326 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



in California by sixty-four inches. Crescent City is situated on a bight of 

 the ocean, in latitude 42°. The keeper of the signal station is a man of 

 unusual scientific attainments, accurate and painstaking. He has done 

 his work honestly and faithfully, and, beyond all question, one hundred 

 and five inches did fall in his receiver. He has placed his gauge, five 

 inches square, in an open space, about two hundred yards from the ocean, 

 near the margin of a slough. The topography of the country is such as to 

 direct the wind currents, and consequently, the vapor-bearing clouds, along 

 this line, and it is probable that more rain falls in this locality than in any 

 other place in Crescent City. At the lighthouse, one half mile away — also 

 on the coast — another rain gauge is kept. The observer is equally accu- 

 rate, and his report is altogether as reliable as the one adopted by the Sig- 

 nal Service. He has kept a daily record of the state of the weather and 

 the direction of the wind since 1877, but the amount of rainfall has been 

 registered only since April, 1883. His rain gauge is circular, two inches 

 in diameter, and is situated on a promontory sixty feet above the ocean. 

 The following table represents the number of rainy days for the last three 

 years, together with the rainfall as registered, both at the Signal Service 

 Station and the lighthouse. September has been selected as the initial 

 month, for during this month our rainy season begins : 



Months. 



1S83-1884. 



"» o 



I 



"5 



t»p 



H 



- e 



as c 

 c'trc 



1884-1885. 



3 





c s 

 a — 



_a 



a p 



c OR 



1885-1886. 





. W 







■f. = 



p =■ 



1 ^ 



September 

 October... 

 November 

 December. 

 January . . 

 February . 

 March . I . . 



April 



May. 



June 



July 



August ... 



Total ... 



2 



11 



3 



2 



10 



15 



15 



13 



5 



4 



1 



1 



4.56 

 8.35 

 3.36 

 9.65 



11.45 

 7.89 

 9.61 



10.39 



2.01 



2.08 



.15 



.06 



82 



69.56 



3.68 



5.05 



2.06 



.84 



7.84 



4.23 



7.69 



6.39 



1.23 



1.50 



.05 



.03 



40.59 



9 

 5 

 4 



16 

 17 

 13 

 3 

 4 

 6 

 2 



7.23 



5.24 



7.12 



27.01 



11.32 



9.30 



.84 



1.32 



1.53 



.80 



4.25 

 3.37 

 2.47 

 15.25 

 7.96 

 6.61 



.74 

 1.02 

 1.17 



.24 



2 



6 

 21 

 16 

 14 



8 

 14 

 15 



6 



71.71 



43.08 



1.96 



3.77 



30.78 



22.26 



18.28 



9.14 



9.00 



8.59 



1.50 



102 



105.28 57.69 



1.33 

 1.48 

 16.56 

 14.25 

 7.96 

 4.50 

 4.98 

 5.56 

 1.64 



That two stations, one half mile apart, should give a difference of fifty 

 inches is, to say the least, remarkable. As I have before said, the accu- 

 racy and honesty of neither observer can be questioned. The explanation 

 must be found in the form of the receiver, the difference of location, and 

 the centralization of the vapor-bearing clouds. 



The most glaring discrepancy is the amount of rain reported to have 

 fallen during the month of December, 1883 — 9.65 inches having been reg- 

 istered at the Signal Service Station, and only .84 at the lighthouse. 



In a memorandum book I find the number of "cloudy and rainy" days 

 for this same month to be six, but I cannot vouch for its absolute correct- 

 ness. A careful study of the records reveals some interesting facts. The 

 storms last from two days to a week. They are ordinarily preceded by a 

 southeast wind. This wind may last from a few hours to two days, and it 

 is possible to predict the length of the storm by observing the length of 



