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ARTICLE III.

Register of the Weather for Six Months, at Malone House and Dublin. With a Plate (LXVIII.) exhibiting the Variations of the Barometer and Thermometer at each place. By A. Semple, Esq.

(To Dr. Thomson.)

MY DEAR SIR, Malone House, May 2, 1817. My nephew, Mr. Moore, of Dublin, and I, have for some time kept a comparative register of the barometer, thermometer, and weather; the scale of which, from the autumnal equinox of 1816 to the vernal one of this year, I now send you, in hopes that it may be thought worthy of a place in the Annals of Philosophy.

This station is situated about three English miles WSW of Belfast, in the county of Antrim; 98 English miles (by the road) NE of the city of Dublin; and is about 148 feet above the level of the sea, the other station being about 30 feet above the same level. The column of mercury in both barometers has been (throughout) reduced, to what it would have been at 32° Fahr.

Believe me, dear Sir, yours very sincerely,

MALONE HOUSE.

ANTHONY SEMPLE,

September, 1816.

23. Cirrus and Cirrostratus. Eve clear. N. 24. Cirrus. 9 P.M. a luminous arch, E to W. S.

25. Fine day. Cumulus. SE.

26. Rain and hail. Eve fine. NW.
27. Hazy, with frequent showers. NW.
28. Hazy and showery. SSE.

29. Constant rain in forenoon. WSW.
30. Showery, with hail. WSW.

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1. Fine day. A slight shower. E. 2. Cumulus, with slight showers. WSW. 3. Hazy, with showers. ENE.

4. Cumulus and Cumulostratus. ENE. 5. Dark weather. No rain. ENE. -6. Fine morn. Eve, heavy showers. Var. 7. Morn, snow lies three inches. NNW. 8. Bright morn, Snow showers. WSW. 9. Showery. Blowing very hard. N by W. 10. Showers of snow, lies 4 in. NNE. 11. Blowing very hard, with rain. Var. 12. Blowing hard, with rain. NW. 13. Blowing hard, with rain, NW. 14. Blowing very hard, with snow. WNW. 15. Blowing very hard, with rain. 16. Blowing fresh. Cumulus. NW. 17. Morn, rain. Eve fair. WSW.

NNW.

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Continued rain. W by S.
Bright morn, and fine day. W.
Hazy morn. Fair day. S.
Fine day. Stormy night, S.
A fine day. S.

Bright morn, and fine day. SE.
Fine day. SE.

Fine day. S.

Fine day. SW.

Day fine. Night stormy and wet.SW.
Day fine. Night windy. SW.
Very fine. SW.

Fine day. Hazy at sea. W.
Fine day. W.

December.

1. Dark weather, with haze. W. 2. Hazy, with some rain. NW by N. 3. Hazy, with a light breeze. NNW. 4. Hazy, with a light breeze. SW by S. 5. Blowing hard, and constant rain. SSE. 6. Dark, with haze. W by N. 7. Bright morn. Dark eve. W. 8. Fine day. Cloudless. ENE. 9. Morn, constant rain. Var. 10. Bright morn. Eve wet. SW,

Weather fair. W.

Weather fair. W.

Weather fair. W.

SW.

Cloudy. Storm at night. E.
Very wet and stormy. E.
Some rain and blowing. W.
Blowing, bright morn.
Day fine and bright. W.
Day very wet. Night fair. W.
Storm, with heavy showers. S.

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WNW.

WSW.

13. Morn, rain. Eve dark. 14. Morn fine. Eve, snow. W. 15. Fine day. Cumulus. NE. 16. Morn, sleet. Eve fair. W. 17. Dark, with frequent showers. 18. A fine day. Cumulus. SW. 19. A fine day. Cumulus. SW. 20. Nearly incessant rain. W. 21. Fair morn. Eve, showers. 22. Hazy, with a few showers. 23. Hazy, with a few showers. 24. Hazy, with a few showers. 25. A fine day. Clouds various. SW. 26. Dark, with constant rain. SW. 27. Fine. Cloudless day. SW. 28. Dark, with showers in morn.

29. Fine. Cirrostratus. W.

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Var. W. SW. SW.

Fine. S by W.

Fine.

Var.

Fine. W by S.

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SW.

Very hazy. W.

Very fine. W by S.

Very fine. W.

Very fine.

W.

1. Rather dark. Cumulus. WNW.

2. Dark, with fog. WSW.

3. Hazy, with slight showers. WSW.

February.

Fine bright day. W.

Fine, but cloudy. W.

Fine, and bright. Night stay. S

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Eve, heavy rain. WSW. Showery. Stormy night. WNW. Day fine. Eve wet. WNW.

SW by W.

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SW.

SW. WSW. WSW.

Fair. WSW.

Fair. S.

12. Fine. Blowing fresh. NW by N. 13. Showers. Blowing hard. 14. Snow, rain, sleet. Blowing hard. Var. 15. Showers. Blowing very hard. 16. Blowing fresh, with lightning. 17. Blowing fresh, with lightning. 18. Blowing fresh, with lightning. 19. Showery, with lightning. Var. 20. Showers of snow, and lightning. Var. 21. Constant snow and sleet. WNW. 22. A shower at noon. NW by N. 23. Blowing hard, with showers. NW by N. 24. Fine morn. Eve, showers. NW. 25. Fine morn. Eve, showers. WSW. 26. Blowing fresh, with showers. WNW. 27. Storm. Thunder, lightning, rain. NW. 28. Dark, with showers. WNW.

Fair day. Wet night. Fair day. Wet night. Showers. W by S.

SW.

S by W.

S by W.

Showers of hail and rain. SW.
A fine day. W by N.

Morn cloudy. Eve, rain. W by N.
Fair. W by N.

Rain at night. SW.
Storm, with thunder. W by N.
Cloudy. W by N.

Fair.

March.

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W by N.

S..

Cloudy. Showers and wind. S. Cloudy. Showers and wind. S.

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Bright, with showers. W. Bright, with showers. SW.

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Cloudy. Showers and hail.

W.

WNW.

Bright. Cirrus. A shower.

W.

Bright. Some showers.

W.

10. A fine day.

11. A fine day. 12. A fine day. 13. A fine day. 14. A fine day.

WNW.
Cumulus. WNW.
Cumulus. NW by W.
Cumulus. NW by W.
Cumulus. SW.

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Bright. Some showers. NW.

Bright. A shower. W.

Cloudy morn. Stormy night. SSW. Hazy morn.

W.

Hazy morn. Fair day. W by S.
Grey morn. Fair day.
Very fine day. SW.

Cloudy, but fair. SW.
Fair day. SE.

SSE.

Morn, Stratus. Day fine. E.

Cirrocumulus. Hail, snow. WSW. Day fine. Snow at night.

WSW.

ARTICLE IV.

On the Cells and Combs of Bees. By Dr. Barclay.

MY DEAR SIR,

(To Dr. Thomson.)

IN your April number of the Annals of Philosophy I see two letters of Mr. R. W. Barchard on the cells and combs of bees and

wasps. In the first of these letters Mr. Barchard observes, that he has been for some length of time in the habit of keeping bees, to which he has paid great attention, and considers it very much against the general economy of the bee to suppose they should bestow the time and pains in making separate, i. e. double partitions, when single ones would suffice, particularly as bees appear to enjoy every thing in common.

From this mode of reasoning, were the matter to be settled merely by hypothesis or verbal discussion, would not his opponent be entitled to argue that as bees are so sparing of their time and pains, it must also be very much against their general economy to construct a separate cell for each ovum or egg, as one large cell might suffice, particularly as they appear to enjoy every thing in common. Birds, quadrupeds, and by far the greatest number of insects, find one apartment perfectly sufficient for all the members of their young families; why should not bees, if so very sparing of their time and pains, be equally economical? If not, perhaps their industry and passion for labour, which induce them to construct a separate cell for each ovum, may also incline them to construct a double partition between each cell.

In my notice concerning the combs of bees and of wasps, published in the first part of the second volume of the Wernerian Transactions, a notice to which Mr. Barchard alludes, I merely stated what appeared to be the fact, and what, on repeatedly breaking several pieces of bee and of wasp comb before the Society, appeared to be the fact to every gentleman who happened to be present. As the combs, however, appeared to be old, had seemingly contained a young brood, and had even been for some time exposed to the weather, Mr. Barchard infers that what we took for a part of the partition was a thin web which the young brood had left in the cell, and which was afterwards stuck to its sides. Had this been the case, the partition, instead of appearing double, should have appeared triple at least; and if each cell had twice contained brood, the partition should then have been five fold. And indeed Mr. Barchard says that they may sometimes be divided into several leaves, one of the conclusions that necessarily follows from his hypothesis.

Yet he made an experiment to support his conclusion, though he happened to forget it when he wrote his first letter. Now, from making the experiment, I should infer that he entertained some doubts about the foundation on which his conclusion rested; and from his forgetting to mention this experiment in his first letter, that he had still less confidence in his experiment than in his hypothesis. Nor is it to be wondered at. His experiment was this. He melted a quantity of virgin comb in hot water, below the boiling point, and it left no residuum. And afterwards a quantity of old comb, which once had brood in it, and it left a residuum. Of the cause of these different results, he finds an explanation in his hypothesis, that the original partitions between the cells are single, and

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