The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-08-27
MeteorologY.

) 8e1 r.aVEs Meteorology.
& Prof. Henry spoke, at the American
Scientific Association, on Meteorology.
de said that the force of meteorology was
the heat ofthe sun. This would produce
current. from the pole to the equator
along the surface of the earth, with an
upper returning current, were it not that
all the air of the equator could not find
room as il flowed toward the pole and
was forced TO return. For similar rea-
sm there was a similar system within sc
degrees of the pole. Between these was
another system, which was ordinarily the
reverse Of these, but was often reversed.
MriEspy attempted to show that the heat
evolved by the condensation of vapor into
raiI, almost constant along the Eq1 ator,
aided in producing these currents. An
other cause was the tendency, from the
rota ion Of the earth. of northward cur
rent to be detected to the eastward, and
of southward current to be DETECTED to
the westward On the Northern hemis-
phere.) The movement of the air cur
rents still required to be examined by
balloon and calculations. At the equator
was ring of cloud, some 400 or 500 miles
wide. To Nh. Espy we owed the appre-
citation of the fact that an upward current
always produced rain. We had this as
cending current at the equator, and this
was the reason why winds, blowing up
the sides of mountains, condensed their
vapor into rain. 1t had been supposed
that the lower currents of air toward the
equator crossed each other as they rose
he could not believe it ); the magnetism
of the air could produce no motion. Prof
Henry gave resume of the ocean cur
rents. He stated that the average wind
of the north temperate zone was SOUTH
west, about 10000 feet high it was west,
and still higher northwest. He had con-
ferred with Mr. Wise, and he thought
that the success of the proposition to cross
the ocean in a balloon was by no means
improbable. He looked upon the bal
loon as very important instrument in
meteorology, and the observations of Mr..
Wise had been Of great value. Besides
these regular. currents we had immense
disturbances, storms which were peculiar
to orr country, and we were better situ-
ated to study them than the meteorolo-
gists of Europe. They were living on the
western side of continent, and the storms
which came upon them they could not
study before they came. He thought that
the upward motion of the air was the
most active agency in storms. At their
approach the barometer fell, the ther-
mometer and the hydrometer rose The
air at the surface grew sultry, because alb
normally heated and saturated with moist
ure, until at last it forced a path up
through the upper, serene. eastward flow
ing current. The upward rushing air re-
duced the barometer very much immedi-
ately under it. A very rapid upward
current, producing sudden and intense
cold, would form hail, by which the all
power of the current tossed it up again
Prof. Wise had assured him that once
when ballooning, he was caught in thun.
der shower, and was taken up three OF
four times, and thrown ont each time, sc
circulating just like hail-storm. Prof
Wise was very anxious that he should
join him in going into thunder shower
Prof. Henry explained tornadoes and wa.
terspouts by still more intense action o.
this kind. Most of the telegraph com
psnies south OF New England and east o.
the Mississippi sent to the Smithsonian
Institution weather reports every day, anC
one of the most interesting objects they
had to show was a map on which they
placed small cards-green over plac'
where it was showing, black where itw
raining, brown where it was cloudy, anC
white where it was clear. By this infor
nation, he was generally able to foretel
the weather IL hours. He traced the
particular wave of very cold weather las
January, which spent the 5th in the Sas
katchewan Valley and among the saint
in Utah, and gradually moved toward thu
south as far as Venezuela and toward the
east, reaching Cape Race on the 18th
where it passed of the continent. III
explained other maps, all showing ths
':spells of weather." hot or cold, cam,
from the north west, and spread out I,
the west and south, arriving at Venezuela
the Bermudas and Cape Race in about
week. Prof. Henry exhibited an isother
NAL map of the United States, the frs
which had been reduced to the level o
the sea. 1t shows marked tread to tn
northward along the elevated regions o
the Rocky Mountains and the Oordilleras
This is explained principally by the fac
that very little heat was there consumes
in the evaporation of rain. He also ex
hibited an agricultural map, based on tn
amount of rainfall, showing the wooded
the prairie and the barren regions Of tn
country. He thought that good des
might be done in. the region of Iowa b
planting trees in N. E. and S, W. direc
tion, so that the cold wind should be shu
ont and the warm s. w. wind be admit
ted. a rq