286 A NEW VIEW OF THE WEATHER QUESTION. 



account for that. The more compact, the more it holds together and becomes a 

 thing of life, having elasticity whereby it may be deflected by one object to such 

 an extent as to pass entirely over or by another object beyond, either horizontally 

 or perpendicularly ; thus, up or down, to right or left, it sweeps along on its 

 course, taking as straight a line as possible, yet even in its most fierce condition 

 being obliged to compromise its course more or less, bearing evidence to the law 

 that the strongest force must prevail and showing that some mere local inertia is 

 strong enough to deflect it from the straight line in which if seeks to travel. It 

 is said, sometimes, to rain all sorts of things — sticks, stones, frogs, etc. A tor- 

 nado, moving at such a fierce rate, is liable to take up and carry along with it 

 any such small things, and when there is a lull in the wind or anything tends to 

 retard it or sufficiently check its velocity, these objects that were taken up will 

 fall to the earth, and in that locality we will have a "shower" of sticks, stones, 

 frogs, etc., although, strictly speaking, the term "shower" will not be appro- 

 priate. 



LXXVIII. Wind has not much force until it, by great velocity, becomes 

 much compressed and gains, as it were, solidity. 



LXXIX. At times the air is very oppressive, in common phraseology, 

 called "muggy." This occurs when low is being developed or we are on the 

 outskirts of an extended condition of low. The atmosphere is full of moisture 

 displacing air ; in addition to this, the air is quite stationary ; there is no new 

 supply, or a very little, coming in from other quarters — the allowance of air is 

 small. As soon as precipitation takes place, or low becomes concentrated or 

 moves on we get a bountiful supply of air, which, in contrast, is very refreshing. 



LXXX. West winds seem to prevail with us, the cause being that low is 

 more off in the ocean than on the land. Water heats quicker, the land retains 

 heat the best. This will account for the constant changes, under some circum- 

 stances, such as night breezes and day breezes, as occur along the shores of great 

 bodies of water. 



LXXXI. Probably the best place for comfort would be between high and low ; 

 here we get* a good breeze ; we are, as it were, in the current, where the ventila- 

 tion is generally perfect — occasionally there is too much rapidity for some local 

 comfort, but we must reconcile ourselves with this when we know that it is carry- 

 ing great comfort to another quarter, restoring balance of air or temperature to 

 our fellow men in some other locality. 



LXXXII. In the summer, especially the latter part, we have the wind 

 much from what the Indians practically called the "sweet Southwest." This is 

 occasioned by a moderate low barometer up in the Northeast, perhaps off New 

 Foundland's banks, that region of fogs and mists. Had the Indians known the 

 meteorological facts of the present day they would have had reason to have given 

 this sweet name to the northeast rather than to the southwest — to the quarter that 

 drew the currents on, rather than to a quarter from whence they were collected. 

 The " sweet Southwest," however, at least along the Atlantic coast, is a most re- 

 freshing wind, bearing with it the tempered conditions of the West and South 



