St. Croix, Eliza’s Retreat, 21st June 1864.
From the St. Croix Avis, 30th July 1861.
l o tlie E ditor of the St. Croix Avis.
St. Croix, 1 7 th O ct., 1855.
Sir,—In your “ St. Croix Avis’’ of 9th inst., you have introduced some useful Meteorological observations regarding the Barometer, H ur- ricanes [now oalled Cyclones], &c., and I take leave to offer a few re
marks, the result of manv years attentive applioation to the same sub- jects at this Island, and first of the Barometer.
T he proper height of the quicksilver in the Barometer at the level of the sea can be considered as 30 inches English.
In common weatber, there are in the 24 hours 4 regular oscillations in its height, varyiog in these latitudes from 6-10th to 8 -lO th of a line, as follows:
A t 10 o ’clock in the forenoon the quicksilver is at its highest State ; at 4 o’clock in the afternoon it is at its lowest, being from 6-10ths to 8-10ths of a line lower tban a t 10 o’clock in the forenoon; by 10 0 °l°ck at night it will have regained its former height of 10 in the fore
noon, and by 4 o’clock in the morning, it will have descended to its low
est state, to return by 10 o’clock in the forenoon to its highest state for c é ft an<^ ^**S C0DStant regularity— [Hurricanes, Pam peros
ex-Ih is has long been noticed, but its cause I believe remains as yet a mystery. I have frequently attem pted to find some olue to unfold the agent'*)11*1
t0
n °PurPose’
Sun, I conceive, is the principal__ During the year [excepting in the hurricane season], that hightest J I am now c o n v in ce d , t h a t th e s e
Oscillations
a reregular Solar
at-mospherical Tides.
A.
L. 1861.12
s ta te w ill ra re ly d e v ia te on e lin e from its m e a n S tate, an d in th s b u rri- cane season, i f it should ev e n d e v ia te tw o lines lo w er, b u t th e oscillations r e g u la rly g o in g o n , I fe e l no a l a r m ; b u t if a fte r 4 o ’clo ck , e ith e r in th e m o m in g or a fte rn o o n , tb e m e rc u ry in place of risin g c o n tin u e s to fali tlie re is th en o v e ry reason fo r suspicion.
The absolute beigkt of tbe mercury in these latitudes is of
import
ance I
have never noticed the mercury to stand three lines below its standard, without its being followed by or accotnpanied with a Cyclone, or Pampero with a deluge.2. The remarks on the Barometer in this paragaph are excellent.
3. In this I entirely agree, but will extend this further in § 4.
4. The cornmon direotion of progression of a Hurricane in these latitudes, say from Bardados to Porto Rico, may be cousidered from E . S. E. to W. N. W. true [the variation of the compass is small__at St. Oroix 1 | E.J Now at this Island, if the actual storm begins a t N.
N. E , I feel convinced we will be exposed to all its fu ry ; there will be little or no change in the direotion of the wind untill the nucleus ap
proaches, when th a t solemn luil, that “ delusive tranquility” takes placo, to be succeeded by a terrifio burst from S. S. VV., at which it will con- tinue till the meteor passes.
We will now suppose the Storm to begin at N. N . W. I would feel as sure, as if it had already occurred, th at the nucleus of the storm would pass to tbe N. N. E . of my position ; and that I would be involved in the Southern semieircle ot' the Cyclone, experiencing a good deal of its violenoe, the wind shifting to N . W ., W ., and S. W ., which would be the direction of the wind at the m eteor’s leaving me.
Wo will now suppose the storm to begin at N . E . by E . I would then feel sure tliat the nucleus would pass to the South of m y position and that I would be involved ia its Northern semi-circle. tbe wind shifting to E ast, E. S. E ., S. E ., and concluding at S. E. by S 'ITisTs al
most precisely the case with the Storm of 25th-26th August last which was severely felt at my rcsidence, but as soon as the wiud shifted to the E ast, although the mercury continued to fali, and the storm to inerease, I felt sure of escaping tbe greater danger of its centre. lu town these storms aro not felt w ith such violence, one house proteoting another. It is a t such a situation as my residence or octagon, where they can be thoroughly enjoyed by a gentleman desirous to witness a Hurrioane—bv which bo will be most thoronghly cured of any desire to witness anotbef
A Hurricane cannot begin with tbe wind at South ; and it eau scarce- ly, I inight say cannot, begiu with tho wind at East or W est. On the ex- treme Northern limits of a hurricane, the wind for a short time will be at E ast true, and on its extremo Southern limits it will be at W est true, not violent, hut sufficient to alarm those not versed on the subject of these storms. A hurricane, therefore, cannot begin with the wind blow- my from Last South E ast, South East, South South East, South, South South W est South W est, or W est South W e s t - b u t can begin a t East by N orth [short], E ast North East, Nortb E ast, N orth North East [the
— 13
most dangerous], N ortb, North N orth W est,N orth W est, and W cstN orth W est jshort].
In all 1 am saying, I allude to latitudes from Barbados to Anegada, including St. Croix, St. Thomas and Porto Rico, and on the supposition of the direction of progression of the storm beiog from E ast South East to W est North W est.
In the following remarks the navigator may feel interested:
We will now suppose a ship at sea in these latitudes during the hurricane season, eneountering a Cyclone, with the storm beginning in the following directions—
Case l s t— At N. N. E. w hat should be done ? This is the most trying situation for the commander of a ship. I would say scud to the S, W . as long as possible, to get to the South of the nucleus. If the wind draws more N ortherly, say due N orth, you have gained that end, and if you eau scud no longer heave to on the larboard tack, keeping a bright look out not to be taken by the lee, in case of any sudden temporary shift of wind. It looks awkward to lay your ship’s head towards tbe very oentre of the storm, but if the wind veers regularly, as it should do, to N . N . W., N. W. and W. N. W „ it is your only safe cpurse.
Case 2nd— A t N .N .W .— Scud due Sonth as long as possible, and then heave to on the larboard tack.
Case 3id A t N . E , by R. Stand to the North ward as long as possible, and then heave to on the starboard tack.
I n tbese cases it is snpposed the ship has a sufficiency of sea room.
Before concluding I beg leave to add a remark which I consider of importance to tbe commanders of sbips, or others, in these latitudes
^iorth of tbe equator, im portant from its extreme simplicity.
Face the storm and on your right is its centre or nucleus. Apply it to the above cases. »
Case 1. Face N. N. E ., raise your right arm, it poiuts E. S. E . to the very centre ot the storm coming down upon you.
2. la o e N. N. W ., raise your right arm, it points E. N. E. to the vory centre or nucleus of the storm, whieh therefore m ust pass to the N orth of you.
3. F ace N. E . by E ., raise your right arm, it points S. E . by S. to io very centre or nucleus of the storm, which therefore m ust pass to t e South of you ; and so on through all the changes of wind when the WMr “S 8' Tbis 1 communicated to His Excellency Colonel Sir
William R eedeeveral years ago, with whom I was in correspondence wnen he was Governor of Bermuda, and afterwards, and furnished him wi i a particular account ot all the H urricanes I had experienced liere irom is t August 1S19 to 22ad August 1848 all tending to eonfirm the re
vo vmg ih c o ry of the Hurricane, as explained in his admirable works on ouns, copics of which he preseoted me with, as also entirely -confirminv Yn» t ’.,and 1 believc’ earlier ‘“ ^ tig a tio n s of Mr. Redfield of New
k on the satne sabjeot— two men, to whom a monument should be erected by ofhoers of all uatioD«, whetber of Royal, N ational orCommer-,
cial Navies, in acknowledgment of the benefits their labours have con*
ferred upon them.
The following is a preoise copy of what I furoished to Colonel Sir William Reed in my letter of Oetober 1849.
“ Since writing the preeeding the following very simple dogma has just struek me, viz “ In tropical storms N orth of the E qu ato rfface the
“storm and on your right is its centre. In tropical storms South of the
“ Equator, face the storm and on your left is its centre. This being so
“ easily recollected, may on occasions have an important applica*tion.
“ The same holds good in even higher latitudes, & c.’’
Having already trespassed so greatly on your time and space, I will reserve for anotber opportunity some further remarks on different kinds of Barometers, Sympesometers 4'c-> and remain,
Sir, your obedient servant, A N D R E W LANG.
Note.—A Pampero is a violent thunder storm, with torrents of rain>
and severe squall from about S. S. W. They come on alter an exten- sive calm of several days’ duration aecompanied with great heat. I traoe their origin in the snowy mountains of Santa M artha on the Spanish Main.
We had a small specimen of one on the 12th inst. On the 5th Septbr.
1852 we had a very severe one. r
T h e C o tto n P la n t .
T he Cotton plant, or genus gossypium, contains 10 species, and i= exten sively cultivated in warm climates. lt belongs lo the class monodelphia,and the order polyandria. T he seeds are enelosed in a capsule, and involved in the fila
ments calledcotton. T he plant is raised front seed sown in holes in the snritm montllS. Tho snnfirfliimis nlnnts nro rmllo^ n« __*1___ . . , . * _ K months.^ Thejsuperfluous plants are pulled up, and the others pruned to the hei"lft up in a few days in showery weather, and the d u s
-V nro n f o u t / i n n l i n o h i n h f P U « a____ _____ .. . i . --- **-**~ u U [ J w u u o u o p m i n o a i c J
prove for two or three years and every four or five years the plants are renewed I he blossoms, a double cahx exteriorly, three cleft, appear in July and August the pods opening in a few weeks. and the first crop being picked in November” and Uecember. The rainy season then produces a second crop, picked in M arch and April, i h e pods are then dried in the sun till the seed becomes hard, and the seed is then separated from the cotton by a gin. It is then picked and packed for mar- ket. Its great enemy is the Caterpillar, called the chenille. An acre of cotton-trees under favourable circumstances, yields 400 Ibs. of cotton. T he pods are the size OI smalt apples, and filled with cotton, surrounding the seeds.
^ a cotton-tree llourishes in Arabia, Egypt, and India, and is 15 or 20 feet
S e e t S t a « t a l T " ,h” *nl * “ ,d '» «*>”
S«, I w r “ n y c° tton f!0l,r'"hes in Georgia, and is 5 or 6 feet high, k n o w n 'as .Sea h ia n d . It endures 5 or 6 years, and an acre yields from 150 to 250 Ibs i h e cotton and seeds are taken from the husks on the trees, and 50 or 60 Ibs of the seeds are separated by a gin per day or 8 or 900 Ibs. by a steam-engine