Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 13, MAT-MIC

5°
In Egypt.
51
In the Me
diterra-
r.ean.
52
la Syria.
53
In Italy.
ber, December, January, and February. At Ipfwieli
in l\ew England, the prevailing winds are alfo be¬
tween the fouth-weft, weft, north, and north-eaft ; the
moft frequent is the north-weft. But at Cambridge, in
the fame province, the moft frequent wind is the fouth-
eaft. The predominant winds at New York are the
north and weft. Tn Nova Scotia north-weft winds
blow for three-fourths of the year. The fame wind
blow's moft frequently at Montreal in Canada, but at
Quebec the wind generally follows the direction of the
river St Lawrence, blowing either from the north-eaft
or fouth-weft. At Hudfon’s bay wefterly winds blow
for three-fourths of the year j the north-weft wind oc-
eafions the greateft cold ; but the north and north-eaft
are the vehicles of fnow.
It appears from there fads, that wefterly winds are
moft; frequent over the whole eaftcrn coaft of North
America 5 that in the fouthern provinces fouth-weft
winds predominate, and that the north-weft become
gradually more frequent as we approach the frigid
zone.
In Egypt, during part oi May, and during June,
July, Auguft, and September, the rvind blow7s almoft
conftantly from the north, varying fometimes in June
to the weft, and in July to the weft and the eaft j dur¬
ing part of September, and in Odober and November,
the winds are variable, but blow more regularly from
the eaft than any other quarter } in December, January,
and February, they blow7 from the north, north-weft,
and wrnft } towards the end of February they change to
the fouth, in which quarter they continue till near the
end of March ; during the laft days of March and in
April they blow from the fouth-eaft, fouth, and fouth-
weft, and at lafl from the eaft ; and in this diredion
they continue during a part of May.
In the Mediterranean the w'ind blowrs nearly three-
fouitns of the year from the north 5 about the equi¬
noxes there is always an eafterly w'ind in that fea,
which is generally more conftant in fpring than in au¬
tumn. Thefe obfervations do not apply to the gut of
Gibraltar, where there are feldom any vdnds except
the eaft and the weft. At Baftia, in the ifland of Cor-
fica, the prevailing wind is the fouth-weft.
In Syria the north wind blows from the autumnal
equinox to November j during December, January,
and February, the winds blow from the weft and fouth-
weft ; in March they blow from the fouth, in May
from the eaft, and in June from the north. From this
month to the autumnal equinox the wind changes
gradually as the fun approaches the equator ; firft°to
the eaft, then to the fouth, and laltly to the rveft. At
Bagdad the moft frequent winds are the fouth-weft and
north-weft 5 at Pekin, the north and the fouth 5 at
Kamtfchatka, on the north-eaft coaft of Afia, the pre¬
vailing winds blow from the weft.
In Italy the prevailing w'inds differ confiderably ac¬
cording to the ntuation of the places where the obfer¬
vations have been made. At Rome and Padua they
are northerly, at Milan eafterly. All that we have
been able to learn refpeding Spain and Portugal is,
that on the weft coaft of thefe countries the weft is by
far the moft common wind, particularly in fummer ;
and that at Madrid the wind is north-eaft for the
greateft part of the fummer, blowing almoft conftantly
from the Pyrenean mountains. At Berne in Switzer-
METEOROLOGY.
Chap. IV,
land, the prevailing winds are the north and weft j at Winds.
St Gothard, the north-eaft ; at Laufanne the north-weft ' J
and fouth-w7eft.
M. Cotte has given us the refultof obfervations madeRefu5It4of
at 86 difterent places of Irance, from which it ap-M. Cotte’s
pears, that along the whole fouth coaft of that empire obferva-
the wind blows moft frequently from the north, north-tions 011 the
v'eft, and north-eaft : on the weft coaft, from the weft^J0";1*
fouth-weft, and north-weft j and on the north coaftinFranc*.
from the fouth-weft. That in the interior parts of
Irance the fouth w'eft wind blows moft frequently in 18
places ; the weft wind in 14 ; the north in 13 ; the
fouth in 6; the north-eaft in 4; the fouth-eaft in 2 ; the
eaft and north-weft each of them in one. On the weft
coatt of the Netherlands, as far north as Rotterdam,
the prevailing winds are probably the fouth-weft ; at
leaft this is the cafe at Dunkirk and Rotterdam. It is
probable alfo, that along the reft of this coaft, from
the Hague to Hamburgh, the prevailing winds are the
north-weft, at leal) thefe winds are molt frequent at
the Hague and at Franeker. The prevailing wind at
Delft is the fouth-eaft, and at Breda the north and the
eaft.
In Germany the eaft wdnd is moft frequent at Got- Direction
tingen, Munich, \v eiilemburg, Dufteldorft, Saganum, of the winds
Erford, and at Buda in Hungary; the fouth-eaft atinGerma-
Prague and Wirtfburg; the north-eaft at Ratifbtm,ny*
and the weft at Manheim and Berlin. ^
From an average of 10 years of the regifter kept by At London.
01 dei of the Royal Society, it appears, that at London
the winds blow in the following order :
Winds.
South-weft
North-eaft
North-weft
Weft
Days.
I I 2
58
5©
53
Winds.
South-eaft
Eaft
South
North
Days.
32
26
18
16
It appears from the fame regifter, that the fouth-weft
wind blows at an average more frequently than any
other wind during every month of the year, and that it
blows longeit in July and Auguft ; that the north-eaft
blows moft conftantly during January, March, April,
May, and June, and moft feldom during February, Ju¬
ly, September, and December ; and that the north-weft
wind blows oftener from November to March, and
more feldom during September and Odober, than any
other months. I he fouth-weft winds are alfo moft
frequent at Briftol, and next to them are the north-
eaft.
The following table of the winds at Lancafter has Xabl^of
been drawn up from a regifter kept for feven years at winds at
that place.
Winds. Days. Winds.
South-weft 92 South-eaft
North-eaft 67 North
South jr North-weft
Weft 41 Eaft
Lancafter.
The following table is an abftratft of nine
fervations made at Dumfries by Mr Copland.
Days.
35
3©
26
years ob-
58
At Dum¬
fries.
Winds.
South
Weft
Eaft
South-weft
Days.
824-
69
68
5°2-
Winds,
North
North-weft
South-eaft
North-eaft
Days.
36-J
254-
184
144
The