Ill 
of a storm many hours before it could arrive at any of our 
ports, and Admiral Fitzroy, impressed with the idea that 
this can be done by the aid of the telegraph, has for some 
years past urged upon the Government the desirability of 
establishing telegraphic communications daily between our 
most distant ports, and especially from those in the south of 
Ireland.” 
I have no desire to detract in any way from the important 
services rendered to meteorology by Dr. B. Ballot. When, 
however, Admiral Fitzroy at length succeeded in extorting 
from those in authority a reluctant consent to the issue of 
storm warnings in England, 1 he was distinctly told that the 
cautions must be given on his sole responsibility and that 
upon him must rest the responsibility of their failure. He 
did not shrink from that responsibility. The storm signals 
are generally admitted to have been a great public benefit. 
Had it been otherwise, upon Admiral Fitzroy would have 
fallen the discredit which usually attaches to failure. It 
behoves his friends, therefore, to take care that his name be 
not deprived of any of tire credit which belongs to success. 
Mr. Baxendell explained the^ construction and mode of 
using the weather signal recently invented by Dr. Buys 
Ballot, and also stated that the Doctor had lately found 
that the discovery of the fact that the direction of the wind 
was generally at right angles to that of a line joining the 
areas of high and low barometer was due to Dr. Lloyd of 
Dublin ; but he still claimed to have been the first to make 
practical application of this discovery. 
Dr. J OULE, F.RS., suggested the desirability of adding to 
Dr. Ballot’s instrument an arrow fixed in a direction per- 
pendicular to the plane of the indicating board, with the 
view to prevent the possibility of any mistake being made 
as to the direction in which the wind might be expected to 
come. 
