1839.] on the 3d, 4th, and hth of June, 1839. 635 



formation from these points would probably give the extreme length 

 to which the Gale extended, as information obtained from Jubbulpore, 

 Gwalior, and Ajmere, would shew the extreme breadth. I do not 

 recollect at present from what direction you stated the Gale to have 

 blown in the Bay of Bengal, but if from the SW., the usual course of 

 the monsoon, it is difficult to account for its blowing here from the 

 East, unless we suppose the column of air to have been driven against 

 the Assam and Himalaya Mountains, and by them turned in a 

 Westerly course. In this event, it is probable that the Gale may have 

 subsequently followed the direction of the mountains NW. perhaps as 

 far as Hurdwar. 



I conclude that it is not your intention to confine your observations 

 and inquiries to the Gale under consideration, but to all storms of 

 magnitude in the Bay, or its vicinity. The Gale which seems to 

 occur almost annually in the Bay of Bengal in the month of October, 

 would, from its regular recurrence, form an excellent subject for 

 observation. It was felt at Chuprah during the two years that I have 

 been stationed here. On the first occasion it blew (to the best of my 

 recollection) from the East, whereas last year it came from the 

 West. 



It appears to me very desirable that either Government or some 

 public body like the Asiatic Society, should take measures for securing 

 an uninterrupted official record, not only of the periodical and 

 occasional storms which extend generally over large tracts of coun- 

 try, but also of local atmospherical peculiarities — the changes in 

 the direction of winds and storms occasioned by mountains and the 

 larger rivers — also of the general character of the seasons in different 

 parts of the country — the paucity or abundance of rain — the minimum 

 rise of the Ganges, Burrumpooter, &c. — the price of grain as affected by 

 the seasons — the date of the commencement and termination of the 

 rains— of the hot winds — or of any other prevailing winds. 



The Asiatic Society through its numerous members might, I 

 should imagine, without difficulty obtain information on the points 

 adverted to from all the principal stations in India, which should be 

 annually digested and published in their Journal These again will 

 be compared and generalized every 10 years or so by a Meteorological 

 Committee of the Society. The Asiatic Societies of Madras and 

 Bombay might be requested to adopt the same system throughout 

 their respective Presidencies, so that the observations might embrace 

 the whole of India. Such a combination of laborers in the cause, and the 

 consequent accumulation of facts, assisted by the rapid progress of 

 science in these days, would almost justify the hope that we may 

 ultimately arrive at the discovery of some general laws by which the 

 seasons are regulated ; and by which we may be able to foresee and 

 to guard against both inundation and famine, in a country where their 

 ravages are often so destructive to life and property. 



{Signed) E. RAVENSHAW. 



