Meteorology. 35 



1895, which also occurred in the niontli of January. The readings 

 on the last three days of January and the first three of February 

 were also unusually high, ranging up to 30-800 in. The lowest 

 reading of the year was 28-367 in. at 6 P.M. of the 3rd March. 

 This gives the extensive range of 2-649 in. for the year. The 

 mean annual pressure (reduced to 32 deg. and sea level) was 

 29-979 in., which is above the average of the last ten years by 

 0-073 in. Although the extreme range was wide, the weather on 

 the whole was marked by the absence of severe storms, and for a 

 considerable part of the year was more settled than usual. 

 January, February, April, May, July, August, and November all 

 had means exceeding 30 in., the highest being May with a mean of 

 30-291 in., and the next January with 30-262 in. March, Septem- 

 ber, and December had the lowest means, and these were also the 

 wettest months and the most marked by cyclonic disturbances 

 although the cyclones were not on the whole so numerous or so 

 severe as they often are ; and the mean force of the wind for the 

 year was decidedly under average. 



Temperature (in shade, four feet above the grass). The 



absolute maximum, or highest single reading of the thermometer 

 for 1896, was 84 deg. on the 14th June. The absolute minimum, 

 or lowest reading was 20-8 on the 23rd January, showing an 

 annual range of 63-2 deg. The next highest reading occurred on 

 the 14th May, when 80-7 deg. was registered. And it is note- 

 worthy that twice in May and three times in June the maximum 

 of 80 deg. and upwards was reached, while in July and Auo-ust, 

 which are often the warmest months, the maximum did not rise 

 above 72 deg. in the former and 73 deg. in the latter, the explana- 

 tion being that these months, and especially July, were largely 

 characterised by deficiency of sunshine, and by cloudy and 

 showery weather. The warmest month was June, with a mean of 

 60-2 deg., which is more than 2 deg. above the average of tlie last 

 ten years. But January, Februai-y, March, April, May, and 

 November all show an excess above the mean, rangino- from 2 to 

 ^ deg., the greatest excess being in February and May, when it 

 was considerably above 3 deg. The months in which a deficiency 

 occurred were September and October, and especially the latter, 

 which was short of the average by fully 21 deg. It will thus 

 be observed that the first half of the year was the most favourable 

 in point of temperature. There was an extraordmary period 

 indeed, extending from the middle of April to the first week in 



