Ixx. president's address. 



balance this to some extent, the past winter has been remark- 

 ably mild, but has shewn a considerable excess of rainfall 

 with deficiency of sunshine. In the British Isles generally, 

 the rainfall amounted to 14 per cent, above the average. A 

 very exceptional fall occurred at Norwich on Aug. 26-27, of 

 6"32in. in the 12 hours from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 26, and 

 lin. in the following 12 hours. This amount has very rarely 

 been surpassed in the British Isles, though in Assam we 

 have records going up to 40" Sin. in 24 hours, and in 

 Jamaica more than 30 inches. From measurements 

 which have been carried on for 14 years on the amount 

 of water passing over a weir on the river Derwent, 

 it has been found that the river absorbs on an 

 average almost exactly three-quarters of the rain fallmg 

 upon the area drained by it, the rest being carried off 

 by evaporation, plants, &c. It has been suggested that the 

 cold summer of 1912 was due to the abnormal ice-drift in the 

 Atlantic, to which the sad fate of the " Titanic " called public 

 attention. This has also caused investigation of the laws 

 affecting icebergs in general, with some interesting results, 

 but I think that some of them require more testing and 

 working out before they can be accepted as reliable. It 

 would appear from certain observations that the temperature 

 of the sea increased on approaching an iceberg, the explanation 

 being that the water which was chilled by the iceberg sank 

 through becommg denser, and a surface current flowed in 

 from all sides to replace it. This surface water would be 

 warmed by the sun and slightly higher in temperature than 

 the general body of water. But there are complications 

 arising from the lightness of the fresh water melted from the 

 iceberg which make satisfactory conclusions difficult. A 

 more practical solution in regard to the dangers from icebergs 

 is the agreement between the Board of Trade and the principal 

 Atlantic Lines to join in providing an ice observing vessel 

 fitted with wireless apparatus for keeping in touch with 

 shipping. Scientific observations Avill also be made by 

 trained observers on board. 



