THE 



AMERICAN 

 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. 



Art. I. — On the Courses of Hurricanes ; loith notices of the 

 Tyfoons of the China Sea, and other Storms ; by W. C. 

 K.EDFIELD, Memb. of Conn. Acad, of Arts and Sciences, Corr. 

 Memb. of U. S. Naval Lyceum, the Albany Institute, &c. 



[Written for the London Nautical Magazine.] 



In a communication published in the Nautical Magazine for 

 April, 1836, I attempted to correct some errors which had 

 obtained currency in nautical books, relating to the supposed 

 erratic character and progress of the hurricanes of the Atlantic. 

 These corrections were accompanied by a summary statement of 

 the results which my inquiries on this subject had appeared to es- 

 tablish. These results were first published in 1831, but have 

 been further generalized and supported in subsequent papers. 

 Their striking uniformity has been considered as indicating the 

 operation of a general law, controlling the action and progress of 

 these violent storms. The incipient essay now referred to, was 

 illustrated by a chart containing delineations of the routes of two 

 of these storms.* To my communication in the Nautical Mag- 

 azine was likewise appended a chart, on which were delineated 

 the routes and daily progress of some ten or twelve of these gales, 



* Silliman's Journal for April, 1831, Vol. XX, p. 17—51. See also Vol. XXI, 

 p. 191—193; Blunt's Am. Coast Pilot, 12tli edition, July, 1833, p. 626—629; Silli- 

 man's Journal, Vol. XXV, p. 114—135; Vol. XXVIII, p. 310—318; XXXI, p. 115 

 —130 ; XXXIII, p. 50—65 & 261—265 ; Jour. Franklin Inst. Vol. XIX, Feb. 1837, 

 p. 112 — 127; Am. Coast Pilot 13th edit. ; Jameson's Edinb. Jour. Feb. — April, 1838. 



The writer had never contemplated the publication of any of the observa- 

 tions vphich ho had incidentally been led to make upon' storms, till wiihin a 

 few weeks of the time when the earliest of the above papers was sent to the press; 

 when he was induced by the suggestions of his friend Prof Olmsted, to attempt a 



YoL. XXXV.— No. 2. 26 



