1727, O. St. | 1755, N. St.
|
January and February | January, but especially
very moderate. | February, very moderate.
|
Beginning of March, a | 4th of March the greatest
great deal of snow, and | storm of snow we had
some cold weather: afterwards,| all winter. The whole
pleasant, rain at | month colder than February.
times, and once thunder |
and lightning. |
|
April, for the most part, | April, nothing very remarkable.
fair, pleasant. Plentiful | No hot weather.
rain, beginning and end | Each of these four
of the month. | months afforded more
| snow and rain, than the
| common quantity, taken
| at a medium for 7 years
| together.
|
May, beginning, pleasant; | First 20 days of May,
then a great deal of | dry; 14 to 18 inclusive,
rain; afterwards, cold and | uncommonly hot; latter
very dry. | part, frequent thunder-showers.
| The whole month drier
| than the medium.
|
June, abundance of | June, ten thunder showers;
thunder and lightning. | 15 to 20 inclusive,
| uncommonly cool. The
| driest June since 1749.
|
July, very dry; a great | July, seven thunder-showers,
deal of thunder and lightning.| and a little more
| rain than the medium.
|
August, exceeding hot | August, not very hot;
and dry. One plentiful | much drier than the medium.
rain. |
|
September, till the middle, | September, variable;
very hot. More hot | 10 to 14 inclusive, uncommonly
weather than in any summer. | hot; several
Middle, a violent | other days uncommonly
north-east storm, with a | cool. Upon the whole,
great deal of rain. | the summer rather cool
| than hot. The hottest
| weather was in the middle
| of May. No great
| rains; but rather more
| than the medium.
|
October, a pretty deal | October, a great deal
of cold weather. | of cold weather. Thunder-showers
23, a great deal of rain, | on the 13th
with the S. wind. | and 17th. Snow on the
25, at night a hard frost. | 20th, 25th, 29th, & 30th.
26, Winterish weather, | But the quantity of rain
and a little snow. | and snow in the whole
28, Cold. Wind N.W. | month less than the medium.
29, Cold. Little wind |
at N.W. Evening quite |
calm, and a clear sky. |
November began with cold and wet, there falling, in the eleven first
days 3,404 inches of rain; and on the 11th in the morning there was
thunder and lightning with the rain; and at a quarter past two in the
afternoon, the barometer was at 29,46; which was lower than it had been
since the 15th of October. From thence, till the day of the earthquake,
my diary stands thus:
November 1755.
|Hauksb.|
D. H. Barom.|Therm. |Wind.|Weather. |Rain, &c.
-------+------+-------+-----+------------------------------+----------
12 7¾ M|29,78 |63,7 | W 1|Very fair. Somewhat foggy. | ,003
2¾ E| 82 |51,7 | W 1|Fair. |
13 9 M|30,14 |68 | NW 2|Very fair. |
6¼ E| 21 |56,8 |NNW 1|Clear. |
14 8½ M| 42 |69,4 | 0|Fair. |
1½ E| 45 |59 | NE 2|Very cloudy. |
8¾ E| 5 | . . | NE 1|Clear. |
15 8½ M| 4 |74,6 | 0|Cloudy. Hazy. White frost. |
4 E| 32 |60,5 | E 1|Very fair. |
16 0¼ M| 27 |70,8 | 0|Foggy. |
2 E| 28 |59,9 | N 1|Fair. | ,013
9¼ E| 32 | .. | N 1|Fair with clouds. Foggy. |
17 8 M| 3 |70,1 | N 1|Cover’d. Foggy. |
1½ E| 27 |59 | E 1|Very fair. Evenᵍ somewhᵗ foggy.| ,001
18 4¼ M| 17 |74,1 | 0|Clear. A violent earthquake. |
8 M| 16 |78 | 0|Very fair. Great white frost. |
3¼ E| 11 |58,3 | E 1|Very fair and hazy. | ,017
10 E| 08 |69,1 | 0|Clear. Somewhat hazy. |
From this time the barometer rose till the 20th, when, at 8¼ M. it was
up at 30,44, the sky covered, wind N 2. Then it fell till the 23d at
6½ E, when it was so low as 28,87; which was lower than it had been
since the 6th of February last. The afternoon of the 22d, and night
following, when we had another shock, it was calm, and rained 1,205
inches. This leads me to observe, that though the _serenity_, as well
as _calmness_, of the air, is a circumstance taken notice of in many
earthquakes, both in this and in other parts of the world; yet it does
not always obtain, at least in the smaller shocks, and, so far as I
have had opportunity to observe, the _calmness_ of the air has more
constantly attended upon earthquakes, than its _clearness_. The white
frost on the morning of the earthquake, which, when melted, I found to
be of the depth of 17/1000 of an inch, was almost double of any white
frost we have had for seven years past, and about five or six times
as great as we commonly have. The barometer and thermometer underwent
no alteration at the time of the earthquake: only, my barometer,
which has an open cistern of quicksilver, and stood in a chamber, was
so agitated, that part of the quicksilver was dashed over the sides
of the cistern, and scattered upon the floor. This cistern was a
cylindric cup, whose sides were an inch higher than the surface of the
quicksilver.
I shall not pretend to make a comparison between the weather of the
two fore-mentioned years, nor inquire how far Mr. Dudley’s conjecture
(_Phil. Trans._ Nº. 437. p. 66.), as to the influence of the weather
in producing the earthquake of 1727, might be affected by such a
comparison. I choose to leave this to you, Sir, and to the other
gentlemen of the Royal Society, who, I know, are much better able to
make a proper judgment in this matter; and beg leave to subscribe, with
the greatest respect to that illustrious Society and yourself,
Reverend Sir,
Your most obedient,
and most humble Servant,
John Winthrop.
Cambridge _in_ New England, 10 Jan. 1756.
II. _The strange Effects of some effervescent Mixtures; in a Letter
from Dr._ James Mounsey, _Physician of the_ Russian _Army, and F.R.S.
to Mr._ Henry Baker, _F.R.S. Communicated by Mr._ Baker.
Moscow, Sept. 20th, 1756.
[Read Jan. 20, 1757.]
MR. Butler, a paper-stainer, trying to make some discoveries for the
better fixing of colours, was put in great danger of his life by the
following experiments:
Having put into one gallipot a quarter of an ounce of verdegris, and
into another pot two leaves of false-gold leaf, to each he poured
about a spoonful of aqua-fortis. They began immediately to ferment,
especially the gold-leaf. He was very assiduous in stirring them, to
make the solution perfect. Having nothing else at hand, he did this
with a pair of small scissars, at arm’s length, carefully turning away
his face, to prevent the fumes from entering his lungs. He was called
away, about other business, before he had quite ended his process; and
soon after washed and shifted himself: but had scarce finished before
he felt a burning pain in the ring-finger of his right hand, which
he imputed to his having inadvertently touched the aqua-fortis. This
increased every moment, and affected the whole hand with burning pain
and swelling, which very soon subsided; but then it flew into the left
hand, and, a few minutes afterwards, into the insides of his legs,
as if scalding water had been thrown on them. His stockings being
immediately pulled off, there appeared a great many red spots, as large
as six-pences, something raised above the skin, and all covered with
very small blisters.
In about two hours after the accident, I first saw him: he was very
uneasy, complaining of pain, and great anxiety, at the pit of the
stomach, as if a burning hot iron was laid on it: so he expressed
himself. His pulse was regular, but slower and weaker than natural:
he had a nausea, and complained of a very coppery smell and taste. I
ordered some alcaline volatile medicines, and to drink small sack-whey.
He vomited once, and had four or five stools, and then his stomach grew
easy. But the scene soon began again with lancing pain in the left eye.
He continued the same medicines, drank plentifully of the whey, and was
kept in a breathing sweat, by which he found some ease at night: but
whenever the sweating lessened, the burning pains returned in broad
flakes, changing from one part of the body to the other; sometimes with
shootings in his eye, and sometimes along the penis, but he had no heat
of urine. His pulse continued regular, but weak; and in several places
of his body such kind of spots struck out as those on his legs.
Monday, the third day, in the morning, after sleeping well, his pulse
was somewhat raised, and he continued easy till about eleven o’ clock,
when the burning pains returned, shooting from place to place; but
always so superficial, that he could not distinguish whether it was in
or under the skin. Rubbing the part affected with one’s hand gave ease:
but when the sweating went off, and the burnings and shootings became
insufferable, I always put him into a bath of hot water, with some
wood ashes, kept ready in the room; which gave him great relief. This
afternoon he felt violent burning pain in his great toes, and sometimes
in his left hand, with shootings up to the shoulder. Once he cried out,
in great pain, that his shoulder was burst; for he felt something fly
out with a sort of explosion: but, examining the part, I found nothing
particular. He observed, when the flaky burnings began, they were as if
they kindled from a point, and flashed like lightning, as he termed it.
He was very often tormented with such pains on the pit of the stomach;
and this evening had shootings thro’ the back, with a pain in the
belly. He complained of a strong sulphurous smell, which, he said, was
like to suffocate him; tho’ his breathing seemed easy, and his lungs
no way affected. In the night he was seized with great pain about the
heart, and cried out violently, that his heart was on fire: but after
taking a dose of nervous medicines, and being put into the bath, he was
soon freed from this, and passed the rest of the night tolerably well.
At the time of such violent attacks the pulse continued regular, but
still slower and softer than usual.
Tuesday. He complained most of his toes, and now and then burning pains
in the forehead.
Wednesday. This whole day it continued most in the toes of the left
foot; but in the evening the pain on the stomach returned, which lanced
to the left side, with dartings inwardly. He became so uneasy and
restless, that I was obliged to add some opium to the other medicines;
which answered very well.
Thursday. The pains kept most in the toes of the left foot.
Friday. Nothing particular, except his feeling, with sharp pain, a
spark (as he called it) fly out of his right cheek, in the same way, he
said, as that, which burst on his shoulder, but much less. He perceived
no pain in that part before this; nor any thing after, besides a
soreness, which lasted for some days. Hitherto he had been kept in
a continual sweat: his appetite was greater than his allowance, his
digestion good; and his rest indifferent. From this time he was not
attacked by any violent symptoms; and could be quiet, tho’ he did not
sweat.
On Sunday he began to get out of bed; but was often seized with glowing
pains, suddenly affecting different parts of the body; which seldom
continued an hour in one part, but shifted from place to place: these
he was troubled with, in a less degree, even long after he went abroad.
By care and watchfulness the violence of the symptoms were kept under;
and, by the use of antidotes for poisons of the nature of what he
received this from, the disease was overcome, and the patient recovered
his perfect health and strength.
III. _Extract of a Letter of_ J. Wall, _M. D. to the Rev. Dr._
Lyttelton, _Dean of_ Exeter, _and F.R.S. concerning the good Effects
of_ Malverne _Waters in_ Worcestershire.
Worcester, Dec. 22. 1756.
[Read Jan. 20, 1757.]