Pacific and High Southern Latitudes. 107 
Oceans have now been satisfactorily established by the 
labours of Redfield, Reid, and Piddington. 
Whether the same laws apply to the frequent and severe 
storms of the Pacific Ocean, and to those of high latitudes, 
are questions still undetermined. 
Both these questions have been invested with increased 
interest by events of recent occurrence, which have tended 
to make the localities referred to much more frequented by 
ships than heretofore. 
Gold has been found in profusion on both shores of the 
Pacific. 
Our whaling grounds have been extended from the high 
latitudes of the Southern to those of the Northern Hemi- 
sphere. 
Merchant and emigrant vessels from England hither have 
successfully adopted the principle of great circle sailing, 
which necessarily takes them into a much higher latitude 
than formerly: the great circle route to these Colonies will 
also most probably be followed by steam ships, as it is more 
practicable for them than for sailing vessels. 
The determination of these questions requires a process of 
careful induction. A considerable number of distinctly- 
marked and well-observed instances of great storms in the 
several localities must be collocated and compared. 
Such a special investigation will be properly introduced 
by a general summary of what may now be considered the 
classical phenomena of a hurricane. 
An atmospheric storm (jig. 1) is a vast whirlwind in the 
air, like to a whirlpool, vortex, or eddy in water. The wind 
blows in horizontal circles around the vertical axis of the 
storm. 
In all circular motion there exists a centrifugal force, 
tending to throw the moving body outwards from the axis. 
