r,
drawn away from its locality, leaves a vacuum, and that is filled by
another rush from the S. W., and so on, till the Indian Ocean is reached,
and the monsoons are accounted for.

Now, look at the difficulties:

The highest temperature that can be assumed for the air over Cobi, at any
time, without disregarding facts and analogy, is 100 deg.. What is the
ascensive power of an area of atmosphere of 100 deg.? For this we have no
problem or formula, although problems and formulas abound in the science.
Professor Espy relied on heated air only to give the storm a _start_. His
main reliance was on the latent heat supposed to be given out during
condensation, for his ascensive storm power. But over these "burning
plains" there is, according to the theory, no storm or cloud, or
condensation on which that supposed reliance for expansion can be placed.
What, then, is the ascension force of air at 100 deg.? _We ought to know, for
we sometimes have it as high, or within two or three degrees as high, in
all the eastern and middle States._

The monsoons blow at from twenty to twenty-five miles an hour, and
sometimes more. Is that the ascensive force of air at 100 deg.? At 25 miles an
hour it would be 2,200 feet; at 20 miles, 1,760 feet; and at 10 miles, 880
feet per minute.

Does any man believe that either current exists? Why, then, do we not have
our hats taken off, or light objects carried up, or have a monsoon, or, at
least, have the clouds running up, when we have such elevated
temperatures. _Nothing of the kind occurs with us._ Our hottest days are
comparatively still days; and I have seen the cumulus sailing gently to
the east, horizontally, when the air was at 98 deg.. Why should we be exempt?
Is not our air the same and our heat the same?

Again, suppose we grant that the ascensive force is equal to 20 or even 10
miles an hour, will not the adjoining air hold back somewhat to avoid
leaving behind an entire vacuum? or, will it all voluntarily rush in, and
leave a new complete vacuum? and, if so, why the preference of vacuums by
the air, and _when, where, and why_, should the _successive vacuums stop_?
Nay, would not gravity fill the second vacuum from _above_, rather than
from the south-west side? and will not the air incline to rush in, to some
or all these successive vacuums, from some other side than south-west? or,
have these deserts the power of selecting the quarter from which their
vacuum shall be filled, and