L 



ON METKOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON BEN NEVIS. 315 



Report of the Committee, consisting of the Hon. Ralph Abercromhy 

 ( Chairman), Professor Crum Brown, JNIr. Milne-Home, Dr. Johx 

 Murray, Lord McLaren, and Dr. Alexander Buchan, appointed 

 for the purpose of co-operaUnrj with the Scottish Meteorological 

 Society in making Meteorological Observations on Ben Nevis. 



The work of carrying on the observations hourly, by night as well as 

 day, has been carried on by Mr. Omond and his assistants daring the 

 year with the same enthusiasm and unbroken continuity as in time past ; 

 and the live daily observations in connection with the Ben Nevis Obser- 

 vatory have been made at Fort William by Mr. Livingston with tho 

 greatest regularity and care. 



As in the previous year, the state of the health of the observers, 

 occasioned by their continuous residence at the top of the mountain, 

 where exercise in the open air is practically impossible during the greater 

 part of the year, rendered it again necessary to give them relief during 

 the winter and spring. The services of Mr. Drysdale were again secured 

 for six months ; Mr. R. C. Mossman, the Society's observer for Edin- 

 burgh, gave his services as observer for six weeks in April and May ; 

 and Messrs. R. TurnbuU and J. McDonald, Edinburgh, have given a 

 month's service each as observers in July, August, and September of this 

 year. Messrs. Omond and Rankin, daring the time they were relieved 

 from the work of the Observatory, took part in the work of the office of 

 the Scottish Meteorology Society, and gave material assistance, more 

 particularly in the reduction, preparation for press, and discussion of the 

 Ben Nevis observations. 



The photographing of clouds and other meteorological phenomena 

 has been actively prosecuted at the Observator\-, and results of consider- 

 able interest and importance have been already obtained. Selections 

 from the photographs were exhibited by the Scottish Meteorological 

 Society and by the Royal Meteorological Society during the winter 

 session. Of these photographs four are submitted with this Report — 

 viz., 1, a photograph of St. Elmo's fire ; 2, a cloud photographed at mid- 

 night of June last year ; 8, a remarkably fine photograph of a 

 cloud, partly made up of flattened masses, whicb is occasionally formed 

 in mountainous districts ; and 4, photographs of crystals on the Obser- 

 vatory aTid instruments outside. 



Mr. Rankin has extended and amplified his investigation of the cases 

 of St. Elmo's fire recorded at the Observatory, and the results, which are 

 interesting and suggestive, have been j^ublished in the ' Journ. Scot. 

 Meteor. Soc' 



Mr. Omond has entered on an investigation of the relations of tho 

 wind direction on the top of Bon Nevis to the sea-level isobaric of the 

 district at the time, and to the storms advancing on the Atlantic towards 

 J^orth-Wcstern Europe, as shown on the daily weather charts of the 

 northern hemisphere published by the Meteorological Institutes of Ger- 

 many and Denmark. 



This is properly only the commencement of a large discussion of the 

 Ben Nevis observations, in some of their more practical aspects, which 

 "wiU be undertaken and pushed forward nett year on the plan referred to 



