ADDRESS
ON THE
SCIENTIFIC LIFE AND LABORS
WILLIAM  C. lIEDFIELD, A. M.
FIRST PRESIDENT OF TIlE
mner'icill~.soclitinol  for t!',e.',btl'n'p',wel't,of ~.ieiGc,.
DEL I ERED B E FORE THE A  S OCIA T I ON
AT  THEIR  ANNUAL.MEETING  IN  MONTREAL.
AUGUST 14, 1857.
BY DENISON OLMSTED, LL.D.,
Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in Yale College.
NEW HA VEN:
PRINTED BY  E.  A Y E S.
1857.












S',    L1   s  rA'7_S -'



ADDRESS
ON THE
SCIENTIFIC LIFE AND LABORS
OF
WILLIAM  C. REDFIELD, A. MA.,
FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE
Imratka   3'sdblrata   for tI   3  tmanalmt tf of xn,
DELIVERED BEFORE  TH]E ASSOCIATION
AT THEIR  ANNUAL MEETING  IN  MONTREAL.
AUGUST  14, 18570
BY  DENISON  OLMSTED, LL.D.,
Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in Yale Colleges
NEW   HAVEN:
PRINTED BY E. HA Y E S,
1857.








ADentEen oe sso,Gentlemen of the Association:
SINCE last we met, the Destroyer has been very busy in our
ranks. Besides other beloved and respected associates, our
earliest and our latest Presidents have suddenly vanished from
our midst;-Redfield, who was the first to suggest the idea of
the American Association on its present comprehensive plan,
and the first to preside over its deliberations, and Bailey who,
we fondly hoped, would occupy the same distinguished position
on the present occasion. From the vision of both, as we humbly
trust, the veil which permits us here to see only through a glass
darkly, is removed, and the grand laws of Nature, and the
infinitessimal no less than the infinite in God's works, are revealed to them in the clear light of heaven.
With Mr. Redheld my acquaintance has been long and intimate. I was conversant with his earliest researches on the subject which is so closely associated with his name, and I have
been constantly a witness of his untiring self-sacrificing labors
in the cause of science, through all the subsequent years of his
life. I respected him as a man, I admired him as a philosopher,
I loved him as a friend. We miss him here, always the earliest
to come and the latest to depart. We miss his gentle tones, his
kindly greetings. We miss still more the radiance which his
clear mind cast upon our pathway up the hill of science. I am
thankful for the opportunity of presenting before this learned
assembly a synopsis of his scientific labors.  Some brief notice, also, of his personal history may be acceptable, not only




4
to satisfy the wishes of his friends, but for the benefit of his
example, which, I trust, will especially commend itself to the
self-taught votary of science, and to all who are engaged in the
pursuit of knowledge under difficulties, both as an incentive
and a model. A life passed in the ordinary walks of business,
or in the quiet of philosophical research, affords little of that
romantic incident which lends a charm to biography; still we
think the life of Mir. Redfield affords an interesting and instructive theme for contemplation in a three-fold point of view,-as
affording a marked example of the successful pursuit of knowledge under difficulties,-as happily illustrating the union, in
the same individual, of the man of science with the man of
business,-and as exhibiting a philosopher, whose researches
have extended the boundaries of knowledge, and greatly augmented the sum of human happiness.
WVILLIAM C. REDFIELD was born at Middletown, Connecticut,
on the 25th of March, 1789. He was of pure English descent
both by the father's and mother's side. His father from a natural
love of adventure, chose in early youth a sea-faring life, and
afterwards followed the seas as a profession to the time of his
death, which happened when this, his eldest son, was only thirteen years old. His early training, therefore, devolved chiefly
on his mother, who was a woman of superior mental endowments, and of exalted Christian character.
The slender pecuniary resources of the family would not allow
young Redfield any opportunities of school education beyond
those of the common schools of Connecticut, which, at that time,
taught little more than the simplest rudiments-reading, spelling,
writing, and a little arithmetic; and all access to the richer treasures of knowledge seemed to be forever denied him, when, at the
early age of fourteen, he was removed to Upper Middletown, now
called Cromwell, and apprenticed to a mechanic, whose tasks
engrossed every moment of his time except a part of his evenings. These brief opportunities, however, he most diligently
spent in the acquisition of knowledge, eagerly devouring every
scientific work within his reach. IHe was denied even a lamp for
reading by night, much of the time during his apprenticeship,




and could command no better light than that of a common wood
fire in the chimney corner. Under all these disadvantages, it
is evident that before he was twenty-one years of age he had
acquired no ordinary amount and variety of useful knowledge.
During the latter part of his apprenticeship he united with other
young men of the village in forming a debating society under
the name of the "Friendly Association," with which was connected a small but growing library. To this humble literary
club, Mr. Redfield always ascribed no small agency in inspiring
him with a love of knowledge, and a high appreciation of its
advantages; and during his future years, he nursed and liberally
aided by his contributions this benefactor of his youth.
Fortunately for young Redfield, a distinguished and learned
physician, Dr. William Tully, fixed his residence in the same village, and generously opened to him his extensive and well-selected
library; and what must have been equally inspiring to youthful
genius, Dr. Tully furnished him with a model of an enthusiastic
devotee to knowledge, and of a mind richly stored with intellectual wealth. The modest youth who first presented himself
as a suppliant for the loan of a book from. the Doctor's library,
was soon recognized as a congenial spirit, and was admitted to
an intimate friendship, which lasted to the day of his death. Dr.
Tully has favored us with the particulars of his first acquaintance with our friend. On his application for a book to occupy
such moments as he could redeem from his daily tasks, the Doctor, being then ignorant of his acquirements or his taste, opened
different cases of his library, submitting the contents of each to
his selection. Among a great variety of authors, that which determined his choice was Sir Humphry Davy's Elements of Chemistry. As this was one of the earliest systematic works that contained the doctrine of Chemical Equivalents, a subject then considered as peculiarly difficult, and one understood by few readers
of the work, the Doctor had little expectation that his young
inquirer after knowledge, would either understand or relish it.
In a short time he returned the book, and surprised the Doctor
by evincing a thorough acquaintance with its contents, and expressing a high satisfaction, in particular, with the doctrine of
chemical equivalents, which, he said, he had then met with for
the first time.




Some time before young Redfield reached the end of his ap,
prenticeship, his widowed mother had married and removed to
the state of Ohio. He was no sooner master of his time than he
set out on foot to pay her a visit in her new home, distant more
than seven hundred miles. It was a formidable undertaking, in
that early period before the age of steamboats and railways, and
when a large part of the way was covered with dense forests,
with hardly an open path even for the pedestrian. Stage coaches,
indeed, ran on the nearer portions of the route, but these were
too expenpsive for the slender finances of our young adventurer.
Accompanied, therefore by two other young men, he shouldered
his knapsackl and commenced the ardnous journey, Every evening he noted down the incidents and observations of the day.
This journal is now in my possession, and I have perused it with
deep interest for the graphic sketches it contains of the countries
he passed through, then mostly new settlements, and for the
indications it affords of those powers of observation, which afterwards led to the development of the laws of storms. The style
of composition is far superior to what might reasonably have
been expected from one who had enjoyed so few literary advantages, evincing tuwo qualities for which Mr. Redfield was always
distinguished-good sense and good taste. The sketches of
Western New Yorl, and of Northern Ohio, taken while the
sites of Rochester and Cleveland were dark and gloomy forests,
and Buffalo was a mere hamlet, possess no ordinary degree of
historical interest, Instead of a " Lake Shore" road, traversed
by the iron horse9 as at present, our young pedestrians could find
no better paths in which to travel over the southern side of Lake
Erie, than to course along the beach. Yet in twenty-seven days
they made good their journey, having rested four days on the
way, makling an average of about thirty-two miles per day.
After passing the winter with his friends in Ohio, he resumed
his way homeward on foot and alone, returning by a more southern route, through parts of the states of Virginia, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania. VWe shall soon see to what valuable account he
afterwards turned the observations made on these early pedestrian tours, in tracing the course as well as originating the project, of a great railway connecting the Hudson and the Mississippi rivers.




Returning to his formner home in 1811, Mr. Redfield commenced
the regular business of life. No circumstances could seem more
unpropitious to his eminence as a philosopher, than those in
which he was placed for nearly twenty years after his first settlement in business. A small mechanic in a country village, eking
out a scanty income by uniting with the products of his trade the
sale of a small assortment of merchandize, Mr. Redfield met
with obstacles which in ordinary minds would have quenched
the desire of intellectual progress. Yet every year added largely
to his scientific acquisitions, and developed more fully his intellectual and moral energies. Meanwhile his active mind left its
impress on the quiet community where he lived, in devising and
carrying out various plans for advancing their social comfort and
respectability, in the improvement and embellishment of their
streets, school houses and chlurches, and in promoting the interests of the literary club, from which he himself, in early youth,
had derived such signal advantages. From deep domestic trials
which afflicted him about the year 1820, he had recourse for
solace both to the word and the works of God. It was soon after
one of the severest of these trials, that his attention was first
directed to the subject of Atlantic Gales.
On the 3d of September, 1821, there occurred, in the eastern
part of Connecticut one of the most violent storms ever known
there, and long remembered as the "great September Gale."
Shortly after this, Mr. Redfield being on a journey to the western
part of Massachusetts, happened to travel over a region covered
by marks of the ravages of the recent storm. He was accompa.
nied by his eldest son, then a youno lad, who well remembers
these early observations of his fatheri and the inferences he drew
from  them. At Middletown, the place of Mr. Redfield's Tesidence, the gale commenced from the southeast, prostrating the
trees towards the northwest; but on reaching the northwestern
part of Connecticut, and the neighboring parts of Massachusetts,
he was surprised to find that there the trees lay with their heads
in the opposite direction, or towards the southeast. He was still
more surprised to find, that at the very time when the wind was
blowing with such violence from the southeast at Middletown, a
northwest wind was blowing with equal violence at a point less




than seventy miles distant from that place. On tracing further
the course and direction of prostrated objects, and comparing
the times when the storm reached different places, the idea flashed
upon his mind that the storm was a progressive whirlwind. A
conviction thus forced upon his mind after a full survey of the
facts was not likely to lose its grasp. Amid all his cares, it clung
to him, and was cherished with the enthusiasm usual to the student of nature, who is conscious of having become the honored
medlunm  of a new revelation of her mysteries. Nothing, however, could have been further from his mind, than the thought
that the full development of that idea, would one day place him
among the distinguished philosophers of his time. So little,
indeed, did he dream of fame, that for eight or nine years after
the first conception of his theory, he gave little attention to the
study of the phenomena of storms, but was deeply engrossed in
other enterprises which, although foreign to this subject, were
alike evincive of his original and inventive turn of mind. Of
these we may take a passing notice.
Before the scientific world, Mr. Redfield has appeared so exclusively in the character of a philosopher, especially of a meteorologist, that they have been hardly aware of the important services he has rendered the public in the character of naval engineer, particularly in the department of steamboat navigation.
His attention was turned professionally towards this subject as
early as the year 1820, when he became much interested in an
experiment with a small boat propelled by an engine of new and
peculiar construction, the invention of Franklin Kelsey, Esq., a
townsman of his. Although the enterprize was not successful
to the company, yet to himself it was not destitute of valuable
results, as it was the occasion of his acquiring a more intimate
knowledge of the properties of steam, of steam navigation, and of
ship building. On the ruins of that enterprize was erected another, which after some vicissitudes acquired a permanent success, and opened to him a sphere of professional labor which constituted ever afterwards the leading object of his life, as a man of
business. Several disastrous steamboat explosions had spread
alarm through the community and created a general terror of
steamboats. Redfield was the first to devise and carry into exe



cution the plan of a line of safety barges to ply on the Hudson
between New York and Albany. The scheme was, to construct
a passenger boat to be towed by a steamboat at such a distance
from it as to avoid all apprehension of danger to the passengers.
Large and commodious barges were built, fitted up with greater
taste and luxury than had at that time been exhibited by steamboats. With these were connected two large and substantial
steamers; and in the excited state of the public mind, these
safety barges became great favorites with travellers, especially
with parties of pleasure. But our countrymen never hold their
fears long: a short interval of exemption from steamboat accidents ended the excitement, while the greater speed attained by
the ordinary boats, and the lower fare, gradually drew off passengers from the safety barges, until they could be no longer run
with profit to the company, and were abandoned. But the idea
was not without profit, for it suggested to him the system of tow
boats for conveying freight, which was established in the spring
of 1826, and still continues under its original organization. The
fleets of barges and canal boats, sometimes numbering forty or
fifty, which make so conspicuous a figure on the Hudson river,
were thus set in movement by Mr. Redfield, and for thirty years
the superintendence of the line first established, constituted the
appropriate business of our friend. In its management he employed unwearied industry, superior mechanical genius for contriving expedients, and a knowledge of both the science and
art of steam navigation, possessed by few men of business.
Seldom  have we seen the inductive philosopher so happily
united with the practical engineer, each character borrowing
aid from the other. I know not that any other man connected
with the management of a steam-navigation concern, as his profession, ever carried into his business more of the spirit of true
science, and it is chiefly on this account that I have thought it
fitting to attend our associate into the familiar walks of busi~
ness, for the purpose of seeing how compatible, and how productive of useful results is the happy union, in the same person,
of the philosopher and the man of business. No one else could
have so thoroughly collected the statistics of the profession in
this country, embracing all the facts relating to the explosion of
2




10
steamboat boilers, as they successively occurred-the number of
lives lost-the number of deaths by steam compared with those
by lightning-and the number compared with those lost by other
modes of travel. Moreover, while Mr. Redfield was diligently
pursuing his daily business and conducting with success the affairs of the 6" Steam Navigation Company," he was also collecting
facts for the improvement of the art itself; or for securing the
safety of passengers. IHe devised simpler, cheaper, and safer
forms of apparatus than those in general use. He investigated
the influence of legal enactments for regulating steam navigation,
and pointed out to legislatures and governments the inefficacy
or inexpediency of such enactments, and suggested the true
measures to be taken to promote the convenience and secure the
safety of the public. He addressed a series of letters through
the public prints to one of our prominent naval commanders,
setting forth the adaptedness of steam as an agent of national
defense. He responded to the call of the Secretary of the United
States Treasury to point out the causes of steamboat explosions,
and to suggest the means of safety. Happy would it be, if in
all the great operations of the mechanical arts, the true spirit of
the philosopher were so fully conjoined with the practical knowledge and skill of the engineer. How rapid would be the improvement of the arts! How science and art would walk hand
in hand, and mutually aid and illustrate each other!
We turn now to another subject which engaged the attention
of Mr. Redfield, and brought into exercise his remarkable sagacity and forecast, He was the first to place before the American people the plan of a system of railroads connecting the
waters of the Hudson with those of the Mississippi. His pamphlet containing this project, issued in 1829, is a proud monument of his enlarged views, of his accurate knowledge of the
topography of the vast country lying between these great rivers,
of his extraordinary forecast, anticipating as he did the rapid
settlement of the western states, the magic development of their
agricultural and mineral wealth, and the consequent rapid growth
of our great commercial metropolis. The route proposed is substantially that of the New York and Erie railroad as far as this
goes; but his views extended still further, and he marked out,




11
with prophetic accuracy, the course of the railroads which would
connect with the Atlantic states, the then infant states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois,  These, he foresaw, would advance
with incredible rapidity the settlement of those regions of unbounded fertility, and would divert no small portion of the
trade from the Mississippi to the great metropolis of the east.
It must be borne in mind that railroads for general transportation were unknown in this country until 1826, when the
project of constructing the Albany and Schenectady railroad
was first entertained. As yet the advantages of railroads had
not with us been practically demonstrated, and especially their
advantages over canals were not generally understood or appreciated. At the moment when the Erie canal, having just been
completed, was at the summit of its popularity, Mr. IRedfield set
forth in his pamphlet, under nineteen distinct heads, the great
superiority of railroads to canals, advantages which, although
then contemplated only in theory, have been fully established
by subsequent experience. He had even anticipated that after
the construction of the proposed great trunk railway connecting
the Hudson and the Mississippi, many lateral railways and canals
would be built, which would bind in one vast net-work the
whole great west to the Atlantic states.  "This great plateau
(says he) will indeed one day be intersected by thousands of
miles of railroad communications; and so rapid will be the increase of its population and resources, that many persons now
living will probably see most or all of this accomplished.." Hov
well has this remarkable prediction, uttered in 1829, when there
was not a foot of railroad in all the country under review, been
fulfilled, and how truly has it happened that many of the elder
members of this association still live to witness its accomplishment I
The motives which impelled Mr. Redfield to spread this subject before the American people at that early day, when railroads were scarcely known in this country, were purely patriotic,
He had no private interests to subserve in the proposed enterprize, and the whole expense of preparing and publishing two
editions of the pamphlet embodying these enlarged and prophetic views, was defrayed from his own, limited resources.




12
In 1832, Mr. Redfield, in company with Mr. Morgan, civil
engineer, reconnoitered the series of interior valleys through
which the Harlem railroad now runs, with a view to the establishment of the New York and Albany railroad. He was instrumental in obtaining the charter of that road, and published a
pamphlet entitled "Facts and Suggestions relating to the New
York and Albany Railroad."  About the same period, in connection with James Brewster, Esq. of New Haven, he exploored
the route of a railroad leading from  New Haven to H:artford,
which afterwards resulted in the construction of the Hartford
and New Haven railroad. As early as 1829, he addressed a
memorial to the Common Council of the City of New York, asking permission to lay an experimental railroad in Canal street.
The project of a railroad through one of the public streets of
New York was at that time considered as chimerical, but time
has developed the wisdom of the plan, and illustrated the sagacity and forecast that first devised it.
When the project of the Hudson River Railroad was started,
he entered into it with his characteristic enthusiasm, and was a
mnember of the board of directors, which brought that road to
its final completion. In the progress of the work he was deeply
interested, frequently visiting all parts of the line, and at different periods examining on foot the entire road between New
York and Albany.  His associates of the board acknowledged
themselves indebted to him for many valuable suggestions relating to its construction.*
But we turn from these noble enterprises in which the philosopher and the engineer were happily united in the same individual,
to the consideration of the great subject which, from this time,
formed the leading object of his life, namely, to perfect his theory
of storms. Nor do we turn away from great practical subjects
to such as are merely speculative. The lives and property which
* From the outset Mr. Redfield maintained that the low rate of fares at first
adopted would prove inadequate to sustain the road, and published in the papers
of that day a series of articles to show that the road could not be supported at a
less rate than two cents per mile. These views met with much opposition at the
time, not only from residents on the line of the road, but from members of the
board of directors. But the result has proved the soundness of his judgment on
that point.




13
Redfield's disinterested labors in behalf of steam  navigation
contributed to save, would, we believe, be of small amount compared with the sailors and ships which the rules founded on his
theory of storms, when fully applied to practice, will save from
shipwreck.
We have already seen that the attention of Mr. Redfield was
first drawn to the subject of storms in the year 1821, by examining the position of trees prostrated by the great September
gale, which passed over Connecticut and the western part of
Massachusetts that year. Although he had never lost sight of
the theory of storms, yet the multifarious business concerns
which engrossed the greater part of his time for a number of years
afterwards, prevented his bringing it distinctly before the public
until the year 1831. I chanced at that period to meet him for
the first time on board a steamboat on the way from New York
to New Haven. A stranger accosted me, and modestly asked
leave to make a few inquiries respecting some observations I had
recently published in the American Journal of Science on the
subject of Hailstorms. I was soon made sensible that the humble inquirer was himself a proficient in meteorology. In the
course of the conversation, he incidentally brought out his theory of the laws of our Atlantic gales, at the same time stating
the leading facts on which his conclusions were founded. Tlhis
doctrine was quite new to me, but it impressed me so favorably,
that I urged him to communicate it to the world through the
medium of the American Journal of Science. He manifested
much diffidence at appearing as an author before the scientific
world, professing only to be a practical man little versed in
scientific discussions, and unaccustomed to write for the press.
At length, however, he said he would commit his thoughts to
paper, and send them to me, on condition that I would revise
the manuscript and superintend the press. Accordingly, I soon
received the first of a long series of articles on the laws of
storms, and. hastened to procure its insertion in the Journal of
Science.  Some few of the statements made in this earliest
development of his theory, he afterwards found reason for
modifying; but the great features of that theory appear there in
bold relief. Three years afterwards he published, in the 25th




14
volume of the same journal, an elaborate article on the Hurricanes of the WtVest Indies, in the course of which he gives a full
synopsis of the leading points of his doctrine, as matured by a
more extended analysis of the phenomena of storms than he
had made when he published his first essay.
Possibly some of those whom I have the pleasure to address,
may not have fully acquainted themselves with Redfield's theory
of storms, and would desire to be informed of its leading principles. I understand this theory to be substantially as follows:
That all violent gales or hurricanes are great whirlwinds, in
which the wind blows in circuits around an axis either vertical
or inclined; that the winds do not move in horizontal circles, as
the usual form of his diagrams would seem to indicate, but
rather in spirals towards the axis, a descending spiral movement
externally and ascending internally.
That the direction of revolution is always uniform, being from
right to left, or against the sun, on the north side of the equator,
and from left to right, or with the sun, on the south side.
That the velocity of rotation increases from the margin towards
the center of the storm.
That the whole body of air subjected to this spiral rotation is,
at the same time, movingforwa rd in a path, at a variable rate,
but always with a velocity much less than its velocity of rotation, being at the minimum, hitherto observed, as low as four
miles, and at the maximum  forty-three miles, but more commonly about thirty miles per hour, while the motion of rotation
may be not less than from one hundred to three hundred miles
per hour.
That in storms of a particular region, as the gales of the Atlantic, or the typhoons of the China seas, great uniformity exists
in regard to the path pursued, those of the Atlantic, for example,
usually issuing from the equatorial regions eastward of the West
India islands, pursuing, at first, a course towards the northwest
as far as the latitude of 30~, and then gradually wheeling to the
northeast and following a path nearly parallel to the American
coast, to the east of Newfoundland, until they are lost in midocean, the entire path when delineated resembling a parabolic
curve whose apex is near the latitude of 30~'




15
That their. dimensions are sometimes very great, being not less
than 1000 miles in diameter, while their path over the ocean can
sometimes be traced for 3000 miles.
That the barometer, at any given place, falls with increasing
rapidity as the center of the whirlwind approaches, but rises at
a corresponding rate after the center has passed by; and finally,
That the phenomena are more uniform in large than in small
storms, and more uniform on the ocean than on the land.
These laws Mr. Redfield claims as so manyfacts independently
of all hypothesis; as facts deduced from the most rigorous induction, which will ever hold true, whatever views may be entertained respecting the origin or causes of storms.
The method adopted by the author of this theory, in all his
inquiries, —the method which first led him to the discovery of
the whirlwind character of storms, and afterwards fully confirmed the doctrine,-was first to collect and then to collate as
many records as possible of vessels that had been caught in the
storm, in various parts of the ocean. The most laborious and
profound investigation of this nature of which he has left us an
example, is in the case of the Cuba hurricane of October, 1844.
First, he examined all accessible marine reports of vessels that
had arrived in port after encountering the storm; secondly, he
inspected the log-books of all such vessels, as far as was practicable, and carefully transcribed their records; and, thirdly, by
an extended correspondence, he obtained a great number of written statements from shipmasters, who of all men would be the
most accurate and vigilant observers. The different independent
accounts obtained from these various sources amounted to no
less than one hundred and sixty-four, all of which were reduced
to the form of tables, containing the latitude and longitude of
each vessel or place at the time of observation; the exact date
and duration of the gale; the successive directions of the stormwind; the state of the barometer; and, finally, every additional
particular that was deemed of the least importance in determining the peculiar characteristics of the storm. With these data
before him, he spread out a marine chart, and having noted on
it the position of each vessel and place with the direction and
force of the wind, the plot itself proclaimed to the eye the whirl



wind character of the storm; and the comparison of dates, and
corresponding courses of the winds, and respective states of the
barometer, showed the dimensions of the storm, its rotary and
progressive velocities, its duration at any given place, and its various degrees of violence at different distances from the center.
In the character of the researches before us, conducted as they
were, not in the shades of philosophic retirement and learned
leisure, but in hours redeemed from the pressing avocations of
an onerous and responsible business, or borrowed from the season allotted to sleep, we trace qualities of mind that belong only
to the true philosopher.
The benevolent and practical mind of Redfield had no sooner
established the laws of storms, than it commenced the inquiry,
what rules may be derived from it, to promote the safety of the
immense amount of human life and of property that are afloat
on the ocean, and exposed continually to the dangers of shipwreck; in this imitating our Franklin, who as soon as he had
discovered the identity of lightning with the electricity of our
machines, hastened to the inquiry, How may we so apply our
knowledge of the laws of electricity as to disarm the thunderbolt of its terrors? We might pursue the comparison and say,
that as every building saved from the ravages of lightning by
the conducting rod, is a token both of the sagacity and the benevolence of Franklin, so every vessel saved from the horrors
of shipwreck by rules derived from these laws of storms, is a
witness to the sagacity and benevolence of Redfield. Other
writers on the laws of storms, especially Reid and Piddington,
have lent important aid in establishing rules for navigators, until
it is now easy for the mariner by the direction in which the gale
strikes his ship, to determine his position in the storm, and the
course he must steer in order to escape from its fury. Nor are
testimonies wanting of the successful application of these rules.
The most accomplished navigators (we might instance particularly Commodores Rodgers and Perry, and Commander Glynn, of
the U. S. Navy) have testified that within their knowledge and in
some cases within their own observation, many ships have owed
their deliverance from the perils of shipwreck to a faithful observance of the rules derived from Redfield's theory of storms.




17
In no department, perhapsi of the studies of nature have mankind been more surprised to find things governed by fixed laws,
than in the case of the winds. It is now rendered in the highest
degree probable, that every breeze that blows is a part of some
great system of aerial circulation and helps to fulfill some grand
design, "Inconstant as the winds" has long been a favorite expression to denote the absence of all uniformity or approach to
fixed riles; but the researches of the meteorologists of our
times, force on us the conclusion that the winds, even in the violent forms of hurricanes and tornadoes, are governed by laws
hardly less determinate than those which control the movements
of the planets.
It has been often noticed in the history of science and the arts,
that great discoveries and inventions spring forth simultaneously
from different independent sources, Thus the discovery of oxygen gas, the greatest single discovery in chemistry, was made
almost at the same moment by Priestley in England and Scheele
in Sweden; and the method of fluxions, or the infinitesimal
calculus, was invented at nearly the same time by Newton and
Leibnitz. Such discoveries and inventions are the true resultant
of innumerable forces, which at that moment, and never until
then since the origin of time, all conspired. It is remarkable
that the idea that great storms are progressive whirlwinds was,
for the first time, embraced nearly at the same instant by Redfield and Dov6, although the conclusion was arrived at by totally
different methods of investigation, Mr. lRedfield says in a note
to his paper on the Cuba hurricane, published in 1846, that it
was not until seven years after the publication of his theory of
the rotary and progressive character of storms, that he became
acquainted with the suggestions and opinions of Col. Capper,
and with the particular views and elucidations published by
Professor Dove in his paper on Barometric Minima found in
Poggendorff's Annalen for 1828. To all who were personally
acquainted with Redfield, it would be quite unnecessary to adduce any other evidence than his simple declaration, of the perfectly original and independent character of his theory of the
laws of storms. But we might refer to the circumstances under
which it was conceived, when he was far removed froml all libra3




18
ries, and all intercourse with the scientific world; and as respects
Dove, in particular, whose essay was communicated to the public
in 1828, it may be said, that at that period there was scarcely a
copy of Poggendorff's Annalen, in which Dove's essay appeared,
in the United States; and being in the German language, nothing
could be more improbable than that its contents were then known
to Redfield. In 1838, our friend found to his great joy a most
able ally in Col. Reid of the Royal English Engineers, thei stationed in the island of Barbadoes. The earliest inquiries of Col.
Reid were based on a violent hurricane, which occurred in that
island in the year 1831. Searching for accounts of previous
storms, he met with nothing satisfactory until he fell in with
Redfield's earliest paper respecting the September gale of 1821,
published in the American Journal of Science. With the view
of testing Redfield's doctrines, he submitted to the closest scrutiny the records which the Barbadoes storm had left of its ravages,-an investigation which ended in a perfect conviction that
this storm was a progressive whirlwind. A friendly correspondence was shortly afterwards opened between these two congenial spirits, which resulted in an intimacy unbroken except by
the hand of death. Commodore Perry, in the recent Report of
his Japan Expedition, thus expresses himself in an introductory
note to Mr. Redfield's Essay (the latest of his published works)
on the Cyclones of the Pacific, addressed to Commodore Perry,
and forming a part of his volume.  "It was my good fortune
(says the Commodore) to enjoy, for many years, the friendly acquaintance of one as remarkable for modesty and unassuming
pretensions, as for laborious observation and inquiry after knowledge. To him and to Gen. Reid of the Royal Engineers of England (now governor of Malta) are navigators mainly indebted
for the discovery of a law which has already contributed, and
will continue to contribute, greatly to the safety of vessels traversing the ocean. It is true that subsequent writers have furnished' additional information on this subject; but to Redfield
and Reid should be ascribed, the credit of the original discovery
of this undeniable law of nature and its application to useful
purposes; and there can be nothing more beautiful, as illustrative of the character of these two men, than the fact, well known




19
to myself, that notwithstanding their simultaneous observations
and discoveries, in different parts of the world, neither claimed
the slightest merit over the other, but each strove to give to his
co-worker in research the meed of superior success in the great
object of their joint labors; and thus, without ever meeting, a
strong friendship was formed between them, growing out of
congenial aspirations for an honorable fame, and mutual admiration of the generous and enlightened views exhibited by each
other; and this ennobling feeling was kept alive to the last by
friendly correspondence."
The idea of whirlwinds is indeed much older than Redfield or
Reid, being as old as the writings of the Psalmist and the Prophets; and we safely admit further, that the doctrine of ocean gales
being sometimes of a rotary character, had been hinted at by
several writers, as hints of such a principle as gravitation had
long preceded the investigations of Newton; but the honor of
having established, on satisfactory evidence, the rotary and progressive character of ocean storms, and determining their modes
of action or laws, it is due alike to the memory of the departed,
and to our country's fame, to claim for WILLIAM C. REDFIELD.
Back of the laws that govern these ocean gales, as first determined by Redfield and confirmed by Dove, Reid, Piddington,
Thom, and other well known writers, lies a more profound inquiry, How are these laws themselves to be accounted for?
What sets the storm in motion, and gives it the whirlwind character, and at the same time carries it. forward, and in so definite
a path?  WVhat makes it revolve always from right to left on
the north side of the equator, and from left to right on the south
side'? WVhy does its violence increase towards the centre of the
storm, and why is its force there so tremendous?  Laws, it
must be remembered are facts, and merely express the modes in
which nature acts: they are themselves phenomena to be accounted for. To which of the ultimate causes of physical phenomena is their origin, in the present case, to be traced?  Is it
heat? Is it electricity'? Is it gravity? Is it connected in some
way with the grand system of planetary motion'? Questions of
this kind were pressed on Mr. Redfield from various sources by
those who assailed his theory. At first he declined any attempts
at their solution. He claimed that the whirlwind character of




20
storms, and the laws which he had assigned to them, are rnatte.r
of fact, as established not only by himself, but also by Reid,
Milne, Dove, and Piddington; that never having attempted to
establish a theory of winds, nor the origin or first cause of storms,
he had no occasion to go into these inquiries, but had long held
the proper inquiry to be, TYhat are storms? not How are storms
produced?  He however incidentally, at different times, indicated
his opinions on the ultimate causes of storms. Electricity, Redfield entirely rejected as an agent in the production of winds and
storms, considering its presence and development rather as a
consequence than as a cause of atmospheric changes. To heat
he assigned only a limited and local effect, denying its agency in
producing either the great and established movements of the atmosphere, or the extraordinary commotions which constituted
the chief objects of his study, hurricanes and tempests. But he
considered what he called the "dynamics of the atmosphere," as
connected with and resulting from the diurnal and annual motions of the earth. While, from the first, I have heartily embraced Redfield's doctrine that ocean gales are-progressive whirlwinds, and have further fully believed that he had established
their laws or modes of action on an impregnable basis, a regard
to truth and candor obliges me to say, that I have never been
a convert to his views respecting the ultimate causes of storms,
especially so far as he assigned for these causes what he denominates the "diurnal and orbitual motions of the earth",7 but his
notions on this point have always appeared to me unsatisfactory. Nor, while I have been impressed with the belief that
heat is, in general, by far the most influential of all natural
agents in destroying the equilibrium of the atmosphere, and of
causing its motions, both in established currents, as the trade
winds and the monsoons, and in its violent commotions, as in
hurricanes and tornadoes, yet I am compelled to think that but
little progress has yet been made in determining its modus operandi, or in tracing the connecttion between changes of temperature and the actual phenomena of winds and storms: —why, for
example, the Atlantic gales originate where they do, in the tropical regions-why they first pursue a path to the northwest as
far as the latitude of 30~, and then gracefully wheel in parabolic
curves towards the northeast, and pursue this course for the re



21
mainder of their way-why they revolve on their axes and
always in one direction-whence they acquire so tremendous a
force, especially towards the central parts-why the barometer
is so low in the center and so high on the margin of the storm.
These and various other points connected with the whirlwind
character of storms, seem to me to have met hitherto with but a
partial and doubtful solution. The laws constitute the true the.
ory of storms: the rest is yet hypothesis.
Various writers have severally displayed great ingenuity and
profound knowledge of atmospheric phenomena, in their endeavors to solve these problems, but with respect to the causes which
lie back of the laws of storms, we still remain to a great degree
in ignorance. Each of the combatants appears to me to be more
successful in showing the insufficiency of the other's views, than
in establishing his own. With respect to him who is more particularly the subject of my remarks, whose logical powers I have
always admired, I have almost regretted that he did not adhere
to the ground he originally took, namely, that he had not undertaken to explain the reason why the winds blow, but only to
show how they blow. So far was matter of fact: all beyond
was hypothesis.  His facts are impregnable: his hypothesis
doubtful. The conclusions derived legitimately from these facts
constitute the laws of storms; and being, as we believe, like the
other laws of nature immutable, the name indissolubly associated
with their discovery, acquires a fame alike imperishable. Redfield might therefore have safely stopped where Newton stopped.
"Newton (says one of his biographers) stopped short at the last
fact which he could discover in the solar system-tha:t all bodies
were deflected to all other bodies, according to certain regulations of distance and quantity of matter. When told that he had
done nothing in philosophy; that he had discovered no cause;
and that, to merit any praise, he must show how this deflection
was produced; he said, he knew no more than he had told them;
that he saw nothing causing this deflection; and was contented
with having described it so exactly, that a good mathematician
could now make tables of the planetary motions, as accurate as
he pleased, and hoped in a few years to have every purpose of
navigation and philosophical curiosity completely answered."




22
Various other contributions to science of our departed friend
must, for want of space, be passed by with hardly a notice.  Such
are his published meteorological essays* —his reports of meteorological observations, which contain many original hints of mnucl
value-his paper on the currents of the Atlantic-and his researches in geology, which occupied much of his attention during
the latter years of his life-all of which speak the skilful observer, the judicious philosopher, the lover of science, the lover
of his country and of his kind.  His meteorological researches,
although they engrossed a large share of the hours he could
redeem from the urgent claims of business, did not prevent his
taking a strong interest in other branches of science.  He attentively watched the progress of knowledge in various departments, but Geology had for him special attractions.  His powers
of observation were early employed, even in his pedestrian tour
to Ohio in 1810, in noting facts which appeared to hinm then to
be unaccounted for, but which the progress of the science has
since fully explained. In the meetings of the American Association he was an attentive listener to the geological papers, and
frequently took part in the discussions which they called forth,
exhibiting a thorough acquaintance with the subjects under consideration. The phenomena of the drift period, as evincive of
glacial action in various forms had deeply interested him; and
he had collected, and closely studied, the shells of recent species
which, in the vicinity of New York are found beneath the deposits of drift. His published geological papers, however, relate
chiefly to the sandstones of Connecticut and New Jersey, particularly to their fossils, their ripple-marks, and their rain-drops.
1-is residence in early life was within sight of the extensive
quarries of this kind of sandstone, at Portland, Connecticut, and
his frequent visits afterwards to that region, afforded him opportunity for close observation.  In December, 1836, his son Mr.
John H. Redfield, who inherits much of the scientific taste of
his father, described t some of the fossil fishes from this locality,
and showed that their structural affinities indicated for the socalled " New Red Sandstone" a higher position than had previously been assigned to it. Mr. Redfield pursued the track thus
* Originally prepared for Blunt's Coast Pilot.
J Annals Lye. Nat. History, New York, vol. iv.




opened by his son, and published, in the American Journal of
Science, descriptions of several new species of Ictllyolites. The
last paper which he read before the American Association was
upon the Geological Age of the Sandstones of Connecticut and
New Jersey, and the cotemporaneous deposits in Virginia and
North Carolina. He proposed for them the denomination of the
NTewark Group,  and showed that the Ichthyolites contained in
them pointed unerringly to the Jurassic period. In the course
of these investigations he had given close study to the subject
of Fossil Fishes, and had formed a collection of them, probably
unequalled in this country, with special reference to a contemplated monograph of the Ichthyolites of the Newark Group.
In 1839, Yale College conferred on Mr. Redfield the honorary
degree of Master of Arts, and the enlarged sphere in which his
labors for the promotion of science and the good of his fellow
men, were known and appreciated, was evinced by his election
into many learned societies in his own and foreign countries.
Three distinguishing marks of the true philosopher met in
William C. Redfield- originality to devise new things; patience
to investigate; and logical powers to draw the proper conclusions. The impress of his originality he left, in early life,
upon the village where he resided; he afterwards imprinted it
still deeper on his professional business, as naval engineer;
and most of all on his scientific labors, his observations, and
his theories.  "Patient thought" was the motto of Newton,
and in this attribute, Redfield was eminently distinguished.
In collecting facts bearing upon his main purpose, and in submitting them to severe and long continued comparison, he has
illustrated this quality in its highest forms, as his laborious investigations of the phenomena of hundreds of storms, most fully
evince. Originality to invent without patience to investigate,
leads to hasty and wild speculations; but united they lay the
deep foundations for a severe logic. His powers of reasoning
have always appeared to me to be of higlh order, and he has
been fitly characterized by another eminent writer* on the laws
of storms, as the "clear-headed" Redfield.  Opinions which
he had thus formed, after an extensive and patient investigation
of the facts, and a severe process of reasoning, he held with
* Reid.




24
great tenacity. But though firm, he was not obstinate.  Obstinacy we define to be an unyielding adherence to-our opinions because we have adopted them: firrnness, a similar adherence to
our opinions, because we believe them to be right.
Few men have given more signal proofs of an original inherent love of knowledge. Whether we contemplate the apprentice-boy after the toils of the day, seeking for knowledge by the
dim light of an open fire; or the father of a young family, through
dark scenes of domestic affliction and mournful bereavements, still
adding largely year by year to his intellectual stores; or the
man of business in the whirl of the great metropolis, loaded with
onerous and responsible cares, giving every interval of leisure,
and the seasons chiefly employed in pleasure or repose to the
study of the laws of nature; or if permitted, as has been my
privilege, to be a guest at the house fitted up to be the retreat
of his old age, we see the library, the collections of natural his.
tory, the many sources of high mental enjoyment, which in the
period gained at last of ease and affluence, distinguish the different apartments of his dwelling; or finally whether we call to
mind the ever increasing interest with which he attended the
meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, and the delight which he experienced in the society of
learned men, we observe in all, a mind in love with truth, ever
searching and ever expanding.  In society he was courteous,
sincere, upright, and benevolent; in his family, tender, affectionate, wise in counsel and pure in example; in all his walk and
conversation, and especially in the church of God, a devout and
humble christian.
As the evening of life was passing thus serenely, it hastened to
a peaceful close. Mr. Redfield's health had been generally good
during his later years, and had seemed particularly so in the early
part of the winter which proved his last. On the first of January,
he made his usual calls on his friends, and the cheerfulness and
vivacity of his manners and healthful expression, were never
more remarkable.  Near the last of January he was seized with
alarming symptoms, which indicated effusion in the chest. His
disease made rapid and sure progress. The last book which
had engaged his attention previous to his illness was Dr. Kane's
recent Narrative of his Arctic Expedition, and his own feverish




25
dreams, during the earlier nights of his sickness, were confiusedly
identified with the toils, the difficulties, and the sufferings of that
heroic commander and  his brave companions.  With  a general
tendency to delirium  were mingled intervals of calmness, and
throughout his illness his countenance would light up with the
smile of affection, as he recognized  the  relations and  friends
around him.  From  the first he entertained but slight hopes of
recovery; but as the crisis drew near, his mind was at peace,
and in calm  resignation to the will of his Maker, and in the full
exercise of christian faith, he gently breathed his last on the
morning of February 12, 1857.
Happy if we who have so long journeyed with  him  in  the
delightful walks of science, may enjoy an evening as serene, and
find its close as peaceful.
List of the published papers of the late WILLIAM  C. REDFIELD.
1. Sketch of the Geographical Route of a great Railway, by which it is proposed
to connect the Canals and navigable waters of the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and the Miclhigan, North West, and Missouri
Territories, opening thereby a free communication at all seasons of the year between the Atlantic States and the great valley of the Mississippi. Pamphlet, published by G. & C. & H. Carvill, New York, 1829.
A second edition of the above, with an appendix of much additional matter, was
published by the same house in 1830.
2. Remarks on the prevailing storms of the Atlantic Coast of the North American States. American Journal of Science, vol. xx, p. 17. April, 1831.
3. List of Steamboat Explosions xwhich have occurred in the United States, with
some remarks on the same. Am. Journ. Sci., xx, 336. July, 1831.
4. On the supposed collapse of Steam-boilers, and the means of preventing explosions. Amer. Journ. Sci., xxi, 190. Oct. 1831.
5. Note on the Hurricane of August, 1831. N. Y. Journal of Commerce, Sept
28, 1831. Copied in Am. Jour. Sci., xxi, 191, Oct. 1831.
6. Facts and Suggestions relating to the New York and Albany Railroad. Pamphlet, New York, 1832.
7. Notice of American Steamboats. Amer. Journ. Sci., xxiii, 311, Jan. 1833.
8. Observations on the Hurricanes ancd Storms of the West Indies and the Coast
of the United States. Blunt's American Coast Pilot, 12th edition, p. 626, July,
1833, and in subsequent editions; also in Amer. Jour. Sci., xxv, 114, Oct. 1833;
translated in Bibl. Univ. de Geneve, i, 412, 1834.
An Abstract of the above under the title of "Monitions and Instructions for
vessels navigating on the western side of the Atlantic" is found in Purdy's Memoir upon the Atlantic Ocean, 10th edition, 1853, p. 303.
9. Summary Statements of some of the leading Facts in Meteorology. Amer.
Journ. Sci., xxv, 122, Oct. 1833. Originally prepared for the American edition of
"Million of Facts," published in New York, 1833. It constitutes the new matter
under the head cf " Atmospheric and Aerial Phenomena" in that work. Some copies
have been circulated in pamphlet form under the title of "Facts in Meteorology."
4




26
10. Report of the Board of Examiners appointed by the Connecticut River Steam
Boat Company to enquire into the Causes of the Explosion of the Steam Boat New
England. Published by the Steam Boat Company. Dec. 1833.
11. Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal kept in the city of New York during
the years 1833 and 1834. Report of the Regents of the Univ. of State of N. Y.
for 1835. p. 183; Amer. Journ. Sci., xxviii, 154, April, 1835.
12. On the Evidence of certain Phenomena in Tides and Meteorology, (In reply to
Notes of an Observer [Mr. Espy]). Journ. Franklin Institute, Phil., xv, 372, June,
1835; Amer. Journ. Sci., xxviii, 310, July, 1835.
13. On the Gales and Hurricanes of the Western Atlantic. London Nautical
Magazine, v, 199, April, 1836; U. S. Naval Magazine, i, 301, July, 1836; Amer.
Journ. Sci., xxxi, 115, Oct. 1836.
14. On the Whirlwind character of certain Storms, (In reply to Mr. Espy's No. 3,
in a series of Meteorological Essays in Journ. of Franklin Institute). Journ. Franklin Institute, xix, 112, Feb. 1837.
15. Remarks on the supposed connection of the Gulf Stream with opposite curt
rents. U. S. Naval Magazine, ii, 243, May, 1837; Journ. Franklin Institute, xix,
384, May, 1837; Blunt's Amer. Coast Pilot, 13th edition, p. 666, June, 1837, and inr
subsequent editions; American Journ. Sci., xxxii, 349, July, 1837.
16. Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal kept in the City of New Yorkl, during
the years 1835 and 1836; reported to the Albany Institute. Report of Regents of
Univ. of State of N. Y. for 1837, p. 214, March, 1837.
17. Cursory Remarlks and Suggestions on various topics in Meteorology, by an
Amateur Observer. Blunt's Amer. Coast Pilot, 13th ed., p. 689, and subsequent
editions, June, 1837.
The same under the title of "Meteorological Sketches, by an Observer."  Amer.
Jour. Sci., xxxiii, 50, 261, Oct. 1837 and Jan. 1838; U. S. Naval Mag., ii, 392, 1837.
18. Some account of two visits to the Mountains in Essex Co., N. York, in the
years 1836 and 1837; with a sketch of the northern sources of the Hudson. Am.
Journ. Sci., xxxiii, Jan. 1838; Family Magazine, N. Y., v, 345.
19. Notice of Fossil Fishes in Virginia. Amer. Jour. Sci., xxxiv, 201, April, 1838.
20. Synopsis of Meteorological Journal kept in the City of New York for the
year 1837, including the average results of the last five years. Report of Regents,
1838 or 1839; Am. Journ. Sci., xxxiv, 373, July, 1838.
21. Letter to Lieut. James Hoskin, R. N., Commander of the Steamship Great
Western, on the speed of Steamboats. N. Y. Journal of Commerce, Aug. 8, 1838 
London Nautical Magazine, 1838, p. 673; Jameson's Journal, Feb., April, 1838.
22. On the courses of Hurricanes, with notices of the Typhoons of the China Sea,
and other Storms. Amer. Journ. Sci., xxxv, 201, Jan. 1839; London Nautical Magazine, 1839, p. 1, Jan. 1839.
23. Genealogy of the Redfield Family in the United States. Printed for private
circulation, March, 1839.
24. Some Account of violent columnar Whirlwinds which appear to have resulted
from the action of large circular Fires, with Remarks on the same. (Read before
the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Jan. 22, 1839.) Amer. Jour. Sci.,
xxxvi, 50, April, 1839; Bibliotheque Univ. de Gen~ve, 1840, xxviii, 432.
25. Additional Facts relating to the Raleigh's Typhoon of August 5th and 6th,
1835, in the China Sea. Amer. Journ. Sci., xxxvi, 59, April, 1839; London Nautical
Magazine, 1839, p. 461.
26. Letter to the Secretary of Treasury of U. S. on Steamboat Explosions and
their preventions, dated Dec. 26, 1838. Congressional Document, 25th Congress,
3d Session, House of Reps., Doe. No. 21, 1839; London Nautical Magazine, 1839,
p. 617, 681 and 813.
27. Remarks on Mr. Espy's Theory of Centripetal Storms, especially his positions
relative to the storm of Sept. 3d, 1821, with some notice of his examinations of
other storms. Journ. Franklin Institute, xxiii, 323, 363, May and June, 1839.




28. Further notice of Mr. Espy's examination of Storms. Journ. Franklin Inst.,
xxiv, 1, July, 1839.
29. Account of the Circular Storm of Dec. 1839. Journ. of Commerce, Jan. 6,
1840; London Nautical Magazine, 1840; 424.
30. On the Causes of Steamboat Accidents and the practical means of preventing their occurrence. (Communicated by request through Capt. J. W. Pringle, R. E.,
to the Commissioners on that subject appointed by the English Government. Received too late for the Report of the Commissioners), but published here in "Appendix to a Memorial of Proprietors and Managers of American Steam-vessels on
th1e irnpolicy and injustice of certain enactments contained in the law relating to
steamboats."  Jan. 1840.
31. Abstracts of Meteorological Observations made at St. John's, Newfoundland,
and at Canton in China, with some notice of the Half-yearly Inequalities of Atmos-.
pheric Distrihution which appear in these observations. Am. Jour. Sci., xxxviii, 265O
April, 1840.
32. Synopsis of a Meteorological Journal kept in the City of New York for the
years 1838 and 1839, including also the mean results of the last seven years. Report of the Regents of the University of State of N. Y., 1840; Am. Journ. Sci.,
xxxviii, 323, April, 1840.
33. Short Notices of American Fossil Fishes. (Read before the Yale Natural
History Society.) Am. Jour. Sci., xli, 24, July, 1841.
34. Five Letters to Commodore Perry on the means of National Defence. N. Y,
Journal of Commerce, July, 1841.
35. Remarks relating to the Tornado which visited New Brunswick in the State
of New Jersey on the 19th June, 1835, with a plan and schedule of the prostrations
observed on a section of its track. London, Ed. and Dub. Phil. Mag. and Jour. Sci.,
xviii, 20, Jan. 1841; Am. Jour. Sci., xli, 69, July, 1841; Jour. Frankl. Inst., xxviii
(or 3d series ii), 40, July, 1841.
36. Observations on the Storm of Dec. 15th, 1839, with a Map showing the direction of the wind at noon of that day, as observed at various places. (Read before
the Am. Phil. Soc., Jan. 15, 1841.) Lond., Ed. and Dubl. Phil. Mag., xvii, 17, July,
1841; Am. Jour. Sci., xlii, 112, Jan. 1842; Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., viii, new series,
17, 1843.
37. Extract of a letter to Sir J. F. W. Herschel. Report of 10th meeting of
British Assoc. for Adv. of Science, 1841, p. 40, 1841.
38. Reply to Dr. Hare's Objections to the Whirlwind Theolry of Storms. Am,
Join. Sci., xii, 299, April, 1842; Lond., Ed. and Dubl. Phil. Mag., xx, 353, May, 1842,
39. Reply to Dr. Hare's Further Objections relating to Whirlwind Storms, with
some evidence of the whirling action of the Providence Tornado of August, 1838,
Am. Jour. Sci., xliii, 250, Oct. 184'; latter portion of the article also in Amer. Repertoly of Arts and Sci., iii, 81, March, 1841; also in Jour. Frank. Inst,, new series,
iv, 252, Oct. 1842; first portion of article also in Lend., Ed. and Dubl. Phil. Mag.,
xxi, Suppl. 481, Dec. 1842; latter portion of article also in same, xxii, 38, Jan. 1843.
40.. Notice of newly discovered Fish-beds and a Fossil Foot-maik in the Red
Sandstone Formation of New Jersey. Am. Jour, Sci., xliv, 134, Jan. 1843.
41. Notice of Dr. Hare's Strictures on Prof. Dove's Essay on the Law of Stornms
Am. Jour. Sci., xliv, 384, April, 1843; Jour Franklin Inst. for 1844, p. 384.
42. Remarks on Tides and the prevailing Currents of the Ocean and Atmosphbere
(Read before Amer. Phil. Soc. at its centennial meeting, May 27th, 1843.) Am.
Jour. Sci., xlv, 393, Oct. 1843; London Nautical Magazine, 1843, 655.
43. On the drift Ice and Currents of the North Atlantic, with a Chart showing
the observed positions of the ice at various times. Am. Jour. Sci., xlviii, 373, April,
1845; London Nautical Magazine, 1845, p. 298, 353; Blunt's Memoir on the Dak2gers and Ice of the North Atlantic.




28
44. Letters to the U. S. Board of Navy Commissioners, being replies to their ciieular asking information relative to Steam Navigation applicable to government purposes. Jour. Frankl. Inst., new series, x, 361, and xii, 1, June, July and Aug. 1846.
45. On three several Hurricanes of the American Seas, and their relation to the
Northers so called of the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Honduras, with Charts
illustrating the same. Am. Jour. Sci., new series, i, 1, 153, 333, ii, 162, 311, Jan.,
March, May, Sept. and Nov. 1846.
46. Effects of the Earth's Rotation upon Falling Bodies, and upon the Atmosphere. Am. Jour. Sci., new series, iii, 283, March, 1847.
41. Remarks on a Letter from R. N. Shufeldt of U. S. Ship Marion to E. and G.
W. Blunt, relative to a Hurricane encountered by Ship Marion, Sept. 1848. London
Nautical Magazine, 1849, p. 39.
48. On some Fossil Remains from Broome Co., N. Y. Proceedings of Am. Assoc.
for Adv. of Science, 2d Meeting, 1849, (at Cambridge,) p. 255.
49. The Law of Storms and its penalties for neglects. N. Y. Jour. of Commerce,
June 19, 1850; London Nautical Magazine, 1850, p. 470; Bermuda Royal Gazette,
July 16, 1850; N. Y. Courier and Enquirer.
50. On the apparent necessity of revising the received systems of Dynamical
Meteorology. Proc. Am. Assoc. for Adv. of Sci., 4th Meeting, (New Haven,) p. 366,
1850.
51. On the Post-Permian Date of the Red Sandstone Rocks of New Jersey and
the Connecticut Valley, as shown by their Fossil Remains. Proc. Am. Assoc. for
Adv. of Science, 5th Meeting, (Cincinnati,) p. 45, May, 1851.
52. On the Fossil Rain-marks found in the Red Sandstone Rocks of New Jersey
and the Connecticut Valley, and their authentic character. Proc. Am. Assoc. for
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