64 Meteorological Department of the Board of Trade. [Jan., 



(3) Besides the ordinary climate of a place and the abrupt 

 disturbances thereof, it may ultimately be possible to understand the 

 cause of long continued peculiarities of weather, whether on land or 

 at sea, such, for instance, as the very wet autumn we have just 

 experienced, and perhaps even to predict the approach of such 

 peculiarities. 



In the third place, in order that the country may derive the 

 fullest possible benefit from a systematic prosecution of Itfeteorology, 

 it would seem to be necessary that there should be two bodies of 

 Officers in communication with each other ; but otherwise acting 

 independently of one another. 



There ought to be a body of men whose duty it is to investigate 

 meteorological laws, and to publish them when discovered ; and also 

 a body of men whose duty it is to make a practical application of 

 these laws, when once they have been discovered. 



Thus, for example, a knowledge of the climate of various places 

 is desirable in those who take charge of the Public Health, and in 

 those who take part in Agriculture ; while again a knowledge of 

 oceanic climate, especially of the prevailing winds and currents of the 

 various oceanic regions, is of great importance to mariners. But 

 the scientific officer who investigates the climate of a place ought to 

 be distinct from the officer whose duty it is to make a practical use 

 of this knowledge of chmate ; and also from the officer whose duty it 

 is to see that a knowledge of the prevailing winds and currents is 

 properly made use of by seafaring men. 



To take another example, a knowledge of the laws which 

 regulate the progress of storms is of great importance to a maritime 

 nation like ourselves, and by means of the telegraph may be made 

 of immense service, as the results achieved by the late Admiral 

 Fitzroy have clearly shown ; but the scientific officer who investigates 

 the laws of storms ought surely to be distinct from him who 

 telegraphs to ports an intimation of an approaching storm ; in fine 

 there ought to be what may be termed a legislative and an executive 

 department, distinct from one another. 



Having thus endeavoured to point out the necessity for this 

 separation of offices, we will in the remainder of this short article 

 confine ourselves to the legislative department, and say nothing 

 about the executive ; because foreign considerations are mixed up 

 with the executive in this as well as in other departments, and the 

 most just and admirably conceived set of rules might be thought to 

 infringe too much upon the liberty of the subject. 



Let us now therefore lay before our readers a few general 

 considerations regarding the best machinery for discovering scien- 

 tific laws. 



It would be desirable to introduce into some half-a-dozen stations 

 in the British Islands self-recording instruments all on one plan ; 



