DIMINUTION OF THE WATER OF RIVERS AND STREAMS. 199 



The action of the Meteorological Society of Edinburgh in this matter led 

 to the institution of analogous investigations, and to the establishinent 

 of a large number of rain-stations in Great Britain and Ireland, through 

 the intervention of the British Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, which appointed a special committee for this puipose. Mr. 

 G. J. Symouds undertook, in Loudon, the inspection of the stations in 

 that city and the elaboration of tlie observations recorded. In most of 

 the stations the observations examined by Mr. Symonds in the course 

 of his investigations in regard to tiie question of a continual change in 

 the amount of rain, extend back to January, 17l!(>; and for still older 

 measurements, going back as far as Januaiy, 1GS8, we are indebted to 

 the observatory of Paris. 



Mr. Symonds gives, in the Report of the British Association for 1800, 

 page 287, a table of the rain-fall of England, taken from the registers 

 of seventeen stations, ac(;ordiug to dates, which are introduced to show 

 proportions. 



Periods. Amounta. PitIimIh. Amounts. 



172()— 1735 94.6 }q^ J 1800—1815 ^-^-'-JUg-a 



17;5G— 1745 78.7 5 * 181G— 18'25 10:5.1)5 



174G— 1755 78. G?^3j^ 182G— 1835 ^'^1- ^ hoO 8 



175G-17G5 88. 3 r "^ 183G— 1845 100. 2 5 



176G— 1775 103.6^gj^4 184G— 1855 100.0^^^^^ 



1776—1785 93.2 i'" 185G— 18G5 9G. 3 5 



178G— 1795 9G. G ? ,j.^ t, 

 179G— 1805 98. 7 5 

 In the Meteorological Annnaire of the central i)hysical observatory for 



1873, page 251, api>ears the following table of the yearly amount of rain 



in Paris, prepared by Marie Davy : 



Acciording to the observations in England and Eranc<e, there is no 

 perceptible decrease in the yearly amount deposited, but after the lipse 

 of ten years, oscilhitions in the rates of the rain-falls appear, the cause 

 of which is at present uidvuown. It is rash to conclude from these facts 

 that there is no alteration in the amount of said precipitations in West- 

 ern Europe, and that in the interior of continents there is also no (change. 

 Still the rain- measurements of the continental stations do not apjx'ar 

 to indicate such a decrease, although, to be sure, they do not extend as 

 far back as could be desired.* 



* In VMi Imperial Cciitnil Mctcorolof^ical Estiiblishriicnt artt thu raiii-inoa.smeiiioil.s of 

 about 120 stations in Enropc and North Anierica, wliioh should bo in'v est 'gated with 

 reference to this questiou. 



