New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-08-22
THE RETURN or SUMMER.

MUCH SUFFERING FROM TIE HEAT.
MOIST ATMO SPHERE ADDS TO THE MIshEi-HAiN
THAT BROUGHT NO RgLEF-sTATIsTIcs OF THE
HEAT.
81 am looking straight down at YOU" SAID me
as he cast his burning glancs upon tne WolIu
yesterday morning. The side of the world that was
turned toward the sun wiped its forehead, TOOK a
glass Of ice-water and turned upon its axis Just hs
fast az possibly could 10 hide itself from inc
glariDg countenaDce. and the sun looked on anu
laughed till apopectic spots appeared an over n,s
face which could be seen even with cheap
ordinary telescope .Ths cooness, of the
early part of last week has S Wsa
followed by some exceptionally hot weather. les
terday was the hottest day OF the present no'.n
thus far. The thermometer registered as nlgn ~
900. aud there WAS heavy, dense atmosphere rem
dering the day much more oppressive than many vi
those days upon which the mercury has ascenuc u
higher. There almost no breeze blowing at AL
in the morning, and very little in the afternoon.
The velocity of the wind on an elevation was
only about eight miles an hour and 1t force aver
aged only. little more than hall pound 10 INC
square inch. , oo.,s
unbuttoned, and there were not few STURDY o oiu
persons who manfuy walked along the snaoy sue
of Broadway with both coats and hats on Ihosa
who had madesllglt changes in dress. thinking that
the fall season had been fairly ushered 10, were 9au
enough to be able to cast aside their heaVy gar
ments for lighter ones The clothing store ProplI,
etors put their Fresh Fall styles ignominsou nn,
back in the shadows. and the dummies our
in front redressed in Summer Styles JUST III
Season" in the hope that of the summer stock
of goods might be worked off. The poor omnibus
horses toed along painfully, and their drivers GER
tainly deserved as much sympath ny rs the no SIS,
rerched upon their lofty seats IN the Rlarlhg not
sun The free Ice water supplied by the business
Mems Moderation Society at the Post once was
hugely enjoyed by throngs. In the parks ana
squares were persons who sought shelter from tne
burning SUM- and the benches In the shady places
were crowded. In Union and Madison Squares were
n great many children with their nurses.
The boats which ran to the different beaches ana
deH nd he.
was lacking during the former portion OF the week
was well made up yesterday. In Central PARK one
could almost forget the searching neat OF te s,rsG.s
outside. There was a GOODNESS In the shade OF the
trees that almost seemed suggestive OF another Gil
mate. | he very light breeze which occasionally
toyed with the leaves and branches seemed won
deruly fresh aud exhilarating under the trees al
though the same movement of the AR outside was
well-nigh sitting. and only increased the discom-
well we are having some more summer as
told YOU we would" SAID Professor Draper as the
reporter entered the Observatory in Central PARK
Yesterday afternoon. g The mercury Is not SO
unusually high but the heat Is oppressive because
the dew point is high-that is. because there
is a great deal Of moisture III the air..
rbe thermometer at the observatory registered,
as the maximum altitude of the mercury for yester-
day, $40 at 3p. IN. Ia the shade. The minimum
was TAO at n. III. The maximum OF the solar ther'
mometer was 14Oo at y. III. On Friday the high
est point attained by the mercury was 81 al
H. ni and the lowest point was III at q. m.
while the solar thermometer registered 127O at II
m. On Thursday the maximum registration was
IL ut / D. m, and the minimum GS0 at a. III.
Professor Draper said that this warm weather had
been looked for for number OF days. Inc present
hot wave started in the West, and Oh Thursday the
temperature in 81. Louis, he understood was hlghcr
than it had been at any time for the last SIX years
I'm speaking of the causes of hot and cold waves.
the reporter asked the Professor regarding the spots
OH the sun and their effect upon the weather.
ION Sunday, Mondh and Tuesday noticed two
very large spots and number of groups OF sma Ter
ones" said Professor Draper. Some astronomers
assert that the amount of rainfall depends very
ma teriay upon these spots, ana DINERS connect
their influence with plague and famine. there Is
nOt much really understood about them. There
NAV be and DOUBTLESS Is some connection between
them aud certain effects in Nature which come to
us but think that great many OF the theories
on that subject are carried 10 an extreme. For
instance if those spots govern the rainfall. why do
they not affect IT oil over the world at one time.
instead of only III certain lOcali,lcsf"
There was considerable ram between a. m. and
1880 a m. Yesterday. IN that time the fall amount
ing to 07 inch Of this 80 inch fell IN three
0narters of an hour. After the rain the
atmosphere was heavier, and 1t was even warmer
than before. The reporter asked Professor Draper
the reason for this.
That is PLAIN said the Professor. 1--WE breathe
almost as much by the skin as by our lungs. When
the air Is moist the moisture prevents evaporation
from the SKIN, and as the luhgs cannot 40 more
than a certain amount OF work the blood does not
become as much arterlaliz"d as Is necessary, and
thus the feeling of oppression results. breeze,
however, will produce evaporation. and though the
mercury may be unusually high, u slight wind VIII
do away with the disagrecablc effects that
fan themselves is to produce this necessary evapora
ton 10y artificial meaus though possibly few De0-
pie who fan themselves understand that, simple
il IL. On the other hand. on the most arid pl;nus,
where the thermometer registers l25O III the shade.
people feel the heat less than do here when the
mercury is at 75O or so. The reason for that Is
that the air Is dry that the pores OF the skin are
kept open.
Now after a rain like we have had this morning,
the SUMS RAYS which come down toward the earth
are absorbed by the dense atmosphere, and cannot
be reflected back INTO space. 1ns moisture which
surrounds retains the heat. When on q high
mOuntainJin the daytime. in light dry atmosphere.
we suffer severely during the day because the heat
strikes right down upon through this light at
mosphere. However, this heat is Immediately radi
ated of into space, and when night need
extra blankets to keep warm because of the lack
of this atmosphere TO retain the heat during the
night"
According to the registrations made during the
day the deviation Of the wind has been southwest,
its velocity from eight to nine miles an hour and
the maximum force and a half pounds to the
square inch.