34. Are they most violent in the hills and mountain passes, or at the foot of them or when altogether in the plains? 35. In what countries are they most violent; i. e. do they do most mischief? 36. Have the volcanoes and the hurricanes any connection; that is, did you ever hear or know that the eruption of the volcanoes caused hurricanes? 37. Are there any parts of the country which you know or of which you have heard that cannot be traversed on account of the storms and when does this occur? Of course no one individual will be able to reply to all these questions, but from the priests and head-men down to the guides, each may give his quota and their replies may lead to more information. The religious part of the queries is of interest as like the other Chinese ones, it may shew the connection between the Chinese maritime storms and deities and the inland ones. P. S. As illustrating this singular phænomenon of inland hurricanes, I add here a passage from the forthcoming new edition of the Sailor's Horn-Book, from which it would appear that hurricanes (as to violence) are perfectly well known to the Tchukutskoi of Behring's Straits! and they are also most frequent and severe, and true revolving storms in Iceland! See Vol. XIV. p. 297, of Jameson's Edinburgh Journal of Science in a paper on the Glaciers and climate of Iceland by W. Sartorius Von Walterhausen. "Kotzebue in the Rurick's voyage of discovery, Vol. II. p. 160 of the 8vo. edition, describes a storm of hurricane violence on the 13th April, in Lat. 44° 30′ N. Long. 181° West, but he gives no account of the veering of the wind. Again in the voyage of the Rurick, Vol. I. p. 264, after a smart gale in the neighbourhood of the St. Lawrence Islands he was informed by the Tchukutskoi of St. Lawrence's Bay on the Asiatic Coast of Behring's Straits in 65° 40′ North "that the time of violent storms was at hand, and that the last had been only a faint wind. He gave us to understand that in a real storm nobody was able to stand on their legs, but that they were obliged to lay themselves flat on the ground." This is exactly, as to violence, the description which a Carib of the West Indian islands might have given to Columbus, or which a Mauritius or Jamaica negro would give of their hurricanes in the present day. I have heard it often said in descriptions of hurricanes there, by persons of all classes, that fearful that the dwellinghouse might be blown down the family crept on the ground on all fours (lying flat down when the gusts were most furious) to reach the nearest negro hut or other low sheltered spot; or a "hurricane house" built of stone for such occasions. Are these Behring's Straits storms analogous to those which arise in the interior of the continent of North America and pass out to sea over Newfoundland? and do the Asiatic storms arise in the plains of eastern Siberia and travel out towards Behring's Straits?" Tables of Mortality according to the experience of the Bengal Civil Service, with the values of Annuities, Assurances, &c.-By Capt. J. C. HANNYNGTON, Bengal Army. The following tables are founded on the data contained in a general list of the Civil Service of the Bengal Presidency which was published some years ago by Rámchander Dás under the superintendence of the Hon'ble H. T. Prinsep. A slight liberty has been taken with the ages under 25, in order to avoid irregularities in the premia for short assurances. The deviation is however small, and from 25 to 60, the actual data are very closely followed. After 60 the experience is too limited to be serviceable, and the table was thence continued and joined to the Northampton table by means of a curve and its ordinates. The rate of mortality though higher than the English rates, is much more favourable than that determined by Mr. Woolhouse for the Bengal Military. The resulting rates of assurance premia are accordingly considerably less than those now used by Assurance offices. Nevertheless the rates here exhibited are beyond doubt sufficient; for Mr. Nelson's recent investigations on military lives give still lower rates, and hence it may be fairly inferred that the civil experience if further extended would lead to further reductions. These remarks may serve to justify the publication of these tables, by shewing that they are fit to be used. The allusion to assurance rates will not it is hoped, be thought misplaced. It springs naturally out of the subject, and vital statistics unless applied to the business of life assurance are of little worth. The tables have been prepared with attention to practical details, for practical purposes, in hope that they may be found useful. It has not been considered necessary to add a summary of formulæ adapted to Commutation tables. They can be readily obtained by those who may require them. TABLE I.-Law of Mortality, Bengal Civil Service. Useful logarithms. 9085 8932 8781 8632 148 8484 147 8337 147 8190 145 8045 145 7900 144 7756 144 214357 26.38 153 274798 30.00 9583249 0416751 9926238 0073762 151 265713 29.50 9509487 0490513 9925953 0074047 149 256781 28.99 9435440 0564560 9825674 0174326 248000 28.47 9361114 0638886 9924893 0075107 239368 27.96 9286007 0713993 9924091 0075909 230884 27.43 9210098 0789902 9922741 0077259 222547 26.91 9132839 0867161 9922321 0077679. 9055260 0944740 9921011 0078989 8976271 1023729 9920107 0079893 8896378 1103622 9981610 0018390 190656 24.55 121139 19.31 8814988 1185012 9916474 0083526 8731462 1268538 9914835 0085165 8646297 1353703 9912527 0087473. 8558824 1441176 9910729 0089271 8469553 1530447 9908856 0091144 8378409 1621591 9905612 0094388 8284021 1715979 9901537 0098463 8185558 1814442 9897227 0102773 8082785 1917215 9892660 0107340 7975445 2024555 9887809 0112191 7863254 2136746 9881186 0118814 7744440 2255560 9876341 0123659 7620781.2379219 9869622 0130378 7490403 2509597 9863190 0136810. 7353593 2646407 9857090 0142910. 7210683 2789317 9850518 0149482 7061201 2938799 9844304 0155696 6905505 3094495 9836674 0163326 76998 15.80 6742179 3257821 9830292 0169708 72275 15.41 6572471 3427529 9824386 0175614 |