90 Proceedings. 
29°32 inches on the 30th. During the fog which prevailed 
from the 18th to the 20th, the barometer remained steady at 
30°36 inches. 
Thermometer.—Maximum, 52°°5 on the 7th, 17th, and 29th ; 
minimum, 20° on the 3rd; average, 40°11; range, 32°°5. 
On 12 nights the temperature fell to 32° and under, and on 
one day, the 20th, it did not rise above 32°, the freezing-point. 
The average temperature for December, for 18 years from 
1880 to 1897, is 37°89. The month has consequently been 
warmer than the average. 
Rain fell on 17 days to the depth of 3°83 inches. The 
average fall in December over a period of 31 years (1867 to 
1897) is 2°91 inches. The fall this month has been nearly an 
inch in excess of the average. Two heavy falls occurred. One 
on the 7th to the extent of ‘90 of an inch, and another on the 
29th to ‘75 of aninch. Practically the fall continued to the 
30th, resulting in a continuous fall of ‘87 of an inch. It was 
accompanied by a heavy gale during the whole of the period. 
Lightning, Thunder, and Hail——A storm occurred between 
3 and 4 o'clock on the morning of the 15th inst., with several 
very bright flashes of lightning followed by heavy peals of 
thunder, and accompanied by strong wind. A sharp shower 
of hail fell. From the unusual noise made by the hail on the 
windows and slates the hailstones must have been large and 
heavy. 
With regard to a record of the rainfall for the year, the 
fall has been 2-52 inches below the average of 31 vears; the 
average being 30°56 inches, the actual fall in 1897 being only 
28:04 inches. The deficiency took place chiefly in July, the 
fall being 1°10 inches in place of 2°81 inches, and in October, 
the fall being only 53 of an inch in place of 3:45 inches, and 
in November, the fall being only 1°28 inches in place of 3°12 
inches; this leaves a deficiency of 6:47 inches in those three 
months. But the rainfall in March was unusually heavy, being 
4-65 inches in place of 2:08 inches; and in December the 
rainfall was also in excess, being 3°83 inches in place of 2°91 
inches. The result is, a deficiency in the year of 2°52 inches. 
