528 EEPOET — 1886. 



2. Fourth Report of the Committee for the Harmonic Analysis of Tidal 

 Observations. — See Reports, p. 40. 



3. Report of the Committee appointed to co-operate with the Scottish Meteoro- 



logical Society in making Meteorological Observations on Ben Nevis. — 

 See Reports, p. 58. 



4. Third Report of the Committee appointed to co-operate with Mr. E. J. 

 Lowe in his project of establishing on a permanent and scientific basis 



a Meteorological Observatory near Chepstow — See Reports, p. 139. 



6. Second Report of the Committee for considering the best m^eans of Com- 

 paring and Reducing Magnetic Observations. — See Reports, p. 64. 



6. Third Report of the Committee for considering the best methods of Record- 

 ing the direct Intensity of Solar Radiation. — See Reports, p. 63. 



7. The peculiar Sunrise- Shadows of Adam's Teak in Ceylon. 

 By the Hon. Ralph Abeeceomby, F.R.Met.Soc. 



A great peculiarity has been noticed by many travellers about the shadow of 

 Adam's Peak at sunrise. The shadow, instead of lying flat on the ground, appears 

 to rise up like a veil in front of the spectator, and then suddenly to fall down to its 

 proper level. Various theories have been propounded to account for this, and it 

 has usually been supposed to be due to a sort of mirage. The author, in the course 

 of a meteorological tour round the world, spent a night on the top of the peak, 

 7,352 feet above the sea, and obtained unmistakable evidence that the appearance 

 is due to light wreaths of thin morning mist being driven past the western side of 

 the mountain by the prevaihng north-east monsoon up a neighbouring gorge. The 

 shadow is caught by the mist at a higher level than the earth, and then falls to its 

 own plane on the ground as the condensed vapour moves on. The appearance is 

 peculiar to Adam's Peak ; for the proper combination of a high isolated pyramid, a 

 prevailing wind, and a valley to direct suitable mist at a proper height on the 

 western side of a mountain, is only rarely met with. Any idea that the appear- 

 ance could be caused by mirage is completely disproved by the author's thermo- 

 metric observations. 



Another curious but totally distinct shadow efifect is sometimes seen from 

 Adam's Peak just before and at the moment of sunrise. The shadow of the base 

 of the peak stretches along the land to the horizon, and then the shadow of the 

 summit appears to rise up and stand against the sky. The first part seems to be 

 the natural shadow lying on the ground, and the sky part to be simply the ordinary 

 earth shadow of twilight, so clearly projected against the sky as to show mountainous 

 irregularities of the earth's surface. As the sim rises the shadow of the summit 

 against the sky gradually sinks to the horizon, and then the ordinary shadow 

 steadily grows shorter as the sun gets higher in the usual maimer. 



The author found a similar effect only at sunset on Pike's Peak, Colorado. 

 Towards sunset the shadow creeps along the prairie to the horizon, and then begins 

 to rise in the sky till the sun has j ust gone down, and the anticrepuscular shadow 

 rises too high to catch the outline of the Peak. 



8. On the Distribution of Temperature in Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine 

 during the past Winter and Spring. By J. T. Moeeison, M.A. 



The author made observations on the temperature of these lakes on or about 



