1875.]

[Britton.

been effected. Against hasty work, therefore, beginners should be specially cautioned, and a slow discharging instrument would be best in their hands I have experimented in years past, as stated at a former meeting, with valves made of quite a number of substances, hard and soft. Of the hard sort, glass when ground true and cushioned behind, afforded a tighter joint than metal, and gave altogether the most satisfaction, but still with ordinary every day usage would not keep in order, and withstand the pressure of a full column of fluid without leaking more or less. Of the soft sort, rubber and fine grained cork were the best; the latter proved most excellent when solutions of potassium permangenate and bichromate were used. for, while always giving a perfectly tight joint, and being sufficiently durable, it became absolutely inert, and never got sticky from applications of tallow like rubber. Cork has been in use at the Iron-Masters' Laboratory constantly since 1866, and I still prefer it for my purposes; when cut perfectly true and rubbed with tallow, it will make a valve from which globules no larger than the head of an ordinary pin can be discharged at will. I attach it to the spring with a rivet, and sometimes with a cement; for attaching thin rubber I have used a cement and also a benzine solution of rubber. For springs I have used platinum, brass, steel, and common tin plate.

Of the instruments exhibited, the rod-stoppered kind have the advantage of universal application, but the spring valved kind have more solidity and compactness, and will bear much rougher usage.

Fig. 5

O

The one described by George A. Kœnig, Ph. D (Vol. XIV, No. 93, p. 218, of the published proceedings) is the short, graduated tube furnished by the dealers, to which is fitted the thumb-screw, and spring valve adjustment, the screw working through the spring, and not against it. It is not permanently mounted, and must be used like the one long ago proposed by Mohr (See side view Fig. 5). He states that by putting a hinged joint to the spring he has been enabled to use a platinum valve with a 30 cc tube, the delicacy of the hinge though, was found to be an objection, making the valve liable to get out of order. He further states that a spring coated with rubber will resist the action of standard acids. The instrument is substantially what had been produced years before, and, as must be obvious, is not so perfect as the permanently mounted one.

Stated Meeting, February 4th, 1876.

Present, 17 members.

Vice-President, Mr. FRALEY, in the Chair.

Letters of envoy were received from the Botanical Gardens, at St. Petersburg, December 19th, 1875, and from the Albany Institute, January 28th, 1876.

Letters of acknowledgment were received from the New Bedford Public Library, 93,94; New York Historical Society, 95; and Rantoul Literary Society.

Donations for the Library were received from the Asiatic Society, Japan Branch; R. Academy, at Brussels; Royal Astronomical Society, in London; London Nature; Peabody Academy at Salem; Boston Society of N. H.; Mr. Edmund Quincy; American Journal of Science, and Professor Marsh, of New Haven; Albany Institute; Society of N. S. Buffalo; American Pharmaceutical Association; A. Journal of Pharmacy; Penn Monthly; Medical News; Social Science Association at Philadelphia; and U. S. Department Interior.

The death of John C. Cresson, first Vice-President of the Society, was announced by Mr. Eli K. Price, as having taken place January 27th ult., aged 69 (born March 16th, 1807). On motion of Mr. Price, Mr. Fraley was appointed to prepare an obituary notice of the deceased.

Prof. Hart made a statement of the arguments for and against the genuineness of the "Death Mask of Shakespeare" said to have been discovered in Germany, illustrating his remarks by photographs of the principal portraits of Shakespeare, and of the mask in different positions.

Mr. Chase made reference to the paper of Dr. D. Ast, in the American Journal of Science and Arts for January, 1854, reproduced in the American Chemist for May, 1875, on observations on the spectra of metals in the electric circuit.

Pending nomination No. 792 was read.

Mr. Fraley reported the receipt of $150.40, the dividend from the Michaux legacy last due, January 1st, 1876.

Mr. Blodget, on behalf of the Committee appointed at the last meeting, made a preliminary report, and the meeting was adjourned.

Stated Meeting, February 18th, 1876.

Present, 13 members.

Vice-President, Mr. FRALEY, in the Chair.

A letter accepting membership was received from Dr. J. Gibbons Hunt, dated Philadelphia, February 4th, 1876.

A letter respecting the action of the Society on the subject of the Polaris Expedition was received from Admiral Davis, dated Washington, February 15th, 1876.

A letter respecting a coin of 1670, the date of the settlement of Quebec, struck by order of Louis XIV, and making the first currency of French North America, was received from Prof. Charles E. Anthon, dated, College of the City of New York, February 11th, 1876, desiring to learn whether the Society would accept the coin, and place a record of its character in their Proceedings.

A letter of envoy was received from the U. S, Naval Observatory at Washington.

Letters of acknowledgment were received from the R. Danish Academy, January 15th (XVII. 93, 94); Essex Institution, February 5th (95); Boston N. H. S. (95; and asking for Vol.V, N. S. and 94); and the U. S. Naval Observatory, February 4th (95).

Donations for the Library were received from the Society at Dresden; the Geographical Society at Paris; the Editors of the Revue Politique; Nouvelles Météorologiques; Revue Philosophique; and Revue Historique; the British Association; Geological, and Meteorological Societies; Nature; Mr. Sam. Birch of the British Museum; Liverpool L. and P. Society; Franklin Institute; Medical News; Prof. E. J. Houston; and U. S. Naval Observatory.

Blasius.]

[Feb. 18,

The Committee on Dr. Valentini's memoir was continued.

The death of Mr. Charles des Moulins, at Bordeaux, on the 23d December, 1875, was announced by letter.

Mr. Blasius read a defense of his theory of storms.

A Brief Discussion of Some Opinions in Meteorology.

BY W. BLASIUS.

Read before the American Philosophical Society, February 18th, 1876. The definite establishment of the laws which regulate the weather is of so much general importance that I am induced to ask your attention to the following remarks, since the discussion of opinions cannot fail to elaborate the truth at last.

In the January number of the Atlantic Monthly, there appeared a fairtempered review of my recent work on "Storms," which seems to be from the pen of a practical meteorologist, between whom and myself, therefore, I am the more anxious that there should be no misunderstandings. The reviewer does not deny nor admit the truth of the theories I have advanced, but leaves them to the verdict of time.

He in some important particulars, however, fails to understand the views I hold. Permit me to quote :

"The West Cambridge Tornado, which first decided the direction of our author's meteorlogical studies, seems to have had a too powerful influence upon his judgment of the cyclonists,' the upholders of Redfield's Theory. Where a cyclonist sees a large storm 500 miles in diameter, on the borders of which the winds are blowing in every direction, Dr. Blasius sees many small storms, each modeled in a greater or less degree like the West Cambridge Tornado. A very striking proof that a storm may be constituted as the cyclones are supposed to be is afforded by the singular case of the ship Charles Heddle, which was caught in the borders of one of these cyclones, and sailed five times completely around its border, meeting winds blowing exactly in the directions demanded by the cyclone theory. The experience of Dr. Blasius has been limited to local storms, and he has apparently never been able to realize the existence of a storm of any magnitude.

This is particularly evident in the discussion of Prof. Abbe's report on the Nova Scotia storm of August 23, 1873. Prof. Abbe is speaking of a storm at least 500 miles in diameter, but Dr. Blasius discusses it as if it were an assemblage of tornadoes each 1,200 feet wide."

Now the statement that where "a cyclonist sees large storms," I see "many small storms" is curious enough, since a considerable part of my

book is devoted to an attempt to prove that in many cases where the U. S. Signal Service and other cyclonists see "many small storms," each independent of the other, there is in reality one large storm hundreds of miles in width.

And as for the fact that "a storm may be constituted as the cyclones are supposed to be," the position I have taken is not that there are no cyclones, but that there are none in our latitude, and that the theory which would make all storms cyclones is radically erroneous. The citation of the Charles Heddle case, to which I have also alluded in my book, is not a very fortunate one, however, since it is far from being authentic. Even Dove himself, the great apostle of the cyclonic theory, calls it a sea romance," "oder auf gut muselmannisch gesprochen, etwas was gesehehen sein konne, wenn es dem Propheten so gefallen hætte."

Even if it were authentic, however, it would not conflict with any position I have taken, since the storm to which it relates was a typhoon of the Indian Ocean.

The complaint that my experience has been limited to local storms, shows some confusion of ideas, since it is not to be supposed that extensive storms have avoided me, or that the researches of others are not open to me. The reviewer in another place says:

"If Dr. Blasius's book were not dated from the Atlantic coast, the meteorologist could yet determine quite accurately his latitude and longitude from the types of storms he gives."

This is quite satisfactory, since the professed aim of my book is to give general principles, capable of universal application, and then to show how these principles are applied to our latitude as example of the modifying effect of differing local circumstances. Meteorology is largely a science of locality, after all, as well as of the air; mountains, lakes, forests, the seaall have their effect in determining how the general weather changes will affect us. And this is the reason why predictions for a large section of country, such as the signal service give can never be so accurate as to be of much use.

That I have endeavored to show how general principles could be locally applied, probably affords the Atlantic Monthly reviewer ground for supposing my views restricted; but he cannot have read the book very carefully. So far from not being able to realize the existence of a storm of any magnitude," it is one of the main points of difference between the cyclonists and myself that, whereas they consider the area of low barometer the storm, my views make this but a part of the storm, which covers also much larger areas of high barometer in front and rear.

The particular case cited, that of the Nova Scotia storm of August 23, 1873, is not at all to the point, since, instead of taking a more limited view of the phenomenon than Professor Abbe does, I hold that the storm was twice as large as Prof. Abbe supposes it to have been, and that one-half of it the Signal Service never knew at all. More than this, the half they did not see was that which was on land within their jurisdiction, and was the real