New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-31
SELECTIONS FROM THE NAIL
VELOCITY OF THE WIND.

re ths EAftsP 81 TIE Tribun~
sir: WIN you kindly inform ne through tho COZ.
anns q your paper q 10 what b thu highest rscosded
''ss q z: o sns ~ s &c normal s ss
Wind velocites differ greatly according to local.
ity. even On land, where they are usually lower
than at seA They Are higher Ut Sandy HOOK ior
instance. than on the Equitable Building In TINS
city. They are greater, 700. at IN eievauon
than on the earth's surface; greater, normally, In
the sv1nter than In the summer; and greater
In the earlv afternoon houn than In the early
morning. The mean hourly velocity at the Signal
Service Station In New-York City for about four
teen years was reported. In 1855, to b o. miles,
while ct Hattens IL was 14.& Probably tne
severest blast recorded by the Signal Service
In this city was experienced on February 70.
1885. when for few minutes speed was AZ
tanned computed to he ut the rate Of "a miles
An hour. The Central Park Observatory estimate
at that time was sc miles. At headquarters In
washington. however, for some reason the Sig
nal Service figures for New-York were reduced 70
"a before the monthly report was issued. On
Mt. Washington that same day the wind blew
at the rate OF 1856 miles an hour for eight
hours (s-ll p. M, while for much oriefer
interval II reached 1873 miles. A slight amount OF
doubt. though, attaches to these and some other
large figures which might be cited, from the fact
that they are derived from wind pressures per
square foot; and good authorities differ as TO
the best Of general formulas for calculating
veloctics therefrom.-Ed)
BELATED GUEST AT THE FEAST OF TONGUES
TO the Rditor of The TT. bune.
Sir: The symposium of gammarians In The Tribune
has been entertaining and instructive did not feel
willing to ntrude among the banqueters, but that
the symposium Is at an end you might let me In under
the pretenoe Of bringing In the appolnars waiter.
Can any one explain the universal practice of mis-
locating In sentence the word only'i-"I only paid
dollar He only slept hour They only heard it
once The Saturday Globe" before says: Dead
and you and only talking Of him last night -
apparently ntmating that their mere talk could not
possibly have killed him. In another paper this
catches my eye: lone site which cost 10000 was
possessed, but merely purchased Any humber Of
similar sentences can be clipped from pile OF news
mon. Frederick Xnstey says in STsrish, which an
reading at the moment, she only came back last
night and so any one who asserts that she went
In fact. this queer mode of expression has imbed-
persons on the pa,form or in conversation put the
word only where t. properly belonSS; Why How
'A1 E1s sas F insa oe ay $50 c O H MEAD
Undoubtedly this long-sufering word is often
misplaced. II should he as near as possible to the
word or words 1t qualities In the first example
given the word is so placed as to indicate that
the speaker alone paid dollar but if the mean-
ing be, as it doubtless is that only dollar was
paid, the sentence should read. Il paid only q
dollar The same remarks apply to the second,
which should read, They heard it only once :;
the third should read, Only last night the
fourth, Was purchased only last June; and
Mr. Anstey should have said that She came
back only last night unless he meant that she
came alone, or that she did nothing else beside
coming.-Ed.l