Proceedings of the British Association. 327 



iieva, six inches of rain in three hours. At Perth, Aug. 3d, 1829, 

 there fell 4-5ths of an inch in half an hour. Don Antonio Lago 

 observed at San Luis, Maranham (2^*^ S. lat.) a fall of 23 feet 4 

 inches 9.7 lines in a year. 



Mr. Espy's paper on Storms, which excited much attention, 

 was appointed for half past twelve o'clock, (Sept. 19,) and that 

 hour having now arrived, the President called on Mr. Espy, who 

 commenced by stating that he had found by examining simulta- 

 neous observations in the middle of storms, and all round their 

 borders, that the wind blows inward on all sides of a storm to- 

 wards its central parts ; towards a point if the storm is round, and 

 towards a line, if the storm is oblong, extending through its long- 

 est diameter. Mr. Espy stated that he had been able to investi= 

 gate within the last five years seventeen storms, without discov- 

 ering one exception to the general rule. He could now only give 

 a specimen of the manner in which he had proceeded. He pre- 

 sented a map of Great Britain, on which were drawn arrows rep- 

 resenting the course of the wind on the night of January 6th, 

 1839. From this and from documents which Mr. Espy pro- 

 ceeded to read, it appeared that during those hours the wind was 

 blowing a violent gale on the northwestern part of the island 

 from the N. W. ; on the southwestern parts from the S. W., and 

 on the southeastern parts a strong gale from the S. E. and S. S. E. ; 

 and that in the middle parts of the island it changed from south- 

 easterly to southwesterly about those same hours: — the change 

 taking place about two hours sooner on the west side of the isl- 

 and than on the east side in the central parts, but much sooner in 

 the northern parts than in the southern. The barometer also fell 

 sooner in the northern and western parts than in the southern 

 and eastern. From these two circumstances he thinks it highly 

 probable, that this storm moved not exactly toward the east, but 

 a little south of east, and if so, it would be similar to some storms 

 which he had examined in the United States. He mentioned 

 one in particular, which occurred January 26, 1839, whose N. N. E. 

 and S. S. W. diameter reached at least seven hundred miles, 

 while its diameter from W.-N. W. to E. S. E. was probably not 

 more than 300. The south border of this storm certainly trav- 

 elled towards the south of east, and Mr. Espy found that in this 

 storm, as in many others, the barometer fell sooner to the north 

 and west than to the south and east. A much greater difference 



