feet above the ground. The naked thermometers employed for indicating
the relative amount of solar and terrestrial radiation, are precisely
similar to those in use at the Government Observatories.
The Rain and Evaporation Gauges are 8 inches in diameter, and the
metres are graduated to the 1/1000th part of an inch. Both are read
off daily. The aperture of the rain-gauge is about 7 feet above the
ground. The evaporation dish is mounted on a moveable stand, 4 feet 4
inches in height, and the circular shelf on which the vessel rests, is
just large enough to hold it. The gauge receives a fair proportion of
wind and sunshine, and is always exposed in the open air during the
day, except when _rain is falling_. At night and in wet weather, it is
placed under a capacious shed, 9 feet in height, and open in front.
Thus, it is conceived that the evaporating surface is freely acted
upon by all the circumstances concerned in promoting this important
natural process.
The direction of the wind is taken twice daily, and its force is
registered on an arbitrary scale from 0 to 6; the highest number is
reserved for storms approaching the hurricane in violence, and is very
rarely recorded.
_Remarks on the Weather in 1849._
_January._--A damp wet month, except the first week, when sharp frost
prevailed. The mean temperature is 0°·68 _above_ the average. On the
night between the 2d and 3d, a naked thermometer on the grass fell to
4°, and one on raw wool to 2°·8 below zero, being the lowest
temperature I have recorded. The radiation indicated by raw wool was
21°·5. Between one and two o'clock on the morning of the 10th, a
terrific thunder-storm burst suddenly over the town, and spread great
alarm amongst the slumbering inhabitants. Seven or eight dazzling
discharges of the electric fluid, followed by deafening crashes,
succeeded each other in about as many minutes. The storm was almost
vertical; and between several of the flashes and the accompanying
thunder, there was scarcely an appreciable interval, certainly not
more than a single second of time. The war of the elements ceased as
suddenly as it commenced, and altogether, the storm did not last more
than ten minutes. The wind, which previously blew a heavy gale, lulled
almost to a calm as the last peal died away. The storm was followed by
a heavy fall of rain and hail. It appears to have been pretty much
confined to this town and neighbourhood. Thunder was also heard on the
evening of the 14th, and lightning was seen on the nights of the 21st,
26th, and 29th. Saturn's ring was perceived at this Observatory on the
night of the 31st, after a long continuance of damp, wet weather. As
this singular appendage was readily seen, and was well and sharply
defined, I have no doubt the instrument would have shewn it ten or
fourteen days earlier, had the nights been at all favourable. The ring
was also seen on the night of the 11th of September 1848, during its
temporary reappearance.
_February._--A fine, dry, and mild month. The temperature 3°·49
_above_ the average of twelve years. On the 11th, the barometer
attained the remarkably high point of 30·82 at this Observatory, which
is about 90 feet above the sea level. At the Royal Observatory,
Greenwich (40 feet above sea), the maximum was 30·85, being greater
than any reading since January 1825, when the barometer at the Royal
Society's apartments attained to 30·841, at 81 feet above the sea
level; and there is no other instance recorded in the Philosophical
Transactions of a reading so high as 30·8, from the commencement of
the series in 1774. The maxima of pressure recorded on the 11th in
various parts of the country, were all found to give a reading of
30·90 at the mean sea level.
On the 18th, primroses were in flower on the cliffs between Panton and
Harrington.
_March._--Similar to February. Temperature 2°·29 _above_ the average,
and the complement of the dew-point 2°·40 _below_ the mean of the two
preceding years.
FIRST QUARTER.--The temperature of the first quarter of 1849 is 2°·16
_above_ the average of twelve years, and the complement of the
dew-point is 1°·52 _below_ that of the corresponding quarter in the
unhealthy years 1847 and 1848.
The average fall of rain is 11·593 inches; in 1849, we have had 8·565,
or 3·02 inches _below_ the usual quantity.
The deaths in the quarter ending March 31, in the town and suburb of
Preston Quarter, are 168, being 16 _above_ the corrected quarterly
average, which is 152. In the corresponding quarters of 1848 and 1849,
the deaths were 250 and 187 respectively.
The deaths exceed the births by 25 in number.
_April._--A fine, dry, but cold month. The temperature 1°·95 below the
average. On the 23d the cuckoo was heard, and on the following day the
swallow was seen in this neighbourhood. On Good Friday, the 6th, two
parhelia, accompanied by a halo, were seen by a friend who was fishing
by the river Calder. The sky was covered with a thin cirro-stratus, so
that the images did not present any defined outline or disc, but
consisted of three circular patches of light of nearly equal
intensity, so much so, that it was difficult to distinguish the real
from the phantom suns. The phenomena were first noticed about 5 P.M.,
and they remained visible till near six. The ring or halo passed
through the centres of the parhelia, one of which was to the left, and
the other to the right of the sun, with which they formed a straight
line.
_May._--A fine month, with an average mean temperature. The sun shone
out on 29 days. The depth of rain is about an inch _above_ the average
quantity.
_June._--A very dry month, and by far the coldest June I have recorded
in the last seventeen years. The mean temperature is no less than
3°·67 below the average. The hay harvest began in this neighbourhood
about the 20th.
The thermometer on the grass, on raw wool, was below the freezing
point on eight nights; on the nights of the 8th and 10th it fell to
27°·5, and on that of the 19th and 20th, to 25°. On several mornings
ice was seen in the immediate vicinity of the town, and on the 3d of
the month there was a somewhat heavy fall of snow amongst the
mountains. Highbell, Kentmere, High Street, and the mountains around
Mardale, were covered with the mantle of winter to the depth of 6
inches. Such an incident has not occurred, it is said, since 1827,
when several sheep were lost and smothered in snow-drifts on Mosedale
and Helvellyn; and Skiddaw was covered with snow. Both snow and hail
are recorded on the 10th in the register kept for me at Bassenthwaite
Halls, at the foot of Skiddaw.
What is most remarkable, this unusual coldness does not appear to have
been experienced at all in the southern counties of England. At
Greenwich, the temperature is stated to be of the same value as that
of the average from 70 years, but less than that of the preceding
eight years, by 1°·9. According to Mr Glaisher's tables, published in
the Registrar-General's Report for the June quarter, the mean
temperature in Cornwall and Devonshire _exceeds_ that of the
corresponding month in 1847, by 0°·7, and south of lat. 52°, it is in
excess 9/10ths of a degree. Between the parallels 52° and 53°, the
temperature is 1°·2 _below_ that of June 1847; between 53° and 54°, it
is 2°·1, and at Whitehaven, in lat. 54½°, it is 2°·7 below that of
June 1847.
The extraordinary depression in the temperature has therefore been
unparticipated in, by places situated south of the parallel of 53°.
SECOND QUARTER.--The mean temperature of the quarter ending June 30,
is 1°·92 _below_ the average of twelve preceding years; and the
difference between the air and dew-point temperatures is 1°·32 _above_
that of the corresponding quarter in the years 1847 and 1848.
The average fall of rain is 8·15 inches; in the second quarter of
1849, the fall is 5·74 inches, or 2·40 inches under the normal
quantity.
The deaths in the town and suburb are 139, being 21 above the
corrected average number, which is 117. In the June quarters of 1847
and 1848 the deaths were 177 and 147 respectively. The births exceed
the deaths by 59.
_July._--Cold and wet. Temperature 1°·82 _below_ the average. The hay
harvest began in this neighbourhood about the 20th June; meadow hay
was rather light on the ground, but the crop generally was well
secured.
_August._--Average temperature and depth of rain, with a serene and
stagnant atmosphere. The complement of the dew point is 1°·78 _below_
the average of the month in the two preceding years.
_September._--A fine, mild, and rather dry month, with serene
atmosphere. At the close of the month, several of the public fountains
were dry, and most of the pumps in the town had ceased to yield their
supplies.
THIRD QUARTER.--The temperature of the quarter ending September 30th
is 0°·37 _below_ the average, and the complement of the dew-point, as
compared with the two previous years, is 0°·5 _below_ the mean. The
depth of rain is 0·36 inch under the average quantity, which is 12·42
inches. The deaths in the third quarter of 1849, in the town and
suburb, are 168, or 47 above the corrected average number; and, except
in 1846, a greater number than has occurred in any September quarter
since the register was begun in 1839. In the September quarter of the
last four years, the deaths are as under: 1846, 255; 1847, 148; 1848,
142; and 1849, 168. The births exceed the deaths by six in number.
During this quarter we had a few cases of Asiatic cholera in this
town, chiefly in the month of September; and at the adjacent seaport
of Workington the disease was of a most malignant character, and
exceedingly fatal. The total number of deaths from the commencement of
the epidemic on the 13th of August, till it entirely ceased on the 6th
of November, was 172. In 1841, the population was 6041, which gives a
mortality of 2·8 per cent., or one death in every 35 persons, from
cholera. It is, however, believed that the population of Workington
has decreased since the last census was taken; and at the time the
epidemic was raging, most of the respectable inhabitants had left the
place; so that the ratio of mortality amongst the then residents must
have been considerably greater than is here stated. A singular fact
connected with the disease is its sudden cessation for several days,
at the expiration of which it returns with increased virulence. In the
week between the 25th and 31st of August, the deaths were 65; from the
31st August to the 8th September there were none; on the 8th, 12; 9th
and 10th, none; on the 11th, 13; and on the 12th only one death; 13th,
11; from the 14th to the 19th inclusive, the deaths averaged 2·5
daily, but on the 20th they rose to 13; and between the 21st and the
end of September there were only eight deaths, which occurred on the
21st, 22d, 25th, and 27th.
Between the 1st and 20th of October the deaths were 32, and during
that period there were frequently none for three or four consecutive
days. There was only one death after the 20th October. It occurred on
the 6th of November, when the pestilence ceased. I am informed by a
resident medical gentleman, that at the commencement of the disease
the cases were rapidly fatal, many of them after eight or ten hours'
illness, and it was then almost entirely confined to the lower
classes.
The proximate cause of the exceedingly fatal character of the disease
at this seaport is probably to be found in the effluvia engendered by
the extensive tract of marshy land, called the "Cloffocks," adjoining
the river Derwent, and in the immediate vicinity of the town. What is
most remarkable, the first case of cholera at Workington occurred on
the same day of the same month, in the same house, and even in the
same room in the said house, where the epidemic first broke out in the
summer of 1832. There is no peculiarity in the situation of the house,
nor can any reason be assigned for this most singular coincidence. I
am informed that very few insects were seen about the river, and,
during the height of the disease, the rooks entirely forsook their
old-established quarters in the grounds adjoining the Hall.[29]
Footnote 29: The cause of this fearful epidemic is still a
mystery. The meteorological conditions of the atmosphere,
although slightly abnormal, are wholly inadequate to account for
its induction. It is most probably induced by some gaseous poison
diffused through the atmosphere, but of a nature so subtle that
the most delicate analysis fails to detect its presence.
According to the experiments of Dr Dundas Thompson of Glasgow, no
solid matter existed in the air, but ammonia was obtained from it
in the proportion of 0·319 grain of caustic ammonia, or 0·731
grain of carbonate of ammonia, to 1000 pounds of air.
_October._--Cold, with an average fall of rain (5¼ inches.) The mean
temperature is 2°·5 _below_ the average. The grain crops were above an
average in point of quantity, and they were got under cover in
excellent condition. Garden fruit, as pears, apples, &c., were not so
plentiful as usual. On the evening of the 28th, that rare phenomenon a
lunar rainbow, was seen from the grounds at Tarn Bank, near
Cockermouth, by Isaac Fletcher, Esq., to whom I am indebted for the
following description of it:--
In the early part of the evening the sky was clear, but at 8h 30m a
dense mist rose from the river Derwent and entirely overspread a large
segment of the northern horizon; whilst to the south, the atmosphere
continued comparatively clear, the moon, within four days of full,
shining brightly near the meridian. About 9h 10m, there was a faint
luminous arch in the north, which was evidently a lunar rainbow, or
rather a fog-bow, for no rain whatever was visible at the time. The
light reflected by the arch was white, and perfectly free from
prismatic colour. Its breadth was considerable, perhaps 4° or 5°, and
its centre or highest part, passed close under the star beta Ursæ
Majoris, so that the extreme altitude of the arch was probably about
18° or 20°. The edges were not sharply defined, but gradually shaded
off. It was noticed that the denser the fog became, the more apparent
was the arch, and _vice versa_, so that the phenomenon could not have
been of an auroral character. The phenomenon was watched for ten or
fifteen minutes, when the gradual dispersion of the fog, by destroying
the refracting medium, put an end to this interesting appearance.
_November._--As usual, a very dull, damp month, with but little
difference between the temperature of the days and nights. Temperature
1°·20 _above_ the average.
Early on the morning of the 2d, a swallow was seen on the wing in the
immediate vicinity of this town. The maximum temperature of the day
was 55°. Between the 9th and 12th inclusive, the extremes of day and
night temperature only varied 2 degrees.
_December._--A fine dry month with occasional frosty nights.
Temperature 2°·15, and rain 2·19 inches _below_ the average. Two loud
peals of thunder and much lightning on the night of the 14th.
The remarkable meteor observed at Edinburgh on the evening of the
19th, and minutely described by Professor Forbes who witnessed it, was
also seen at Whitehaven under the same circumstances and at the same
time.
LAST QUARTER.--The mean temperature of the last quarter of 1849 is
1°·15 _below_ the average, and the complement of the dew-point is
0°·87 _below_ the mean of the two preceding years. The average depth
of rain for the quarter is 14·64 inches; in 1849 the quarterly fall is
12·62 inches, or 2·02 inches _under_ the normal quantity. The deaths
in this quarter, in the town and suburbs, are 131, being 4 _below_ the
average number.
It is pleasant to have to announce a favourable change in the sanitary
condition of this town, and to record the termination of an excessive
mortality, which uninterruptedly prevailed for a period of two years
and a half; for this is the only quarterly period wherein the deaths
have not exceeded the average since March 1846.
In the corresponding quarters of 1846, 1847, and 1848, the deaths were
215, 161, and 176 respectively. The births exceed the deaths by 34.
THE AURORA BOREALIS.--There have been seven exhibitions of the aurora
borealis during the year 1849, two of which were sufficiently
remarkable to merit something more than a passing notice.
The first occurred on the evening of January 14th. At 10 P.M., a
well-defined auroral arch, about 5° in width, extended from NNE. to
W., its highest part reaching nearly to Arided in Cygnus. At 11h there
was one complete arch, and segments of two other arches, all
brilliant, crossing each other in the NW., and throwing off intensely
bright streamers, some of which reached the altitude of the Pointers.
The aurora was now exceedingly beautiful, and emitted considerable
light. The streamers appeared to have a duplex lateral motion, running
along the upper edge of the arch from west to north, and then
backwards from north to west. The clear sky beneath the arches was
almost black, from contrast. At 11h 30m the arches had broken up, and
the streamers appeared to emanate from the horizon.
_February 18._--At 9 P.M. there was a brilliant band of auroral light
in the east about 6° in width, which shot upwards towards the zenith,
throwing off short lateral streamers. At times, a complete arch of
varying width extended from the eastern to the western horizon; at
others, it was broken up into two or more detached portions. At 9h
45m, a magnificent rainbow-like arch about 2° in width, spanned the
heavens from ENE. to WSW. The altitude of the centre was apparently
about 75°; the lower edge, at or near the highest point of the arch,
was bounded by the star Castor. The arch was beautifully defined, and
of perfectly even width throughout its entire extent; it disappeared
in a few minutes after my attention was called to it, and soon after
the sky became overcast. But for the absence of the moon, it might
easily have been mistaken for a lunar rainbow. A precisely similar
arch made its appearance here on the evening of the 21st of March
1833, and as far as my observation goes, these perfect rainbow-like
arches are of exceedingly rare occurrence.
The following phenomenon though unconnected with auroræ, is probably
of electric origin; and, as an unusual atmospheric appearance, is
worthy of being placed on record:--_September 16._--The sky was mostly
overcast throughout the day, except a segment extending from WSW. to
ENE., which was bright and clear to an altitude of about 15°. The
upper boundary of the clear blue space was an elliptical segment
formed by a sheet of white cloud, which was partially illuminated
towards the western extremity, and somewhat resembled an auroral arch.
I first noticed this blue arch about 3 P.M., and from that time until
it disappeared, about six o'clock, there was not the slightest
apparent change, either in its altitude or position. It was observed
as early as 7 o'clock in the morning, when it was, nearer to the
horizon.
GENERAL REMARKS.--The year 1849 is the driest we have had since 1844;
the fall of rain (39 inches) is 7·9 inches under the average annual
depth, which is 47 inches nearly. From some cause, the annual quantity
of rain at this place is evidently on the decrease, and the diminution
is, I believe, general all over the north of England. Probably the
large amount of moor and waste marshy land brought into cultivation of
late years, and the more efficient drainage of the country generally,
by diminishing the evaporating surface, and so interfering with that
invisible process of nature which is the source of every kind of
atmospheric deposition, may have led to this and other changes which
appear to have occurred in the climate of England within the last half
century. In the first seven years (1833-39) after I began to keep a
meteorological record, the average annual depth of rain was 49·93
inches, or 50 inches nearly; in the last seven years, ending with
1848, the average is reduced to 43·74 inches. The greatest quantity in
the last 17 years is 59 inches, in 1836; the least, 34·69 inches in
1842. The three driest years in the period are 1842, 1844, and 1849,
which yielded 34·69 inches, 36·72 inches, and 39 inches.
The temperature of the past year (48°·69) is about half a degree
_below_ the climatic mean, which is 49°·02. The coldest year of the
last 17 was 1845, and the mildest, 1846; the mean temperatures of
these years were 47°·49 and 50°·85 respectively.
The naked thermometer on the grass, placed on raw wool, has been at or
below the freezing point in every month of 1849; viz., in January, on
19 nights; in February, on 14; in March, on 13; in April, on 18; in
May, on 11; in June, on 8; in July, on 1; in August, on 2; in
September, on 5; in October, on 16; in November, on 13; and in
December, on 24 nights. The amount of radiant heat thrown off from the
earth's crust at night, in the year 1849, as indicated by naked
thermometers placed on raw wool and on grass, is much greater than
usual. The evaporation exceeds the fall of rain in five months of
1849; viz., in March, April, May, June, and September. In 1849, we
have had 12 perfectly clear days; 163 days more or less cloudy but
without rain; 190 wet days; 261 days on which the sun shone out; 33
days of frost; 13 of hail; 7 of snow; 10 of thunder and lightning; and
7 days in which lightning occurred without thunder. There have also
been three lunar halos, one lunar rainbow, a double parhelion, and
seven appearances of the aurora borealis.
The clear days are 14, the days of sunshine are 13, and the wet days
are 8 _less_ than the average number. The past year has therefore
afforded a smaller share of blue sky and a less amount of sunshine
than usual, although the depth of rain and the number of wet days are
both _below_ the average for the locality.
The quantity of electricity in the air was extremely small down to the
end of July, after which it was restored to its average amount.
This fact is strikingly exhibited by the following table of continuous
observations taken by M. Quetelet with Peltier's electrometer:--
Average Mean
1844-1848. 1849.
° °
January, 53 39
February, 47 36
March, 38 27
April, 27 20
May, 21 16
June, 18 13
July, 19 14
August, 21 21
September, 24 24
In 1849, the deaths exceed the calculated average number by 79, and
the births exceed the deaths by 74.
In the seven years ending with 1845, the mean annual number of deaths
in the town and suburb, with an assumed population of 17,867, is 410,
being 22·9 per thousand, or one death in every 43·5 persons. In 1846,
1847, and 1848 (assumed average population 18,329), the mean annual
number is 694, being 37·8 deaths per thousand, or 1 in every 26·4
persons in those three most unhealthy years. In 1849 the deaths are
606, which, assuming the population to be the same as in 1848, give
32·2 deaths per 1000, or 1 death in every 31 persons. The average
annual number of deaths in the ten years 1839-48 is 495, which, with
an assumed population of 17,713, gives 27·9 per 1000, or 1 death in
every 35·7 inhabitants.
So that the mortality in 1849, although still above the average, shews
a marked improvement in the health of the town as compared with any of
the three preceding years; and, in the last quarter, the deaths are
below the average for the period.
THE OBSERVATORY, WHITEHAVEN,
_13th March 1850_.
_The Completed Coral Island._
By JAMES D. DANA, Geologist
to the American Exploratory Expedition, &c., &c.
The Coral Island, in its best condition, is but a miserable residence
for man. There is poetry in every feature; but the natives find this a
poor substitute for the bread-fruit and yams of more favoured lands.
The cocoa-nut and pandanus are, in general, the only products of the
vegetable kingdom afforded for their sustenance, and fish and crabs
from the reef their only animal food. Scanty, too, is the supply; and
infanticide is resorted to in self-defence, where but a few years
would otherwise overstock the half-dozen square miles of which their
little world consists.