Meteoroj.ogv IX SiiriH Africa. 71 



various lawsuits, and copies of tweiitv or more \ ears' observations 

 are often asked for by other countries, etc.. it is an aljsolute necessity 

 that these should be housed so as tcj be available at any moment ; 

 while, if they are not ready to hand, their absence may not only be 

 the indirect cause of an erroneous decision, but certainly does pre- 

 sent a stumbling-block to the ])rogress of many important researches 

 undertaken by the meteorological ser^'ices of other countries. 



It is perhaps unnet^essary to more than indicate some of the 

 practical uses to which meteorological observations are capable of 

 being, or have been, applied, for a just appreciation of the importance 

 of a proper system to be realised. Among these may be mentioned 

 Navigation, Weather Forecasts and Storm Warnings, Agriculture and 

 Forestr}- — especially with regard to the possible acclimatisation of 

 plants, trees, etc. — the study of Animal and Plant Life, particularly 

 insect-pests, and fungoid diseases. Medical Climatology, Engineer- 

 ing, Irrigation, Water Supply, etc. Apart from the practical aspect, 

 knowledge of climate is of importance to the student of national life 

 and character, to the j^hilologist. and even to the artist. 



There is unfortunately a very common idea that the pursuit of 

 meteorology consists of the mere accumulation of facts and figures, 

 ■especially figures, so that it seems necessary to emphasise that these 

 are only the means to an end, that end being the deduction of the 

 laws governing the various phenomena and their cau.ses. This, how- 

 ever, can only be attained by means of properlv conducted investiga- 

 tions, which frequently require a considerable amount of time and 

 involve a large amount of labour. Many of these may seem to be 

 of purely theoretic^al interest, but it must be borne in mind that 

 theor) and practice are of mutual assistance, and the more correct 

 the theory the more nearly perfect the practive becomes. 



It is a matter for regret that the would-be investigator of the 

 climates, etc.. of the Cape Colony would meet with many annoying 

 gaps and breaks in the records as well as an entire ab.sence of records 

 from many w'ide and important areas. It ought, therefore, to be 

 our main object to see that the distribution of our stations is as 

 uniform and as representative of the country as possible. To attain 

 this end. a liberal policy in the distribution of rain-gauges to farmers 

 and others ought to be pursued, especially in view^ of the important 

 part that irrigation is likely to play in the future development of our 

 countr\ : man\ gaps in the records could be avoided bv the use of 

 the cheaper forms of self-recording instruments. Barographs, Ther- 

 mographs, etc.. from which the missing data could be interpolated 

 with a reasonable degree of accuracy. A suitable distribution of the 

 more expensive self-recording rain-gauges . and anemometers ought 

 to be carried out : these rain-gauges enable engineers to from a correct 

 idea as to the intensity of rainfall and the probable proportion avail- 

 able for storage, while the anemometers would decide whether or not 

 it were possible to employ wind as a motive force, as well as affording 

 important information as to the direction of rnofion of the various 

 storms which A'isit us. 



