1839.] Address. 91 



tlie easterly winds of the summer monsoon in the Gangetic valley and 

 the westerly winds of the cold- weather in the same region. 



The other paper, on " The Life- Statistics of an Indian Province," 

 appeared in " Nature" and in it the relations obtaining between vital 

 statistics and weather, in India, are illustrated by the Statistics of the 

 IS". TV. P. and Oudh for the ten years ending with 1887. The annual 

 death-rate is shown to vary with the rainfall with great regularity. 

 The birth-rates vary from year to year, according to the health of the 

 people and the abundance or scarcity of food. 



In connection with Indian Meteorology the progress of Meteorologi- 

 cal work in northern Australia and China is deserving of notice. 



Mr. Wragge, the Government Meteorologist of Queensland, now 

 publishes a daily report with chart and forecasting the weather in the 

 Australian area, based on telegraphic reports from 72 stations in 

 Australia, Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand. As Australia occupies 

 nearly the same geographical position (lying betwen 10° and 38° 

 parallels of latitude) in the southern, that India does in the northern 

 hemisphere, there is little doubt that progress in Australian Meteorology 

 will not only react on Indian Meteorology, but throw much light on 

 many of the larger problems with which Indian meteorologists have to 

 deal. 



Dr. Doberck, Director of the Hongkong Observatory, is also doinc 

 very useful and valuable work in China, where a general system of 

 meteorological observations is also being organised. 



Mr. Meldrum continues to collect systematically important informa- 

 tion respecting the Indian Ocean from ships visiting Mauritius. It will 

 hence soon be possible, by combining the information collected by these 

 various Meteorological Departments to obtain a fairly complete idea of 

 the larger weather features and changes in the whole area including 

 China, India and Australia and the adjacent seas, and it would be very 

 desirable that this work should be undertaken if only for a limited 

 period. 



Comparison of Earth Thermometers.— The records of the observa- 

 tions of temperatures of earth thermometers sunk at different depths, 

 at the Survey of India Trigonometrical Branch Office, Dehra Dun, show 

 some very curious results, one particularly noticeable being that the 

 maximum at a depth of 25'6 feet occurs almost invariably in November, 

 tin' maximum mean shade temperature at the surface being usually in 

 June, but sometimes in May. Taking the means of the five years record- 

 ed, the earth temperature at a depth of 256 feet in November is 76'6 fc° 

 P., as compared with a mean temperature of 73"51°, in the shade at the 

 surface. 



