470 ; REPORT—1862. 
Taste VIII.—Showing the Degree of Humidity 
July 17. | July 30. August 18. | _ August 20. 
State of the sky. State of 
Height | é 
above the Cloudy. a oe y Cloudy. Clear. Clear. Cloudy. Cloudy. 
level of | « 
the sea. 
. | ° . . . 
to 2 to . th : to 2 to 4 
gizgiglfigiz¢ielad [eels 
bs FI | F=| a cs | i q | a cs 
5 zB | 8 ome Mee ern ie ae eee 
3 aa 8 3 3 3 8 : 3 2 
< aA | 4 A < a 4 a <4 A 4 
On August 21 the observations were taken very early in the morning, in 
fact directly after sunrise, and it will be seen that the degree of humidity at 
the elevations exceeding 10,000 feet are very much smaller than in any other 
ascent at the same elevations ; from this it would seem that a diurnal range 
takes place in this element at this elevation, as in the temperature of the air ; 
so that in comparing the laws of moisture indicated by one ascent with those 
of another, the times of the day at which the experiment was made must be 
taken into account. It is possible, indeed almost certain, that at the height 
of 14,000 feet and above, the air would become more humid as the day 
advanced, the vapour rising from the upper surface of the clouds and ascending 
into the higher regions by the action of the sun. b 
An inspection of the numbers in this Table shows that the moisture in the 
air is very different at different times, both in its amount and distribution. 
The degree of humidity in cloudy states of the sky in the lower strata of 
