43.04741.11344-53242.823 33.620 39.552 36.586

29.76029.760 29.76c 37.172 39.655 38.416

Approxim. Approxim. Mean of the of wind to if wind to Approxim. card. points. card.points. of wind to At 8 A. M. At 2 P. M. card. points, Quadrant of Quadrant of Quadrant of horizon di-horizon di-horizon divided into 4 vided into 4 vided into 4 equal parts. equal parts.fequal parts. N.E.IS. WIN.E.(S. WIN.E. S. W 1418 64 28 12 1268 38 12 1848 5015

49 44

24:3 37 8

131566 30

28

15

1544

21

46 23 1and21 26

61 28

7

12

March 29.394 29.389 29 392 40.35545.258 42 807 37-774 45.984 41.8791144 45 24 14 41 47 April 29.460 29.470 29.465 +2.333 47.60044.967 41.050 48.933 45.042 35 22 30 33 37 27 15 41 May 29.683 29.693 29.688 55.48462.000 58.742 55.161 63.800 59.480 19 14 64 27 24 12 59 29 June 29.868,29.868 29 86 59.400 66.700 63.050 59 366 69.220 64.293 32 93445 37 July 29.580 29.585 29.583 59.70965.64562.677 59.468 67.29063.379 33 21 35 35 30 Auguf 29.674 29.670 29 672 60.000 65.677 62.839 58.193 66.677 62.435 37 427 56 37 8265337 Sept. 29.876 29.88229.879 59.100 66.533 62.317 56.150 65.56650.833 29 2033 38 321735 36 30 ot 29.462 29.458 29.460 51.258 55.839 53.548 48.644 55 677 52.161 7 12 58 47 9 12 49 548 r2 54 50 Nov. 29.592 29.592 29.592 44 700 45.966 45.333 41.400 45.166 43.283 2446 13 17 23 40 29 28 23 +3313 29.554 29.550 29.552 36.000 37.323 36.661 32.903 36.145 34.524 35 48 22 19 36 44 28 16 36 46 25 17 19

Dec.

Mean 29.603.29.605|29.604|49.007153.476151.200|47.066154.045/50.560|26|23|39|35|28|21|36|36|27|22|37|36|Nov. 3 Apr.27 Oct. 30. 13

It is to be obferved, that as 1804 is Leap year, 1803 is made to confift of 366 days, fo that the barometrical altitudes in the Chart for the first two months of 1804, are thofe for the day fubfequent to that expreffed by the title at the top of the column; that is, the altitude of the Barometer on the 1ft, 2nd, &c. days of January and February 1804, in the column, are thofe for the 2nd, 3d, &c. of the faid months; the other 10 months of 1804 are the fame as the other years. I have inferted the D's 6s, as, 8s with the at the top of each refpeftive year, on the days on which they happened.

V.L. W.N.W.W.30 .04 29 .02 79 S.V.L.W.S.W.W.30 .21 29 .62 80 S. L. S.W.bySW. 29 .88 28 .93 65 R.V.L. S.E.byEE. 30.01 28 .98 55 R No. N.E.byE.E. 30.11 28 .64 47 Is. v.L.S.W. W.

27

23.5

255

41

39

129.5

130.030129.046 16.5.583 1.35.900

and finking ad finking, 18c4. At 8 A.M At 2 P. M

Mr. URBAN, Baldock, Dec. 31. Tthe print wo days mild, but the 3d HE year 1804 commenced with

to the 8th, inclufive, fome flight froft, with fnow at times; the 9th, 10th, and, 11th, more mild, but the 12th to the end of the month, the Thermometer was unufually high for this month, and for fo long a time.. On the 15th, which was the warmeft day, we were vifited by a flock of very rare birds in this part, the Silk-tail, or Waxen Chatterer (Ampelis Garrulus); they were feen for feveral days in and near the town. I believe they were moll of them taken, and preferved in a fluffed

vortex of this cone fell between Alde baran and the Pleiades. This month and the next is the best time to look for this phenomenon in an evening, as the Ecliptic makes the greateft angle with the horizon about the end of the refperian twilight at this time of the year.

March began with froft and fnow, which continued the firft five or fix days; afterward fine and mild to the 20th, with little rain; but on the 21ft,

23d and 24th, we had cold dry

guished from all others by its horny appendages from the tips of the fecondary feathers of each wing, which are of the colour and glofs of the beft red wax; it feems, from the accounts given by Naturalifts of this curious bird, that they differ as to the number of thofe appendages; even Bewick, in his Natural History of British Land Birds, could not fpeak decifively on the fubject. But I may inform the reader that I have feen both male and female of this bird, and that the male has feven of thofe vermilion touches on each wing, and the female only four: this was univerfally the cafe, I believe, with thofe that were flot at Baldock. I do not find that they have been ever feen to reach fo far South in

this country before; furely the mildnefs of the weather was the caufe of this diftant migration.-But, to make a regreffion to our former fubject: as a proof of the mildness of the feafon, the bees on the 24th, 25th, and 26th, were very bufy at carrying in farina; a circumftance very unufual at fo early a period of the year. (See Bonner, on Bees, p. 125.) The atmosphere was noftly moit, accompanied with rain at tinies, though feldom in any great quantities. We had a rapid rife of the Barometer on the eye of the 28th and mern of 29 h.

The Month of February was attended with fome fharp frofts, fnow, and bluftering winds; but at intervals the weather was more mild and pleafant; fo that the Bees were able to come abroad and collect from the fallows; and the Livifcivori were heard whittling from the trees as if the fummer was at hand. On the 6th, in the evening, about half an hour after Sun-fet, the Zodaical

of the month there were fnow, rain, and fine weather alternately.

The firt eight days of April were mostly fine and plealant; or else the month in generi was cold, wet, and formy, with very litle Sun till near its end; this contiderably retarded the progrefs of vegetation; the white-thorn mofily but juft in the fiate of foliation; yet, owing to four or five warm days at the conclufion of the month, the offspring of the fields and mea dows burft, as it were at once, from their embryo confinement, to exhibit their vernal beauties. On the evening of the Ift and 2nd the Aurora Borealis was vifible, particularly on the 1, when the fireamers were rather grand at times, though rather tranfient.

May this year has been remarkably fine and warm, with now and then a fhower to hafien the productions of the earth, which are making fuch ra pid progrefs, that the most inattentive obferver can but remark with afionifhment, when he confiders, that, not many days back, the cold winds and pelting ftorms feemed to fpread an univerfal fterility over the face of Nature. Some lightning with diftant thunder on the 4th, in the afternoon.

June was in general very fine and hot, attended with a high Barometer, and confequently bat little rain; yet, though the ufnal tenor of the month was hot, we had fome days cool and refreshing breezes, and on the morning of the 11th an hoary froft was feen under the hedges. On the 19th, a rather fingular Solar phænomenon prefented itself to the obfervation of feveral people who happened to be abroad at the time; the Sun appeared of the colour of the most beautiful polifted

filver,

vieter, but gave no fhadow to objects, gured the eye could bear to look on it myth the fame pleafure as on a full betwebon; the air at the time was rather Thizy above, with Cirri appearing at eft tervals through it. The next day the een was obferved to caft a ferruginous great on the ground, fimilar to what the end did on the amazing and portentous s time immer of 1783, which was full of rrible phænomena. This appearoft and ce on the 19th and 20th feemed to fi fier fe from part of that denfe vapour mich was obferved to obfcure the Sun tone the 17th, off the coast of Newad indland. On the 24th, in the evento the, we had very vivid lightning, with fnor,etty loud though diftant claps of under, attended with fome rain; the Aparometer, during the florm, ftood as digh as 30 inches, but it previously enk nearly one tenth of an inch. ntil July commenced fine; but the 3d tide the 10th inclufive motily fhowery tend wet, with very little Sun; middle off the month, more fine, but at the frewand frequent showers with fome thunemer; at times large intervals of funndhine.

,, Auguft began with rather hot weaher, notwithstanding the days were generally cloudy, but on the 8th a Bonfiderable finking of the Barometer the took place, which was followed by a great change in the weather, as it now became remarkably fhowery, and continued to for about two weeks; which made the farmers apprehenfive of a wet harveft, but the last ten days of the month proved very fine, and moderate as to heat, fo that many of them had compleated the harvel by the end of the mouth, which was, this year, in contrast to last, remarkably fhort.

d the

ch

entr

September was for the moft part fine and bright, and attended with unufual hot weather for this month during the first three weeks, but on the evening of the 21ft a inanifelt change of temperature took place the atmosphere became ftormy, attended with fhowers; the wind was moftly Northerly, with its ufual concomitant, a high Barometer, to the end of the month.

The beginning of October was most1 ly cloudy or hazy, mild, and but little rain. For nearly three weeks in the middle, the weather was generally fine and bright, and almoft too dry for the wheat-lowing; but at the end we had fome foaking thowers, which no doubt mly fettled the mould to the new

fown corn. On the 22nd of this month, in the evening, after a pretty brifk fhower of rain, there appeared a molt beautiful Aurora, which continued two or three hours; it looked in fome parts as red as blood, efpecially in the large arch, which extended from the magnetic Eaft, over a little South of the zenith, to the magnetic Weft; or, from nearly E. N. E. to W.S. W.: the continuity of this arch became fcarcely visible as it approached towards the zenith, but it appeared very denfe near the horizon.

There was alfo a very denfe corona with a beautiful radiation around it. This crown, from its pofition among the fixed flars, I found to be in the pole of the magnetic meridiau, or about S.S.E. of the zenith, at between 18 and 20 degrees diftant from it, which is the point in the heavens to which the South pole of the dippingneedle points in this country. There was befides this redness a fort of pale vapoury clouds that rushed acrofs the heavens with an amazing swiftnefs; but they all feemed to direct their motion towards the zenith, or the Polar point. From thefe and preceding obfervations it clearly appears, that the Aurora Borealis is a magnetic phenomenon, wherein, no doubt, Electricity has its fhare in producing thofe corrufcations that often attend it; and probably the luminous arches which are often feen an Aurora, arifing from the horizon, and converging towards the zenith, which are parallel cylindrical beams, when firipped of their optical delufion, are means by which the electric fluid is conveyed from one pole to the other, to reftore its equilibrium, which, it is well known, is often defiroyed by local circumftances.

in

S

During the fore-part of November the weather was mofily dull, with heavy showers of rain; but the latter end was more fine, with fome frofty mornings. An Aurora on the evening of the 22d formed a beautiful arch, which appeared to be bilected by the plane of the magnetic meridian. Streamers at times darted from this arch to wards the zenith.