40 Transactions. 



the station was visited by Dr Buchan, the secretary of the Scottish 

 Meteorological Society, on the 10th October last, and that the 

 instruments used, on being- compared with his standard barometer 

 and thermometer, were found to retain their former accuracy ; 

 and the second is that, by his advice, I now purpose, in giving- the 

 means, to compare them with those of the last seven years at 

 Dumfries, during which the observations liave been taken, instead 

 of making use of those supplied by Mr Dudgeon's observations at 

 Cargen, as I have hitherto done. There can be no doubt that the 

 more lengthened period must give a more correct mean than the 

 shorter one. But we have to take into account that the stations 

 are different, and the conditions always differ more or less even at 

 places not far distant from one another, according to the environ- 

 ment, and, as experience shows, this is certainly true both in 

 regard to temperature and rainfall in the case of places so near as 

 Dumfries and Cargen. For example, the rainfall at Cargen during 

 the month of December last is reported as amounting to 6-72 in., 

 while at Dumfries it was only 5*55 in. ; and for the year as 37-55 

 in., while at Dumfries it was only 32-39 in. — a difference of fully 

 5 in. ; and, as a rule, it has been found that, while the rainfall is 

 greater, the temperature also is somewhat lower. Hence it has 

 been thought desirable to adopt the means furnished by the seven 

 years' observations at Dumfries as the basis of comparison, in pre- 

 ference to those of a different station in the neighbourhood, 

 though having the advantage of a much more extended series of 

 observations. 



Barometer. — The highest reading of the barometer during 

 the past year was recorded on the 29th December, when it rose 

 to 30-700 inches ; and curiously enough the lowest reading 

 occurred in the same month, when it fell to 28-5G0 inches at 

 2 P.M. of the 13th, giving the rather unusual range of 2-140 in. 

 There were other two periods, however, when the fall was nearly 

 as great — one on the 26th February, when the reading was 28-578 

 in., and the other on the 17th November, when it was 28-586 in. 

 The falls in February and November were accompanied by strong 

 gales of wind and considerable falls of snow ; but that of 13th 

 December, although attended by snow passing quickly into rain, 

 and by squally weather, was not remarkable for wind disturbance 

 in this district. The severest storm of the year over the country 

 generally was unquestionably that which occurred between the 



