94 REPORT — 1875. 



In 1866 a very long Report was presented by your Committee ; the prin- 

 cipal subjects may be briefly mentioned. In November 1865 a circular 

 letter was sent to the Editor of nearly every newspaper published in the 

 British Isles, with a request for its insertion in the next iss|ie ; the letter 

 gave a brief outline of the necessity for rainfall observations) and invited 

 communications from any persons who possessed old records or were willing 

 to become observers. About 1400 of these circulars were issued, many 

 hundred newspapers reprinted them, so that upwards of a million copies 

 must have been circulated. This produced an enormous influx of letters and 

 material additions, both to the store of old observations and to the list of 

 current observers. The Eeport contained full details of aU the gauges ex- 

 amined in situ up to that date, viz. 166 ; also short notices of a series of 

 inclined and tipping-funnelled rain-gauges erected at Eotherham by Mr.' 

 Chrimes, and on river-mists in the Thames valley. But the special feature 

 of the Report, and one which is at present unequalled in this or any other 

 country, is the determination of the fluctuation of the rainfall of England 

 during 140 consecutive years, viz. from 1726 to 186.5. As all the original 

 data are given in the Report, it is open to any one to verify the conclusions 

 arrived at. Lastly, the Report contained the usual biannual tables of monthly 

 rainfall. 



In the 1867 Report the principal fresh subjects are notes respecting the 

 desirability of establishing fresh stations in the vicinity of the Peak of Derby- 

 shire and in the Eastern Lake-district, of the perccH^rtf/e of annual rain 

 tvhicJi falls monthly in different localities, and on an extensive system for ap- 

 proximately determining the height of rain-gauge stations above sea-level. 

 The Report also contains details respecting the examination of 75 stations 

 visited during the year. 



The 1868 Report deals briefly with the results obtained by the inclined 

 experimental gauges at Rotherham, and shows the similarity of monthly 

 cm-ves representing — (1) ratio of rainfall at 25 feet to that at 1 foot ; (2) 

 velocity of wind ; (3) mean angle from vertical of falling rain. It then 

 notices the removal of the Calne experimental gauges to Strathfield Turgiss. 

 The Report proceeds to embody the results of the discussion of about 40,000 

 monthly values in order to determine the laws which regulate the monthly 

 percentage of annual rainfall in different districts, and gives tabular state- 

 ments of the results, and factors for eliminating the disturbing element due 

 to the fact that the influence of elevation above ground varies with the time 

 of year. The usual biannual tables of monthly rainfall are given, also a 

 Table comparing the fall 186Q-67 with the average for 1850-59, raised by 

 5 per cent, in accordance with the Table published in 1862. A valuable 

 paper by Professor Phillips was printed as an Appendix, in which he dis- 

 cussed the quantity of rain falling in the Lake-district. 



The 1869 Report contains — (1) a code of rules for observers ; (2) a 

 sketch and description of Mr. Symons's first pattern of storm rain-gauge, 

 adapted for the accurate measurement of heavy falls of rain of short dura- 

 tion ; (3) an abstract and discussion of the results of the gauges erected, 

 first at Calne and then at Strathfield Tiirgiss, to determine the influence of 

 size and shape i;pon the amount of rain indicated by rain-gauges : there 

 were twelve gauges, of which the diameters ranged from 1 to 24 inches ; and 

 the final result was that, excluding the gauge 1 inch in diameter, which 

 everywhere collects less pro rata than any other, the gauges while at Calne 



