MYERS ON METEOROLOGY. 57 



signals too, has been brought to that state of perfection, that the indi- 

 cations they give of approaching gales are rarely incorrect. Yet it 

 is difficult to persuade men, especially sailors long accustomed to 

 rely upon their own judgement with regard to the weather, to place 

 that confidence in this practical application of science which it 

 deserves. How different might have been the fate of the hapless 

 steamship "London," had the storm signals, hoisted at Plymouth, 

 when she was leaving that Port, been attended to : but it Avas prob- 

 ably the undaunted courage of the captain, so conspicuous through- 

 out thp subsequent trying scenes, and too great reliance on the 

 powers of the fine ship he commanded, which caused him to disre- 

 gard the warning ; the deplorable result of which carried desolation 

 and woe to many a bereaved household, and a thrill of Jiorror to 

 the hearts of all who heard the piteous tale of the foundering of 

 that vessel, with upwards of two hundred souls on board. 



From the governments of almost all the great nations of Europe, 

 this branch of science is obtaining the attention it merits ; and in 

 Russia especially, measures are being adopted for its application to 

 the foretelling of approaching storms, for the use of sailors and agri- 

 culturists, on a scale commensurate with the vast extent of that 

 Empire. On the seaboard and inland, upwards of one hundred 

 meteorological observatories, furnished with complete sets of instru- 

 ments, have already been establishecl, from which communications by 

 telegraph are received daily at a central station. Nor are opera- 

 tions confined to the land, but are carried on extensively at sea 

 under the directions of the government. Arrangements are also in 

 progress with Prance, Prussia, Italy, Austria, and Holland, for a 

 gratuitous interchange of meteorological observations between these 

 countries. 



Nearer home, there is in the neighbouring Republic the Smith- 

 sonian Institute, doing a vast amount of good in developing this 

 and other sciences, encouraged by, though, I believe, independent, 

 in a pecuniary point of view, of the aid of the government. 



But leaving these old and well established countries, we find 

 the governments of many of our own colonies becoming alive to the 

 advantages to be derived from the cultivation of science among their 

 people : Australia and Canada, not to mention others, liberally assist 

 all ehorts to that end. In the latter are several observatories, each 



