Proceedings. 165 



absolute want of a pillar, and in the tlaickened and granulated character of the 

 internal edge of the whorls, Mr. Swainson has made the type of a new genus, to 

 which he has given the name of Astele. The other shells of the same tribe Mr. 

 Swainson has referred to his genus Carinidea ; the largest, from FUnder's Island, 

 he has named C.fimhriata ; a second, from the same locality, C. granulata ; and 

 a third, discovered by Mr. Swainson himself at Port Arthur, he has named 

 C. parva. 



His Excellency Sir WilKam Denison then placed before the members Tabular 

 Statements of the extraordinary Fall of Eain at Hobai-t Town on the 26th and 27th 

 ultimo— of the direction and force of the wind, and of the condition of the Baro- 

 meter and Thermometer, &c., compUed from observations made at short intervals 

 during the storm, by Mr. S. Jeffrey, of the Observatory, who also furnished a 

 memorandum of the fall of rain during each month of 1853, and during January 

 and February of the present year, by which it appears that the sum total of rain 

 diu'ing 1853 was only 14-48 inches, while January and February of 1854 have 

 yielded 9*69 in.; the mean average of the 12 yeai's fi'om 1841 to 1852 having been 

 20-30 inches. 



Sir William Denison also laid before the meeting tables showing all the remark- 

 ably heavy falls of rain here since 1841 — their dates, with the period of the day, 

 rate of descent, and total fall in each case. Sir WUliam also supplied a Table 

 exhibiting the months in which the greatest and least falls of rain have occm-red 

 during 13 years ; from which, December, August, and October appear to be the 

 driest, and as compared with each other in the order in which they are here named, 

 while November is by far the wettest : the former three months having yielded 

 together only 11-53 inches dm'ing this long period, while November alone yielded 

 87-83 iaches dm-ing the same time, — facts worthy of consideration in the calcula- 

 tions and arrangements of the farmer and horticulturist in this quarter of the 

 island. 



Mr. Jeffrey also submitted diagrams showing the comparative rapidity of the- 

 several heavy falls of rain which are recorded as having taken place on the 25th 

 November, 1842, — on the 6th November, 1849,— and on the 26th and 27th 

 February, 1854, respectively ; amounting in the first case to 3-75 inches in 16'i con-^ 

 secutive hours ; in the second case to 3-25 inches in 11 hom-s ; and in the last and 

 recent case to 6-25 inches in 13 hours. 



His Excellency the President then read an interesting and important paper, 

 supplementary to that read to the Society at the last November meeting, upon the 

 Drainage and Sewerage of Hobart Town and Launceston, and having reference ta 

 the unprecedentedly heavy rains of the 26th and 27th ultimo, to the new demand 

 thus made on the channel of the Hobart Town Rivulet as a maiu sewer, and its 

 capacity for discharging perhaps the greatest amount of water which may ever 

 have to flow through it within a given time ; the faU of rain dm'ing tliirteen horn's 

 of the two days referred to having been at such rate as would give in twenty-four 

 hours a cubic foot of water to every foot of superficial area, thus rendering the 

 mmiber of cubic feet of water passing do\vn the chamiel of the town rivulet during 



