192 MR ALEX. BUCHAN ON THE STORMS OF WIND WHICH OCCURRED 



too few in number, and at too great distances apart, to enable any one to lay 

 down the isobarometric lines and general course of the winds, without drawing 

 largely on conjecture and imagination. The recent multiplication of meteorolo- 

 gical observatories is a great step in advance toward the discovery of the law of 

 storms. 



Observations have been received from 135 places scattered over Europe, from 

 the Mediterranean to Archangel in the north of Russia, and from the extreme 

 west to the Ural Mountains. All parts of Europe are pretty well represented 

 except Central Russia, the south-east of Austria, and Turkey. The following are 

 the sources from which the observations have been obtained : — The places in Scot- 

 land have been selected from the stations of the Scottish Meteorological Society; 

 and most of the places in England and Ireland from Admiral Fitzroy's Tables, 

 published daily in "The Times,"— the omitted observations on Sundays having 

 been, to some extent, supplied by the observers themselves. Most of the con- 

 tinental stations have been taken from the lists given in Le Verrier's bulletins 

 of the weather, published daily in Paris, and from the " Meteorologische Jaarboek" 

 of Dr Buys Ballot of Utrecht. I am further indebted to Dr Ballot for his 

 valued assistance in supplying me with additional observations to those printed 

 in the Jaarboek. The observations from Russia were kindly furnished by M. 

 Ferdinand Muller, assistant in the Physical Central Observatory of Russia ; those 

 from Sweden, by M. Bonnier, Stockholm ; those from Norway, by M. C. Fiarnley, 

 director of the Observatory, Christiania ; and those from Denmark and Greenland, 

 by Professor Holten, Copenhagen. Rev. Francis Redford supplied the obser- 

 vations from Silloth ; Mr E. J. Lowe, those from Nottingham ; Mr W. C. Burder, 

 those from Clifton ; Mr Henry Denny, those from Leeds; Mr William Johnston, 

 those from Banbury ; Captain Williamson, those from Dublin ; and Mr A. 

 Dickey, Queen's College, those from Belfast. The importance of observations 

 from Iceland and Faroe was not overlooked, but we regret to say that no obser- 

 vations were made in those places during the period. I beg also to return my 

 most grateful thanks to the Marquis of Tweeddale and Baron Brunow for the 

 interest they took in this inquiry in procuring some of the most valuable of the 

 observations, especially those from the north of Europe. 



Construction oj the Tables and Maps. 



The observations at the different places were made at 8 a.m. At the few 

 places where they were made at a different hour, such as 9| a.m. at Dublin, a 

 slight correction was adopted to bring them into accordance with the others. 

 The amount of this correction was deduced from the preceding and succeeding 

 observations at the place, modified by the apparent course and rate of motion 

 of the storm, as suggested by the observations of neighbouring stations. It 

 not being necessary for this inquiry to descend to the thousandth of an inch of 



