Astro-meteorologica, or, Aphorisms and discourses of the bodies cœlestial, their natures and influences discovered from the variety of the alterations of the air ... and other secrets of nature / collected from the observation at leisure times, of above thirty years, by J. Goad.

CHAP. III.

The State of the Air not usually uniform. The Difformity is admirable▪ The Cause.

§. 1. THE State of the Air is not uniform in all places, no not of the same Kingdom, Province, County; but is strangely different as to all man∣ner of Weather. Kepler gives notable Instances in the useful Book of his Epheme∣rides, Anno Christi 1621, &c. they of Germany seeming most pleased with these Contemplations.

§ 2. Storm prodigious with Rain at Vienna, at Ratisbon onely is a Fog. Fear∣ful Tempest in Bavaria in Suevia, June 4, 5. and Hail on the other side of the Rhine, where Spiers is situate, June 6. but at the Rhine it self a perfect Drought the whole three dayes. This was Anno 1621. In like manner, Anno 1629, in May, dieb. 13 and 14. the Corn was lost by Flood in Silesia, contrary in Poland and Liefland all perished by Drought. More of this nature may be had from Kepler abovesaid, from Fromond's Etesian Table compar'd with Kepler's Ephemeris, from Eichstad, and others. But what need? when common Attestation of wayfaring men daily witnesseth this Difformity. When upon conferring Notes, at time of year, we had no Snow here saith one, no Fog saith another at our Town, no Rain, no Thunder; and as for Hail, you shall seldom hear of two, though little, Distances of place, that will agree in its Admission.

§ 3. We acknowledg this Variety is admirable, when God Himself hath pleas'd to give it as a remarque of his Power, that He causes it to rain on one City, and not on another, that which our Eyes in a beautiful prospect are sometimes witness of.

But sober Philosophy is not confounded at the Contemplation of this wonder, as the Astrologer Himself was, who observing once at Tubing some Heat, and a little Rain onely, but elsewhere, lower in the Countrey, Tonitrua horrida, breaks out into this self-killing Conclusion, frustrà istas Meteororum formationes à positu A∣strorum exigas. Kepler. Ephem. Anni 1625, ad mens. Jun. Philosophy is rather ex∣cited to give some account of the Divine Power and Wisdom, which though invisible in themselves, are, and in all Ages of the world have been, discoverable by such con∣templation and scrutiny.

§ 4. Wiser therefore was the Conclusion of the same good man, who upon the like collation of the various Constitution of the Heaven, at Lusatia first observing only black Clouds, and at Glogaw, scarce a days journey from thence, having had intelligence of terrible Thunder, spake like Himself, in Wonderment, but not Con∣fusion, Ecce, quid Coelum, quid Terra, quid Loca possunt! Kepl. ad mens. Sept. Anni 1629.

§ 5. For without all peradventure, this variety of the Airs Constitutions, whe∣ther permanent or transient, must be referr'd to the Heavens above, and their Diffe∣rence, hereafter to be consider'd, joyn'd with the Situation of the Place, together with the Parts adjacent, and the manifold Differences there also to be alledged. By reason of which, Thebes differs from Athens, Rome from Tibur; Athenis tenue Coe∣lum, crassum Thebis. Thus the Mountains Acroceraunii in Epire, famous of old for frequent Thunders, as the Sierra Leona in Africk, witnessed to this day by the Por∣tuguez Mariners, who hear as much at 50 Miles distance. Thus in Rome and Cam∣pania Winter-Thunders are heard sometimes, in other parts of Italy never, as Pliny hath noted, II. 50. The instance from Peru is notable, though far fetch'd, where Acosta tells us, that in the Plains, ten Leagues bredth from the Sea coast, it never Rains nor Thunders; upon the Sierra's and Andes, two ridges of Hills, at 50 Leagues distance; running parallel to each other, it rains sufficiently, on the first from September to April, on the latter almost continually. But nearer home, the Cities of Heidelberg in the Palatinate, and the Ancient Triers in Germany, from the Heavens disposition to Rain, have it seems a like slabby character; so the German City is by some call'd, saith D^r Heylin, the common Sewer of the Planets, Cloaca Planetarum.

§ 6. This Diversity, say I, must be referr'd to the Quality and Site of the Place, whether it be neer the River, Lake, Sea, whether it be Hill or Dale, Sands, Clay, Mine, and some say Forrest, which All contribute to the Individual Constitution of Hot, Cold, Fresh, Pure, Dry, Gross, Moist, Foggy, by way of Cause Material, or reduced to the Efficient.

§ 7. First, for the Sea; 'tis a granted case, the Maritim places are more subject to Fog, Rain, and Winds, witness the East part of Lincolnshire by reason of the Fens: and certainly all the prodigious Tempests of this our Island, noted by our Ancestors, are found to lay their Scene in our Maritim Countreys, as Lancaster, Somerset, Dorset, Hampton in the West, Lincoln, York to the North-east, but especially the Counties of Essex, Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge.

§ 8. So gloriously true is That which God Himself taught us long ago by the mouth of his Holy Prophet, that He gathers the Waters from the Sea, and poureth them on the face of the Earth.

§ 9. The Sea ministers Matter not only for Rain and Wind, but for Thunder also, if Nitre and Sulphur be ingredients thereto. As for Hail, we know that it falls at its season in most places; but note it for certain, that all Prodigious Hailstones, whose ambit reaches five, six, seven Inches, is found to have faln on places at no great distance from the Sea: the Cause is obvious.

§ 10. Rivers then must bear their proportion; as Fogs, so Dashes of Rain are the sorer, by how much the nearer to them. The Showre, the Seamen say, ob∣serves the River, and flows along with it as in its own alveus. The Greater Rivers make the moister Air, as the Air of Austria, because of the Danow. Kepler ad Sept.

Anno 1627. Upon which account London, I observe, hath her share in Chronicle for Tempest, because of her Thames; and the Southern-side of the City hath com∣plain'd most, as the Tower, Bow-Church, poor S. Pauls (now Tempest-free I wis,) Westminster, because of their vicinity to the River: when (what I have seen my self) tall Spires of Churches have rock'd to and fro, as if they were at liberty, and strong Iron Bars have hung the head like a broken Stalk, by meer stress of weather.

§ 11. Next the Nature of the Soil. Kepler hath admonished us of a certain place neer Ʋlm in Su••via often struck with Thunder, the Reason he rightly guesses from the Slate-Quarr••es, and other Minerals there about, which are discerned by the Mineral-waters there in use. ad mens. Maii Anno 1627. Those about Bath should inform us of this matter, which, if I misremember not, is perform'd in the Transactions Philosophical. For my part I always suspected that Horrible Thun∣derbolt, which came into the Church of Wells, Anno 1596, to have ow'd somewhat of its Extraction to the Place. This we shall find, that All places more subject to Lightning, are also subject to Earthquakes; but Earthquakes we know proceed from Mineral, Sulphur, &c. incensed. Rome and Campania, which were noted but now for ••inter-thunders, I am sure are Tracts not exempted from Earthquake.

§ 12. This is so certain, that in those uncouth showres of Milk and Bloud, it be∣comes probable, that the Mines of Chalk and Vermilion contribute also at least to the distinction of their borrowed Tincture.

§ 13. The difference of the Hill and Vale is as conspicuous: the Hill contri∣buting more Cold than the Vale, yeilding therefore for the most part a later Her∣bage. In the Mountains of Bohemia, the Corn at S. James tide was blowing, when in the Plains of Lusatia it was ready for Harvest, saith our constant Kepler. Here note, that in respect of the Heaven, Lusatia lies the more Northward of the two: therefore the Difference arises from the difformity of the parts of the Earth amongst themselves, of Hault or Bate. How cold the Tops of the Alps are is not unknown, of whom 'tis noted, that the Snow melts first at the foot of the Hill.

§ 14. In observation of Weather, the Hill many times puts bounds and limits to the moisture of the Vale. Instance of This I have had the hap to observe, what I have also heard, from the Chiltern Hills in the County of Bucks, separating That from its Neighbour Oxfordshire, whose Dust hath been scarce laid above, while Ox∣fordshire below hath been glutted with Wet.

§ 15. That these Considerations exclude not the Heavens, even from hence is manifest; because this Diversity of Habit or Proneness thereto is bottom'd on the difference of the Influence Celestial, and its Reflexion. For if the Solar Heat be of any Concern in this Affair, the Reflexion and Refraction of the Ray, by which the Heat is multiplied and advanced, are not to be overlook'd. See the Astronomia Optica for this matter, if the common Burning-glass be not Evidence sufficient. The Vale reflects and refracts the Beams, being the grosser Air; the Head of the Mountain (for the Descent is reckoned into the Vale) reflects less, being Drier and Purer. Thus the Pendle in Lancashire, a high Hill, which when a Cloud sits neer the Top, always gives a sure Watch-word for Wet approaching, as Camden also takes notice, is ac∣counted for; the Hill, not as the Natives will have it in their false Hypothesis, brea∣king the Cloud, but rather ripening it.

§ 16. This disposition of the Air to Wet, &c. is yet more evident, where there is a concurrence of the Premises: as where a Place happens to be situate neer a Hill together with a River. The Acroceraunii are neer the Sea, the Sierra Leona not far from the Ocean. Heidelberg and Triers have Rivers and Hills for their Neighbours, the former being hemm'd in round, as they say, with Hils, only on one side open.

§ 17. This Observation begets another concerning the Winds, and its Diffor∣mity in respect of the Point of the Compass from whence it blows. In several parts of the world, from Sea-Journals I have observed the contrary Points possess'd. For in the year 1662, Apr. 9, in England the Wind was found Southwest, and at Madera North-East. In the year 1668, May 1▪ the Wind at London Northerly, under the Equator then was noted a Southern Blast.

§ 18. Yea, and in respect of the Temperature there is a confess'd Difformity in the same species. The East-wind Dry with us, but in most parts of Italy Moist; Cardan in Ptol. lib. 2. yea, at Virginia, saith Captain Smith.

§ 19. The West-wind moist, not so in Italy.

§ 20. The North-wind in most places dry, and fair; therefore call'd Boreas and Argestes: in the Netherlands Cloudy and Moist, as Fromond saith he hath found by long Experience.

§ 21. The South warm and moist in most places, in Holland notwithstanding it oftner brings Frost than the North-west saith the Learned Isaac Vossius.

§ 22. The Ground is the same, viz. the Difference of Places from which they breath. The South-wind is serene in Afric saith Pliny; good cause why, It blows from the Desert and the Sands: and the (dry) North is there Rainy, because it blows from the Seas: all Winds, as the abovesaid Author de Motu Marium, &c. hath taught us, which blow from the Sea are warmer, and from the Land are cooler.

§ 23. Here a concurrence of Circumstances makes work also: the Circius, the North-west Wind, so pernicious to the Gascoigners, as elsewhere the Huracan, ows its Extremity, not to the Mountains only, as Scaliger will have it, but to the Seas also, which just on the North-west side spred into a vast Bay as I may call it, be∣tween France and Spain, the situation of Gascoign.

§ 24. But what? because of these proper peculiar Dispositions, is there no Footing for Science? because oft-times we may discover a Showre shadowing a Village afar off, when the rest of the Hemisphere is bright and serene, are all Pre∣tences to a Prescience, grounded on Nature, delusory and impossible? When Rain falls in one place, is there no nexus in nature which may warrant us to pronounce it falls also elsewhere? And again, is not the Heaven as often wholly clouded, the Air close, gross, heavy▪ setled for Wet, extending it self through the whole Hundred, Riding, County or Counties? yes verily, a little Intelligence will acquaint us, that seldom any Rain considerable happens in one determinate place, but▪ the like hap∣pens elsewhere, Eastward or Westward, to the North or the South, with difference only in the time or measure, (Niceties hereafter to be enquired.)

§ 25. The like may be said for Wind, Frosty Air, Remission of Cold, Heat, Drought, Serenity, seldom confin'd to one place, and therefore may be called Gene∣ral Constitutions.

§ 26. The more rare Constitutions General, are Those who produce Light∣ning, Thunder, Hail, Fog, in as much as These more visibly are forged, as I may call it, in the Mold of the Place: yet we find several Dayes, wherein Lightning and Thunder have not been confined to one Quarter; several dayes wherein Fog, though it chooses to nestle in a by-Vale, yet sometimes it spreads it self like Egypt's Dark∣ness, and hovers over a whole Province.

§ 27. However it may be, it is not to be passed by, that in case of failure, if a Fog for Instance happens not in several Quarters, there is something cognate to it, a little Frost perhaps, or thin Overcast. Where Thunder is not heard, as in other places, there may be found soultry Air, angry Clouds, sometimes fiery Trajections, and Passant Meteors at Even. Yea Hail it self, which most rarely hits, in several places, points to cold Rain or Snow, which are but one Remove, with chil Evenings, observable elsewhere.

§ 28. To General Constitutions, even in a positive sense so called, the World can be no stranger, which so often hath felt raging Tempests; whose Fury hath by Land rooted up Trees, dem••lished Edifices; which at the same time have caused fatal Shipwrecks▪ and vast Inundations, Arguments that will extort Confession from us▪ That such General Constitutions are no more to be denied than prevented. Oft I say hath the World with impatience felt droughty Summers, sharp pinching Winters, wet unseasonable Summers, & Harvests, such as brought a fear at least of Pe∣nurie. Security or Plenty doth evince a Generality of the Airs Constitution, as to a Kingdom or Country: upon which account we justly are, upon Tempestuous Winds,

concern'd for all that navigate on the Seas that are neer us, whether British or Irish.

§ 29. The State of the Air doth not, as most think, depend on the shifting of the Winds, but contrary, the Wind alters or shifts according to the Alteration of the Air: Hence I find that even in those places where the Brize is constant and per∣petual, yet when the Weather alters, the Wind shifts; there is a priority of Nature in the Constitution it self, in respect to the Winds that attend it.

§ 30. When it is said therefore that the South-wind brings Rain, or the North-wind driveth it away, understand it of the Constitution as the Cause of both; reck∣oning the Wind only to be a Sign only, or attendant on the Effect. The North-wind drives away Rain, i. e. Rain is driven away, while the North-wind blows, and that only for such a Country, Palestine, &c. but not all places universally, as hath been noted already.

§ 31. The precedent Constitution of the Air helpeth nothing to the Continua∣tion of the same, unless the Heavens conspire; for the Air being of a thin Body, as it is of an easie receptivity for all sorts of Impressions, so it easily parts with them, unless continued or renewed by a Cause permanent, or suppletory.

§ 32. In the defect of which, we perceive oft-times to admiration, the Consti∣tution vary from one Excess to the other, the Wind bloweth where it listeth.