the line of Humidity drawn alongside the others (in this case 

 reversed) in order to show that whenever it is hot it is dry. 

 The line of temperature and that of humidity (reversed) you 

 will observe scarcely part, showing that the heat of our colony 

 is almost invariably a dry heat, and that our cooler months are 

 almost invariably moist — in this respect contrasting with 

 Queensland. The hottest month is one of the driest, and the 

 coolest is the most moist. The healthiest month is the most 

 humid month, and the driest month is the most unhealthy. 



Bakstfall. — I do not find that the rainfall, except in so far 

 as it influences the humidity of the atmosphere, has much to 

 do with the question of mortality. 



Evaporation. — The only thing to notice is that the line of 

 evaporation follows so closely that of temperature that no 

 evidence can be obtained from it specially. 



Barometric Pressure. — The healthiest months in the year 

 for infants are as a rule those in which the barometer ranges the 

 highest. The line of barometric pressure seems to follow 

 somewhat closely that of temperature and humidity. When it 

 varies considerably from these, as in March, April, and May, 

 the line of infant mortality seems to follow that of temperature 

 in preference. 



Another most interesting conclusion I arrived at in the 

 following way : — After calculating the deathrate for each 

 month for infants, I did the same for children over one and 

 under five years of age, and also for those over five years of 

 age. I find that March proves most fatal to infants, December 

 to children, and May to adults. February is very fatal to 

 infants, much less so to children, and it is the healthiest month 

 in the year for adults. The healthiest month in the year for 

 infants is July, for children August, and for adults February. 



The deathrate of infants seems to follow the line of tempera- 

 ture and humidity throughout the year ; that of children seems 

 to be still influenced by the temperature, being at its highest 

 point in summer and its lowest in winter ; but it is not nearly 

 so much influenced in this way as that of infants, whilst the 

 rate of mortality in adults seems to vary but little during the 

 year and attains the lowest point in the summer time. 



These observations seem to point out that the generally 

 accepted statement that our summer with its hot winds is 

 healthy, is to be understood as referring only to adults, for 

 whilst the healthiest time of the year for adults is summer, 

 young children suffer more from it, and in the case of infants 

 it causes a perfect slaughter amongst them. If it be objected 

 that we are speaking of summer and not of hot winds, the 

 answer is that hot winds are dry, and it is the heat and dry- 

 ness that causes the mortality. If our summer temperature 



