The Law of Storms. 209 
The next and last plate, entitled, 
HuRRICANES IN THE NortH ATLANTIC.—TYPICAL CIRCULATION 
oF THE WIND, FRoM AcTUAL OBSERVATION, 
gives a still more complete illustration of the wind-circulation in 
hurricanes, with a brief discussion of the application of the 
8-point rule. Especial attention is called to the statement made 
thereon (referring, of course, to hurricanes in the North Atlantic, 
_ but no doubt true for the entire Northern Hemisphere) that 
‘‘ although the 8-point rule is nearly true when the wind is anywhere 
from north to south by way of west (that is, generally speaking, in the 
navigable semicircle), it is liable to be a very poor guide when the wind 
is from any point in the first or second quadrant.” 
Also to the following, which is applicable to the Southern 
Hemisphere by the substitution of “to the left” for ‘‘to the 
right :” 
‘Perhaps the best general rule is that the center bears about eight 
points to the right of the direction from which the low clouds come, or, 
what is practically the same thing, eight points to the right of the wind 
at the moment of a sudden shift in a heavy squall; after such a shift 
the wind will remain steady in direction for a time, but the center is 
meanwhile moving along and the angle of bearing changes until the 
next shift, when it goes again to eight points, and so on.” 
Such diagrams, carefully prepared from complete and reliable 
data, are of far greater practical value to navigators than vol- 
umes of explanation: they appeal to the eye and will live in 
memory long after ideas conveyed by printed words have been 
forgotten. 
Finally, let us look for a moment at two sketches that I 
have made to give a graphic and I hope not incorrect idea of 
the cloud formation and the internal structure of a hurricane. 
In both sketches the vertical scale is of course greatly exagger- 
ated. The first illustrates particularly the great cloud bank 
(with the “bull’s eye,’ or clear central space, shown in cross- 
section); the storm-wave or general elevation of the surface of 
the ocean caused by the spirally in-blowing winds and low bar- 
ometric pressure (the cause, oftentimes, of fearful floods along 
low-lying coasts); and the probable, or possible, circulation of 
theupper atmosphere over the whirl, together with the direct 
and reflected rays of a vertical sun as they pour into the central 
calm. The second sketch is to aid a clear mental conception of 
