PrqfesBor EUas Loomts. 441 



upon the tutorship, there appeared the first of a long scries of 

 papers by Mr. Re&field, of Now York City, upon the theory 

 of storms. In the last year of his tutorship there appeared 

 also the first of a like remarkable series of papers on the same 

 subject by Professor Espy of Philadelphia. Two rival theories 

 were advocated by these two men, and these theories became 

 the subject of no little discussion in scientific meetings, and in 

 scientific journals, for a long period of years. Professor 

 Loomis had, from their very inception, taken a warm interest 

 in these discussions, and the subject of meteorology, and in 

 particular its central problem the theory of storms, held in his 

 thought and work the "first place from that time to the day of 

 his death. 



In his visit to Europe the year before he went to Hudson, he 

 purchased a set of meteorological instruments, and for several 

 years in Hudson he steadily performed the naturally irksome 

 task of making twice each day a complete set of meteorological 

 observations. A few weeks after he entered upon his profes- 

 sorship in Hudson a tornado passed five miles from that place, 

 and he went out immediately to examine the track and leam 

 what facts he could that should bear upon the theory of the 

 tornado. The results were valuable, but he was not altogether 

 satisfied with them. They led him, however, to undertake 

 the discussion of one of the large storms that covered the 

 whole United States. 



For this purpose he selected the storm which had occurred 

 near the 20th of December, 1836. Sir John Herschel had 

 recommended that hourly observations be taken by all meteoro- 

 logical observers on four term days in the year, that is, observa- 

 tions for thirty-six successive hours at each equinox and each 

 solstice. This storm fell partly upon one of these term days. 

 Professor Loomis set to work to collect all the meteorological 

 observations made during the week of the storm that he could 

 obtain from all parts of the United States, and from some sta- 

 tions in Canada. The discussion resulting therefrom was read 

 in March, 1840, before the American Philosophical Society at 

 Philadelphia. 



Let us for a little while consider the amount of knowledge 

 of the facts about storms in our possession in 1840, the date 



