from the quarter indicated by the position of the cone.

These signals are of large size, and are hoisted by the telegraph clerks in view of the seafaring community. It is not intended that these signals shall be hoisted except in great and dangerous disturbances of the atmosphere, as the central office does not attempt to give notice of local changes, however sudden and dangerous. These should be noted locally, and it is hoped that observers on the spot will be able to supply this intelligence to the seafaring community. As only the larger outports can be thus warned from the London office, the coastguard is requested to diffuse the intelligence they forward along the coast. These signals are intended for day

use; a separate system of Night Signals is adopted, which are made visible by lamps as follows:

These signals are hoisted from dusk to midnight, if necessary. As yet these warnings are intended mainly for seamen on land; but it is to be hoped that our lighthouses will, by and bye, partake in the useful duty of warning passing ships, not only of the permanent dangers of the hidden rock or sandbank, but also of the coming danger of the hurricane. At the present moment this would be impossible, as we have no electric communication with our lighthouses; but as our beacons are, for the most part, stationed on exposed points of the coast, and in mid-channel, they would be of immense value both in gathering meteorological observations for the central office, and in diffusing its danger-signals. The Astronomer-Royal wishes to have the electric spark laid on to these lighthouses for the purpose of giving "time" to captains. Admiral Fitzroy would also desire it, we doubt not, for the sake of forewarning them of storms.

It will be asked, however, has this system of warning our sailors of the approach of bad weather been put in practice effectively? Yes: every storm of any importance has been thus notified to our maritime population; and as the predictions have always been verified by subsequent bad weather, our sailors are beginning to place very great confidence in the system. To the less affluent fishing-villages with which there is no telegraphic communication the Meteorological Department lends barometers and thermometers of a character suited to the habits of the people. These are generally hung in some exposed position, and the people are taught to read and

interpret them a matter in which even otherwise well-educated persons are apt to find themselves at

sea.

For instance, it is a general belief that a rising barometer and a falling thermometer indicate fine weather; but the fact is, that when the rise is at all sudden, it rather indicates the approach of a Polar gale, or a gale blowing from the north-west or northeast. The reason is obvious: the Polar or cold air is the heaviest of all the atmospheric currents; hence the pressure it exerts upon the open end of the barometer sends the other end up. Gales from the southern quarter generally give notable warning of their approach by a falling barometer, and a temperature higher than usual for the season. The barometer manual also teaches these men that the approach of a dangerous wind is always indicated by any sudden fall of magnitude in that instrument, or the fall, say for three hours, of the mercury at the rate of a tenth of an inch per hour; and also that the longer the signs of change of weather have appeared, the greater chance of the change lasting. Much of weatherwise wisdom is expressed in the old couplet :

:

Long foretold long last,

Short notice soon past.

The fall of the mercury in the thermometer ten degrees is also a notable sign of a coming hurricane. But it is not the sailor alone that requires instruction in the use of the barometer: there is scarcely one person in a hundred who hangs up a barometer in his hall who can read it properly. It will generally be

found that it is hung too high. The vision should be on a level with the top of the mercurial column, as it is according to what that fluid is doing at the moment of observation that good forecasts can be made of what is to come. Thus the condition of the surface of the mercury is especially noteworthy: when it is rising it is convex, and concave when falling—a symptom very clearly visible in modern barometers and thermometers in which the column of mercury is large. Admiral Fitzroy, in his instructions to observers, is careful not to cut off any source of information, as he especially notes that the indications of Nature are to be watched. Thus, when sea-birds fly out early and far to seaward, fair weather may be anticipated; on the contrary, when they hang about the land or fly inward, stormy weather is indicated. When animals, instead of spreading over their usual range, seek sheltered places, storms may be expected. Dew is an indication of fine weather, so is fog; but clearness of the atmosphere near the horizon is a sign of wet. When a mountaineer sees the hills cutting sharp against the sky, he wraps his plaid around him. A good hearing day is also an indication of coming wet. The public will feel all the more confidence in the Head of the Meteorological Department for not disdaining these phenomena noted by the weatherwise, as they rest upon exactly the same foundation as what may be termed the more scientific signs-namely, experience.

Now that Meteorology is elevated into an applied science, we feel confident that immense progress will be made. It is a great thing to know that there is a