at the total solar Eclipse in 1882 



359 



Meteorological Observations and Notes. The climate at 

 Sohag is a desert climate tempered by the influence of the 

 Nile. This influence extends only a very short distance from 

 the banks of the river. As the population is confined to the 

 banks of the river its benefits are enjoyed by the whole 

 population. During the few days in May that the expedition 

 sojourned at Sohag the sun attained a meridian altitude of 

 roughly 83, so that its power differed very little from that 

 of a vertical sun. The prevailing wind is from the North 

 which gives a freshness to the atmosphere while it also 

 enables the countless sailing craft on the Nile to navigate 

 its waters against its not insignificant current. 



While occupied with the calorimeter I made observations 

 on the temperature of the air using both the wet and dry 

 bulb thermometers, and I also measured the evaporation by 

 night and by day of water exposed freely in a plate raised 

 about 6 inches above the ground. A glance at Table II or 

 Fig. 7 which contain these results will indicate better than 

 any description the nature of the climate in that part of 

 Egypt in May. 



AJ 



Fig. 7. Meteorological Observations on the i6th, rjth, and i8th May, 1882. 



The latitude of the station was 26' 37' N. so that, on the 

 ocean, it would be in the heart of the Trade Wind. In fact 

 the Trade Wind regions of the ocean are the desert regions 

 of the sea. The water at the surface is there drier than any- 

 where else, that is, a given volume of it contains more salt 



