474 



ON rilE ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE AT 

 TORONTO, IN THE YEARS 1859-'68. 



BY G. T. KINGSTON, M.A., 



BIEECTOK OF THE MAGNETIC OBSERVATOEY. 



The Donual temperatures employed as standards of reference in the 

 Toronto tables to the end of 1868, and published in the Canadian 

 Journal, were derived from the well known paper on the "Periodic 

 and Non-periodic Variations of Temperature " published by General 

 Sabine in the Philosophical Transactions for 1853. During and prior 

 to the time when the observations were made on which Gen. Sabine 

 based his conclusions (1841-'52), the mean temperature of January 

 exceeded very decidedly the mean of February in other parts of North 

 America as well as at Toronto. Testimony to this effect is given by 

 Dove, in the remarks that accompany his isothermal charts, where he 

 describes the isothermal lines as moving southwards from January to 

 February. 



Observations of later years, however, show a preponderance in the 

 temperature of February. 



o 



At Isle Jesus (near Montreal), 1853-62, Feb. was warmer than Jan. by.. 3'4 



Quebec 1860-'6Y, 3-6 



St. John, K"ew Brunswick 1861-68, , 3-6 



Halifax 186'7-'69, 2-3 



Stratford, Ontario 1861-'69, 1-9 



Toronto 1859-'68, r8 



That the change in the time when the greatest cold occurs in Toronto 

 has been a progressive change, is shown by comparing the means of 

 January and February in groups of five years : 



1841-45, Jan. warmer than Feb. by 2-6 

 1846-'50, " " " " " 2-6 



1851-55, " " " " " 0-9 



1856-60, Jan. colder than Feb. by 0-3 

 1861-'65, " " " " " 1-5 



1866-69, " " " " •' 2-1 



Again, in addition to the change that has been noticed in the epoch 

 of greatest cold, it appears further, as far as concerns Toronto, that the 

 winters and springs have become to some extent colder, arid the summers 



