Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/1014

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4° That tho ttje Wmds m both Places *cquently agree, f ufes us he has had fa rfiany Confirmations, that he mate* y V%lfr^ ■ SeeW f ND -. , .... no doubt of it. Thus, it is common to fee a warm So u -

S, That the Barometer is always lower at Zurich than therly Wind fuddenly chang'd to the North by the fall of fmmjter, by lometimes one, and fometimes above two Snow or Hail ■ or to fee -°~ "' Englyb Inches ; but the common difference is about half an North, when the Sun has w Inch. v tuate one

Sea, than Upmivfter ; or elfe, "by fuppofing that Part of the terraqueous Globe, as lying nearer the Line, to be higher, and

At Ufmnfler, by fometimes one, and fometimes above twb Snow or Hail ; or to fee the Wind in a cold frorty Morning

fc Inches ; but the common difference is about half an North, when the Sun has well warm'd the Earth and Air,

Which may be folved euher by fuppofing Zurich fi- wheel towards the South ; and again turn Northerly or Eaf-

one tourtn or a Mile higher above the Level of the terly in the cold Evening.

3°» Afyft Vegetables expand their Flowers and "Down in Sunjbiny Weather, and towards the Evening ; and agai?ijl

more dittant from the Centre than ours is, which lies nearer Raw, clofe 'em again ; efpecially at the beginning of their

the Pole See Earth, Mountain, &c. flowering; when their Seeds are tender and fenuble.-This

r ' In d, Barom ^, ter generally nfes and falls together h vifible enough in the Down of Dandelion, and other

at tar diitaml laces: Tho this Agreement of the Barometer Downs: and eminently in the Flowers of Pimpernel • the

is not ioconftant bet weed Zurich and Upminfier, as in Places opening and /hutting of which, Gerard obferves are the

nearer home, viz,, at Zondon and Tarts ; where, again, the Countryman's Weatherwifer, whereby he foretels the Wea-

Agreement is not fo great as between Upminfter and Lan> ther of the following Day.— The Rule is, if the Flowers be

cajbire. .'.._.„ „ clofc fhut up, it betokens Rain and foul Weather : if they

7, That the Variations of the Barometer are greater}, be fpread abroad, fair Weather, Ger. Herh. Lib II as the Places are neareit the Pole.— Thus, e.g. the Mercury EJl ££? alia [arbor in Tylis] ffmilis t foUofior tamen, ro- te London has a greater Range by two or three Lines than f e j que i or j s. qmm m $ n cimprimens, aperire incipit folis at "Paris; and at Tans a greater than at Zurich. In exortu, meridie expandit. Incole dormire cam dicmu Plin. iome Places near the Equinoctial, thereis fcarce any Variation 3sf at . HM. Lib. II. cap ri.

The Stalk of Trefoil, my Lord 'Bacon obferves, fwell;

at all. See Barometer

8°, That the Rain in Switzerland and Italy is much greater in Quantity, throughout the Year, than that in Ef- fex ; yet the Rains are more frequent, /. e. there are more

rainy Days in Effex, than at either of thole Places. The

Proportion of the annual Rains that fall in the feveral Places we have any good Obfervations of ftand thus : At Zurich the Depth of the annual Rain, at a Medium, is about 32,-

againft Rain, and grows more upright : and the like may be obferv'd, tho nor fo fenfibly, in the Stalks of molt other Plants. — He adds, that in the Stubble Fields there i.s found a fmall red Flower, call'd by the Country-People Wrncopipe ; which opening in a Morning, is a lure Indication of a fine Day.

That Vegetables fhould be affLcted by the fame Caufes

EngliJJj Inches ; at Tifa 43.;. ; at Tarts 23 ; at Lifle in that affeft the Weather, is very conceivable ; if we confider

Flanders 23I Inches; at Townley in Lancajbire 4*4-5 at them as fo many H\gromcters and Thermometers, con-

Upmmjler iy*. See Rain. fitting of an infinite Number of Trachea, or Air-VelTels 5

9°, That Cold contributes greatly to Rain; and that, ap- by which they have an immediate Communication with the

parently, by condenfing the fufpended Vapours, and making Air, and partake of its Moiiture, Heat, &c. Thefe Tra-

'em defcend.— Thus, very cold Months or Seafons are gene- c he<£ are very vifible in the Leaf of the Scabiofe, Vine, $$G.

rally follow'd immediately by very rainy ones; and cold Sum- See Plant, Vegetable, ££?c.

mers are always wet ones. See Cold, and Vaeotji

io°, That high ridges of Mountains, as the Alps, and the Snows they are cuver'd withal, not only affect the neighbour- ing Places by the Colds, Rains, Vapours, &c. they produce; but even diflant Countries, as England, often partake of their Effects. — Thus, the extraordinary Colds Tiecemb.i*\o%, and the Relaxations thereof, were felt at Italy and Swit- zerland, feveral Days ere they reach'd us : An Indication,

Hence it is, that all Wood, even the hardeft and molt fo- lid, fwells in moifl Weather ; the Vapours eafily insinuating into the Pores thereof; efpecially of that which is lighteft and dryeft. — And hence we derive a very extraordinary ufe of Woodj viz. for breaking Rocks and Mill-ftones. See Wood.

Their Method at the Quarries is this.— Having cut a Rock into a Cylinder, they divide that into feveral letter Cylin-

Mr.Z)erham thinks, that they were derived from them to us. ders, by making Holes at proper distances round the great

, ,. „ n- 1 j- 7 itt 1 ° p e : Thefe Holes they fill with fo many pieces of fallow

Indications or Trognojticks oj the Weather.

"We don't here mean to obtrude the idle, arbitrary Obfer- vations of fmciful People upon our Reader. — That Cloud of popular Predictions from the Brute World, which partly the Sagacity, and partly the Credulity of our Countrymen have eltablifh'd, we fet afide, as not flowing from any na- tural, neceiTary Relations, that we know of, in the Tnings themfelves. — Such is the foretelling of Rain and Wind from Water Fowls flocking to Land, or Land-Fowls to the Water ; from Birds oruning their Feathers, Geefe gaggling, Crows cawing loud, and flying in Companies, Swallows chattering and flying low, Peacocks crying much, AfTes braying, Deer fighting, Foxes and Wolves howling, Fifties playing, Ants and B :es keeping within Doors, Moles calling up Earth, Earth-Worms creeping our, ?£c. — We fhall offer nothing on this Head, but what has fome vifible Foundation in the N

Wood, dried in an Oven ; which, in moilt Weather, be- coming impregnated with the humid Corpufcles of the Air, fwell, and, like Wedges, break or cleave the Rock into fe- veral Stones.

Indications and Treditlions of the Weather from the Ba- rometer. See Barometer.

WEATHER-Cccfe, or Weather-^w, a moveable Vane, in form of a Cock, or other Jhape ; placed on high, to be turn'd round according to the Direction of the Wind, and point out what Quarter the Wind blows from. See Wind.

Weather-G/^«, are Instruments contriv'd to indicate the Suite, or Difpofition of the Armofphere, as to Heat, Cold, Gravity, MoiOure, &c. to meafure the Changes be- falling in thofr refpecls ; and by thofe means to predict the Alteration of Weather, as Rains, Winds, Snow, &c.

Under the Clafs of Weathcr-Glaffcs, are comprehended

ture of Things ; and which lets fome Light into the Caufe Barometers, "Thermometers, Hygrometers, Manometers, and

and Reafon of Weather it felf, or difcovcrs fome notable Anemometers, of each whereof there are divers Kinds : See

Effects thereof. their Theories, Conflructions, Ufes, Kinds, ££c. under the

i°, Then, a thick dark Sky, fudum ccclum, lajling for reflective Articles, Barometer, Thermometer, Hy-

fonie time, without either Sun or Rain, always becomes firft geometer, &c.

fair, then foul, i. e. changes to a fair clear Sky, ere it turns Weather .SWv/, in the Sea Language, that fide of a

to Rain. — This, the Rev, Mr. Clarke, who kept a Regifler Ship which is to the Windward.

of the Weather for 30 Years, fince put into Mr. jDcrhanz's Weather-G^, at Sea. — A Ship is faid to have the

Hands by his Grandfon the learned Dr. Sam. Clarke ; this, Weather-Gage of another, when fhe is to the Windward of

he fays, he fcarce ever knew to fail : at leafl, when th Wind was in any of the Eafterly Points : But Mr. "Der- ham has obferv'd the Rule to hold good, be the Wind where it will. And the Caufe is obvious.' — The Atmofphere is replete with Vapours, which, tho fufficient to reflect and intercept the Sun's Rays from us, yet want Denfity to de- fcend ; and while the Vapours continue in the fame State, the Weather will do fo too. Accordingly, fijeh Weather is generally attended with moderate warmth, and with little or no Wind to diflurb the Vapours, and an heavy Atmo- fphere to fuftain 'cm ; the Barometer being commonly hjn n — But when the Cold approaches, and by condenfing

getting to the Wind-

her. See Gage.

WEATHERING, a Doubling, ward of a Point or Place.

The Weathering of a Hawk, among Falconers, is the fetting her abroad to take the Air. See Hawk, and Hawk- ing.

WEAVING, the Art or Aft of working a Web of Cloth, Silk, Linen, or other Stuff, on a Loom, with a Shuttle. See Loom, Shuttle, Stuff, &c.

'Tis difficult to fay, with any Affurance, who it is we owe this admirable Invention to,- unlefs we chufe to afcribe it to the Spider, that poifonous, but ingenious little Infect, which

drives the Vapours into Clouds or Drops, then, way is made draws certain infinitely fine Threads from its own Subflance

for the Sun-beams ; till the fame Vapours, being by further thro' its Anus. See Spider's-VJKB.

Condenfation form'd into Rain, fall down into Drops. Weaving of Cloth. J CCloth.

2, A Change in the Warmth of the Weather, is general- Weaving of Tapeflry, &c. r SeepTAPEsTRY, $$c*

ly follow'd by a Change in the Wind. — Thus, the Northerly Stocking- Weaving. -> ^Stockings.

and Southerly Winds, commonly efteem'd the Caufes of cold WEB, a fort of Tifluc, or Texture, form'd of Threads

and warm Weather, are really the Effects of the Cold or interwove with each other; fome whereof are extended in

Warmth of the Atmofphere : Of which, Mr. 2)erham af- Y y y y length,