72 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



bridge, United States, in which he speaks of the great atmospheric 

 wave which was passing over England from the 1st to the 18th day 

 of February 1849, the mean reading of the barometer during this 

 interval of time being fully half an inch above its average value, and 

 when the crest of the wave was over Greenwich, the reading of the 

 barometer at the level of the sea was 30*90 inches. The base of 

 the wave at this time seems to have been in extent just equal to the 

 distance from England to America ; for on the same day that it com- 

 pleted its passage at Greenwich, it was first felt at Boston, and it 

 was seventeen days passing over Boston, as it was with us. Its 

 motion, therefore, must have been about 170 miles daily. The re- 

 duced readings of the barometer during the time of the passage of 

 the wave at Boston, and its extreme readings, were identical in value 

 with those at Greenwich. At present we cannot follow this very 

 remarkable heaping up of the air from the want of observations at 

 different places. 



"Another object of this Society will be to avail itself of every 

 opportunity of establishing observatories in those parts of the world 

 where none are at present in existence. 



" Other beneficial results to be expected from a Society of this 

 kind are, the diffusion of a spirit of inquiry concerning the use of 

 instruments, the practice and extension of meteorological researches, 

 and the encouragement of mutual information among its members." 



The number of Members already exceeds one hundred ; and the 

 List of Officers for the year is the following : — 



President. — Samuel Charles Whitbread, Esq., F.Ii.A.S. 



Vice-Presidents. — General Sir Thomas M. Brisbane, Bart., K.C.B., 

 F.R.S.; Lord Robert Grosvenor, M.P. ; Luke Howard, Esq., F.R.S.; 

 Hastings Russell, Esq., M.R 



Treasurer.— John Lee, Esq., LL.D., F.R.S., F.R.A.S. 



Secretary. — James Glaisher, Esq., F.R.S., F.R.A.S. 



Council. — Capt. Francis Blackwood, R.N. , F.R.A.S. ; Rev. Pro- 

 fessor T. Chevallier, B.D., F.R.A.S. ; John Drew, Esq., F.R.A.S. 

 Vincent Fasel, Esq., F.R.A.S. ; Rev. Samuel King,M.A., F.R.A.S. 

 George Leach, Esq., F.Z.S. ; Edward Joseph Lowe, Esq., F.Pv.A.S. 

 Rev. Charles Lowndes, M.A., F.R.A.S. ; Rev. Joseph Bancroft 

 Reade, M.A., F.R.S. ; William Rutter, Esq., F.R.A.S.; Thomas 

 Shapter, M,D. ; Professor John Stevelly, LL.D. 



VII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



THE LAGOONS OF TUSCANY. 



nPHE Tuscan Lagoons are, properly speaking, natural depressions 

 -*- of the soil ordinarily filled with water from which hot vapours are 

 ejected. They are situated within a space of ten or twelve miles, 

 lying between 28° 27' and 28° 40' of longitude, and between 43° 10' 

 and 43° 15' of latitude. The principal lagoons are those of Monte 

 Cerboli, of Castel Nuovo in the valley of Cecina, those of Sasso, of 

 Monte Rotondo, of the Lago del Edifizio, of Lustignano and of Ser- 

 razzano in the valley of Cornia. The ancients were acquainted 



