180 
HAYDEN. 
of which, as Mr. Ferrel has shown, the barometric depression 
must increase. The last step preceding and apparently de¬ 
termining the formation of a well-defined cyclone in the Bay 
of Bengal is, according to Blanford, the inrush of a saturated 
stormy current from the southwest or west-southwest. But 
this last feature may be peculiar to that locality, and those 
previously enumerated seem to correspond best to the con¬ 
ditions generally observed in the formation of whirlwinds.” 
Abbe says, further, “ Concerning the origin and cause of the 
hurricanes of the Atlantic Ocean comparatively little is pos¬ 
itively known.” Relative to this statement it can only be 
said, I think, that it is one of the most remarkable and 
lamentable facts in the history of meteorology that we have 
so completely failed to utilize the admirable opportunities 
that exist for the study of marine meteorology. There is no 
large body of water in the world that compares with this in 
availability for such a purpose ; it is classic ground for the 
meteorologist, for it was here that Bedfield made his great 
discoveries; and, finally, very complete and reliable data 
have been for years past and are now being collected from 
masters of vessels navigating these waters. In spite of all 
these advantages, however, no well-directed effort seems to 
have been made to utilize the data at hand, and we have to 
go to the Bay of Bengal for light on the subject. The fact 
is, the interests of agriculture and other great inland indus¬ 
tries are really so important in this country that they are of 
right entitled to every consideration; and yet commerce is a 
great factor in our success as a nation, and, indeed, the study 
of the meteorology of the Bay of North America is of the 
very greatest importance in connection with a knowledge of 
weather conditions in the entire eastern half of the United 
States, so intimate is the relation between the two. 
Another theory regarding the formation of cyclones is that 
of the French astronomer, Faye, and this may be called the 
“ descending eddy ” theory. Although not supported by the 
same weight of authority as the generally accepted “ aspira¬ 
tion ” theory (referred to above), it seems to me to be worthy 
