12th, Newport, Shropshire, explosion;

14th, Aberdare, South Wales, explosion;

Heaton, Northumberland, suffocation by choke-damp; 17th, Rowley Regis, Staffordshire, suffocation by sulphur;

18th, Rowley Regis, Staffordshire, explosion;

No shipwrecks in British seas are recorded between the 1st and 21st of October.

On the 20th, the temperature falls suddenly as much below the monthly mean as it had previously been above it. Much snow fell in North Wales, in the North of England, and in Scotland on that day. On the 21st several waterspouts were seen at the Isle of Man; and on the 22nd there was a very severe storm of thunder, lightning, and hail at Liverpool; several distinct shocks of earthquake were felt in Cornwall and in the west of England; and the barometrical column fell three-quarters of an inch.

Such were some of the premonitory symptoms of one of the most remarkable disturbances of the atmosphere in our time, which, beginning on the 19th of October, did not subside until about the 12th of November.

Having copied, early in November of last year, the sheets on which the direction and force of the wind, during the 25th and 26th of the preceding month, had been traced by the anemometer at the Liverpool Observatory, I concluded from these data alone, that the storm, which has now acquired a painful historical interest in connexion with the loss of the "Royal Charter" steamship, was a revolving whirlwind, or cyclone, travelling to the northeastward: an opinion fully confirmed both by my own researches and those of others.

The

anemometer shows that the wind began to blow here at noon of the 25th, from the eastward, veering continuously from east to north, up to 6, a.m. of the 26th, when there was a dead calm for an hour; after which the wind rose again at north, and veered rapidly to the northwest; increasing in force until 11, a.m., when it blew hardest here, the anemometer registering a pressure of 28 lbs. Avoirdupois on the square foot. These shifts of wind prove the storm to have travelled to the eastward of north, and the central track to have been to the eastward of Liverpool. The mercurial column at Wakefield fell to 28.83 inches about the time that the wind was strongest here.

It may conduce to a just appreciation of the fluctuations of the barometric curve to state, that the sharp vertical depression of this curve, on the 26th October, is the barometrical exponent of 69 shipwrecks, involving a loss of 796 lives; and of three fatal colliery explosions, induced, in all probability, by the sudden overflow of inflammable gas released from the coal and "goaves," by the greatly diminished atmospheric pressure.

On the 31st of October, the mercurial column again falls below 29 inches, and at 9, a.m., of the next day reaches a minimum height of 28.39 inches. The corresponding depression in the curve symbolizes one fatal colliery explosion and fourteen shipwrecks. The localities and dates of the fatal explosions of gas in mines, from the 20th of October until the end of this remarkable period of stormy weather, are:October 22nd, at Washington, Durham;

At the conclusion of this paper Mr. Dobson made some oral remarks (illustrated by diagrams) upon Sir John Herschel's Theory of Cyclones, as described in the "Outlines of Astronomy." Mr. Dobson pointed out the chief features of cyclones, which a true theory was bound to account for; and he explained the principle by the operation of which the trade winds are caused. Sir John Herschel's theory was, that cyclones are formed by an extension of the same principle, which he called the law of gyration. But inasmuch as this principle is least efficient at the equator, where almost all the great hurricanes are first formed, and where they are most violent, it did not appear to Mr. Dobson to afford any satisfactory explanation; and, moreover, it fails altogether to account for the progressive motion of cyclones.

Mr. DOBSON having announced that he had brought with him Captain G. Jinman,* a gentleman of much practical experience, who was an opponent of the Circular Theory of Storms, the President invited him to state his views, which he did with much clearness.

Captain JINMAN said: As it would occupy too much time. to detail all the circumstances which led me to doubt the truth of the Circular Theory of Storms, I shall be as brief as possible. Having frequently to pass over those parts of the globe where they are most frequently met with, I made myself thoroughly acquainted with all that had been written on the law of storms. And, previous to meeting a hurricane, I conceived that I was thoroughly posted up in the matter, and that I could manœuvre in one with all the ease imaginable. Practical experience, however, soon dispelled this idea, and

* Captain Jinman's views have since been published in a separate form, in a work entitled "Winds and their Courses; or a Practical Exposition of the Laws which Govern the Movements of Hurricanes and Gales." G. Philip & Son: London and Liverpool, 1861.

convinced me that either I had yet much to learn, or else that the principles laid down by Redfield, Sir William Reid, Piddington, and others, were far from being correct. These principles are, that hurricanes, typhoons, &c., are nothing more nor less than great whirlwinds, winds blowing in circles round a calm centre; and, consequently, that this centre always bears about eight points from the direction of the wind-that near it will be found the greatest force of wind-that the centre is the principal part to be avoided on account of its being the most dangerous, from the sudden shifts of wind, or calm, and heavy cross sea to be met with at that point. The analysis of data obtained from ships which had been involved in storms from time to time tended somewhat to confirm these views; and, consequently, the Circular Law of Storms became apparently, an established. fact. On these principles, rules were laid down for the guidance of shipmasters, by which, it was said, we might easily avoid the most dangerous part of a storm. To those whose avocations did not require them to put it in practice, the circular law appeared feasible enough; whilst the rules were so simple that a person of the most ordinary capacity, it was argued, might understand, and be able to apply them when necessary. As I have before observed, I made myself acquainted with these rules; and, as opportunities offered, I endeavoured to put them in practice. But the results were anything but satisfactory; for not unfrequently I appeared to meet with the centre (sudden shift of wind or calm) when I imagined myself to be far away from it. Feeling satisfied that there was something wrong, I resolved to examine carefully the various logs and other data which had been published. I was quite prepared to find a few discrepancies and anomalies; but I was certainly not prepared to find in the details of every storm the most glaring proofs of the fallacy of the circular law. Judge of my surprise when, on examining the works of Sir William Reid, I found that there was scarcely a

track laid down on his charts which agreed with the shifts of the wind experienced by the ships, or at places involved. For instance, in the Barbadoes hurricane of 1831 the wind is reported to have blown for a time at Barbadoes, from the N.E., shifting suddenly to N.W., and bearing to west, S.W., south, and finally to S.E. and E.S.E.; yet the track on the chart is about W.N.W. Whereas, according to the rules laid down, the shift from N.E. to N.W. should give a due north track; from N.W. to S.W., a due west one; and the final shifts from S.W. to south, S.E. and E.S.E., about S. by E. If similar discrepancies or anomalies were to be found in a few cases only, I should have thought but little of the matter; but, as I have before observed, they are to be found in the details of every storm. Yet, notwithstanding those evident proofs of the fallacy of the principles advocated, we have been told that we may easily ascertain the track of, and avoid, a storm by adopting them. The most unqualified abuse has been poured forth on shipmasters in general, and those in particular who have had their ships damaged by storms. Mr. Piddington, the great cyclonist, has even gone so far as to imply that shipmasters are in the habit of running their ships into hurricanes. Seeing those proofs of its fallacy, I threw the Circular Theory aside, and scarcely rested night or day until I had got hold of what I believe to be the right clue. And I now assert, and am prepared to prove, that there never has been such a thing as a really circular storm, or one which will bear out the principles laid down by Redfield, Sir William Reid, Piddington, and others. Every hurricane or gale is formed by the joint action of two distinct currents of air flowing in opposite directions, and crossing each other at two points-one on each side of the centre. The two sides are distinct-seldom equally developed at the earth's surfaceand seldom blow with equal force. The centre is not the most dangerous part of a storm; the greatest force of wind is