The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-07-26
Tho Un.oIvea Prob ':.sss Of the Atmo-
scaiIg Weather ny tho
Year n Possibility Of actence-Inter-
es,fng Corrcsps,ra ence Besween Pro.
fexxors Wise a.sa IL enry.


mere tstloonist; he Is an experienced meie- J
or. l,sis,. ,Hv ia u scientific re onsut, a sin.
cerc and parent student of the Laws Of the
atmosphere All his sScenSions are for pnr
poses of stady, no. to perform on traFye
or hans, by his heels oyer The heads O.;
open -moE,h,d. wondering crowd. I'll ,as,.
more drvout believer than ever u ' =, = - ~
crIy'cnryen', and, old nan - ee ~ ~ 70 "s
drealp 70 some oay 6vd mesns 10 s"''o
h.l,non wh;cn vii trke MIN swiftly aud
safely acres. ,he Atlantic great ieat~ %1hch
VIII, convince the skeps'csi Worio OF Inc
fr,nf, of ms theory IL firmly as bis less BRIT
liant acron. rlishmcnts have aircsay con-
Tspced bin.
The 'ono@ipg letter to Professor Henry,
If the Smith onian Institution, OK plains PRO
fes.or Wise's ideas upon the laws Of the al.
mosphere, his hy pothess being the result OF
q number O, experiments recently made:
PROF EssoR wIsE's LETTER.
PHILADELPHIA, June d, aS75.
Professor Henry. Secretary Smithsonian
Institution. Washington, ". u:
Dear Sir.-FrOm observed facts and con-
Sitions OF the atmosphere during Dy selal
souudipgs l have reason to believe that our
atmospheric phe nomepa sre the result OF out
side pressure by planetary perfalroations-
that il 10 say, that the ether OF space pushed
aside by The movement OF adjacent planets
causes action on The elastic shell OF our
Siobe-I mean its atmosphere.
Is it not Questionable whether, 10 our
storms, the iDc,pient cause is uprising or
down. pushing all Certain 1t is that " ben any
norton Of our mosphere Is pressed inward
there must follow j sorre'atiye outward no"
ut another placp. This will re followed bg
wave motion passing over basius ana nISh-
lands differently heated, causing condepsa'
lions and rarefactionS, and g'Fe rise 10 Vor'
tees, pressure. and suciiOns, aud these give
rise TO watrrSpOutS, cloun.Dulsts, ebuhueA'
gusts and storms IN general.
If our earth is spherical and has constant,
regular motion. ard constant Equator heat
and Polar cold, We should have e0pSlant
climatic seusons- mean constant rcDetitionS
of yearly weather. Our yearly weather Diff
feriDg much one year from the other, we are
com,tiIad to look tor the cause outside OF
our atmosphere. The perturbatiops made
by Mars and Venus on our earth'S she'll
would 20 a little way to account Tor the
irregularity of our years and seasons. These
large bodies moving through resisting
medium must produce waves and rippses III
1t and Cause climatic perturbations In the
atmospheres .uDected TO their action.
My main object In writing TO you is to
have you suggest some method by which L
could test ui- theory. The barometer will not
alone do it. though 1t did appear while up in
an annulus OF cumui with DR.. Charles {.
Cresson u lew weeks ago that in a close OBJ
servation OF our horizon lines and the tuc
tuation OF our apeTo!d heaving process of
atmosphere WIS going on, like spa>modlc
breathing. We were all this time nearly over
the s,me spot on the earth. We were at the
time 1000 feet high, and the air was quite
warm. We were pushed gradually out oil
this annulus and downward, so that fifty
poupds Of ballast did not save Us from Il
plunge 10 the earth.
know how aSSiduously you study to pro-
mole the scleDce of meteor olOgy, and having
drawn my earliest inspirations of its invrsli-
cations from your teachings, you will excuse
me In drawing your a'ienlion in your multi
furious duties Tor advice or suggestion as TO
the best method Ct observation 10 this inter
eSting subject. We ought 10 learn 10 ''pro.
bability" the year" Gather. as we no~ 90
the day weather. There must DC isobarome-
tric and i>othermal gauges in the photos.
phere, as there are in our atmosphere.
Truly your friend and tellow-crZ"n,
JouN WISE.
Professor Henry reply is as follows:
PROFESSOR HEsRY's LETTER.
SMITHSONIAN ISsTITUTIoN,1
WASHINGTON, july IL, 1875.
John WISE Esq, Philadelphia: Sir,-ln
reply 10 your letter OF the 2Sth of June, re-
ce,yed during my absence, have to say that
there are two great causes Of meteorological
phenomena. The first i that of the relative
position Of the sun and earth in space, or ia
other words, the variable eccentricity Of the
eartb's periheon in regard TO the differ
eut seasons of the year. Changes, bow
ever, due to these causes are Of secular
character. and are imperceptible from year
to year, and only give rise to effects which
are perceptble in geological periods. The
next class of phenomena are those due TO
the obliquity OF the rarth's axis producing
summer and winter. Nearly all the other
phenomena can be exblai&& in u general
way by the distribution Of land and wafer
on the surface Of the earth, the former being
heated by the direct ray S Of the sun with six
times the rapdity OF the latter, giving rise TO
upward and downward currents and pertur.
bations, tending to disturb the regular flow of
air which would take place on the surface of
globe entirety covered with water. That
the attraction OF the sun and moon and even
the planets must have some influence on the
aeral covering Of the earth must be admit
ted from all analogy but whether these ac-
tions produce any change in the amount
OF rain or in the direction Of the wind has
not yet been determined. All specuIationS
as TO the effect OF our earth's motion
through the ETHEREAL medium is of too ind"ti-
mite character to be made use of in the
way OF deductions, which may serve as guides
to investigation. If the earth pro.
duced any disturbance upon the ETHEREAL
medium In It's passage through it, the effect
would be observed in astronomical observa.
tlouS; but nothing Of this Kind has as yet
been discovered. / think the theory Of an
uprising spout in the case Of our thunder.
storms has been fully established. You have
yourself stated In some Of your earlier OBJ
seryatons that your balloon was caught in a
vortex, carried upward, and thrown of 10
the side; c!ught up agi'n and again thrown
out, II mistake not. The fall of your bal
loon under Il cloud was probably due to &
difference OF specific gravity OF the air 10
that position.
would advise that you continue to csre
fully observe phenomena, irrespective Of Nay
hypothesis, and publish The results. Facts
Win always stand the test of time, and will
ever be In demand rs food tor speculation.
very truly yours, JcspH Henry.
Secretary Smithsonian Institution.
The above is from the New York Reru1s.
There n hard common sense In Professor
HenrS's composition. He bias no faith in
theories. Nenusian, Martial, Jovial, and til
other eluinoXes are cast aside rs not being
the cau.es of bad w,atberJ