'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From December 1854 to March 1856. (New Issue.) Edited by the Secretary. Volume XII.' [‎55] (72/258)

THE CYCLONE AT BOMbIy, 1854. \ v
\
great father and promoter of Oriental Cyclonology informs us that cyclones are
vast circular disks of air set violently in motion ; that though at times of above
1000 miles in diameter—a severe hurricane in the Bay of Bengal always ma
nifesting itself with the utmost distinctness at Bombay—they are of moderate
thickness vertically, and of comparatively limited areas. That though the cy
clones which rage along the surface of the earth are from their terrible des
tructiveness those alone with which we concern ourselves, there is the most
undoubted reason for believing that there are others, precisely similar in
character, occasionally sweeping over our heads in the upper air, indicated
by the depression of the mercury and aspect of the clouds, but which
never come in contact with the earth at all; and I can see no more reason why
these disks thus left unnoticed should not descend or ascend without altering;
the perpendicularity of their axis—than why the axis itself, when it rests its
extremity on the earth, should be restrained from the recurvatures in its path
it so frequently pursues. ‘ 1
Supposing this postulate concede d on, the hypothesis that our cyclone was one
of these wanderers, the explanation of the most perplexing of its charac
teristics becomes singularly easy: the great aereal quoit descended, come in
contact with the sea northward of Vingorla, and skimming along the surface,
and carrying destruction every where in its path, rose again into the atmos
phere about Callian, and wheeling its way along in middle air, was brought
by degrees to a state ot rest by the friction of the elastic medium around it—
its own energy diminishing as it mass became diffused by centrifugal force.
The heavy showers that had occurred during thunderstorms of the three
preceding days, and violent rain which preceded and attended the hurricane,
had thoroughly moistened and softened the ground scarcely well consolidated
from the tails which had this season continued with little intermission down to
the middle of October, or a month beyond the usual close of the wet season;
and the younger of our trees, and more tender of our vegetables, stood com
paratively loose in the ground. The younger mangoes in particular, which
have few lateral fangs, or anchoring roots and chiefly draw their substance
from a long tapering carrot or tap-root, were mostly thrown down flat, inclin
ing westward, as first blown over by the original burst of the hurricane,
the second limb of it sending them back to east. Though, when set
on their legs, they seemed to have sustained but little harm, many of them had
been so injured that they died soon after. The palm trees growing on soft sandy
soil, which readily gave way, suffered much; such of them as had anchored
themselves fast in the fissures of the rock, sustained but little injury.
Generally trees of all descriptions were blown over, uprooted, split up, and
torn limb from limb to a very fearful extent. The monkey-breadfruit
(Adansonia digitata), from its enormous trunk, and scanty but solid branches,
was the only one that escaped : of these however, there are not above a
score on the island.
The proportion of our trees which are deciduous—setting palms out of the
question,—compared to those which are not so, are in Bombay as six or eight
to one; and few of these show their leaves before the new year. In
November, though scarcely any of our plants were either in flower or fruit,
nearly all of them were in leaf; and at least half the stems of all were
stripped, those that remained being torn, scorched, scarified, and injured
to such an extent that it seemed difficult to suppose them capable of longer
performing their functions to the tree. Plantains, from the size, delicacy,