SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., No. 1. 



Saskatchewan, the eclipse of the sun, saw a 

 meteor flash in the northern sky, the trail of 

 which remained visible near the horizon for 

 about three-quarters of an hour, taking on a 

 form somewhat resembling the later ones de- 

 picted by Captain Belknap, and in that time 

 changing its position considerably, both rela- 

 tive and absolute.] 



THE TYPHOON AT MANILA, PHILIP- 

 PINE ISLANDS, OCT. 20, 1882. 



The accompanying diagram gives an ab- 

 stract of the curves traced by the meteorologi- 

 cal instruments at the observatory in Manila, 

 Philippine Islands, during the typhoon which 

 swept over the central provinces of Luzon, 

 Oct. 20, 1882, from the time when the first 

 indications were noticed at the south-east of 

 Manila, at noon of the 19th. The observers 

 were the Jesuit Fathers under Padre Faura, 

 and the instruments those once used bj' Father 

 Secchi at Rome. Observations made at the 

 marine and telegraph offices in the city, and 

 on the national war vessels on the coast, are 

 incorporated in the diagram. 



Barometer. — The mercury descended at 

 noon of the 19th to 756 mm. (about 29-|) ; 

 varying little till near midnight (19-20th), 

 when it began to go down more rapidly. It 

 has been noticed, that, when it descends to this 

 point in the Philippine Archipelago, it always 

 indicates a storm at a considerable distance. 

 Up to dark there had not been observed the 

 cirrostratus clouds, nor the solar halos, nor the 

 characteristic sunset colors, which usually indi- 

 cate the proximity and direction of approach of 

 a tj'phoon. There remained onlj- the direction 

 of the superficial winds oscillating from north- 

 east to north-west (of little value) , aud the 

 course of the clouds, which, till 1 a.m. of the 

 20th, came from the north-east. At 3 p.m. of 

 the 19th, warning was given from the observa- 

 torj', ' Signs of a cj'clone at the south-east ; ' 

 but there were no unusual barometric changes. 

 It was at this time more than 370 miles away, 

 with a destructive diameter of about 80 or 90 

 miles. 



From 10 p.m. of the 19th to 4 a.m. of the 

 20th, the barometer went down more than .1.5 

 of an inch : at this time warnings were sent to 

 all the public offices that danger was imminent, 

 and word was telegraphed to Hong Kong that 

 a typhoon was beginning at the east of Manila, 

 and was proceeding west-north-west. At mid- 

 night it began to fall more rapidly till 8 a.m. 

 of the 20th ; and then, in two hours, fell from 

 746 mm. (29) to 728 mm. (28.4). About noon 



it began to rise as rapidly till 2 p.m., and then 

 gradually to 756 mm. {2^) at 10 p.m. 



Thermometer. — At noon of the 19th it 

 stood at 32° C. (89|-° F.) ; it gradually went 

 down to 24° C. (75° F.) at 7 p.m. ; it remained 

 at this point till about 11 a.m. of the 20th, and 

 then in less than an hour went up to 31° C. 

 (88° F.), and descended again to 24° C. (75" 

 F.), at 10 P.M. standing at 26° C. (79° F.). 



Moisture of Air. — It occurred toward the 

 end of the rainy season, and during the south- 

 west monsoon. At noon of the 19th it was 

 65, rapidty rising between 2 and 6 p.m. to 90, 

 and varying from that to 95 till 10 a.m. of the 

 20th ; at 10.30 it was 100 ; then in half an 

 hour it went down to 55, and back again to 

 100, thence gradually declining to 90-95 at 



10 P.M. 



Velocity of Wind. — There was comparative 

 stillness till 6.30 p.m. of the 19th ; from then 

 to 4 A.M. of the 20th it rarelj- exceeded 20 ' 

 feet per second ; then in three hours it rose to 

 63 feet, and, after a half-hour's descent to 40, 

 in 1-J- hours, or at 11 a.m., reached at least 

 180, and probably more, as at the height of 

 the gale the registering instrument was carried 

 awaj' : this is equivalent to about 125 miles 

 an hour, and the velocity may have attained 

 140 miles. In an hour it began to diminish 

 rapidly, and at 1.30 p.m. had gone down to 33 

 feet, and to 13 at 10 p.m. After several sudden 

 changes, at 2 a.m. it began to blow from the 

 north-west, and so continued till about noon, 

 when it shifted suddenlj' to the south-west for 

 half an hour, and then blew from south-south- 

 east and east-south-east up to 10 p.m. 



Rain. — Rain began to fall just before mid- 

 night, 19-20th, and increased, with occasional 

 lulls, to about 11 A.M., when it fell in torrents ; 

 after that it graduall}' decreased, and ceased- 

 about 8 P.M. It was accompanied b}' some 

 lightning. 



Direction. — The storm entered the archi- 

 pelago over the Catanduanes Islands, near 

 Tabaco and Albay, and went across the east 

 of the North Camarines, near Daet, judging 

 from the successive positions of the vortex, 

 then passing over Manila aud to the China Sea, 

 by Subig. The course was therefore from 

 south-east to north-west, and its velocitj' 19 

 miles an hour, the greatest ever known here. 



Form. — The barometer went down much 

 more slowlj' than it ascended ; whence it may 

 be deduced that the curves of equal_ pressure 

 were not circular, being wider at the anterior 

 than at the posterior part of the tj'phoon, 

 forming a kiud of ellipse, in which one of the 

 foci occupied the vortex. The tracing of the 



