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the sea. Hardly had we time to make these other parts of the same dark cloud, great observations, before the spout (accompanied | downward swellings, or ulders, appeared, by a broken sound of sharp and heavy rain), under which, but not always in a verucal moving at the rate of two knots, proceeded direction, the water was seen to foam, and gloomily towards us, almost touching our vapours of different elevations arose, producing stern; and in less than two minutes more, an effect extremely curious, and altogether the whole phenomenon, without any visible difficult to describe. In all, seven wateralteration of form, had suddenly and totally spouts were completely organized, out of disappeared. It was particularly remarked, which number two were made as curves, that the moment the spout had proceeded retaining that shape throughout; one enlarged beyond the larboard quarter, a light air of its original curve, till it became a perpendiwind came in from that point, as though we cular; two others, leaning obli¡uely," never had been becalmed by its approach; and, on altered their position till broken; and the reexamination, the afterpart of our main-sail mainder, being at first vertical, were always was found to be wetter than the rest. the same, and beautifully formed. However curious, on perusal, may seen the preceding remarks, there remains one still more extraordinary to be stated. It is, that straight up the centre of several spouts (like quicksilver in a glass tube) we could distinctly mark the ascension of a fluid, light in its colour, and subject to great variations in its pace; but it was constantly observed, that the nearer the spouts approached to perpendicular, the more actively the fluid was moved. The durations of the above phenomena were from three to five minutes and it is proper to observe, that not the smallest symptoms of falling water was at any time seen, though one of the spouts was scarcely constructed before it was destroyed. It is necessary to add, that our estimated distance from them was from six to eight miles, and that the wind was considered as light, though it had blown fresh for several days before from the south-east, accompanied with almost continual rain.

As from the latter circumstances, and the dampness sensibly felt by all those who stood only in their linen on deck, no doubt could possibly be entertained that, had the popular notion of a created vortex, &c. been correct, inevitable destruction must have followed: it afterwards became with me a matter of doubt, how far experience would prove the received opinions to be just. Respecting the propriety of these doubts, a very fiue opportunity of judging not long afterwards occurred. It was in the month of November, 1801, whilst cruising along the Istrian shore, that, soon after noon, our attention was excited by the appearance, in the south, of a lofty black inverted column, resting as it were on the sea, and reaching to the clouds. Round the lower extremity of this column there arose a thick and voluminous vapour (resembling steam), which, on its attaining a moderate height, flew out in scroll or volute-like forms to the east and the west. Whilst we were occupied by the above phenomenon, our attention was hastily diverted by what at first appeared only a small agitation of the water; afterwards, by observing this water rise into a vapour; and ultimately, by seeing that vapour ascend in the form of a cloudy pillar from the sea. In the meantime (that is, from the moment the vapour began to appear), a dark cloud immediately over, was observed to be dilating itself (downward) into the shape of an udder, from whence there instantly descended a pillar, similar in figure and colour to the former.

It was then directly remarked, that, although the velocity of both these pillars, or parts of a pillar, was increasing as they drew near, yet, that the speed of the upper one was considerably greater than that of the lower; this disproportion continuing till they had nearly united, when a junction, on both sides, was rapidly formed. During the period of making the latter remarks, the column first noticed was suddenly divided more than two-thirds down, the superior part flying upwards like the curling of a shaving, whilst the other sunk away with the vapour, which had previously begun to subside. In several

After a mild season for the greatest part of the month of December 1788, at Nite, where the winter is not in general severe, with clear weather in day-time, our atmosphere underwent a total charge on the day of the new moon, which was the 27th of that month. On that day a very violent storm of wind arose, attended with a degree of cold as acute as ever was known in the memory of man. The sky became covered with clouds, and snow fell to the depth of more than eight inches.

The severe cold had frozen the snow, and rendered it so compact that, notwithstanding the influence of several days of clear weather soon afterwards, in which the heat of the sun was very perceptible, there was not the least drop of water fell from the eaves of the house in which I dwell, which is exposed to the sun in winter for eight hours, and, being situated near the sea, is perfectly sheltered on the north side by the eminence

of the rock of the castle. This fact appeared very surprising to me, after a residence of about forty years in this town. Several old persons remarked, that this snow would wait for another fall before is melted, and I found by the result that the observation was

true..

His earnestness was equal to that of a sailor, who, after a long and tedious voyage, first discovers land. I followed him to the window, and beheld an immense water-spout passing majestically before Nice. The clouds had already occupied not only the upper and southern part of the atmosphere, but they had procceded towards the west, so as to cover the whole extent within my view; with this circumstance, nevertheless, that they had left uncovered beneath and towards the south, a part in the form of a segment of a circle, through which, at an extreme distance, some clouds were discerned, upon which the sun threw the colours of the morning.

The foot of this water-spout, was so am

Instead of the tranquillity it exhibited at its first appearance, this lower part assumed the reseniblance of the crater of a volcano, with this exception, that it threw out nething but large streams of cloud and spouts of sea-water. But it threw these in parabolic streams from the centre, to the circumference, and all around, with such impetuosity and violence as to render it very evident to us, that an inexpressible efferrescence must have prevailed in the interior bason, though the great distance, and the opacity of the surrounding vapour, prevented us from seeing it.

On Sunday Jan. 4, 1799, at the phasis of the first quarter of the moon, the cold was again renewed, and continued severe on the Monday and Tuesday. At eight in the morning I first observed an immerse mass of clouds towering upwards, and extending from north-east to south, which rose towards the zenith, by advancing to the westward. Accustomed as I am to consider these clouds according to the system of my old professor of natural philosophy, Father Beccaria, Iple, that a man of war of 100 guns, with concluded that they would proceed to desolate all its sails, might have been enveloped and our fields, the fruits of which, particularly even concealed in it. Hence, from the the oranges and lemons, had already perished circular form of the foot of this water-spout, by the antecedent cold. And as a strong some judgment may be made of the volume wind then prevailed over the face of the sea, of vapour it afforded. I foretold to my two eldest sons, that it was very probable we might discover some waterspout in the course of the day. In fact, about five minutes after ten in the morning, I observed on the sea, at the distance of not more than a musket-shot from the shore, a round space of ten or twelve toises in diameter, in which the water did not really boil, but seemed ready to boil. For there appeared all round, and sometimes within the circle, vapours in the form of mists, eight toises and more in height, having the appearance, though on a scale incomparably larger, of those vapours which rise from the surface of water beginning to simmer. I saw clearly that this was, if I may so express myself, the embryo of the foot of a water-spout driven along by the wind, while the clouds were not sufficiently advanced to afford the stem a body, It continued therefore to move before the wind from east to west, keeping, to my very great surprise, its surrounding vapours, elevated like sails, notwithstanding the extreme force of impulsion which drove it towards the shore. As soon as it came near the land, the circle was contracted, the mass of vapour became of less dimensions, and at the moment it touched the land it was at once overset by the wind, under the appearance of a long train of mist, which was speedily dissipated. I then perceived that the hope I had formed of seeing water-spouts during the day, was on the point of being realized but as my occupations demanded my attendance elsewhere, I charged my two eldest sons to watch alternately at the window, in order that the phenomenon might not pass unobserved.

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At last, about eight minutes before noon, my second son came to me, exclaiming, Father, here is a very superb, water-spout."

The diameter of the water-spout, and that of its expanded upper part, were large in proportion. Its colour was a very deep indigo, the same as that of the clouds, which extended from east to west.

While we were looking at this extraordinary appearance, which my sous beheld for the first time, and which seemed to have concentrated all their senses in one, on a sudden an impetuous shower of hail discharged itself against the windows in grains of the size of pistol and musket balls. We immediately suspended our observations, in order to close the shades of both stories of the house, in which the whole family assisted, for fear of having the windows absolutely broken_to pieces, as happened a few years before. But 1 soon perceived that this precaution, was absolutely useless, or at least unnecessary; for the hail, though in a few minutes it covered the ground to the height of four inches, did not in the least damage the trees in the garden behind our house. It consisted merely of large flakes of snow rounded by the wind in their fall, and, possessing neither the weight nor the hardness of hail. Upon opening some of the pieces I found them to

consist of a thin compact shell, nearly empty within, excepting a few rays from the centre to the circumference. The degree of congelation in these balls was so slight that they began to melt the moment they touched the ground, and accelerated the fusion of the snow which had fallen before.

ing to my notions, might increase the intensity of the power by which this appearance is produced, it was nevertheless possible that this envelope should be capable of remaining upright and stationary. In this uncertainty suspended my reflexions to observe the result. I remarked a kind of teat or protubeThis frozen snow, which during its fall rance, projecting obliquely from the lower had obscured the air sufficiently to prevent part of the clouds which arrived from the our seeing the water-spout through the blinds, east. The foot continued motionless, and the having ceased, we resumed our observations protuberance preserved its oblique direction, with all possible diligence, and beheld another till the moment when by the action of the water-spout somewhat inferior in magnitude wind it arrived at the foot; at which instant to the former which had disappeared. It we all three observed the protuberance direct followed nearly the same course as the other. itself perpendicularly towards the foot, and By the account of time employed by each in like an immense sack of gauze unroll itself its successive passage, I estimated that the one from the extremity; when the folds of before us must have been the third; never- this sack disappeared, and the body of the theless, by confining my narration to what water-spont, which was grey and transparent, I really saw, it must be considered as the fixed itself in the bottom of the foot, assumed second only. This water-spout having con- the vertical position, and became larger in tinued its course towards Antibes, we ob- diameter. My second son, who, as well as served that it began to contract in all its his elder brother, possesses a very clear sight, dimensions, some time before it arrived at immediately exclaimed: "See, father, how the shore, and that the foot was reduced to rapidly the vapours fly up through the bag." nothing when it touched the ground. It I saw, in fact, that they seemed to expand it contracted insensibly upwards, the expanded with a kind of tension, at the same time givconical part became broader and more rare, ing it a deep indigo colour, which was comand the whole joined the mass of clouds in municated to the cloud. At the same instant the same manner as one mist incorporates the colour of the whole water-spout became with another. I returned towards the place so deep that we could distinguish no motion where I had discovered the first water-spout, in its expanded part. We observed only that and was greatly surprised at discovering a new the whole phenomenon moved from east to foot ready formed, without any descending west, and was destroyed on the coast of Prospout. My astonishment was founded on vence. Lastly, a fourth was formed, which these three circumstances: was destroyed in the same manner, without any such reproduction, beyond the hills of Antibes, because, their course being more oblique towards the north, they could not meet the gulph Jean, and the prolongation of their track was altogether over land. A fall of snow succeeded immediately afterwards, which was of the usual density and configuration. It lasted all the rest of the afternoon and the following night, so that on the following day there was as much snow on the ground as before. It afterwards rained for a long time, which cleared the country of the snow that had accumulated. As the impetuous wind of the preceding day continued with undiminished force through the whole night, and the other accessary circumstances were likewise present, I think there is reason to conclude that new water-spouts must have been formed in the afternoon, and perhaps in the night of the 6th; but the obscurity of the atmosphere, from the fall of the snow, did! not permit me to observe them. I shall therefore proceed to make some remarks on the wind which caused this phenomenon.

1. The existence of the foot of the waterspout without its stem or body; for before this observation, I considered it as indubitable that the enveloped matter of the foot or recipient was a production of the body of the water-spout itself, or an expansion of its proper substance. Now I saw clearly enough in this phenomenon the identity of the substance which composes clouds and mists, and that it was not supplied by the waterspout. The embryo of the spout which I had seen at ten o'clock, appeared to show that it was probably produced by the sea.

2. I was surprised to see that this foot was stationary at the place of its formation, whereas those which I had before seen were carried swiftly along by the wind. For though it was not impossible but that this foot might be carried by a motion along the line of sight, and consequently not perceptible to me; it was at least certain that it gained nothing from east to west, that is to say, from my left to my right, the direction in which the sea, the clouds, and the other water-spouts which had travelled so far in so short a space of time, were carried.

Though the velocity of this wind was nearly equal to that of the greatest storms in our 3. I was astonished, that the body of the seas, the waves were not proportionally deep. water-spout being wanting, which, accord-Two circumstances appeared to coneur in pro

ducing this effect; the first, that by the form of our coast an east wind cannot have passed over so great an extent of sea as a wind from the south-west, from which quarter our greatest storms come. This cause is constant with regard to our local situation. The other circumstance was, that the wind did not blow obliquely downwards, but moved parallel to the surface of the sea. This supposition, which is the only one that requires proof, was confirmed at the time of observation by the appearance of a small Catalan vessel, which the wind of the 6th of January blew ashore near Nice. I saw her pass before my windows, driven by a force she was incapable of resisting. She did not labour much, but came to an anchor at a little distance, from which, however, the violence of the wind drove her on shore, though without considerable damage, since she was got off a few days after, and pursued her voyage. The force of this wind was seen not only in the instance of this vessel, but in a considerable number of others which were lost on the neighbouring

shores.

It follows, 1. That there is a real ebullition in the sea, at the place circumscribed by the foot of the water-spout. 2. That the vapours of the water which must arise, are the product of an evaporation which must separate fresh water from the salt; it being ascertained by experiment, that distillation is the only method by which sea-water can be rendered completely fresh.

I can affirm, without fear of contradiction, by experience, that this foot, or atmosphere as it may be called, is nothing but the matter of clouds and mists.

What then, is the agent, it may be asked, which causes this ebullition in the sea, and raises the vapours through the water-spout to the cloud? Simply to affirm that this agent is electricity, without further proof, is in fact to say nothing:-but I shall be happy to be anticipated by philosophers of greater skill in this theory, and think it better to suspend my judgement than yield to the seductive pleasure of explaining every thing by adding to the mass of error in natural philosophy.

The second fact which presents itself in our observations is, that two causes unite in the formation of water-spouts, or rather two different modifications of the same cause. When the foot appears without the waterspout, it is not the productive cause, but ra ther an effervescence which prevails in the sea at that place. But how many interesting questions might be asked respecting this part of the phenomenon! What cause is so powerful as to retain the foot, and keep it motionless, notwithstanding an impetuous easterly wind, until the projection in the cloud which is to form the water-spout shall arrive directly over it? Was the apparent bag which developed itself from the cloud, pre-existent in the projecting part? As I can make no satisfactory reply to these and other questions which might be proposed, I shall proceed to the third remarkable fact.

March 19, the wind, which had begun the preceding evening, blew with a degree of impetuosity less than that of the 6th of January. The clouds were accumulated from the east towards the west, but they were much less condensed than at that time. At forty minutes after cleven in the morning, we observed two water-spouts, which moved at the same time, the one after the other. The most remarkable circumstances in these waterspouts were: 1. The prodigious enlargement of a protuberance from the extremity of which hung a kind of spout, which was incomparably thinner; but the wonder disappears, when we reflect that the following spout, which maintained itself in the same state as those we had before observed, robbed the preceding one in some measure of its support; so that this enlargement was, as it were, a commencement of dissolution, and the thinness of it 3. When the foot of a water-spout begins was a proof of the little intensity of electric to approach the earth, its diameter contracts, power then acting; a conclusion which is also its height is diminished, and its volume beconfirmed by the following circumstances. comes less and less; so that the foot is reduc2. The incapacity in the feet of these two ed to nothing at the instant it touches the water-spouts to elevate their surrounding shore. From the attentive examination I plumes. They were reversed by a force which have made, it has appeared that the foot even prevented their rising in a perpendicular di- of the greatest water-spouts began to diminish rection, like those of the preceding water- when the depth of the sea beneath became spouts. At the extremities of the plumes less than the elevation of the foot itself aboye here described, as well as at the centre of the the surface. If this be true, as I think it is, circle near the surface of the sea, there was it may be concluded that the effervescence formed a small atmosphere: but as it was not which supplies the spout with water, and extensive, the vapours were so few that we forms the surrounding vapours of the foot, had very little snow, which continued for extends itself in depth nearly as much as the about half an hour; when the weather clear-foot itself rises above the sea, and that mateed up. During the transition of these water-rials for the supply of vapour become defecspouts very distant thunder was heard five or tive in quantity in proportion to the shallow. six times. ness of the water.

The preceding estimate of the number of acres in our island, has been communicated to the Board of Agriculture, and published in

NORTH WALES, including the Counties of a late Volume. It may be useful to refer to,

on many occasions. The proportion of cultivated, and cultivable lands, of lands already occupied, and under what kind of produce, compared with the proportion of waste, and absolutely unprofitable land, also, if such there be, of land incapable of being rendered profitable, would form a statistical delineation of great interest. Such have been attempted, but have not advanced beyond gross and uncertain conjecture.