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METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT THE ROYAL 

 INSTITUTION OF CORNWALL, 1850 to 1900. 



By GEO. PENROSE, Curator. 



At the request of the Council of the Royal Institution of 

 Cornwall, I have prepared the accompanying Summary of the 

 Meteorological Observations made and recorded at their Museum 

 during the years 1882 to 1900, and in order that a still better 

 idea may be obtained of the climatic conditions of Truro, I have, 

 with the aid of the Summary prepared by the late Dr. Barham* 

 for the years 1850 to 1881, given the means for the last 51 years, 

 viz.: 1850-1900. 



Whilst engaged in the preparation of these tables, it 

 occurred to me that a short account explaining the nature of the 

 instruments in use, together with some remarks on the different 

 phenomena of meteorology, would form a suitable introduction, 

 and would enable a number of persons to better understand the 

 use of such tables. 



The establishment of an Observatory at this Institution was 

 mainly due to the late Dr. Barham, who, on the 3rd March, 1838, 

 addressed a meeting of the members on the importance of accurate 

 observations of the weather, with a view to a comparison of this 

 country with other parts of the world. f This resulted in the 

 purchase of a number of instruments and the daily observation 

 of meteorological phenomena. During the year 1850 additional 

 instruments were provided, and the observations conducted on a 

 more extensive plan, which has been continued up to the present 

 time. 



The Geographical Position of the Eoyal Institution buildings 

 is: Latitude 50° 17'N; Longitude 5° 5' W. 



Hours of Observation. The hours of observation are 9 

 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m., local time. The maximum and 

 minimum thermometers are read and set at 9 p.m., and the readings 



*R.I.C. Journal, Vol. 8. 



t R.I.C. Annual Report for 1838. 



