent times, in various parts of India. 



We are told by Heyne, in his historical and statistical tracts on 

 India, that "masses of hail of immense size are said to have fallen 

 from the clouds, at diflerent periods," in the Mysore country ; and 

 that "in the latter part of Tippoo Sultan's reign, it is on record, and 

 well authenticated, that a piece fell near Seringapatam of the size of 

 an elephant," Of course, it is not to be expected that we are to be- 

 lieve this to the letter — we must make some allowance for oriental 

 exaggeration. 



It is needless to multiply examples, for I believe there is not an 

 officer who has been many years in India, who cannot beat" testimony 

 to the frequency of hailstorms in that country. Professor Olmsted's 

 theory, therefore, even according to his own account of it, must be 

 abandoned; or, at all events, it will only apply to those falls of hail 

 which occur in the temperate zones. 



Remarks. — That these facts are not inconsistent with my "theory 

 of hailstorms" will, I think, appear evident, by placing side by side 

 my leading proposition, and one of the most striking facts the Doctor 

 has mentioned. 



Proposition. • 



Hailstorms are caused by the 

 congelation of the watery vapor 

 of a body of warm and humid 

 air, by its suddenly mixing with 

 an exceedingly cold wind, in the 

 higher regions of the atmosphere. 



Fact mentioned by Dr. C. 



The weather [previous to a 

 violent hailstorm] had been very 

 sidtry, with hot blasts of wind, 

 and heavy clouds, which appear- 

 ed almost to touch the tops of 

 the tents. On the hail falling, 

 the air became on a sudden, as 

 disagreeably cold, as it had been 

 before oppressively hot. 

 This fact is so much to ray purpose, that had I met with it in sea- 

 son, I should undoubtedly have annexed it to those offered in support 

 of my views. The hot sultry blasts that preceded, and the cold weath- 

 er that followed the storm, implies the meeting of just such elements 

 as the theory demands. It has been suggested, indeed, that the cold 

 that ensues is caused by the hail itself; but this does not account, like 

 the other supposition, for the formation of the hail, and moreover 



