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time of greater and intenser magnitude and virulence, tend 
to prove, the essayist opined, that the moral and intellectual 
powers of the human mind were being gradually under- 
mined ; and as luxury and its Sybarite associates were the 
forerunners of “ the Dark Ages,” so are we now gradually 
entering on the same path, leading to a similar result. 
PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL SECTION. 
January 5th, 1869. 
E. W. Binney, F.RS., F.G.S., President of the Section, 
in the Chair. 
“On a Diurnal Inequality in the Direction and Velocity 
of the Wind, apparently Connected with the Daily Changes 
of Magnetic Declination,” by Joseph Baxendell, F.R.A.S. 
While engaged lately in a discussion of the observations 
of rainfall made at the stations belonging to the Manchester 
Corporation Water Works, a question arose which rendered 
it desirable to ascertain, if possible, whether any law of 
periodicity existed in the daily changes of direction and 
force of the wind. It has long been known that the force 
or velocity of the wind is generally greater during the day 
than the night ; but I am not aware that this diurnal varia- 
tion of force has been discussed in connection with the direction 
of the wind, or with other meteorological phenomena. On 
proceeding to collect materials for such a discussion, I found 
that the only published results of observations of the wind 
that were available for this purpose were those given in the 
