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pletely saturated as that it should contain tbe full portion of water it may artificially be made to imbibe , and that the drought is never so excessive as that all the moisture should l ) e exhaled that the surface yard may
l > e supposed to contain . But are there-not other causes in constant operation that may more than supply the supposed deficiency * In the first place , when the drought is of long continuance it penetrates much deeper than one yard , and perhaps would draw as much * water from the second
tier of a yard in depth as wpuid remain in the upper one , and a considerable portion no doubt from the third or fourth tier . Again , it would not be easy to estimate what is the relative proportion of vapour produced by land or water , but it seems reasonable to suppose that the latter from tlie same extent of surface would
yield the most . The heat reflected from the earth in a parched season , and after a hasty and abundant shower , may probably for a short time raise more vapour than % any other
natural cause ; but on the other hand , the action of a strong wind upon the surface of rivers , lakes and the ocean , must be . prodigious , and nearly , if not altogether , as effective as the heat
above-mentioned . And this being of longer continuance and the surface of the water throughout the globe being so much greater than that of the land , it appears reasonable to admit that by far a greater portion of vapour floatwg in the atmosphere is supplied from water than from land . If in addition
to these sources from whence the clastic fluid is supplied , we assume that previously to the extra drought and at all times there must be somewhat of an average quantity of moisture alread y sustained in the great storehouse of the firmament—it will
perhaps be allowed to be something "tore than mere conjecture , that a column of vapour of not less than tour hundred weight is actually suspended in the air over every square
ywjl m this part at least of our native 8 ° be , and ia the equatorial regions great deal more , remembering that 1 speak of last August . * our Qwtt to a yard wU 1 give ^ . ^ 968 tons per aere , Bn 6 j ^ O diUo to amUe > 1 Ur * glaml coutauriner 49 . 450 sauare
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miles , will give the inconceivable amount of 30 , 635 , 264 , 000 tons . This statement is by no means id ?* tended as a scientific analysis or inquiry , but such a one as may be comprehended by every reader , and therefore the more interesting as more generally understood . It must of
course or necessity be a subject beyond the reach of mathematical and correct calculation , so that probability is the only inference to be drawn from uncertain premises ; but this probability alone is surely enough to elevate the mind to admiration and astonish .
ment at the sublime and wonderful mechanism employed b y Omnipotence in the works of creation . However the calculation may be grounded on real or imaginary data , let any drawback be conceded , take the amount at
one half , at a fourth , or lower still , according as the evidence may appear defective or satisfactory to each individual , and enough will still remain to shew the matchless skill exhibited in the wonders of nature ; and perhaps after all . objections , the amount instead of being reduced should be largely augmented to meet the reality .
To common observation it generally appears that the sudden and expansive formation of clouds originates at a distance , but this is a delusion which if it would prove any thing would establish much mare in favour
of my position than it would militate against it . For what is this alleged distance ? Every spot has its own predisposition to local phenomena , so that if any district should suddenly supply more than its share or average amount , it only proves the capability of all to sustain more than what has
been supposed . Or it may be imagined that clouds of immense magnitude and density are the result of accumulation , rolling onward and increasing as they advance , till the electric combination releases their
contents and precipitates them to our astonishment and dismay . But neither will this supposition always mfcet the fact . Sometimes a cloud commencing over head and " no bigger than a man's hand / ' shall in the course of
half an hour , and when no current or motion in the air is perceivable , become so dense and gi g antic as to sceip to threaten destruction to all animated life , or even to crush the very
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MK Luakoock on the State of the , Atmosphere . 589
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v <>^ xxi . « * 4 G
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1826, page 589, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2553/page/17/
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