of the Australian Alps. 



131 



shaped masses fell at Dargo, fully half an inch in diameter ; 

 some were ovoid, and others not unlike a truncated cone. As 

 a rule, the hailstones come from the westward, and are 

 generally accompanied by electric discharges or strong wind. 



Moisture of the Atmosphere. 



Unfortunately the hygrometric records do not extend 

 further back than May, 1883, when wet and dry bulb 

 thermometers were supplied me by Mr. Ellery. The following 

 table exhibits the mean temperature of dew-point for each 

 month from May, 1883, to November, 1884, and for the 

 seasons of the year. The results for winter are more 

 complete, being the mean of two years. It will be seen that 

 the lowest mean temperature of the dew-point is reached 

 during the month of July, and highest during February, cor- 

 responding in this respect to the temperature of the air : — 



December 



January 



February 



Mean Summer 



. I | 



50-58 March : 50-39 



52-18 : April | 48-66 

 53-08 : May ... 38 -33 



51*94 Autumn 



45-79 



June 



July 

 August 



Winter 



38-01 

 3603 

 3793 



36-66 



September 



October 



November 



40-51 

 45-79 

 49-95 



Spring 



45-35 



— giving a mean annual temperature of the dew-point of 

 45-16. During winter months, when the temperature of the 

 air fell below freezing point, I have discarded, the results 

 owing to the difficulty of registering the dew-point with 

 the dry and wet bulb thermometers. 



I have not given the relative humidity or elastic force of 

 vapour, as it was thought better to defer these until a longer 

 series of observations have been made. It may be interesting 

 to note that the humidity of the air varies greatly during the 

 summer months, especially at the higher elevations ; and at 

 the lower levels, as at Omeo, the shifting of the wind from 

 N. to S.W. and S. sometimes causes an excessive humidity, 

 as shown by the dense fogs which frequently envelope the 

 higher points over 4000 feet; during summer a feature 

 connected with such hygrometric conditions are what is 

 locally termed southern fogs. 



Fogs. 



Often when the sky is clear during the morning" towards" 

 afternoon dense masses of vapour are seen floating up the 



k2 



