WINDS. 
$08 
Hungary; the south-east at Prague and 
Wirtzbyfg; the north-east at R Jtisbon ; and 
the west at Manlreim and Berlin. 
From an average often years of the register 
kept by order of the Royal Society, it ap- 
pears that at .London the winds blow in the 
following order 
Winds. 
Days. 
Winds. 
Days. 
South-west 
112 
South-east 
32 
North-east. 
58 
East 
26 
Nortb-wes’t 
50 
South 
18 
West 
53 
North 
16 
It appears, from the same register, that the 
south-west wind blows at an average more 
Frequently than any other wind during every 
month of the year, and that it blows longest 
in July and August; that the north-east 
blows most constantly during January, March, 
April, May, and June, and most seldom du- 
ring February, Ju!», September, and De- 
cember ; and that the north-west wind blows 
oftener from November to March, and more 
seldom during September and October than 
anv other months. The south-west winds are 
also most frequent at Bristol, and next to 
them are the north-east. 
The following table of the winds at Lan- 
caster lias been drawn up from a register kept 
for seven years at that place : 
Winds. 
Days. 
Winds. 
Days. 
South-west 
92 
South-east 
35 
N orth-east 
67 
N orth 
30 
South 
51 
North-west 
. 26 
West 
41 
East 
17 
The followin'! 
table is 
an abstract of nine 
■years observations made at Dumfries by Mr. 
Copland: 
Winds. 
Days. 
Winds. 
Days. 
South 
824 
North 
36§ 
West 
69” 
North-west 
254 
East 
68 
South-east 
284 
South-west 
504 
North-east 
144 
The following table is 
an abstract of seven 
years observations made by Dr. Meek at 
Cambuslang, near Glasg' 
ow : 
Winds. 
Days. 
Winds. 
Days. 
South-west 
174 
North-east 
104 
North-west 
40 
South-east 
47 
It appears, from the register from which 
this table was extracted, that the north-east 
wind blows much more frequently in April, 
May, and June, and the south-west in July, 
August, and September, than at any other 
period. The south-west is by far the most 
frequent wind all over Scotland, especially on 
the west coast. At Saltcoats, in Ayrshire, for 
instance, it blows three-fourths of the year ; 
and along the whole coast of Murray, on the 
north-east side of Scotland, it blows for two- 
thirds of the year. East winds are common 
over all Great Britain during April and May ; 
but their influence is felt most severely on the 
eastern coast. 
The following table exhibits a view of the 
number of days during which the westerly 
and easterly winds blow in a year at different 
parts of the island. Under the term westerly 
are included the north-west, west, south-west, 
and south ; the term easterly is taken in the 
same latitude. 
Years of 
Qbserv. 
Places. 
Wit 
Westerly. 
;d. ( 
Easterly 
10 
London 
233 
132 
7 
Lancaster - 
216 
149 
51 
Liverpool - 
1 90 
175 
9 
Dumfries 
227.5 
137.5 
10 
Branxholm, 54 miles 
south-west of Ber- 
wick - 
232 
133 
7 
Cambuslang - - 
214 
151 
8 
Hawkhill,nearEdiu- 
burg’i - - - 
229 . 5 
135.5 
Mean 
220.3 
144.7 
In Ireland, the south-west and west, are the 
grand trade-winds; blowing most in summer, 
autumn, and winter, and least in spring. I he 
north-east blows most in spring, and nearly 
double to what it does in autumn and winter. 
The south-east and north-west are nearly 
equal, and are most frequent alter the south- 
west and west. 
At Copenhagen the prevailing winds are 
the east and south-east ; at Stockholm, the 
west and north. In Russia, from an average 
of a register of 16 years, the winds blow from 
November to April in the following order: 
W. N.W. E. S:W. S. N.E. N. S.E. 
Days 45 26 23 22 20 19 14 12 
And during the other six months, 
W. N.W. E. S.W. S. N.E. N. S.E. 
Days 27 27 19 24 22 15 32 18 
The west wind blows during the whole 
year 72 days ; the north-west 58 ; the south- 
west and north 46 days each. During sum- 
mer it is calm for 4l days, and during winter 
for 21. In Norway, the most frequent winds 
are the south, the south-west, and south-east. 
The wind at Bergen is seldom directly west, 
but generally south-west, or south-east ; a 
north-west, and especially a north-egst wind, 
are but little known there. 
From the whole of these facts, it appears 
that the most frequent winds on the south 
coasts of Europe are the north, the north-east, 
and north-west ; and on the western coast, 
the south-west: that in the interior parts 
which lie most contiguous to the Atlantic 
ocean, south-west winds are also most fre- 
quent; but that easterly winds prevail in Ger- 
many. Westerly winds are also most fre- 
quent on the north-east coast of Asia. 
It is probable that the winds are more con- 
stant in the south temperate zone, which is in 
a great measure covered with water, than in 
the north temperate zone, where their direc- 
tion must be frequently interrupted and alter- 
ed by mountains and other causes. 
M. De la Caiile, who was sent thither by 
the French king to make astronomical ob- 
servations, informs us, that at the Cape of 
Good Hope the main winds are the south- 
east and north-west; that other winds seldom 
last longer than a few years ; and that the 
east and north-east winds blow very seldom. 
The south-east wind blows in most months of 
the year, but chiefly from October to April ; 
the north-west prevails during the other six 
months, bringing along with it rain, and tem- 
pests, and hurricanes. Between the Cape of 
Good Hope and New Holland, the winds are 
commonly westerly, and blow in the follow- 
ing order : north-west, south-west, west, 
north. 
In the Great South Sea, from latitude 30®' 
to 40° south, the south-east trade-wind blows 
most frequently, especially when the sun ap- 
proaches the tropic of Capricorn ; the wind 
next to it in frequency is the north-west, and 
next to that is the south-west. From south 
latitude 40° to 50°, the prevailing wind Is -the 
north-west, and next the south-west. From 
50° to 60°, the most frequent wind is also the 
north-west, and next to it is the wed. 
Thus it appears that the trade-winds some- 
times extend farther into the south temperate 
zone than their usual limits, particularly du- 
ring summer; that beyond their influence 
the winds are commonly westerly, and that 
they blow in the following order: north-west, 
south-west, west. 
Such is the present state of the history of 
the direction of the winds. In the torrid 
zone they blow constantly from the north- 
east on the north side of the equator, and 
from the south-east on the south side of it. In 
they north temperate zone they blow most 
frequently from the south-west ; in the south 
temperate zone from the north-west, chan- 
ging, however, frequently to all points of the 
compass; and in the north temperate zone 
blowing, particularly during spring, from the 
north-east. 
As to the velocity of the wind, its varia- 
tions are almost infinite; from the gentlest 
breeze, to the hurricane which tears up trees 
and blows down houses. It has been re- 
marked, that our most violent winds take 
place when neither the heat nor the cold is 
greatest ; that violent winds generally extend 
over a great tract of country, and that they 
are accompanied by sudden and great fails in 
the mercury of the barometer. The reason 
appears to be, that violent winds succeed the 
precipitation in rain of a large quantity of va- 
pour, which previously constituted a part of 
the bulk of the atmosphere ; and this pre- 
cipitation cannot take place when the general 
temperature approaches to either extreme. 
The wind is sometimes very violent at a dis- 
tance from the earth, while it is quite calm at 
its surface. On one occasion Lunardi went 
at the rate of 70 miles an hour in his balloon, 
though it was quite calm at Edinburgh when 
he ascended, and continued so during his 
whole voyage. The same thing happened 
lately to Garnerin and his companion in their 
aerostatic voyage to Colchester. This again 
may be illustrated by the motions of dense 
fluids, which are always impeded in the parts 
contiguous to the sides and bottom of the ves- 
sels ; and the same thing happens in tide-rivers, 
where the boatman, when he wishes to pro- 
ceed with the tide, commits himself to the 
middle of the stream: but when he has to 
strive against it, he keeps close to the shore. 
It is, therefore, not the upper parts of the 
atmosphere which are accelerated, but the 
lower are retarded by friction against the sur- 
face of the earth. 
The following table, drawn up by Mr. 
Smeaton, will give the reader a pretty precise 
idea of the velocity of the wind in different 
circumstances ; 
