130 



Climatology. 



Kangaroo Island lias been spoken o£ as tlie sanatorium for 

 Soutli Australia in the future ; and it well deserves this pros- 

 pective reputation. The climate is characterised by a warm 

 temperature, without that heat fervency in summer which is so 

 familiar to residents on the mainland, by moist winds, a good 

 rainfall and the absence of frosts. 



Some meteorological observations were made by Peron 

 during his stay at Nepean Bay extending from January 6 to 

 Pebruary 1, 1803, which I will quote : — " The mean of our 

 thermometric readings at noon were 65 "6° Fahr. The 20th, 

 25th, 27th, 29th and 30th January were the hottest days ; the 

 mercury in the shade at 2 p.m. showed on the island 81"5° 

 Pahr. ; the land breezes — that is to say, those from the N.E., 

 N.N.E., and E.N.E. — dominated then, and we were satisfied 

 that they partook of the nature of the hot winds, which desolate 

 the interior of Australia. The atmosphere over the arid and 

 low shores exhibits nearly always a perfect serenity. In the 

 space of one month we had only a few slight showers ; on 

 January 15 a feeble storm which arrived from the west was 

 dissipated as soon as, so to say, it had touched the shores of 

 the island. The range of the hygrometer was conformable 

 with the state of the atmosphere, and was comprised between 

 68° and 94°, the mean term being 82-05°. But of all the results 

 which were obtained of this kind the most noteworthy was the 

 rapid movement of the needle towards dryness at the moment 

 when the JST.E. winds blew with force after midday of the 29th 

 — from 94° it retrograded to 68°." The figures given by Peron 

 should not be examined rigidly ; bufc they suffice to show the 

 relatively low temperature and the absolutely great humidity 

 of the air during the second hottest mouth in the year. They 

 are not altogether in accord with the results of similar obser- 

 vations made at Cape Borda under the direction of Mr. Todd, 

 and published by him in " Meteorological Observations for 

 1880," from which I have taken the following results. Cape 

 Borda is the most north-west point of land, and the station is 

 at an elevation of 506 feet above sea level : — 



Humidity. — The yearly mean — 



Cape Borda. Adelaide. 



72 57 ' 



The extremes — 61 for February 37 for January 



82 for September 78 for June. 



