206 Hurricanes of 1838. — Neio Jersey Tornado of 1835. 



deflected courses, near the windward islands, of the Barbadoes 

 hurricane of July 26, and of the Antigua hurricane of August 

 2d, 1837, as laid down by Col. Reid, will ultimately prove to 

 have been more symmetrical ;* and that the westerly recurvation 

 of the track of the latter storm, across the shores of Georgia and 

 Florida, to meet the case of the gale at Pensacola, will give place 

 to a regular continuation of the track in a northeasterly direction. 

 Was the gale at Pensacola, on the 7th or 8th of August, an 

 offset from the Antigua hurricane? or will it not prove to have 

 been another storm ? 



Although I deem it probable, Mr. Editor, that your correspond- 

 ent will find occasion to abandon his former views of the sup- 

 posed lateral motion of the main body of the hurricane, as well 

 as its alternate contraction and dilatation, yet these views appear 

 to be sometimes applicable, or, at least, partially so, to the axis or 

 nucleus of the great whirling stratum which constitutes the hur- 

 ricane. In the columnar whirlwinds, or water-spouts, also, these 

 contractions and dilatations of the diminished portion which sweeps 

 upon the earth's surface, are often made sufficiently evident. The 

 suggestions of your correspondent, therefore, are very far from be- 

 ing unsuited to the inquiry, and it is hoped that he will continue 

 to bestow his attention on such facts relating to these storms, as 

 may aid us in gaining further light upon the subject. For his 

 commendations of my imperfect labors, he is desired, to accept 

 my acknowledgments. In the further progress of the investiga- 

 tion, it is believed that he will find reason to abandon all reliance 

 upon 'rarefactions' or 'local disruptions,' in the great aerial 

 ocean, as causes of the origin or progress of these great storms. 



Hurricanes of 1838. 



Two hurricanes of the present season, (1838,) appear to invite 

 our investigation; — that of the middle of June, in the North At- 

 lantic, and also that which swept the American coast, from Flor- 

 ida to Newfoundland, in the early part of September. Those 

 who have zeal for the undertaking, will find the inquiry both in- 

 teresting and instructive. 



New Jersey Tornado of 1835. 



At the late meeting of the British Association, when Col. Reid's 

 paper on storms was under discussion. Prof. Bache of Philadel- 



* Reid on the Law of Storms, Charts V. and VI. 



