Meteorological Obsey'vations, 79 
LETTER BAROMETER. 
The equitable system of rating the postage of papers by weight gives rise to 
the necessity for a ready method of determining what charge any letter or packet 
may he liable to. 
If extreme accuracy be desired, nothing will he found equal to good scales and 
weights ; but as this is seldom essential, and such an apparatus is not very conve- 
nient on a writing-table, many contrivances of a less cumbrous nature and less 
subject to derangement have been produced. 
These are generally variations of the steelyard, and of course require the adjust- 
ment of a counterpoise for each different case, which is somewhat troublesome and 
hable to mistakes. 
We have lately seen a very simple and ingenious instrument, which avoids these 
inconveniences. It indicates the weight at once, is not subject to get out of order, 
and while it occupies but little space, is rather of an ornamental form than other- 
wise. 
The instrument consists of a small tube containing a portion of quicksilver, in 
which is immersed a rod, fiu"nished on its top with a tablet, on which a letter or 
even an unfolded sheet of paper may be placed. The rod sinks into the mercury 
precisely in proportion to the weight placed upon it, and by a graduation on the 
stem, it is at once seen what the charge of postage will be. 
This little contrivance is the invention of John Taylor, Esq., F.R.S., and the in- 
struments are very neatly made and sold, in a variety of forms, by Mr. Lund, No. 
24, Fleet Street. 
NEW SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 
Scripture and Geology. — On the Relation between the Holy 
Scriptures and some parts of Geological Science. By John Pye 
Smith, D.D., F.G.S., Divinity Tutor in the Protestant Dissenting 
College at Homerton. 1 Vol. 8vo. Jackson and Walford. Of this 
highly interesting and important work we hope shortly to give an 
account in some degree worthy of its merits. 
Dr. Meyen’s Report on the Progress of Vegetable Physiology du- 
ring the year 1837. Translated from the German by William Fran- 
cis, A.L.S. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR NOV., 1839. 
Chiswick. — Nov. 1. Hazy; rain. 2. Rain. 3,4. Foggy; rain. 5. Rain; 
fine. 6. Hazy; rain. 7. Rain. 8. Hazy; rain. 9. Fine: drizzly. 10. Hazy: 
rain. 11. Clear. 12, 13. Hazy: overcast. 14. Fine: rain. 15. Hazy. 16. 
Overcast; clear and fine at night. 17. Rain. 18. Heavy rain. 19. Fine: a 
large halo round the moon at night. 20. Fine; rain. 21. Stormy and wet. 
22. Overcast: fine. 23. Clear. 24. Rain. 25. Cloudy: rain: almost a hur- 
ricane at night. 26. Clear. 27. Dense fog. 28. Hazy. 29. Heavy rain : 
SO. Overcast : heavy showers. 
Boston. — Nov. 1. Storniy. 2. Cloudy : rain p.m. 3. Cloudy. 4, 5. Rain : 
rain early a.m. 6, 7. Cloudy. 8. Cloudy ; rain p.m. 9. Cloudy. 10. Cloudy : 
rain A. M. and P.M. 11. Cloudy. 12,13. Foggy. 14. Cloudy: rain p.m. 15. 
Cloudy: rain A.M. 16. Fine. 17. Fine: rain p.m. 18. Cloudy: rain early 
A.M. 19, 20. Fine. 21. Cloudy : rain early a.m. : rain p.m. 22. Cloudy. 23. 
Fine. 24. Rain. 25. Cloudy. 26. Cloudy : rain early a.m. 27. Fine : rain 
and snow p.m. 28. Cloudy. 29. Rain : rain early am. 30. Stormy. 
Applegarlh Manse, Dumfriesshire. — Nov. 1. Storm of wind with slight showers. 
2. Fair : w^eather moderated. 3. Fair : fine. 4. Rather moist. 5. Clear and 
cold. 6. Quiet day and cloudy. 7. The same ; slight drizzle p.m. 8. Cloudy 
and moist. 9. The same: rain a.m. 10. Quiet day : moist atmosphere. 11. 
Calm day : still moist. 12. Showery all day. 13. Mild day throughout: no 
rain. 14. Drizzly and gloomy : a true Nov. day. 15. Rain all day: heavy p.m. 
16. Showery throughout. 17. Fine day and fair. 18, 19. Drizzling day. 20. 
Very fine day: rain p.m. 21. The same : rain a.m. 22. Fine; one shower p.m. 
23. Frosty morning : shower at noon. 24. Rain all day. 25. Showery a.m. ; 
cleared up P.M. 26. Cold and frosty morning : shower snow. 27. The same ; 
frost increasing ; more snow. 28. Freezing all day ; snow lying, 29. Storm of 
wind and rain ; snow gone, 30, Rain nearly all day. 
