1 
{CUltuRE,H£ 
EXCELSIOR 
■II Piirlt How, IVcw York, 
M2 liulVulo Mt., Itociieater, 
PER YEAR. 
Mingle !Vo., Eight Cent* 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MAY 21, 1870 
[Entered aoeordlng to Act of Couki-os*, in tiic year istn, by i». d. t. mooiik, in the dork’s Office of the District Court of the I nited State > for the Sottthern hintrlct of New York.) 
cal and keep pace with the tem¬ 
perature of the day. Thus they 
will begin to form some hours af¬ 
ter sun rise, arrive at their maxi¬ 
mum in the hottest part of the 
afternoon, then goon diminishing, 
and totally disperse about sunset. 
" But in changeable weather 
they partake of the vicissitudes of 
the atmosphere ; sometimes evap¬ 
orating almost aa soon as formed ; 
at others suddenly forming and 
as quickly passing to the com¬ 
pound modifications. 
“ The Cumulus of fair weather 
has a uiodcrato elevation and ex¬ 
tent, and a well-defined rounded 
surface. Previous to rain it in¬ 
creases more rapidly, appears low¬ 
er in the atmosphere, and with its 
surface full of loose fleeces or pro¬ 
tuberances. 
“The formation of large Cum¬ 
ulus to leeward in a strong Wind, 
indicates the approach of a calm 
with rain. When they do not dis¬ 
appear or subside about sunset., 
but continue to rise, thunder is to 
be expected in the night. 
“ Independently of the. beauty 
and magnificence it adds to the 
face of nature, 
fttctfcrrolagmil 
t ': V) 
NEW CLASSIFICATION OF CLOUDS 
IiimI i-iictioiiH to b«> Used in Hie Oboervnlion «f 
Cloud)*, noil of tlii> Inferior nod Hupei'inr 
CiirreniM of the Atmosphere, t Specially U«* 
Hiitiied lot- AgrlcuUiirluta mid Seniucu. 
BY PROP. ANDRE POKY. 
Director of the Observatory of Havana. 
(Continued from pa go 232, Ritual April 8.1 
V.- PALLIO-CIRRUB (POKY.) 
81ml or Snoic Cloud, (See Plate 1.)—-The 
Pallio-cirrus are formed by the agglomeration 
of Cirro-cumulus , which are visibly sinking, 
or they appear already formed towards a 
point of the horizon in the stratum, corre¬ 
sponding to this latter type, la the first 
case they are a little lower, more dense, less 
compact, more rapid, grayish, and often show 
some traces of polarization. In the second 
case, they are a little higher, less dense, 
more compact, less rapid, pearly whitish, im¬ 
penetrable to the solar rays, and without a 
trace of polarization. In the two eases they 
appear generally in the southwesterly hori¬ 
zon, showing the presence of the superior 
equatorial currant, a.ml determining the fall 
of rain while t hey remain above and oppo¬ 
site lu the I‘nUi"-<rumulUH. As soon as a 
breach is made in this inferior stratum, it is 
not alow in being equally produced in that 
of the Pallio-cirrus ; sometimes this has al¬ 
ready taken place in the latter. After the 
rupture of this stratum, the Pallio-cirrus are 
transformed into Cirrocumulus, studded with 
Cirro-stratus, On the approach of Pallio- 
cirrus we observe the following meteorologi¬ 
cal manifestations; the barometer falls, the 
thermometer rises, the relative humidity in¬ 
creases, the tension of vapour diminishes, 
and the wind at. the earth is felt from that 
direction a little after. 
vi.—vAr.uo-cuMui.ua (poky.)* 
Pain-cloud, (See Plate II.) The Paltio- 
cu.mulus are produced by the agglomeration 
of Fracio-cumulus, which are gradually ex¬ 
tended under the form of a uniform and 
compact stratum. This stratum is constant¬ 
ly sustained by the entrance of new Fracto- 
cumuli, which increase its thickness until 
rain begins; then the. Fracto-cu/iiulus ceases 
to penetrate it, pass along the stratum of 
PaXUo -cumulus afterwards, hut before the 
end of the rain they are disengaged anew 
from the stratum, which becomes thin, is 
broken up and disappears. The Pallio-aim- 
ulus arc lower, more dense, less Compact, 
more rapid than the Pallio-cirrus, and slate- 
colored or grayish. The thicker and more 
compact this stratum is, the longer will the 
rain continue; hut as soon us a breach is 
made, it disengages fragments of Cumulus , 
( Fraolo-cumulus,) which rapidly disappear, 
while the remainder are piled up at the hori¬ 
zon in the form of Cumulus. The Pallio- 
cumuli appear almost always from the north¬ 
east, showing the inferior polar current, 
which is not slow in blowing at the surface 
of the earth. Thu meteorological manifesta¬ 
tions determined by them arc inverse to those 
ot PaUio-cirrus ; the barometer rises, the ther¬ 
mometer falls, the relative humidity dimin¬ 
ishes, and the tension of aqueous vapor in¬ 
creases. 
VII.—CUMULUS (vel CUMUL0-8TRATUS.) 
(HOWARD.) 
Mount-cloud. (See Plate Hi. and IV.— 
Howard’s Cumulus (or Cumulo-stratus), 
summer and aqueous vesicle clouds, (the 
“cotton hulls’’ of sailors) always appear in 
the form of a hemisphere or of rounded arcs 
of a circle, and repose upon a horizontal 
base. W hen these hemispheres are piled 
upon one another, there are formed great 
clouds accumulated at the horizon, similar 
in the distance to mountains covered with 
siiosv. I heir contours lake very many 
forms, human, animal, and of every kind 
tllfl Cumulus 
H( , rv ,. H to screen the oftrMi from t he 
direct rays of the sue j*by its mul¬ 
tiplied reflections to diffuse, and, 
as it were, economise the light, 
and also to convey the product of evapora¬ 
tion to a distance from the place of its origin. 
The relations of the Cumulus with the state 
of the barometer, etc., have not yet been 
enough attended to.’’—[To he continued. 
Id,. I. a, h, Gradual Form avion ; <1, veiled sun ; v, Perfect Type. 
PALLIO-CIRRUS <POEY.) SHEET OR SNOW CLOUD. 
. 11. — a, Nascent Formation; h, Perfect Type 
PALLIO-CIIMULUS. (FOEY.) RAIN CLOUD. 
of productions, more or less bizarre ami fa n¬ 
tastic, which have inspired the poet Ohbian 
with his finest images, and given rise in 
mountainous countries to popular traditions 
full of events. 
When the Cumulus moves along the hori¬ 
zon, they are, excepting Fraclo-cumulm, the 
most rapid clouds. I5ut when they are piled 
up along the horizon, in summer, towards 
the South, in winter towards the North, 
the Cumulus always rests upon the limi/on, 
and is very little elevated during a storm. 
They follow the direction of surface winds. 
Upon the plateau of the valley of Mexico, 
the Cumulus Completely disappear during 
the winter half of the year, and appear anew 
during the other six months. In summer 
they appear about eight, or nine o'clock in 
the morning. They attain their highest 
elevation from two to three o’clock in the 
along with the current which is next the 
earth. A small irregular spot first appears, 
and is, as it were, the nucleus on which they 
increase. The lower surface continues 
irregularly plane, while the upper rises into 
conical or hemispherical heaps, which may 
afterwards continue long nearly of the same 
hulk or rapidly grow to the size of moun¬ 
tains. 
“ In the former capo they are usually num- 
METEOROLOGICAL NOTES, 
At Montsouris, France, i3 a Meteorologi¬ 
cal Observatory established by M. C. Sainte- 
_ Claire Dkville, to which a 
grant of £2,400 has been made by 
&J the French Minister of Public In 
H structUm for the current year, with 
-3£3g0j the arrangement that the peculiar 
work to 1)0 done has to comprise, 
(1.) The complete study of all the 
facts relating to the climate of 
Paris, and the observation of the 
g | phenomena of physical interest 
pertaining thereto; (2) the cul- 
y,j dilution and digestion of the older 
; • observations on record; (51) the 
collection and redaction of the 
dally observations made in France 
and abroad, as far as they are pub¬ 
lished or transmitted daily by tel¬ 
egraph ; (4) the daily publishing 
of all the results of observations 
- The London Athemvum oon- 
tains another example of the in- 
- flucnco of forests upon the quan- 
tity of rain. In several districts 
of Australia, there is a perfect 
. | Y , ' rage lbr cutting down timber, ami 
■ where this devastation lias been 
carried out, the quantity of water 
JgSjm that falls in a year lias greatly di¬ 
minished ; from 517 inches in 18(5:*, 
it has decreased to 17 inches in 
1808. in 1809, from January to 
mH July, comprising two of the wet 
months, there only fell 11 inches 
of rain. In Victoria the want of 
water is becoming a serious ques¬ 
tion, and the Government has been com¬ 
pelled to appoint an inspector of forests, in¬ 
trusted with the duty of preserving the trees 
already existing, aud to establish nurseries 
for young sprouts wherever admissible. By 
a judicious planting and preservation of for¬ 
ests, it is anticipated Unit a decided Improve¬ 
ment can be effected in the climate of the 
mmrj 
Pn. ill. — a , Perfect Tvce. Pl. IV. — /), b , Nascent Formation 
CUMULUS (VJEDX* CUMULO-STKATUS.) (HOWARD.) MOUNT CXiOTJJD. 
they become excessively slow, and remain a 
whole day without scarcely moving. They 
are then extended perpendicularly, or obli¬ 
quely, towards the zenith. Their roundish 
summit Is of a glittering whiteness, and when 
they are elevated high enough, they are dyed, 
like the Cirrus, morning and evening, rose 
color. The center of the cloud is grayish, the 
base being slate color or bluckish. The base of 
afternoon, during the greatest heat, after 
which they fadeaway gradually, and a little 
after sun down disappear entirely behind 
the bills. Thus Cumulus in Mexico are 
only visible; in summer and during the day. 
I low aud says : 
“ Clouds in this modification arc common¬ 
ly of the most dense structure; they are 
formed in the lower atmosphere and move 
erous and near together, in the latter few 
and distant; but whether there are few or 
many, their bases lie always nearly in one 
horizontal plane; and their increase upward 
is somewhat proportionate to the extent of 
base, and nearly alike in many that appear 
at once. 
“Their appearance, increase and disap¬ 
pearance, in fair weather, arc often periodi- 
CQuntry 
