1 8 Transactions. 



" Meteorology," in the " Encyclopsedia Britannica " (eighth 

 edition), published in 1857, is 36-9 in. But either this must be 

 an undei'-estimate, or within the last thirty years the Dumfries 

 district must have become more rainy than at a previous period, 

 seeing that the mean of 26 years at Cargen is in excess of 36-9 in. 

 by nearly 8 in. It is possible, however, that the rainfall at 

 Cargen, from its proximity to CrifFel, is in excess of that of Dum- 

 fries. It has been so during the past year by more than 2i in., 

 that of Cargen being 43-31 in. and that of Dumfries 40-,63 in. 



If we compare tlie average rainfall of Dumfries with that of 

 other stations in this country, it appears to be much in excess of 

 many of them ; that of Edinburgh, for example, being 24-9 in. ; 

 Arbroath, 27*44 in. ; Aberdeen, for last five years, 29-6 in. But it is 

 a well-known fact that the western side of the country has a much 

 greater rainfall than the eastern. Ardrossan has an avei'age 

 rainfall of 37*5 in., and where the stations are situated in elevated 

 regions, or in the neighbourhood of mountains, as in the Western 

 Highlands, the average is greatly increased, ranging from 60 to 

 80 inches on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland. At Seath- 

 waite, in Cumberland, at a height of 422 feet, it is said to amount 

 to 154 in., which is the greatest recorded in Britain. The cause 

 of this is not difiicult to explain. The greatest part of the 

 moisture, which is deposited in the form of rain, is brought by 

 westerly or south-westerly winds from the Atlantic ; and where 

 the coast is mountainous the air is forced to ascend into the 

 higher and colder regions of the atmosphei^e, where the vapour 

 which it contains is condensed by the lower temperature, pro- 

 ducing the drenching rains so common on the seaward slopes of 

 our western hills. We are not subject in Dumfries to such 

 excessive rains as these, but still we cannot boast, as the above 

 report shows, of a very dry climate, nor even as far as regards 

 the past year at least, of a very warm one. 



II. Notes on the Bridge of Nith. 



By Mr J. Carlyle Aitken. (Abridged.) 



The date of the Old Bridge of Dumfries is usually given as 

 1275, and that it has been assumed by some old ecclesiastics that 

 Christian, sister of Devorgilla, was associated with her in the 

 work, but as she died in 1246, and as the Bridge was probably 

 built in her lifetime, it is possible that the structure was earlier 



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