The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THOMPSON'S COAST PILOT. 115 Notes and Remarks on the Barometer. When the mercury falls in the barometer, it announces rain or wind, or in general what is called bad weather; and, on the con- trary, when it rises, it announces fair weather. When the mercury falls in frosty weather, either snow or a thaw may be expected ; but if it rises in the winter, with a north or east wind, it generally betokens frost. _ If the mercury sinks slowly, we may expect rain, which will probably be of some continuance ; but if it rises gradually, we may _ expect fine weather that will be lasting. When the barometer is fluctuating, rising and falling suddenly, the weather may be expected like it--changeable. When the mer- cury falls very low, there will be much rain; but if its fall is low and sudden, a high wind frequently follows. When an extraordi- nary fall of the mercury happens, without any remarkable change near at hand, there is some probability of a storm at a distance. In very warm weather, the fall of the mercury indicates thunder. The barometer will descend sometimes as an indication of wind only, and sometimes rise when the wind is to the north or east, A NE wind generally causes the barometer to rise, and it is generally low with a SW wind. | An extraordinary fall of the mercury will sometimes take place in summer previous to heavy showers, attended with thunder ; but in spring, autumn and winter, it indicates violent winds. The mercury is higher in cold than in warm weather, and lower at noon and midnight than at any other period of the day. The mercury generally falls at the approach of new and full moon, and rises at the quadratures, Before high tides, there is almost always a great fall of the mer- eury: this takes place oftener at the full than at the new moon. The greatest changes of the barometer commonly take place during clear weather with a north wind, and the smallest risings during cloudy, rainy or windy weather, with a south or nearly south wind, The words generally engraved on the plate of the barometer rather serve to mislead than to inform ; for the changes of weather