xxii President's Address 



over the land can be traced and foretold with a moderate 

 degree of certainty, the question of how much rain, if any, 

 they will bring is as yet an extremely difficult one to 

 answer ; nevertheless, with the knowledge already secured, 

 when the general laws prevailing over the southern parts 

 of Australia become fairly established, it is not at all im- 

 probable that, difficult and uncertain as it now appears, the 

 conditions that determine precipitation of rain may be 

 traced out. 



The plan of publishing intercolonial weather telegram 

 information in Melbourne will be limited at present to the 

 issue of a weather chart soon after noon on each day, upon 

 which will be shown the meteorological conditions pre- 

 vailing over Australia, at nine a.m. of that day, and added to 

 this forecasts of next day's probable weather will sometimes 

 be given, more especially where cyclonic disturbances show 

 themselves within the vicinity of our coast lines. 



The great progress made in the practical application of 

 electricity, which I referred to at our last year's meeting, con- 

 tinues with apparently increased activity. It has been 

 demonstrated beyond doubt that streets and public places 

 can be successfully and economically illuminated by the 

 electric light; and in support of this I may point to the 

 lighting by electricity of our chief city market by the 

 newly formed Victorian Electric Company, accomplished 

 under the great difficulties which usually beset new under- 

 takings. The use of electricity, generated by mechanical 

 means, for transmitting energy to a distance is now an 

 accomplished fact. As regards electric lighting, it appears 

 the important problem to be now solved is its economical 

 adaptability to domestic use. Invention is busy in this 

 direction, and already considerable and promising progress 

 has been made by Swan arid others, by the construction of 

 lamps formed of glass-globes, exhausted and hermetically 

 sealed, containing a loop of carbonised fibre or thread, 

 which becoming incandescent when traversed by the 



