The southern press., 1851-04-23
From The Scientific ameriean.

The PROBABLE RELATION BETWEEN MAGNE-
TIsM AND THE CIRCULATION OF THE Atmosphere
This is the title TO the supplement of the Wash
ington Astronomical Observations Of 1886, by the
scientific Lieut.. Maury, Of the Washington Oh.
servatory, and which we noticed last week. 1t Is
a singular document: il begins with, ''the dis
coveries Of Farady in dia- magnetism are calcu-
lated TO guide me and to illuminate the darkness
by which ] have ofentimes found myself sur
rounded, as endeavored to follow the "wind in
his circuits" over the trackless wastes Of the
ocean. Oxygen composes one-ffth part OF the at
mosphere and is magnetic"
lin reference 10 Mr.. Pnine's letter, page ia,
about Farady making the discovery Of oxygen
being magnetic, we would state that he made this
discovery years ago, long before the period re.
ferred to, as can be found in his published works
consequently Mr.. Paine's alusion to Mr.. Arch
ibald is something we cannot underestimate The
discovery Of the magnetic property Of oxygen,
Lieut.. Maury believes, sis the keystone for some
Of the most grand among the sublime and beauii-
full structures which philosophy is erecting for
monuments to the genius ofthe age"
In the distribution Of moisture, and the circua-
ton Of the atmosphere over the surface Of the
earth, he often suspected that there some
other agent at work than heat, and the rotation OF
the earth on its axis. His wind and current
charts, which have conferred celebrity on his
name, enabled him To trace belt OF Gains near
the tropic Of cancer. From the zone Of Gains at
the tropc of cancer, there proceed two currents,
named the "trade winds. +" The north east trade
winds proceed from the south-side of the belt Of
Gains 10 the equator; and the south west trade
winds proceed from the north-side Of the belt OF
Gains, and make up two-thrds Of our south west
winds in England. These are surface breezes.
From the equator there is a perpetual upper cur.
rent to the tropical calms equal in volume to the
trade winds. One PECULIARLY Of the trade winds
is, that the southwest breezes give out great
l.. r. II, d.nv frar.
calm belt TO cooler regions, in course where pre-.
cipitation is the natural result. The northeast
trade winds, on the other hand, proceeding from
the same belt Of Gains, are dry at the very outset.
II was supposed that the upper current which
flowed from the Gains at the equator, descended
at the calm belt at the tropics, and then returned
on the surface as a trade wind, then assembled vt
the equator, returning as an upper current, thus
keeping up continual ring Of breezes, Lieut..
Maury says, che knew Of no agent in nature that
would prevent the winds taking this circuit, but
on the other hand, he knew Of circumstances
which rendered it probable that such in general is
not the course Of atmospbercal circulation"
But there are also southeast trade winds, and
Lieut.. Maury has come to the conclusion that the
current which flows to the equator as a surface
norhe east wind, ascends at the equator Gains, and
PASSES 10 the south as upper current, while the
current which comes as the south-ea trade winds
assembled and passed to the calm zone Of Cancer
The reasons for this conclusion are, that the evap-
Grating surface Of the south is the greatest but all
the great rivers are in the northern hemisphere,
and at those seasons Of the year when the sun is
evaporating most at the south, the greatest guam
tity Of rain is falling in the northern hemisphere
Without taking this view OF the subject, Lieut..
Maury "couId find no part Of the ocean OF the
northern hemisphere from which the sources OF
the great rivers Mississippi, st Lawrence and 9TH
ers, could be supplied. Il appeared to me, he
says, hat the extra tropical regions ofthe north
ern hemisphere stood in the relation Of con-
denssr TO grand stenm machine, the boiler Of