BY ALEX. G. HAMILTON. 349 



The climate is as a general rule moist, and I have thought it 

 worth while to insert a comparison with some other well-defined 

 localities. For this purpose I have taken Sydney and Cordeaux 

 River as types of coast climate in about the same latitude: Mt. 

 Victoria as a mountain peak of nearly the same height, but not 

 possessing brush forests, and very close in point of distance; and 

 Mudgee as a type of climate on the inner aspect of the tableland. 

 I have taken the yearly rainfall of these for the time during 

 which a record has been kept at Mt. Wilson, viz. : — 1876 and 

 1887 to 1897. I have also taken 1894 as an average year for 

 comparison (as the annual rainfall in that year approaches very 

 near the a^'erage for the whole period). 



A comparison of the averages brings out the interesting fact 

 that Mt. Victoria, in almost the same latitude and longitude, and 

 with almost the same altitude and distance from the sea, has 

 11-73 inches less rain, and yet has 8 more rainy days in the year. 

 Sydney has 2-80 inches less rain, but 67 more rainy days annually; 

 Cordeaux River, 3-24 inches more rainfall and 29 more rainy 

 days; and Mudgee, 24-89 inches rainfall and 29 rainy days less 

 than Mt. Wilson. In comparing the figures it is also necessary 

 to take into account the number of wet days as compared with 

 the rainfall. Working these out for the 1 2 years during which 

 the rain records have been kept at Mt. Wilson the results show 

 that the average number of wet days to each inch of rainfall is 

 as follows : — Mt. Wilson, 2 days to each inch of rain; Mt. Victoria, 

 2-7; Sydney, 3*4; Cordeaux, 2; Mudgee, 2-8. 



These results make plain the fact that it is entirely to its rich 

 soil that Mt. Wilson owes its wealth of vegetation. This is borne 

 out also by the average for Cordeaux River (which has a little 

 more rain), being equal to that of Mt. Wilson. At the Cordeaux 

 the rich brushes are found only in those spots where there are 

 ■basaltic dykes, the vegetation at other spots being nothing out of 

 the common. I append comparative tables compiled from the 

 .Sydney Observatory reports (3). 



