APPENDIX. RANGE OF THE BAROMETER IN ECUADOR. 



403 



April was the only month upon which he observed every day at 11 a.m. and 

 6 P.M., and the extreme difference between his readings in that month 

 amounted to 197 of an inch. ' 



An Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory was established at 

 Quito while Garcia Moreno was President of the Republic, and in October 

 1878 this institution commenced to publish a Bulletin,"^ containing baro- 

 metric observations, made daily at 6 a.m., 2 p.m., and 10 p.m. I was informed 

 at Quito, in 1880, that the barometer employed was not at the Observatory, 

 and was at a much lower level, at the extreme opposite (southern) end of the 

 city ; but since then its position appears to have been changed.^ From this 

 publication I have constructed the following table, embracing the period 

 between September 1879-August 1880 inclusive : — 



Max. reading in the Month 



Min. reading in the Month at 







6 A.M. 



2 p.m. 



10 P.M. 



6 a.m. 



2 p.m. 



10 P.M. 



1879^ 



, Sept. . 



. 548-41 



548-40 



548-47 



546-84 



546-72 



546-84 



,, 



Oct. . 



. 548-38 



548-12 



548-41 



546-73 



546-69 



546-39 



,, 



Nov. . 



. 547-82 



548-28 



548-36 



546-79 



545-63 



546-63 



,, 



Dec. . 



. 548-66 



549-30 



549-12 



545-82 



545-82 



545-84 



1880, 



, Jan. . 



. 548-43 



548-40 



548-40 



547-88 



547-74 



548-07 



,, 



Feb. . 



. 547-87 



547-44 



547-77 



547-00 



546-54 



547-08 



' ,, 



March . 



. 548-81 



547-58 



547-80 



547-19 



546-47 



546-30 



,, 



April . 



. 547-70 



547-0O 



547-86 



545-86 



544-54 



545-95 



,, 



May . 



. 547-93 



548-02 



548-98 



545-90 



545-41 



546-20 



,, 



June . 



. 547-96 



547-91 



548-53 



545-60 



545-09 



546-14 



5> 



July . 



. 548-56 



547-74 



548-61 



545-84 



546-81 



547-00 



,, 



Aug. . 



. 547-78 



546-93 



547-88 



546-76 



545-08 



546-88 



The readings are in millimetres reduced to 32° Faht. 



The highest recorded reading in the twelve months is 549-30 mm., on 

 December 1, 1879, and the lowest 544-54 mm., on April 14, 1880 ; and 

 the difference of these two, or the extreme range recorded in the Bulletin for 

 this period is 4-76 mm., which is equal to 2*1 Paris lines, or nearly half as 

 much again as the amount named by La Condamine. As, however, the 

 observations published in the Bulletin are only for 6 a.m., 2 p.m., and 

 10 p.m., they do not give the extreme range of the barometer at Quito. 



La Condamine said that the barometer at Quito attained its greatest 

 height at about 9 a.m., and dropped to its minimum about 3 p.m. Boussin- 

 gault says in Comptes Rendus, 1879, pp. 1158-9, "On salt en effet que, dans 

 les regions equinoxiales, le mercure, dans le barometre, atteint le maximum 



1 In the same month the greatest difference between the readings at Qnito (as 

 recorded in the Bulletin, which is referred to in the next paragraph) was 0*157 of an 

 inch. 



2 Under the title Boletin del Observatorio Astronomico de Quito^ pvblicado por Juan 

 B. Men ten. Director del mismo Observatorio. Qnito. Tmprenta nacional. 



=* The following note occurs at p. 66 of the Bulletin, dated October 1880: " Desde 

 el 1° de setiembre se ha variado la colocaciou del Barometro lo que explica la diferencia 

 con los meses anteriores.' 



