by their Recess may occasion a Change of Texture in the Body especially in regard of the Pores whose Bigness Figure and perhaps Position being alter'd the Body by this Change of Texture acquires a Disposition to act and be acted on in several Cases otherwise than formerly Sometimes when the Weather began to be overcast the Hygroscope did not sensibly appear to grow heavier and sometimes it would preponderate when I took notice of no Vapours to make it do so and though these things happen'd but seldom in respect of the ordinary Changes of the Hygroscope according to those of the Weather yet they made me suspect that sometimes the Clouds may consist of other Steams than Aqueous or that there may be some Exhalations that may have a peculiar Congruity with the Pores of the Hygroscope and whose Nature may be such as to the Power of drying the Hygroscope that upon these or some other yet unheeded Accounts the Steams that are sometimes diffused in the Air may controul the usual and regular Causes of increasing or lessening the Gravity of the Hygroscope And this Suspicion was the stronger because having made Hygroscopes with Powder and Salt and also with the Saw-dust of Wainscot hung at nice Scales in very thin open Glasses purposely blown for Lightness sake at the Flame of a Lamp though they usually acquired and lost Weight as the Weather grew moister or drier yet sometimes they did not At half of an Hour after nine a Clock at Night I look'd upon the Half Hundred Weight that hung at the bottom of the Rope the Weather being then fair and a Mark being put at that part of the erected Board where the bottom of the Weight touch'd I perceiv'd the Sky a while after to grow cloudy and overcast but without Rain wherefore going to visit the Weight again I found it to be risen ¼ of an Inch or more and looking on my Watch perceiv'd there had pass'd an Hour and a Quarter since the Mark was made This Morning I came again to look upon the Weight between eight and nine of the Clock and found it raised above the newly mentioned Mark made last Night about one Inch for 't was about 9 10 of an Inch. This Day the Weather being fair and windy the Weight was fallen by ten at Night about six Inches beneath its Station at which I found it when I look'd on it in the Morning Being not well yester-night the Weight was observ'd at Bed-time by two of my Servants and it then rested at the 11th of the erected Bound This Morning about eight of the Clock I visited it my self and found it to be risen about ⅛ of an Inch above the eighth Inch the Morning being cloudy though the Morning very dry and dusty The Weather growing more overcast within somewhat less than an Hour after I visited the Weight again some scatter'd Drops of Rain then beginning to fall and found it to be risen about half an Inch above the newly mention'd eighth Mark. I look'd when I was ready to go to Bed upon the suspended Weight of 56 Pound and mark'd how low it reach'd upon the divided Board and a great part of the Night having been rainy I look'd again when I was dress'd in the Morning which was about half an Hour after eight a Clock and I found the Cord so shrunk that the Weight was raised above five Inches higher than I left it the Night before but the Day recovering dry and windy and sometimes warm the Rope was so stretch'd that at Night the Weight sunk a good way beneath all the Marks N. B. The Rope near the Weight was in Diameter ◠of an Inch and four decimal Parts of a tenth We took a Rope of near three Foot and an half in length from the Point of Appension and somewhat less than ◠Inch in Diameter this we suffer'd to be stretch'd for some Days by a Weight of Lead with an Iron Ring or Ansula weighing a Quarter of an Hundred according to the great Hundred which is five score and twelve and then placing a flat Board under it so that the Weight just rested upon it we had the Rope well wetted over them with a Spunge dip'd in Water and so often applied to it that the Liquor might be thorowly soak'd into the Pores of the Rope which at first seem'd thereby a little stretch'd rather than shorten'd but after an Hour or two it began to shrink so that we could make the Weight swinge like a Pendulum over the Piece of Board it lean'd upon before But afterwards the same Day the Weight stretch'd out the Rope again as much as formerly 'T is observable that though Morocco be an Inland-Town and the Soil of those Parts be usually dry if not parched yet Doctor D. who was lately there informed me that about Morocco notwithstanding the violent Heats he felt in the Day-time he observed the Nocturnal Air to be very damp so as to make the Clothes he put off at Night exceeding moist and unfit to be worn without airing the next Morning He added That though the Air was very piercing and manifested it self to be so by many other Signs yet it would not make his Knife rust in his Pocket or his Sword in the Scabbard though it would quickly produce a Rust in Instruments of that Metal exposed naked to it Air too moist cannot be wholesome The Air in our Parts viz. about Oakly in Buckingham-shire though a high Country is as I said before between Michaelmas and Alhallontide very moist especially in rainy Weather and upon a Thaw insomuch that Wainscots Stair-cases and Pictures will stand all of a Water and after run down in great Drops and at Brill upon that high Hill 't is in divers Houses worse than in the Valley insomuch that the Stair-cases especially if laid in Oil will run down with Water the North and North-East side of our Houses are observed to be moister insomuch that the Furniture will rot if Fires be not made sometimes in the Rooms and the things aired This is observ'd to be the most aguish Season of the Year Mr. J. T. As in another Experiment wetried whether or no the Removal of the Air out of the Receiver would much alter the Temperature of the included Medium or Space as to Heat and Cold so we indeavour'd to discover whether the Alteration would be notable as to Driness and Moisture To this purpose we did indeed wish for such a Hygroscope or Instrument wherewith to measure the Moisture and Driness of the Air as we used many Years ago and since found well described by the industrious Kircher in a Place of his Ars magnetica to which I therefore refer your Lordship But in regard that to this Instrument there is requisite the Beard of a wild Oat seasonably gather'd which we could not then procure we recall'd to Mind another Hygroscope which though it discover not such small Mutations as the former we thought
been well graduated 12 or 16 Degrees being the most that are set upon the common Weather-Glass whereas to the making of accurate Observations it would require a Cylinder to be divided into at least 360 Parts though I think it neither unreasonable nor unpracticable to have one divided into 1000 Parts allowing but 10 Degrees to each Inch which is no unusual Division seeing such an one will much better discover not only the small but the more suddain and remarkable Changes of the Weather which are of chiefest Use than any others that are common and ordinary 4. Although no Liquor ought to be used in these Glasses that is subject to Frost yet we have little or no Account what those Liquors are that might be best or fittest for the accurate making of those Experiments whether those whose Property it is somewhat to attract the Air and so to preserve themselves in at least their first Quantity as Oleum Sulphuris per Campanam Ol. Vitrioli Liquor Salis Tartari c. Or 2dly Whether those whose Parts are finest subtilest and nearest of kin to the Air such as is Spirit of Wine Spirit of Terebinth well rectified and according as there is occasion still fresh supplied Or 3dly Whether those that are of a middle Nature as strong Spirit of Vinegar Or 4thly Whether instead of these and beyond these it may not be best to use only well-refined Quicksilver All which several Particulars as they are necessary and ought to be first ascertained yet they are but preliminary to the Experiments themselves In the making of the Experiments themselves therefore it would be convenient 1st That several Thermometers of one Proportion Length and Graduation in their Cylinders in all Respects as near as may be were set in one Frame together either with one and the same or with Variety of Liquors 2dly That several of these Frames were set in several Rooms and that fome were exposed immediately to the Air it self yet so as it may be conveniently sheltred from the actual Rays of the Sun and from the Injury of Storms Rain and Winds In the History it self there cannot be too much Care and Exactness provided the Air of the Chimny Cranny of a Wall or Door Breath of People or other such Accidents do not interpose to deceive a Man's Observation which must be circumspectly foreseen and considered The Proportion between the Warmth of the Day and Night in constant Weather the Agreement or Disagreement of the Motion of the Air with the Motions of the superiour Bodies in all uncertain changeable and inconstant Weather the Efficacy or Inefficacy through these in foretelling of Winds and Rain the Air its particular Disposition under Thunder under times of Mildews or Blastings eminent Eclipses Conjunctions with many other the like Particulars which will of themselves be incident to an ingenious diligent apprehensive Person may be the Subject of this History I shall not digress so far as to tell you what other things may be done by the Help of this excellent Instrument this being not pertinent to our present Purpose Yet it is certain that Drebble that great singular learned Mechanick did by the Help of this Instrument make a Dial continually to move of it self regularly shewing both the times of the Day and other Motions of the Heavens did also make an Automatous Instrument of Musick and found out a Furnace which he could govern to any Degree of Heat but whether these have died with him or how far the Meditations of others have wrought upon them I shall humbly refer to a more leasurable Inquiry And if you can inform me among any of your Acquaintance or Correspondents I should be glad to hear and to learn any thing of this Nature or relating to the further Use Experiment or Improvement of this rare little Instrument or to the further clearing ventilating or discussing the Theory or Doctrine of the Planets or the Physical Use and Power of these Bodies that we have thus briefly made an Essay of Thus far that Letter They have a received Tradition in Java and probably in divers other Islands of the South Sea that the Beams of the Moon are wont to cause Contractures in the Body of those Men that stay too long exposed to them The Truth of which Tradition was lately confirmed to me by an ingenious Doctor that with Applause practised Physick in those Parts who assured me that he had observed that upon the Account before mentioned some were made lame or else had some of their Limbs contracted for divers Weeks and some for many Months or even a longer time And when I asked him whether he had at any time been subject to that Mischief himself He answered that whilst he was a Novice in those Parts after a very hot Day he laid himself down very slenderly covered to sleep according to the Custom of the Place near the Door of the House he lodg'd in but being unacquainted with the Tradition he unskilfully chose a Place upon which the Moon could fully beat for a good part of the Night which being past before he wak'd when he went to rise he found his Neck so stiff that he was scarce able at all to stir it and his Mouth was so drawn awry that 't was hideous to behold and continued so unsightly that Shame forced him to keep within for some Days during which he made Use of brisk Aromatick Medicines by whose Help he got off a Contracture that used to stay very much longer with others And when I asked him if these Distempers were not occasioned rather by the Coldness of the Night and Subtilty of the Air than the Operation of the Moon 's Beams He answered me that 't was generally observ'd that the other Causes without the direct Beams of the Moon were not wont to produce such bad Effects and that his Landlord when he saw his Mouth awry told him that if he had made him acquainted with his Design to pass the Night in the open Air he would have prevented this Mischief by lodging him in a Place unexposed to the Moon 's Light TITLE XIV Of the Height of the Atmosphere  TITLE XV. Of the Motion of the Air and of Winds Extract of a Letter from Fort St. George dated January the 23d 1668. ALthough the Bar of Porta Nova proved more shallow and dangerous than we were informed yet she our Ship got safe in thither and it was well she did so Had we kept her here there had been no Possibility of her Escape from perishing in a dreadful Storm or rather Hurricane which happened here the 22d of November The like hath not been known here in any Man's Memory The Tempest of Wind and Rain was so exceeding violent that nothing could stand before it Men and Beasts carried into the Sea by the Violence of the Winds and Floods the Generality of the Houses in this and the Neighbour Towns were ruined scarce any Trees left standing in Gardens or elsewhere
by us described which was of a yellow Colour we let fall some Filings of Copper and stopping the Glass well we drew a Tincture which according to Expectation was manifestly green but not of the pleasantest and most transparent sort of green Liquors then suffering the Viol to rest in a Window for many Days we observed that the Liquor did then but slowly return to a yellow Colour which when it had acquired without any Mixture of Greenness we open'd the Viol for a very little while to let in the Air and then stopp'd it well again the admitted Air quickly began to change the Surface of the Liquor into a green Colour which though slowly extended it self downwards till it had tinged the whole Liquor This Colour afterwards by long standing did by Degrees grow to a pale Yellow The 19th of August presented me with some Phaenomena that made me almost despair of reducing all those of our variable Liquors to a settled Theory For coming that Day at about ten a Clock in the Forenoon to a Closet where I kept several Vials furnish'd with this Liquor I perceived one of them that stood in the Window that had once almost quite lost its Colour to have re-acquired a very fair Blew at least as deep as that of the Sky in a fair Day This Viol I the rather watch'd because I had taken notice not without somewhat wondring at it that for two Days before instead of losing according to Custom the little Remains of Colour that after many Days standing it yet retained the Colour began again to increase though the Viol were constantly kept stopp'd as before and that which made this regaining of the Colour seem more strange was that there stood just by it another Viol furnished with the Spirit and with Filings taken out of the same Parcels yet the Liquor of this Parcel continued colourless Wherefore suspecting that some Accident might have happened whereby some little Portions of Air might have insinuated themselves thorow the Cork of the altered Liquor I cast up my Eyes to another Viol that stood in so high a Place that was not easy to reach it and where it had long rested and lost its Colour But upon this View I was confirmed that the Change lately mentioned in one of the Viols was not from the Cork but from some unobvious Cause For though this upper Viol was furnish'd with a good Glass Stopple yet the Liquor it contain'd was again grown Caeruleous though the Liquor of another Viol that stood just by it continued colourless Wherefore to satisfy my self further I presently went to a private Place where I had in a Cavity made in the Thickness of a Wall set aside two Viols that several Days before had quite lost their Colour and my former Surprize was increased when I found that one of them which was stopp'd with a Cork continued colourless yet the other that had a Glass Stopple and stood just by it had regain'd a fair Caeruleous Colour Both these were fitted for Trial with the same Spirit and Filings and the same Day with the others above-mentioned and the Heat of the Weather had so little Influence upon this Effect that this Day was remarkably cold being made so by a Northern Wind which made me observe it more so than I had found it for some time before I must not forget on this occasion that I was invited by the foregoing Phaenomena to look upon some Spirit not Oil of Amber that I had kept in a Viol for several Days upon Filings of Copper and had sometimes exposed to the Air by unstopping the Glass and found that though formerly the Spirit kept its native Colour better than I desired yet it had acquired a green Colour which whether it will lose again by longer standing Time must determine The slender Viol with Spirit of Honey mention'd N o the _____ though it had been wont to exchange its yellow Colour for a blew by the Contact of the external Air in a very short time and sometimes within a Minute or two yet being open'd this Afternoon in the same Place where it used to be so did not in above an Hour's time turn blew but remain'd a transparent yellowish Colour The Viol with a Glass Stopple mentioned N o 945. being for divers Weeks left unstirred in the Window where it stood before I several times observed it to lose and regain Colour and though sometimes it would only appear of a more faint or a more rich Blew yet sometimes also it would appear either quite or almost colourless and perhaps in a Day or two after it would be again as blew as the Sky And this though I could not find that any thing in the Weather was the true Cause of this Change since the Liquor would not only gain but lose Colour in colder Weather and so it would also do in warmer But on Michaelmas-Day I found it to have attained a deep Blew and though since it has been now and then somewhat more dilute yet during all the past Month of October I remember not to have seen it any thing mere colourless and this Day being the first of November I found it to have resumed a high Colour though a Viol with a Glass Stopple which had for many Weeks stood just by it and formerly did divers times correspond with it in its Changes has continued all the last Month of a very pale Blew without either deepning its Colour or growing quite colourless An inquisitive Gentleman of my Acquaintance being ask'd by me about a Mountain in Wales called _____ where solid Stones are said to change their Colour very oddly told me that within sight of that Hill in a large Piece of Ground that was then newly put under Tillage he saw good Numbers of Stones that look'd like Flints and were full as hard if not harder the Colour of most of them was dark the rest grey these Stones which when the Ground was newly turn'd up were Rust-coloured he observed afterwards to grow lighter and lighter coloured so that after three or four Years being invited by this Observation to take notice of it at his coming to that Place again he found these Stones almost all of them turn'd white About which Phaenomenon questioning the ancient Inhabitants with some Expressions of Wonder they seem'd to make little of it and assured him in the Neighbouring Mountain almost all the Stones that were exposed to the Air underwent the like Changes and within a few Years were blanch'd Having put some Mercurius sublimatus dalcis and Vitriolum Romanum tied up in several Papers apart into one Box at the end of twenty two Months I found the sublimate Mercury wholly changed into a Substance so like Antimony that some not ignorant of the Materia Medica have taken it for the same and the Superficies only of the Vitriol had acquired the same Colour but was not at all altered within This from a credible Relator TITLE XXXVI Of the
might be usefully enough substicuted instead of it Of this Hygroscrope having particularly described it in another Paper we shall now only say in a word that 't is made by fastning to the upper End of a Piece of Gut-string or great Lutestring a very light Index and strongly fastning the lower end of the same String to the bottom of a Box or other convenient Frame the Circumference of whose upper Part may be at pleasure divided into Degrees or other Partitions upon which the Index may move to and fro For the Instrument being thus made when the Air grows moister the Vapours insinuating themselves into the Pores of the Filaments that compose the String do somewhat shorten it and thereby those Filaments being altered in point of Contortion the Index that is fastned to them turns one way and upon the recess of those Vapours or of others of like nature the String comes to be wreath'd and consequently the Index to be moved another way So that in a String of about three Inches long the Point of the Index will be oftentimes made to change its Place very notably by such a mutation of the Air as to Driness and Moisture as was to be met with in the Morning and at Noon of the same Day tho such a Change did not always need either Rain Clouds or Mists or the absence of them to make it notable We took then one of these Hygroscopes and conveyed it into a small Receiver that the removal of the Air being sudden the Change of Temperature if any should happen in the exhausted Cavity might be the more sudden and conspicuous But we found not that the emptying of the Receiver made the Index sensibly change place And though this Experiment were carefully made yet for the greater Security we repeated it once more and neither then perceiving the Index to remove we kept the Receiver exhausted for a pretty while lest there should be some more time requisite to the Operation of the Medium upon the Instrument But neither did this Trial produce any sensible Alteration of the Index but after the Key was turned and Access was thereby given to the excluded Air tho the Cover were still kept on we found that then within some Hours the Index was considerably removed So that as far as these Experiments informed us the Ether or subtile Matter that succeeds in the place deserted by the Air if that Place be not left void and consequently the thinner and more fluid part of the Atmosphere in which the Corpuscles that may be more properly called Aerial swim seems in its own nature to be very sensibly neither cold or hot or dry or moist I said as far as these Experiments I mean those we made in this Engine with the Thermoscope and Hygroscope inform us because this Conjecture for I dare yet call it no more may be examined divers other ways whose Events may either confirm or oppose or limit it In the mean time I could wish that if your Lordship had one of Kircher's Hygroscopes at hand you would frequently and carefully try the last-recited Experiment with it because I have found that if such a Hygroscope be very well made 't is admirable as well as pleasant to see how small a Mutation of the neighbouring Air it will take notice of But I thought fit to desire to have it frequently tried because Care must be taken that such Motions of the Index be not mistaken for the Effects of the altered Temper of the Medium in the Receiver which may in some Cases proceed from those Steams of the Oil and Water which we elsewhere mention that we now and then tho but seldom observed to get out of the Cylinder into the Receiver and play up and down there TITLE IX Of Clouds Mists and Fogs HEaring that an excellent Astronomer of my Acquaintance had often measured the Height of Clouds I enquired of him what Height he observ'd them to have and was answered That though he had measured eighteen or twenty even of white Clouds in fair Weather yet he observed scarce any one to be higher than three quarters of a Mile and few of them he found to exceed half a Mile A Mist coming driving upon the Sea towards the Shoar though without any sensible Wind will raise a greater Swell of a Sea than a brisk Wind will do N. I have observed in a Ground near my House which is somewhat moist in Winter as also in other Places especially after a warm Day and against fair Weather in Autumn a moist blewish Mist to ascend about twenty or thirty Foot high and then to subside again in Dew Mr. J. T. TITLE X. Of Terrestrial Steams in the Air. INquiring of an ingenious Acquaintance of mine who in an inclosed Scope of Ground has several Veins of differing Metals and Minerals whether he did not see and sometimes smell Steams ascending out of this or that Spot of his Ground in Circumstances where their Ascension could not be imputed to the Action of the Sun He and his Son who was also a Virtuoso told me that they had divers times seen as 't were Pillars of Fumes ascending like Smoak whereof some would be inodorous some ill-scented and some though but seldom well-scented And you may have observed as well as I that Fogs some of which I have known to be very lasting and to have a large Spread did require no tender Nostrils to perceive them to stink I have frequently observed the smoaking Steams that arose out of the Shafts of Mines not wrought in And it is certain the Charcoal made in Cornwal especially of that Wood that grows in the Mineral Part thereof doth afford a manifest Arsenical and Sulphureous Smell beyond other Charcoal N. Tel est par exemple ce nuage horrible d'une fumée epaisse qui s'eleva de la mer de Crete au Commencement de l'Este de l'an 721. et qui s'etant repandu dans l'air le fit paroistre tout en feu La mer n'en fut pas mesme exempte car les grosses masses de pierres enflammées qu'on en vit sortier et qui se joignirent a l'Isle qu' on nomme Hiera échauferent si fort les eaux qu'elles en bruloient les mains TITLE XI Of Salts in the Air. 'T IS sufficiently known that the Peripatetick Schools teach the Air to be an Element warm and moist and if it be an Element it ought according to their Principles and those of the greatest part of other Naturalists to be a simple and Homogeneous Body But because such an elementary or uniform Purity is much easier to be found in the Writings of Schoolmen than amongst the Works of Nature many of the modern Philosophers have justly forsaken this Doctrine of the elementary Simplicity of the Air in some measure but perhaps very few of them if any have asserted the Air to be so exceedingly compounded a Body as in my Opinion it really is For
unto particular Regions or Places which do likewise emit and diffuse through the Air as their several and respective benign grateful so their several malignant congelative and fracedonous Natures and Qualities And hence therefore though the Air its Temperament Disposition and Quality in general is to be look'd at according to the Motions Influences and Aspects of the several superiour Bodies yet the particular Healthfulness and Unhealthfulness of Places the evil Disposition of the Air Evenings Nights and early in the Mornings in some Parts more than in others the super-abundant Moisture excessive Winds Droughts or other Seasons proper to one Country and not to be observed in another neighbouring to it all these are rather to be allowed and referred to those Odors Vapors and Exhalations that are through the Power of the Sun or other Planets drawn forth from their particular Seats into the Air from the Planets themselves And thus I have hinted as well as I may at the Solutions of all the Phenomena pertaining to this matter that I can think of And if this be so then wholly to neglect this Physical Use and Consideration of the Motion of these Bodies and either to reject it because of the Superstition that hath been mix'd with it or to exclude it from all manner of Care and from all other further Scrutiny as a thing not worth our Inquiry or Search at all after is as great an Extream on the other hand and a Mistake that must not pass untaxed among Learned Men. You did not expect I am sure I should have adventured into so particular an Apology for Astrology nor did I intend it when I begun my Letter nor do I now aim to justify any thing further than what may properly if not necessarily fall into the Consideration of Natural Philosophy being indeed much induced to think that were the Theory of the Planets so exactly stated so perfectly or so undeniably demonstrated that we might be sure we rightly understood the Place Course and Position of each of their Bodies in the Heavens this other Doctrine of their Physical Use with the Weight Dignity Extent Considerableness or Inconsiderableness of it would soon confirm and demonstrate it self by the Evidence and Proof of it self especially if any will please to take the Pains to calculate these Motions for his own private Use and according to the Meridian he is in and so compare them with his own Observations of the Change and Alteration of the Air from Day to Day Which doubtless as it was the way at first taken by the Ancients to find out their Efficacy I mean the making such a constant Observation and keeping such a Diary so the doing of that again and giving us first an History or Diary of the Observations of the Weather and its Changes in all Respects and then an Account of the several Places Motions or Aspects each Day of the several Bodies of the Heavens with the Agreements Doubts or Disagreements that these bear one to another and that must necessarily rise thereupon would be that that could not but prove both satisfactory and delightsom to us in this great Point about their Physical Power and Use And the Commodity of this in our Oeconomical or Civil Concerns in Husbandry in Gardening in Physick and to the producing many other very stupendous Effects cannot possibly be so well credited or discerned as it would if some such plain Foundation and Demonstration of the Power of these Bodies in general were laid Which methinks we should be much the more incouraged to undertake having an Advantage given us in this Age beyond what most Ages ever had by the Use of those rare Instruments that they call the Thermometers or Weather-Glasses And truly when I consider that things of the greatest Consequence do oft-times depend upon the most common Observations and that Matters of the highest Improvement do receive their Beginning from mean small ordinary Experiments I would have no Man who hath Leisure Opportunity and Time to think it a slight thing to busy himself in collecting Observations of this Nature It being much more commendable for a Man to preserve the History of his own Time though but in the Observation of the Motions of this kind than to say upon every Occasion that offers it self this is the hottest or this is the coldest or this is the rainiest or this is the most seasonable or unseasonable Weather that ever he felt whereas it may perhaps be nothing so And if there were no other Use yet Observations of this Nature would much conduce to compleat the natural History of any Place as we may observe by that Learned Author who writ Historiam Naturalem Brasiliae and who to prove not only the Habitableness but Healthfulness of that Climate and Country exhibites the Account of every Day 's Weather observed by him for many Years together and so the Agreement of it to that Temper which we account healthful But the instituting and perfecting of accurate Observations of this Nature by the help of several large and exact Thermometers placed in several Rooms or exposed after some convenient Manner to the Air it self would be a more noble and useful Undertaking than ordinary I say the doing this accurately by large and exact Glasses by placing several of them either together or at some fit Distance one from another It being much to be lamented and that which I cannot but complain to my self of that no Improvement considerable hath as I can learn been made by any Man of these Glasses either in our own Country or any where else since their first Invention but only to hang them in a Room for Ornament sake there being many things yet wanting that were much to be desired for the perfecting of them For 1. None hath hitherto given us the best Proportions between the Diameter of the Head and the Diameter of the Bodies or Cylinder although this be indeed the very first Consideration and that which is most necessary in the Use of these Instruments for as by how much the bigger the Cylinder is and by how much the lesser the Head by so much the more slow and imperceptible the Air 's Alteration and Motion will be so by how much the bigger the Head and smaller the Cylinder is by so much the more quick subtile and discernable will every small Difference of the Air appear which therefore being on both sides capable of an Extream ought to be regulated necessarily according to some mean 2. Admitting a mean or convenient Proportion between these two Diameters to be as one to 16 or one to 24. We in the next Place do no less want the fittest Proportion for the Length of the Cylinder which must doubtless also be varied answerably as we vary the Proportion of its Diameter the smaller Cylinder in Proportion to its Head requiring the greater Length the bigger Cylinder on the contrary the shorter Length 3. I have not hitherto seen any Cylinder that hath
the Wall of this Town laid flat in several Places your Godownes and other Houses in and about the Fort uncovered and exceedingly shattered no Place in the Fort where we could keep our Persons Books or Papers free from the Wind or Rain nor scarcely any Doors could stand against the Violence of it and we hourly feared the falling of the Fort down upon us it was so exceedingly rock'd and yet abroad we could have no Shelter nor were able to stand against it The repairing of the Damage will necessarily require a great Charge which at first we thought would have amounted to 3000 Pagothes but hope it will come short thereof Captain Brookehaven told me that about the Island Mauricius Hurricanes were the most frequent of any Place he knows and that near that Island he met with one which lasted four Days in all in one of which Days the Storm had seven Paroxysms or Exacerbations which the Seamen call Frights of Weather each of which he observed to differ two Points of the Compass from the preceding by which Means the Surface of the Sea by the Collision of the Waves became to be all white as if the Ship had been among Rocks He added that the Storm made the Day exceeding dark And that the Noise was rather like that of Thunder than of Wind insomuch that those on the Shrouds could not hear those on the Deck A Learned Physician that travelled into America affirmed to me that those Countries only have constant Winds from the Land in the Night which are furnished with Hills and therefore the Barbadoes wants such Winds because it has no Hills One of the East-Indian Committee who had lived Years in the Island of Teneriff answered me that he usually observed there the Briezes to come in from the Sea about nine of the Clock in the Morning and that about two Hours after Sun set there blew a sharp Land Wind every way from the Island to the Sea-ward which continued all Night till the next Morning A Learned Traveller answered me that though the Air were generally calm and clear at the Top of the Mountains yet sometimes he had met there with Winds considerably strong In Lettere di Venetia MArtedi sui li 29. Agosto 1679. alle hore 19. incirca si leuolevò nelle Paludi della Villa di Fauis del Dominio Casareo tre miglia lontana da Palma Noua Dominio Veneto un uento chiamato Bissa boua che allargandosi per circa cinquanta passi scorse con tanto empito e furore che portò per aria diuersi huomini che tagliauano il fieno in quei Prati e anco alcuni Carri carichi di fieno con i Buoui precipitandoli assai lontano con la rouina delli animali de Carri e degli huomini e passando per i Campi sbarbicando ogni sorte di Piante le portò per aria gettandole molti passi lontano rendendo la terra per oue scorse cosi arsa che pare non ui sii mai stata piantata cosa alcuna Arriuò nella villa decta Bagnaria del Dominio Veneto doue gettò a terra molte Case sino a fondamenti et altre discoperse e rouinò portando per aria tauole traui et ogni altra cosa che era dentro esse Case restando mal trattate molte Persone senza però la morte di alcuno Fuori di dettata Villa ui e una Chiesa chiamata S. Tomaso la quale resto scoperta e rouinata una parte del muro portando uia il Campanile e Campane che nel giorno seguente non si erano per anco trouate Di lá si portò uerso Seuigliano Dominio Veneto e rouinò tutta la Campagna senza danno però della Villa mentre li passò poco lontano de girando poco lungi dalla Villa stessa spiantò da fondamenti un Palazzo del D. Co. Horatio Strasoldo nel quale gli amazzò ogni sorte di animali che ui erano portando per aria li mobili e sino le botti esterminando parre della possessione Non restorono però offese Persone perche erano alla Campagna a lauorare e nel camino getto pure a terra due altre Case che sono nel Taglio per andare a Strasoldo spiantandole affacto con la morte diuna Donna d'un Fanciullo e diuersi Animali Di là uoltò uerso Palma et arriuando sino alle mura della Fortezza girò uerso la Villa di Priuano mezo miglio distante quale rouinò la meta spiantando da fondamenti belissimi Palazzi portando per aeria travi tavole et ogni altra cosa con la morte di molti quantità di feriti e diuersi strapazzati con far alla Campagna di molto male Di poi scorse nella Villa di Visco Dominio Imperiale e tra li altri danni fatti roninò tutto il Palazzo novo del D. Marco Foscolini Gentilhuomo di Cinidal nel quale essendoni una gran rimessa da Carozze la di cui Porta hauena tre Cadenazzi entrando il Turbine per li balconi gettò la Carozza con tanto empito nella Porta stessa che la ruppe e portò fuori la Caroza tutta fracassata gettandola sopra un muro della Corte assa alto portando il Cielo della stessa mezzo miglio lontano e vertò nel medemo Palazzo ferito e mal trattato un seruitore di esso Foscolini di cui ronino pure una Braida un Brolo essendo in detta Villa restati due morti e diversi feriti S' inoltrò poi nella Villa di S. Vido di Crauglio stato Imperiale la quale rouino tutta affatto senza restarui nemeno una Casa portando per Aria coppi travi legne sassi e mobili con la morte di moltissime Persone e moltissimi feriti e rouinati et in detta Villa non si può anddare ne con Carri ne con Caualli per la grande moltitudine di rouinazzo arbori et altro che hanno attrauer-sato le strade essendo rimassi morti gran numero di animali Da questo luoco si portò uerso Villes Villa Imperiale buona parte della quale gettò a terra per andar al Territorio di Monfalcone con la morte di molte persone et quantità di animali con lasciar le Campagne per dove è passata senza piante e come strada battuta Hà danneggiato anco altre Ville ma leggiermenre ne per anco si sà quello hauerà fatto piu avanti nel detto Territorio Questo successo hà lasciato un spauento grande in queste Parti essendosi uedute cose incredibili mentre pioveuano sassi tauole arbori traui coppi huomini donne fanciulli botti sorghi uva galline animali et in conclusione ciò che incontraua portaua per aria con un rumore
        10 21 16 ․    E   June         9 22 22 ․    E  Rain 10 9 21 ․      Cloudy 12 9 23 ․      Fair. 13 22 22Ë™      Rain 14 9 24Ë™      Close 17 9 26Ë™       18 9 26Ë™      Close 20 9 22Ë™      Fair. 21 9 24 ․      Fair. 2 6 23Ë™      Fair. 27 10 26Ë™       28 9 25Ë™      Rain 1673 July Memorand That from the Beginning of May till the middle of July there was scarce one dry Day but so great Rains that produced greater Flouds than were known in the Memory of Man d h T. 2 Bar. Hy. Wind. Weather 2 9 25Ë™       8 10 26 ․       10 8 25 ․      Fair. 14 17 31Ë™      Fair. 25 22 35Ë™       28 12 33Ë™      Close 30 9 24Ë™      Fair. 1674 March         9 8 1    N E  Frost and Snow 19 6 5Ë™      Snow 20 10 5·    N E  Snow all Day December         25 15 11 ․      Fair. 27 16 11 ․    W  Fair. 28 15 14Ë™    W  Close 1675 January         3 16 14 ․    W  Fair. April         25 9 12 ․    N E  Fair. 26 10 12 ․    N  Fair. 27 12 12Ë™    E  Fair. 28 9 12 ․    E  Close 1675 May         2 9 16 ․      Close 23 15 27 ․      Cloudy June         8 22 21 ․      Cloudy 9 13 21Ë™      Close 10 14 22 ․      Close 13 10 22Ë™    E  Close 14 9 17 ․      Fair. 1681 March The Thermometer marked 3 is one which I began now to use at my Return to Oxford d h T. 3 Bar. Hy. Wind. Weather 14 14 46 29 4 ․  W  A little Mist 15 8 36 29 6  N W  Fair. 16 12 45 29 5Ë™  N W 2 Little Rain 17 7 37 29 7Ë™  E  Fog 18 8 33 29 7Ë™  E  Fair. 23 11 34 28 8Ë™  N W  Close 24 12 32 29 2Ë™  N  Cloudy 25 18 33 28 7Ë™  N W  Cloudy 26 15 32  8 ․  N  Cloudy 27 13 28 29 2·  N  Fair Snow this Morning  14  29 2middot  N  Snow hard 28 11 29  5 ․  N  Cloudy 30 7 34  5Ë™  W  Close All the foregoing Week it rained in Showers every Day April         6 18 49  4Ë™  S  Very fair 7 9 45  5Ë™  S  Very fair  17 55  4Ë™  S W  Very fair 9 8 50  3 ․  S W  Close  14 50  2Ë™  S W  Rain 10 11 44  3Ë™  W 2 Clouds and a little Shower this Morning 11 17 46  5Ë™  S W 2 Fair ever since Yesterday 12 15 51  2·  S 3 Fair since 13 14 49  3Ë™  W 2 Fair since 14 13 45  3Ë™  S W 3 Fair since 15 17 54  3Ë™  E N 3 Close all Day 16 8 45  3·  E N 1 Misty  17 52  2·  E N 1 A little Shower between 4 and 5 17 6 49  2·  N E 1 Thick Fog Showers between 6 and 7 last Night 18 7 46  2·  S W 2 Fair and Clouds since May         3 14 50 29 4 ․  N E 2 Close no Rain since 18 April but very hot and fair Weather till Yesterday the Wind for the most part between N and E. 4 10 44  4·  N E 1 Close since 5 8 37  4·  N E 1 Clouds 6 8 37  2Ë™  E N 1 Fair Clouds Yesterday  19 46 29   W 1 Cloudy 7 7 41 28 8Ë™  W N 2 Clouds  11 43  8·  W 1 Rain  16 47  7Ë™  W 1 Close 8 9 41 29   N E 1 Cloudy since 9 9 42  2Ë™  E N 1 Fair. 10 4 47  3·  N 1 Fair since 11 9 48  3·  S E 1 Fair since  15 61  2·  S W 1 Fair since 16 11 54  6Ë™  S W 1 Fair a little Shower or two since  18 65  5Ë™  W 1 Fair since 17 8 55  6Ë™  W N 1 Fair since 19 17 70  2Ë™  N E 1 Fair since 20 6 64  3·  N E 2 Cloudy no Rain from hence till June 20 the driest Spring that hath been known there having been no Rain from the End of March to the End of June August         2 6 65  3Ë™ 7 N W 1 Fair. 3 11 60  3Ë™ 8 N 1 Fair. 4 9 62  3· 9 W 1 Fair. 5 9 62  3· 8 E 1 Fair. 6 15 71  1·  S 1 Fair. 7 9 68  2 ․ 9 S 1 Fair.  15 72 28 8Ë™ 8 S W 2 Cloudy 8 8 68  7Ë™ 9 S 2 Close  11 69  7Ë™ 9 S 2 Rain a little 9 9 64  8Ë™ 10 S W 1 Close  17 66  7Ë™ 10 S 1 Rain a hard Shower 10 6 62  7Ë™ 11 S W 2 Close 11 9 62 29 1· 11 S W 1 Close 12 8 66  2 ․ 17 S W 1 Mist 13 9 69 28 8Ë™ 18 S 1 Rain  14 72  7Ë™ 17 SW 1 Fair Clouds 14 8 67  8 ․ 17 S 1 Fair.  16 72  6 ․ 16 SE 1 Thunder Shower 16 9 69 29 2 ․ 17 SW 1 Rain for â…› Hour and then fair 17 6 69  2 ․ 16    18 4 67  3Ë™ 16  Â
 1682 February         10 12 25 29 5˙  EN 1 Close Frost 11 10 24 29 6˙  NE 1 Fair Ice 12 15 27 29 7 ․  NE  Very fair 13 11 24 29 7˙ 61 NE 1 Thick Fog 14 8 23 29 6˙ 63 NE 1 Fair. 15 8 29 29 5˙ 65 EN 1 Close 17 8 31 29 0 72 S 2 Cloudy and some Rain 20 17 42 28 7˙ 75 SE 2 Rain 21 8 44 28 6˙ 75 S 2 Rainy 22 9 42 28 7 ․ 77 S 2 Close 24 10 41 29 2 ․ 74 SE 1 Close 25 15 39 28 7˙ 75 NE 1 Rain ever since Yesterday in the Afternoon 26 10 38 29 1˙ 74 N 1 Close 27 7 37 29 3˙ 75 NW 1 Close 28 10 39 29 4· 73 W 1 Close 1682 March         d h T. 3 Bar. Hy. Wind. Weather 1 9 42 29 3· 74   Fog 5 16 30 29 1 ․ 67 S 1 Very fair hard Frost in the Morning 6 10 28 29 2 ․ 67 NE 1 Fair. 7 11 25 29 2· 65 N 2 Very fair 22 13 29 29 2 ․ 57 N 3 Cloudy and a little Snow 23 8 25 29 4˙ 56 N 2 Close Frost 24 7 29 29 4 ․ 57 W 1 Close 25 9 36 29 2 ․ 59 N 2 Clouds 26 8 31 29 4˙ 56 N 1 Close 27 8 34 29 4 ․ 57 W 2 Fair.  13 39 29 3 ․ 59 WN 1 A Shower 28 7 35 29 4 ․ 56 NW 1 Fair. 29 7 30 29 5˙ 50 N  Clouds 30 8 30 29 5· 48 NE 2 Fair.  11 31 29 5˙ 47 NE 3 Snow 31 8 30 29 6 ․ 48 NE 2 Fair. April         1 8 30 29 6 ․ 49 NE 2 Close 2 9 33 29 6 ․ 50 NE 1 Close  19 36 29 6 ․ 51 NE 1 Small Mist 3 7 34 29 6 ․ 51 NE 1 Small Mist 4 9 34 29 6 ․ 50 NE 1 Close 5 7 34 29 5 50 NE 1 Fog and Sun-shine 6 9 39 29 4 ․ 49 N 1 Fair. 7 9 39 29 5 ․ 48 N 1 Fair. 8 8 39 29 5˙ 44 NE 1 Fog and Sun-shine  11 43 29 5˙ 44 SE 2 Fair. 9 7 40 29 3 ․ 40 SE 2 Thick Fog  14 41 29 1· 41 S 2 Rain  20 43 28 7 44 S 2 Rain till past 6 now fair 10 7 43 28 6˙ 47 SW 2 Close Rain in Showers most part of the Day 11 8 43 28 6 ․ 49 SW 2 Close Rain in Showers most part of the Day 12 7 41 28 5 ․ 48 SW 1 Close Shower about Noon  16 44 28 6˙ 47 WN 1 Fair. 13 6 37 28 8· 47 SE 1 Fair.  17 44 28 5˙ 47  2 Rain 14 7 42 28 2˙ 48 SE 2 Rain all the Morning till past 12  14 45 28 5· 50 W 3 Rain more or less almost all the Afternoon 15 6 40 29 1· 50 SW 2 Fair. 16 7 43 29 1˙ 48   Fair hard Shower about 18 17 7 47 28 8· 49 SE 1 Close Showers several times in the Day 18 7 43 28 7˙ 50 SE 1 Rain the greatest part of the Day 19 6 44 28 7 ․ 52 S 2 Close Rain a great part of the Day 20 6 44 28 6 ․ 51 SE 1 Rain and so in Showers several times of the Day 21 4 45 28 6˙ 51 S 1 Cloudy Rain most part of the Morning 22 8 47 28 7 ․ 51 S 1 Rain  17 51 28 8˙ 52 N 1 Rain most part of the Afternoon 23 7 46 29 2˙ 52 N 1 Close  13 49 29 3· 52 S 1 Close Rain almost all the Afternoon  22 49 29 3˙ 52 N about 18 Hard Rain 24 6 46 29 4 ․ 52 E 1 Close hard Rain at Night 25 7 47 29 1˙ 52 ES 1 Close some Rain  14 42 28 8˙ 53 SE 1 Dropping  22 54 28 7 ․ 54  3 Hard Rain from 18 26 7 52 28 6 ․ 54 S 2 Cloudy Rain often in the Day 27 5 52 28 8 ․ 55 SW 1 Close a good deal of Rain before Night 28 18 51 28 ˙ 55 SW 1 Close Rain a good part of the Morning and some in the Afternoon 29 8 47 29 1 ․ 55 SW 1 Cloudy a little Rain in the Afternoon 30 5 47 28 8˙ 55 SW 1 Fair.  18 46 28 6 ․ 55 NE 1 Hard Rain which began about 11 and lasted till 21 or 22 1682 May         d h T. 3 Bar. Hy. Wind. Weather 1 4 42 28 8 ․ 55 NW 2 Cloudy  21 47 29 2 ․ 54 NW 1 Fair. 2 8 43 29 2· 54 SW 1 Cloudy hard Rain from 19 or 20 all Night 3 6 49 28 7˙ 54 SW 2 Clouds Wind W. all the Afternoon but fair bating a little Rain in the Evening 4 5 52 28 7 ․ 54 SE 1 Rain hard till 13  13 54 28 7˙ 54 N 1 Rain hard till Night Memorand That new fitting my Barometer here the Mercury was raised by Addition of more in the Receiver about 2 10 Inch which is almost 2 of my Degrees which are Eights though I suspect it is still by reason of included Air a Degree or two too low          22 53 29 2˙ 54   Small Rain 5 8 48 29 3 ․ 54 E 1 Rain  20 51 29 3· 55 E 1 Close Rain most part of the Morning and 2 or 3 Showers in the Afternoon 6 7 48 29 3· 55 NE 1 Mist 7 8 46 29 4· 55 E 2 Rain a great part of the Day 8 4 53 29 2 ․ 56 SW 2 Hard Rain till 7 or 8 9 10 54 29 1˙ 55 E 1 Close  14 55 29 1· 55 SW 1 Rain 10 9 50 29 2˙ 54 S 1 Cloudy a little Rain about 17 and again about 22 11 6 49 29 2˙ 54 SW 1 Close 11 9 50 29 2˙ 55 SW 1 Short Shower several short Showers in the Afternoon 12 6 49 29 3 ․ 54 SW 1 Close a Shower in the Morning 13 4 51 29 2· 53 E 1 Close several Showers in the Day 14 9 53 29 4· 54 SW 2 Clouds 15 7 51 29 4˙ 51 S 1 Fair. 16 8 61 29 2 ․ 48 SE 1 Fair hard Shower about 18 17 5 60 29 3· 48 SW 2 Close 18 7 57 29 5· 47 W 1 Fair. 19 8 58 29 5 ․ 45 WS 1 Fair. 20 5 63 29 3· 43 SE 1 Fair.  16 69 29 3· 43 WS 1 Very fair 21 8 59 29 3˙ 44 S 1 Fair. 22 9 69 29 1˙ 42 SE 1 Fair.  17 47 29 1 ․ 38 SW 2 Fair. 23 7 64 29 2˙ 38 W 1 Fair gentle Rain from 8 to 11  10 63 29 2˙ 38 W 1 Rain 24 7 62 29
2 ․ 39 N 1 Close 25 6 59 29 3 ․ 42 NW 1 Fair. 27 9 53 29 5 ․ 42 W 1 Fair. 28 14 67 29 3Ë™ 33 S 1 Fair. October         14 9 45 29 6 ․ 49 W 1 Close Rain last Night 16 13 48 29 4Ë™ 51 SW 2 Rain till Bed-time 1682 October        17 9 47 29 2Ë™ 51 W 1 Fair little Rain 18 10 41 29 1Ë™ 51 SW 2 Cloudy hard Rain from 5 to Bed-time 19 9 39 28 7Ë™ 51 W 1 Fair Shower in the Afternoon 20 9 34 28 7Ë™ 51  0 Rain 27 22 38 29 7Ë™ 60   Close 28 10 37 29 7 ․ 60 EN 2 Fair. November         8 18  29 8 ․    Fair hard Frost 9 9 22 29 8 ․ 57 N 1 Fog gone before Noon hard Frost 10 10 26 29 8· 58 EN 1 Fair hard Frost 11 9 25 29 7Ë™ 56 NE 1 Close hard Frost 12        Fair hard Frost 13 10 26 29 5Ë™ 57 NE 1 Close hard Frost 14 13 23 29 7 ․ 57   Thick Fog fair in the Afternoon 15 10 36 29 4 ․ 56 SW 1 Close Rain this Morning hard Rain 22 16 5 41 29 1Ë™ 66   Hard Rain Rain most part of the Day  17 41 29 1· 65 SW 1 Rain 17 11 39 29 1 ․ 64 WS 2 Fair. 18 9 37 28 7Ë™ 64  0 Fog Rain most part of the Day 19 9 33 29 1Ë™ 62 W 1 Fair Rain in the Night 20 10 40 29 1Ë™ 64 WN 1 Fair Rain in the Afternoon  22 42 29 2 ․ 63  2 Fair. 21 6 42 29 1· 64   Hard Rain till 10  16 43 29 2Ë™ 64 W 2 Fair. 22 11 33 29 5 63 W 1 Small Fog Frost this Morning 23 9 28 29 5Ë™ 62 NW  Fog thick Fog all Day 24 9 25 29 5 ․ 62 NW  Thick Fog little Rain in the Evening 25 8 35 29 3 67 SW 1 Close Rain in the Evening 26 9 35 29 4· 65 WN 1 Fair. 27 10 31 29 7Ë™ 64 WN 1 Fair. 28 4 32 29 8Ë™ 65   Fair. 29 8 33 29 7Ë™ 65 WS  Small Fog 30 9 35 29 7Ë™ 65 SW 1 Fair. December         1 8 35 29 6Ë™ 66 S 1 Mist 2 9 34 29 6Ë™ 66 S 1 Close 3 9 34 29 6Ë™ 66 SW 1 Foggy 1683. June         21 9 62 29 3Ë™ 46 W 1 Close 22 8 65 29 2Ë™ 48 WS 2 Close some Showers 23 7 59 29 4Ë™ 46 W 1 Cloudy 25 19 67 29 4Ë™ 44 WN 1 Fair Mist in the Morning 26 10 64 29 5 ․ 43 S 1 Very fair  17 72 29 3Ë™ 43 S W 2 Fair. 30 13 62 29 3Ë™ 37 W N 3 Fair. An Explication of the foregoing Register THE first Column with d at the Top contains the Day of the Month. The second Column with h at the Top contains the Hour of the Day which beginning from Midnight I count to 24 which is Midnight again so that 13 stands for 1 Afternoon and so on The third Column with Th. at the Top marks the Degrees of my Thermoscope which having been blown at a Lamp though the Spaces of the Degrees were equally divided yet because of the unequal Bigness of the small Tube towards the Extremities where it grew bigger it did not always in every Degree mark equally proportionable Degrees of Heat and Cold. The Points to be observed in that and the next Column which is that for the Baroscope shew the just Place where the Top of the tinged Spirit of Wine in the one and the Mercury in the other stood between the Line of the Degree marked and the following when the Observation was made The Thermoscope I made use of till December 1669 was a seal'd one with all the Degrees increasing with the Heat in one continued Series The Thermoscope which I used from Decemb. 1669. to June 1675. and is marked 2. was one of Mr. Cotgraves adjusting which beginning the reckoning from the temper of freezing hath the Numbers increasing both upwards and downwards the Points shew it to be in the Degrees above 0 if set over and under 0 if set under and Ë™ ˙˙ or ˙˙˙ shew it higher or lower in each Degree The Thermoscope used from March 1681 to the End is marked 3 and is of the kind of that used first The Column having Hy. at the Top contains the Degrees of Moisture as marked by an Hygroscope made of the Beard of a wild Oat In the Column of the Wind I not having the Convenience to observe the Points exactly have marked but 8 but yet with this Variety that where I set two Letters the Wind was most from that Point whose Letter stands first v. g. W N signifies more West than North. When I set only one Letter it was in or very near that Cardinal Point The Strength is marked by 0 1 2 3 4. 0 signifies not so much Wind that mov'd any Leaf that I could see in a Garden I look'd into out of my Window but the Letter join'd to it signifies which way the Weather-Cock then stood whether the former Wind left it so or the present Breeze blew that way 1 signifies a gentle Gale just perceivable by the moving of the Leaves or Plants 4 signifies a very violent Storm 2 and 3 the several Degrees between 1 and 4 as well as I could judg These Degrees though not so exactly measured as I could have wish'd I yet thought better than nothing LE Tuyau recourbé estoit fermé au bout ae et Ouuert alautre extremité B. La recourbure depuis G. Jusq ' a C. estoit pleine de Mercure tout lereste estoit plein d' air La longueur Ae. C. estoit 4 Pouces ou 32 8. J'echauffay cet air et il feit baisser le Mercure Jusques en f. qui estoit â…œ plus bas en mesme temps il monta jusq ' en H. qui estoit 3 8 plus haut que G. ou C. Pour sçauoir quélle hauteur de Mercure auroit este necessaire pour empescher la dilatation de lair retenir le mercure en C. Je nay quá trouuer ce qui seroit necessaire pour repousser le mercure en C. Etainsy contenir lair dans léspace Ae. C. non obstant la Chaleur Je pose pour principe ceque lexperience fait voir Cest que quand une quantité dáir occupe un certain espace que Jáppelle Ae. et que la pression qui leretient dans cet espace soit B. siâ—on vient a augmenter certe pression de telle quantité que lón voudra comme X. on diminuera L'espace Ae. d'une certain quantité D. Laquelle
quantité est au restant M. comme X est a B. D. M. X. B. donc M. D. B. X. Il est aisé d áppliquer cettereigle à lexperience cy dessus Car Ae. f. ou 35 8 de pouce sont lespace Ae. Lapression ordinaire de lâir qui est de 30 Pouces Jointe ae un pouce de haut que se trouue entre f. et H. est B X 31 Pouces de mercure et si nous y en adjoustons assez pour reduire láir a léspace Ae. C. Ledit Ae. C. sera M. X 32 8 Et. f. C. Sera D. X ⅜ Posant donc M. D. B. 32. 3. 31. La quatriesme proportionelle sera X. X 2 29 32 pouces qui estants joints a B. X 31 Pouces feront 33 29 32 pouces dont láir sera pressé en C. Ae. qui sont pres de 4 Pouces audessus de la pression ordinaire Experiment made at the Spire of the Cathedral-Church in Sarum by Colonel John Windham assisted by Mr. Tho. Naish Clerk of the Works and John Warner in November 1684. HAving gotten together all the surveighing Chains the City afforded and carefully examined their Truth and having prepared a proper Frame for the Baroscope we went into the Church filled the Tube and with all the Nicety we could use purged it of the airy Particles and then immersing it as in the Forricellian Experiment the Mercury was there suspended 30 Inches and 50 Cents of an Inch measuring it from the Surface of the Stagnum Then drawing it up to the first Floor above the Vaulting which is 1033 Inches and ½ high from the Pavement the Mercury subsided 9 Cents of an Inch From thence drawing it up to the middle Floor which is 935 Inches higher the Mercury subsided 8 Cents lower than before And from thence drawing it up to the Weather-Door which is 2313 Inches higher than the last the Mercury subsided 23 Cents below its last Station So the whole Height 't was drawn up is 4281 Inches and a half and the whole Difference of the Mercury's standing is 40 Cents of an Inch. And letting it down again the same way the Mercury reascended to its first Stations At another time with an inverted Baroscope like that Figure in the Margin having made a Mark where the Liquor stood when 't was below in the Church and drawing it up to the first Floor over the   Inches  Inc. Cen. Vaulting Which is above the Pavement of the Church 1033 and ½ The Liquor ascended 1 25 To the middle Floor 1968. 2 39 To the 8 Doors Floor 2467. 3 22 To the Weather-Door 4281. 5 64 To the Top 4800 or 400 Feet 6 40 If your Honour desires to have any other Experiments made at that Spire Mr. Naish whom I have mentioned above is a Person well skill'd in the practical Parts of Mathematicks and a great Lover of Learning but more especially natural and experimental Philosophy having all or most of your Honour 's Phylosophical Works This Person I know would most gladly and heartily imbrace any Opportunity of serving your Honour whensoever you 'l be pleased to let me impart any thing to him in a Letter This is humbly advertised by Sir Your Honour 's most Obliged and most Obedient Servant JOHN WARNER ♃ Decembris 17. Anno 1685. At a Place in the great Continent in Europe but not far from the Ocean a learned Acquaintance of mine keeping a Baroscope some Years and being discours'd with by me about the Difference of the Phaenomena that may be expected in Places situate upon the Continent from what we find in this Country as it is an Island He related to me that a few Years since casting his Eyes upon the Baroscope in ordinary Weather and that was calm enough he was surprized to see the Mercury so strangely raised as to exceed above two Inches its wonted Station which great Alteration he found within few Hours to have been the Fore-runner of so hideous a Storm as was generally wondred at and did a great deal of Mischief both in the Towns and Country of those Parts where it left sad Instances of its Fury This Wind came all along the Continent but my Relator divers times observed that when very boisterous Winds blew from the Sea and the Storms came thence which lying to the Southward the Mercuty in the Baroscope would considerably subside as has likewise been often observed here in England by an ingenious Gentleman living within less than two Leagues of the Sea to whom I presented a Baroscope to make Observations with An industrious young Man that whilst he was my Domestick I bred up to Chymistry of which he now teaches Courses related to me the other Day that toward the latter End of the last Month which was June being at Oxford where his House is he had occasion to cast his Eyes upon his Baroscope and was not a little surprized to find that the Quick-silver was in an extraordinary Measure alter'd from the Height it stood at but a while before Whereupon though the Weather were very hot and fair as is usual in June and had continued so for some Days yet he took upon him to foretel from this great and quick Subsidence of the Mercury that there would be e're long some notable Change of Weather And accordingly it happened within about four or five Hours that the Sky was all overcast and there fell a hideous Storm of Rain Lightning and Thunder accompanied with such a Whirlwind as scarce any remember to have seen in that City A Letter to the Author Honoured Sir I Have been able to do so little in the Attempts I have made to serve you that I am ashamed to have been so well furnished to so small purpose The Barometer I had from you was conveyed safe into the Country and as soon as it came to my Hands I rode to Minedeep with an Intention to make use of it there in one of the deepest Gruffs for so they call their Pits I could find the deepest I could hear of was about 30 Fathom but the Descent so far either from easy safe or perpendicular that I was discouraged from venturing on it They do not as in Wells sink their Pits strait down but as the Cranies of the Rocks give them the easiest Passage neither are they let down by a Rope but taking the Rope under their Arm by setting their Hands and Legs against the sides of the narrow Passage clamber up and down which is not very easy for one not used to it and almost impossible to carry down the Barometer both the Hands being imployed This Information I should have suspected to come from their Fear had not an intelligent Gentleman Neighbour to the Hill assured me 't was their usual way of getting up and down For the Sight of the Engine and my Desire of going down into some of their Gruffs gave them terrible Apprehensions and I could not perswade them but that I had
Side there was no Snow though on the North Side there were much They stayed about two Hours on the Top of the Sugar-Loaf and then returned to that Part of the Hill where they had lodg'd the Night before I ask'd Mr. Sydenham what was the Estimate made by the most knowing Persons of the Island of the Height of the Hill and he told me that the Guides accounted it to be one and twenty Miles high from the Town which as was noted before is seated three Miles above the Sea And he added that a Sea-man with great Confidence affirming himself to have accurately enough measur'd by Observations made in a Ship and to have found the Perpendicular Height of the Hill to be about seven Miles I asked him also from what Distance the Top of the Sugar-Loaf could be seen at Sea according to the common Opinion of Sea-men He answer'd that the Distance was wont to be reckoned threescore Sea-Leagues of three Miles to a League adding that he himself had seen it above forty Leagues off and yet it appeared exceeding high and like a blewish Pyramide manifestly a great deal higher than the Clouds And he also told me that sometimes Men could from thence see the Island of Madera though distant from it 70 Leagues and that the great Canary though 18 Leagues off seem'd to be very near them as if they might leap down upon it He told me that the higher Part of the Region of Snow was two Miles or two Miles and a half lower than the Foot of the Sugar-Loaf and that on the upper part of the Hill they felt no Wind. Mr. Sydenham told me that being at the Top of the Sugar-Loaf drinking the King's Health he indeavoured to shoot off a Birding-Piece he had carried up with him but though he snap'd it above twenty times he could not make it go off whereas when he came down into the ordinary Air the first time he tried to shoot it went readily off I ask'd him whether he had taken notice that the Flint struck out any Sparks of Fire or no at the Top of the Hill and whether he had mended and alter'd the Flint coming downwards To the first he answered he did not remember to the other that he remembred he did not He also told me that having carried up a Borracha of Sack when they came to the Top of the Mountain they drank divers Healths very freely but could not find themselves heated or sensibly discomposed by the Wine whereas when they were come down into a thicker Air they manifestly felt the heady Operation of the Liquor which then made their Guide and one of their Company drunk He described the Sugar-Loaf to be in the midst of a barren Plain in the upper Part of the Mountain and to be exceeding steep The Top of the Sugar-Loaf is made shelving inward almost like a Dish But in many Places of it there appear little Holes regularly placed as it were so many little Vents to a great Fire burning in or below the Bowels of the Mountain He told me that the Guide disswaded him from going to the middle of this shelving Top affirming it to be exceeding dangerous but he ventur'd to thrust the scowring Stick of his Gun somewhat deep and rudely into one of those Holes from whence there arose a hot Steam which had like to have killed him and hindred him from further Trials He added that the Top of the Mountain seem'd to be little else than Stones and Sulphur and that there were great Store of Pieces of Brimstone which are guessed to be sublimed up from the internal Parts of the Hill Being asked whether he was sick or no in the Ascent he said that both he and all his Company which were about a dozen Men were sick for three or four Hours when they came into the subtile and piercing Air of the upper Part of the Mountain but as they went down again they were not sick And being asked what kind of Sickness it was they felt he said it was like Sea-sickness He told me that the Sack they carried up with them to refresh themselves seem'd to them at the Top of the Mountain so very cold that they were not able to drink above two or three Drops at a Draught by reason of the Operation of the excessive Cold upon their Teeth He added upon my Inquiry that his Feet were not more than ordinarily warm and yet one of the two Pair of Pumps he carried up with him were burnt off his Feet by the Brimstone When I asked him about the Difference of Seasons at the same time in the same Mountain he told me that he passed over one of them by Name On the one Side of which it was excessively hot near the Top or Ridg as well though not quite so much as in the lower Regions on the Side of the Mountain but within a Mile or two on the other Side of the Ridg he found Winter-Weather as to Cold and Storminess and yet there was Snow as well on the other Side as on this To what Depth the Water will be frozen in hard Winters To what Depth the Earth will be frozen in that Season Whether Muscovian Ice be considerably or at least sensibly harder than English Ice Whether by casting up Water or by spitting the Liquor will freeze before it comes to touch the Ground Whether Brandy Sack c. will freeze in Russia Whether Instruments of Iron and Steel be much more brittle there than here Of the cracking of the Timber in wooden Houses and the Causes of it Of the Preservation of Flesh Fish Herbs Eggs c. in hard Weather Of the curing of those whose Nose Cheeks c. are frozen Of the Symptoms of those that are frozen to Death Of the keeping of dead Bodies TITLE XX. Of the Air in reference to Light its Perspicuity Opacity Reflections Refractions Colours Light and Lightning A Very learned Traveller affirmed to me that having occasion to reside sometimes on the Riviera or Coast of Genoua he had often observed that from a high Place he could both Morning and Evening clearly discern the Island of Corsica and sometimes also other Places in that Sea though he could not see them at Noon how fair and clear so ever the Weather was when the Sun was in or near the Meridian His late Majesty K. Charles the Second doing me one Day the Honour to discourse about several Marine Observations was pleased among other things to acquaint me with this rare Phaenomenon He was one Day walking upon the Beach on the Strand not far from Dover to injoy the fresh Air and the Prospect of the Sea when casually looking forwards to the Verge of the visible Horizon he was very much surprized to discover there a new Coast with rising and falling Grounds newly as it were emerged out of the Ocean in a Place where no such thing had been seen before The Strangeness of this unlook'd-for Apparition made Him suspect
something of Illusion offer'd to his Eyes by the Beams of the Sun that shone upon the Neighbouring Objects wherefore he rubb'd his Eyes and the new Scene not vanishing he call'd to his Royal Highness the Duke of York who was present when his Majesty was pleased to make me the Relation and to some of the attending Courtiers that were nearest at hand to make them Partakers and Witnesses of this delightful Spectacle which after it had been gazed on a little while did somewhat slowly disappear as if it had sunk down again into the Ocean Of the Cause of this rare Phaenomenon I ventur'd to propose to the King this Conjecture That the Place where it was seen lying the same way that the Coast of France did and that Coast being but a little too far off to be discern'd before it might very well happen that either by Action of the Sun or rather by subterraneal Steams the Air interposed between the Shore and his Majesties Eyes was fill'd with Vapors and Exhalations that made it much more refractive than formerly and by Help of this supervening Refraction the French Coast that lay beyond it was raised and as it were lifted up in reference to the Sight and so became visible as long as that new Refraction lasted And when the Steams that occasion'd it were either got up too high or were by the Winds or Sun too much dissipated or dispersed the Apparition ceased together with the unusual Refraction that caused it And in favour of this Conjecture I alledg'd that familiar Experiment in which a Piece of Gold or the like convenient Object being put into the bottom of an empty Cup and the Eye being so placed that the Object is but just hid from it by the Interposition of the Side of the Cup if Water be poured into the Vessel though neither the Eye nor the Object be at all removed yet the Piece of Gold will be plainly seen because the Surface of the Water which is a thicker Medium than the Air breaking the Rays that tend from the Object towards the Beholder's Eye according to the Laws of Refraction that is from the Perpendicular they are so bended that those fall now into the Pupil that if it were not for the Water would either fall upon the Side of the Cup and so be hinder'd from passing forward or else would fall upon the Eye-lids or Eye-brows or some other Part above the Pupil and so would not make the Object visible The Duke of York was also pleased to tell me that he was somewhat surprized when being near the Borders of Scotland in a Season that did not promise much fair Weather he saw one Morning the Sky very red and thereupon said that he fear'd they should have foul Weather according to the usual Prognostick of Country-men and Mariners but some of the Scotish Nobility that attended his Highness told him that in that Country such red Mornings did not bode a foul Day but rather promise a fair one which Prediction of theirs was justified by the Event Upon which occasion I enquired of a very intelligent Scotish Noble-man how far the Observation held in his Country To which he answer'd that with a due Limitation it was most commonly true for though when the Redness seems to be very near the Ground and appears in somewhat narrow Streaks of an intense Red it signifies bad Weather yet if the Morning Redness appears elevated in the Air or Sky especially if the Wind be Easterly it usually foretels a fair Day Some Observations of Capt. James in his Northern Voyage Mr. J. T. and others February I practised some Observations by the rising and setting of the Sun calculating the time of his rising and setting by very true running Glasses As for our Clock and Watch notwithstanding we still kept them by the Fire-side in a Chest wrap'd in Clothes yet were they so frozen that they could not go My Observations by these Glasses I compared with the Stars coming to the Meridian By this means we found the Sun to rise twenty Minutes before it should and in the Evening to remain above the Horizon twenty Minutes or thereabouts longer than it should do And all this by reason of the Refraction Capt. James March This Evening the Moon rose in a very long Oval alongst the Horizon April The Weather continued with this Extremity until the fifteenth at which time our Spring was harder frozen than it had been all the Year before I had often observed the Difference betwixt clear Weather and misty refractious Weather in this manner From a little Hill which was near adjoining to our House in the clearest Weather when the Sun shone with all the Purity of Air that I could conceive we could not see a little Island which bare off us South-South-East some four Leagues but if the Weather were misty as aforesaid then we should often see it from the lowest Place This little Island I had seen the last Year when I was on Danby-Island The 13th I took the Height of it instrumentally standing near the Sea-side which I found to be 34 Minutes the Sun being 28 Degrees high This shows how great a Refraction here is Yet may this be noted by the way that I have seen the Land elevated by reason of the refractious Air and nevertheless the Sun hath risen perfect round January 6. I observed the Latitude with what Exactness I could it being very clear Sun-shine Weather which I found to be 51 52. This Difference is by reason that here is a great Refraction January 21. I observed the Sun to rise like an Oval alongst the Horizon I called three or four to see it the better to confirm my Judgment and we all are agreed that it was twice as long as it was broad We plainly perceived withal that by Degrees as it got up higher it also recovered Roundness Attending upon Sir Peter Wych in his Journey for Warsaw the Beginning of June 16 69 70 whilst we lay about three Polish Miles from the City attending the Preparations for his Reception there we had very clear and extream cold Weather and for two Days together we observed the Sun and two Parhelions or three Suns from above ten a Clock to near twelve not the least Cloud appearing in the Air but that so serene that we took notice of the Icy Spangles in the Air flying about like Atoms in the Sun's Beams This is also worth taking notice of that whereas in ordinary frosty Weather any smooth Iron or other Metal whether Heads of Sticks Pomels of Swords or Barrels of Guns being brought out of the open Air into a warm Room there will presently first a Dulness in the Glass and then Drops of Water appear At this time there would immediately appear the Likeness of an hoar Frost Now whether the Particles of Cold be so subtile as to pierce or enter into polished Metal I will not determine tho the Experience of wetting one Finger with his Spittle