280 A NEW VIEW OF THE WEATHER QUESTION. 



is no such thing; the laws that govern the system do not warrant the use of it, at 

 least otherwise than in a figurative sense, for to the north of us there is evidently 

 another line or lines, as it were, of lows, running in all directions as generally in 

 the territory of the United States ; and to the north of what is here called a 

 "polar wave," there are undoubtedly warmer circles at the time than in the cur- 

 rent of this "wave" that is supposed to be, or, as its name implies, is all the way 

 from the icy North, for the reason of there being another center of low away up 

 there, whereby in that north latitude local south winds are generated. We learn 

 from Arctic voyagers that the wind up North at times blows from the South, as- 

 well as at other places on the Earth's surface ; perhaps not as much, yet it does 

 so blow, and this will reasonably account for it and is evidently the reason for it. 

 At the North they might as well have the expression, "an equatorial wave," and 

 it would be just as proper as to say a "polar wave," at least in this sense. 



LV. The condition low is, as has been remarked, the controlling power — 

 where low is there will the wind be concentrated — toward these centers the cur- 

 rents will be established. When (North of the Equator) a North wind blows, it 

 will necessarily be cold, unless, perhaps, as in cases where the low is not very 

 positive, and the wind is light and must travel over extended plains, as occasion- 

 ally in summer, as herein referred to. This, though, is only an illustration of 

 the predominance of the stronger factor. And when a North wind blows it will 

 be on account of a low barometer area at some point South, and not, as is some- 

 times thought, because of a condition of high barometer up North. A condition 

 of high does not push on a current but a condition of low pulls along the current; 

 in other words, wind is pulled, not pushed. 



LVI. The territory in the United States embraced between that portion of 

 the Rocky Mountains running N. W. and S. E. and S. W. and N. E., Salt Lake 

 City being its eastern angle, and the " Blue mountains" running N. E. and S. 

 W., and the Sierra Nevada mountains to the S. E. and N. W. (see plate B), 

 which has an elevation of from 4,000 to 5,000 feet, seems to have, as it may be 

 termed, a "condition" by itself and to have its own local lows, as it were, cut 

 off by the mountains. There are, however, few stations in this locality, so the 

 world is not at present fully informed of its changes ; yet, from the observations 

 taken at its four quarters — Salt Lake City, Boise City, Pioche and Humboldt 

 City — the conditions low seem to be local. The strip of territory between the 

 mountain range and the coast has quite a different climate from the rest of the 

 United States. California has a peculiar weather condition. If these mountains 

 are the cause of this, it may be asked, why does not the Blue Ridge and the 

 Eastern ranges of mountains affect the Eastern climate ? They undoubtedly do, 

 but not in this manner, for low seems to travel without much regard to them. 

 They are lower, less extensive (horizontally) and are, as it were, set in the midst 

 of fields, whereby their influence for chilling the air is counterbalanced. On the 

 Pacific slope, however, we have a high and extensive range of mountains that 

 cools the air, thus affording a check to the further development of low across 

 them. But for these high and mountainous regions, low would undoubtedly 



