METEOROLOGICAL WORK IN AUSTRALIA. 267 



An anticyclone is. fitful and uncertain in its movements ; it may 

 remain stationary, or nearly so, over the interior for days together, 

 and then suddenly split up, or contract, or show diminished 

 pressure ; and then, perhaps, make a rapid forward move, and 

 again come to a slandstill, after which it will pass off to the south- 

 east and in a few days appear over New Zealand. The movements 

 of cyclonic areas are more marked and regular, though by no 

 means uniform. Taking the south coastal depressions, of which 

 about sixty pass during the year, I find they travel on the average 

 at the rate of 25 miles an hour. 



Over the United .States the aA-erage is about 28-4 miles, ranging 

 from 34-2 in February to 22 6 in August. Over the Atlantic in 

 middle latitudes the average is 18 miles, ranging from 20 in 

 November to 15-8 in Jvdy. Over Europe the average is 16-7,- 

 ranging from 19 in October to 14 miles in August. 



The progress of our south cjastal depressions is frequently 

 retarded by anticyclonic conditions ahead or to the east of them,, 

 which will sometimes deflect them such a distance to the sovith 

 as to barely affect the weather in this colony In other cases, after 

 pvishing up into the Great Australian Bight, or near Eucla, as a 

 well-marked Y, they will, more particularly during the winter, 

 open out and the isobars will run roughly parallel with the coast 

 (or east and west), and w^e have then long shoots of north-west 

 and west winds, with either no rain or squally showers on the 

 Mount Lofty Ranges and the coast, and fresh westerly winds witk 

 rain through Bass's Straits. All these conditions have to be taken 

 int) account in framing our daily forecasts. Taking the last four 

 years, the forecasts issued in South Australia have been justified 

 to the extent of 73 per cent., partially justified 20 per cent., and 

 wholly wrong 7 per cent. In connection with this work, I have 

 much pleasure in acknowledging the great and zealous assistance 

 I receive from Mr. Griffiths. Our usual practice is for Mr. 

 Griffiths and myself each to write out independently a forecast. 

 The two are then compared, and adopted if they agree. If they 

 disagree we discuss the conditions very carefully, and decide what 

 the forecast shall be. In my absence this work entirely devolves 

 on Mr. Griffiths. 



SEASONAL FORECASTS. 



The importance to the farmer, the horticidturist, and pastoralist 

 of knowing beforehand the probabilities of dry or wet winter 

 seasons, and whether the rains will be early or late, or both, has 

 naturally led to a desire for seasonal forecasts. They have them, 

 it is said, in India ; why not in Australia ? 



A letter from Mr. Archibald, at one time on the meteorological 

 staff in India, published in Queensland, opened the ball. As 

 the responsibility of issuing such forecasts would not devolve upon 

 himself, he was, perhaps, the more fearless in suggesting what 

 should be done by others. The Postmaster-General of Queensland, 



