84 Equalization of Temperature^ ^c. 



low about six o'clock, day and night. The fact has also been 

 noticed by a few British navigators. Capt. Beechy, after descri- 

 bing the harbor of Papiete and of some other places on the north 

 side of Otaheite, says, it is generally high water at half an hour 

 after noon every day, and low water at six in the morning ; at 

 the same time he observes, in language which might mislead the 

 reader if not understood with some qualifications, that the tides 

 in all these harbors (of Otaheite) are very irregular. These irreg- 

 ularities are, doubtless, what Messrs. Tyerman and Bennet call 

 " irregular inundations" of the sea, which according to Mr. Ellis, 

 are occasioned by the strong winds blowing for some time from 

 one quarter, or the heavy swells of the sea coming from various 

 directions. The fact is aJso confirmed by an intelligent corres- 

 pondent, Mr. John Ball, of Troy, N. Y.,* who states, that during 

 his three weeks' stay at Tahiti, the tide was observed to rise about 

 one foot, and always highest at twelve o'clock, noon and midnight ; 

 and he adds, I was informed that this is always the case. Another 

 writer, whose remarks are published in the Journal, (from that of 

 the Franklin Institute,) adds to the testimony on this point the 

 following, — that Prof. Whewell states, that Lieut. Maiden, who 

 accompanied Lord Byron on his voyage to the Sandwich Islands 

 in the British ship Blonde, in 1824-25, gives a similar account of 

 the tides at Owyhee. But the language of Lieut. Maiden is, 

 that the tide was observed to rise about four feet, and to be high 

 water at sunset, and low water at day light, being influenced by 

 the sea and land breezes." 



Art. VI. — Equalization of Temperature and supply of air in 

 rooms warmed by furnaces beneath ; in a letter to the editor, 

 from James Bolton, A. M., M. D., dated Fredericksburgh, Dec. 

 25, 1837. 



Dear Sir, — Having amused many of my leisure hours with 

 investigations into the best modes of applying heat to the warm- 

 ing of houses, I send you the following as the most important re- 

 sults which I obtained. Our own dwelling was warmed by an 

 ordinary hot air furnace, and to it I found the following objec- 



* See this Journal, Vol. xxviii, p. 8. 



