The climate of the island of Madeira, or the errors & misrepresentations on this subject contained in a recent work on climate by T.H. Burgess, M.D. : considered in a letter addressed to George Lund, M.D. / by James Mackenzie Bloxam.

  • Bloxam, James Mackenzie.
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The climate of the island of Madeira, or the errors & misrepresentations on this subject contained in a recent work on climate by T.H. Burgess, M.D. : considered in a letter addressed to George Lund, M.D. / by James Mackenzie Bloxam. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    place other than the one in which they were made. I must, however, repeat a challenge to Dr. Burgess to furnish us with some positive data, in order to remove the suspicion which naturally suggests itself in this case also, namely, that the incontestable proof, alleged to be drawn in part from Dr. Heineken's observations, is in fact drawn from no other source than Dr. Burgess' own ima- gination. I have already made some remarks respecting the want of knowledge of meteorological science which is dis- played in Dr. Burgess'^s work. I must add a few more words on this head, for there can scarcely be a fairer answer than this is, to an argument professedly founded on meteorological data, and to the conclusion which is announced by Dr. Burgess in such a dictatorial tone. Dr. Burgess copies hygrometric statistics, writes familiarly of the hygrometer, and seems to be quite unconscious that his readers cannot possibly guess what species of hygrometer he refers to, and, consequently, cannot under- stand and appreciate the meaning and force of such state- ments. Any writer, knowing himself what he means, may now and then fail to inform his readers on some es- sential point; but one who habitually quotes hygrometric statistics, from different authors, old and recent, English and foreign, without regard to such distinctions, gives us a right to infer that he merely copies without understand- ing. Writing of the climate of Naples, Dr. Burgess in- forms us that the hygrometer indicates every degree of atmospherical visicular saturation, by running the entire length of the scale in the short period of a single day (p. 196). It requires some courage to attack such a formidable array of scientific terras as we have here, especially since I must begin by confessing that I am ut- terly unable to guess what is meant by every degree of atmospherical visicular saturation ; and that I am equally at a loss to understand what is meant by the entire length of the scale, for I have yet to learn Avhat are the limits to its length, either natural or conventional.
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