, 1860-10-08
Mecone Th h~oTIea in NIereoro1oKY. a
Series II Severe Winters PreAtctea.

The las. number OF tue Norlh Reilaa hri<u
has ~ article on" "R.ceut Theories in Meteoro1-
oRy,' in with ara noticed rome Of tbs speeula.
tions OF theories connected with metecrolcgy
xhica hnye lately attracted attention, but 81.
pecially the periodically Of stsers uin&ers. The
theory that the solar spots have dtceanial
period, seems to be establiAhed By number Of
independent continuous observations. And
although u. Ho(Fath Schwarbe, whose table Of
observations from 1884 to 1850 the writer il
The Hrri<ro quotes, "traces no sensible conuec-
tton between climatic condition end the num-
ber Of spota," General Sabine has made the
remarkable decoverY that there ia dteen,sia1
pe7od exac II corresponding with the solar
u-1iod in the greater frequency, duration and
occasional magnitude Of the magnetic disturb
n,ces. when the suns disc is most obscured By
dark spots.
Ia continuing the study Of these phenomena,
II. Wolf has collected, from nearly fur hum
xposs from tho time Of: Fabricus, 0alileo;
Scaeinet, to Schw8be; and he has found. BY
means of sixteen different epochs, es!ablished
bY the minimum aud the maximum Of the
Solar spotP, that the mean duration Of these
spots is !: Ii Ill plus 63s years.
So that nine periods are exactly equivalent to
8 century. NJ Wolf hss also found that 10 each
~ II, IS Sc, GG.67, 77.7s, So 81, correspond to
the minimum Of sun spots. Il appears by
Sch1abe's table, TINT ia 1898 the humber #
suu spots wss SO, with 189 daTs free froIn Spots,
snd in 1914 it was 81 with Ill days free froni
III I'm; 1871, 333 groups and no day free, and in
1878, $50 groups and no day free.
II, Wolf las studied the connection between
tbe weather and the spots On the sun, and de-
ctares the result TO be in accordance with the
opinion Of Sir William nerschell, "that the
years i1 which the spots are more numerous.
are also drler and more fertile than others; the
yeara with few spots being more moist and
stormy" Il. Wolf has added another interest-
ing fact, that " the aurora borealis md earth.
quakes predomtnate strikiogtY when the collar
spots ore m ost nunsrous:" The reviewer con:
cl,des from this that If this law shall be estab-
lsled By more extensive observation, the char
acter Of the Seasons may be predicted with at
least some degree Of certainty.
The recent Rui Important attempt. however,
to establish meteorological Law on the author
ity Of historical facts and direct observations.
by II. i;enou, in the memoir "0n the Period
principal subject Of the article in the review.
bl. Renou is Secretary to tho Meteorological
Society Of France; aud be has certainly req
dered it very probable that rigorous winters
occur in groups at = ceftaln distance IRON each
other. II. Renou defines rigorous winter as
ote which Gu kht to gi7e rise as Paris 10 ninima
Of temperature fr1m & deg. Fahr. to zero, AnG OF
at several degrees below 80 deg. or the freezing
point. The Simultaneous freezing Of the Seine
and the Po, Of the Rhone, tho lakes Of Venice
or the ports Of the Mediterranean, which must
be the 1esu:t of q continued cold Of more than
1 deg, are the necessary characteristics Of
rigorous winter.
On examining meteorological registers, pub.
lished at different epochs, u. Renou found that
severe winters we're very uneqaa1iy distributed;
but that, in place Of occurring in an arbitrary
manner, they formed natural groups Of four to
slx, surrounding winter more rigorous than
the rest, 10 which he gives the name Of q eess-
traE tuinter- BY uniliug theee groups, he dis
covered the law Of THAR distribution. namely,
that they were reproduced after an interval VI
little more than forty. one years. Occasionally,
however, the period is effsced, or rather mask
cd, the cold distributing Itself over d great
number Of short, less rigorous and more Sept
rated winters; but, on M average, the great
winters occupy space OF twenty. one yeazF,
leaving another equal interval without remark
able winters
We can not. in this abstract, follow the calctt-
lat:ons Of Ii. nenou will any particularly, his
results being the object We haye in view. The
year 1880 was, in his observation, q central
winter. The period which ought to follow is
that Of 1871. 10 18j9-G0 VIC reached the first
winter OF this group; "and the cold,"' says n.
Rencu, "of the 19!h and Goth December falls
I09 Cuupl81e!J uHQtI 1ly pEeucSl0u 10 make me
delay the publication OF tais note. shall not
te surprised it at the next return Of cold. tne
Thermometer st the observatory deEcends lower
than in December. IFe sAak have, after tAis
toiar, one, Or probably tsco rigorous sotnterS, in
cre7sihQ in strtri,F to q c<ntr1I soin.er. suhteh
to;u1e t2soard 1871, tim dtcr<asing stri<s er<n
K'sorot, | winters, aceordiDg to il. Renou,
may exterd themselves indefinitely toward The
pole; but they do not affect the equatorial re-.
gions, excepting, perhaps, in modifying in Il
tmatl degree the temperature Of some months,
and in producing more copious rains and stron.
ger winds. Their lrtluencs seems t. etop at
the thirtieth degree Of latitude-a remarkable
limit, which il nearly the limit Of winters prop.
erir 20 called, and which divides each hemi.
sphere into two equivalent parts. "Itisproha.
bic" says II. Rsnou, "that IN the half TINT has
winters each country will be risiteo in its turn
with rigorous winter; and as in this case the
earth ought to be thus visited in forty years
the winter ought to extend ilseli each time ovei
the eighty ssc md part Of the globe, or sutfac4
equal to twelve times Tint of France. This, in
deed, ia ueurly the extent which great winter.
seem to embrace. They appear to occupy (
space Iistie elongated from the north. east Il
the south west; aud am led to btlieve TIM
they propagate themselves from The east to tht
wtst, go as to run through the northern heuis
phere in twenty or twenIy.one 'ears, mad thet
through tie southern hemisphere in the SAINT
time, and while ne tave only ordinary winters
The essentially maritime character, however, 0
the southern hemisphere ought 10 render it
sernra uinfnra less aiet;r ctv nark ed than ~