Xll 



Dobsoii that it was not desirable to publish the observations taken at the 

 lighthouses. The great value of these observations was to enable meteoro- 

 logists to know the course of great atmospheric disturbances ; to give in- 

 formation to the Board of Trade and Marine Courts of Enquiry, and 

 to meet exce2:)tional occurrences ; but they are not, and cannot be, made 

 sufficiently complete and accurate to have scientific value ; nor are the 

 observers, however intelligent and willing, sufficiently instructed. There is 

 great danger of adding to the masses of unreliable figures already before 

 the world, which it is almost impossible to discriminate from the good data. 

 At the same time, he thought the Society under an obligation to Mr. 

 No well for taking the trouble to examine and adjust these returns, and 

 hoped his remarks would not be taken as depreciating that gentleman's 

 labour ; he could only deal with the figures furnished him. 



Mr. NowELL was quite willing, as there appeared to be doubts as to 

 the accuracy of the observations themselves, or of the instruments with 

 which they were made, that the paper should not be published. His object 

 would have been to some extent attained by directing attention to the 

 subject, and by eliciting the information with which they had been favoured 

 by the members who were present. Since he had come into that room 

 he had casually taken up a pubHcation, emanating from the Sydney Ob- 

 servatory, containing a large number of meteorological observations ex- 

 tending over several pages ; and on looking at the prefatory matter, he 

 found that the work was done by the astronomer, with the aid of amateurs 

 whose assistance he had solicited ; and the speaker suggested that some- 

 thing of the same kind might be done here. Meteorological observations 

 had been taken at New Norfolk for a series of years by Mr, W. E. 

 Shoobridge, but they had not been reduced. "Work of this kind might, 

 he thought, easily be done by organised co-operation among a few volun- 

 teers. He hoped that the discussion which had taken place would be 

 the means of obtaining further information as to the climate of the West 

 and North-west Coasts, a part of the colony which at the present time 

 was exciting so much interest. 



[Since the meeting the following interesting observations have been 

 received from Mr, S. B. Emmett, of Circular Head : — " The annual 

 fall of rain here is about 45Ln., in the most 69in., and least 33in. Mean 

 range of thermometer, 57deg. at 9 a.m. Heaviest gales from N.W. 

 during Maj", June, and July, always ending with thunder when the 

 rain begins and the wind shifts. Thunder never heard (? when the A\and 

 blows from any quarter) from S.W. to E. Barometer rises from S.W. 

 to E. and falls from N.E. to W. Thunder not heard with barometer above 

 29-60. For the gales from N.W. the barometer falls to 29 to 29-20 on an 

 average. Once, twenty-five years ago, the barometer fell to 28-45. The 

 storms here can be predicted at least 12 hours before greatest pressure. I 

 have seen the barometer fall five-tenths in two hours."] 



The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to Mr. Nowell for his 

 paper, and to the donors of presentations — special reference being made 

 to the large number of specimens contributed by the Tasmanian Commis- 

 sioners for the Melbourne Exhibition. 



AUGUST, 1881. 



The monthly evening meeting of the Society was held on Monday, the 

 8th August ; Mr. T. Stephens, M.A.. F.G.S., in the chair. 



The following persons were, on the nomination of the Council, unani- 

 mously elected honorary Members of the Societj^, viz. : — 



1. Mrs. Charles Meredith, of Launceston, " in recognition of her long efforts 

 to encourage the study of the Natural History of Tasmania, by illustra- 

 tions both literary and pictorial, in her various and highly-popular 

 publications." 



