318 REPORT— 1889. 



months did not differ quite a degree from eacli other. On the other 

 hand, in 1887 the means of the three summer months were 45°'4, 41°'3, 

 and40°0. The means for February and March were 3°'0 below the averages 

 of these months. The mean for January was 5°'2 above the average. 

 It is remarkable that in this month the difference between the means of 

 the High and the Low Level stations was only 10°'2, and the difference 

 for September was only 12°'l, these being exceptionally small differences 

 for the difference of height. In April the difference was 17°'5. The sea- 

 level pressures at the Observatory and at Fort William were, respectively, 

 30'094 inches and 30'104 inches in January, and 29'865 inches and 

 29'880 in April. Thus in each case the sea-level pressures closely agree, 

 showing that these anomalous temperatures were not confined to the sur- 

 face of the earth. 



The minimum temperature on Ben Nevis for the year was 7° 2 being 

 the lowest yet observed since the Observatory was opened in 1883. The 

 maximum was Cl°'l in June, which closely agrees with the maxima of 

 previous years, except that of 1887, which rose to 67°'0. It is also to be 

 noted that so late as September, temperature rose to 58°'8 on the 23rd 

 of the month. 



The registrations of the sunshine recorder showed 970 hours of sun- 

 shine during the year, the smallest number of hours for any month being 

 8 for November, and the largest 250 in June, being nearly half the pos- 

 sible sunshine. The number of hours for the four years now observed, 

 beginning with 1885, were 680, 576, 898, and 970. The contrast of the 

 sunshine of 1886 with that of 1888 is thus very striking. 



The amount of the rainfall for the year was 132"46 inches, the month 

 of least rainfall, 3"76 inches, being June, and of greatest, 20'60 inches, 

 being November. The number of days on which precipitation was nil, or 

 less than the hundredth of an inch, was 118. The number of rainless 

 days for the three last years have been 159, 128, and 118. From all the 

 observations yet made, it is seen that a fall, equalling at least I'OO a day, 

 has occurred on an average of one day in nine. 



Atmospheric pressure was this year again above the annual average, 

 the mean at sea-level being 29,889, or 0'055 higher. The lowest mean 

 at the Observatory, 25'035 inches, occurred in March, and the highest, 

 25"£90 inches, in September ; the difference being 0'555 inch. At sea- 

 level at Fort William the extreme monthly means were 29'636 inches 

 in November, and 80"132 in September ; the difference being 0'496 inch. 



Third Report of the Govwiittee, consisting of Sir John Lubbock, 

 Dr. John Evans, Professor W. Boyd Dawkins, Dr. E. Munro, 

 Mr. W. Pengelly, Dr. Henry Hicks, Professor Meldola, Dr. 

 MuiRHEAD, and Mr. James W. Davis, appointed for the pur- 

 pose of ascertaining and recording the localities in the British 

 Islands in ivhich evidences of the existence of Prehistoric 

 Inhabitants of the country are found. {Drawn up by Mr. James 

 W. Davis.) 



YOUE Committee desire to draw attention to the previous reports presented 

 at the meetings of the Association in the years 1887-8, in which the 

 objects sought to be attained by the Committee are given in detail ; and 



