266 president's address. 



The lowest reading of the thermometer of our Literary and 

 Philosopliical Society was 11° Fahr., on the morning of the 13th 

 of December. Mr. Joseph W. Swan reported in the local papers 

 that his thermometer, on the snow, at Low Fell, had registered 

 3'^ helow Zero early on the morning of the 14th of December, and 

 at 10 A.M. 4' ahove Zero. 



The Rev. G. Rome Hall, Vicar of Birtley, near Wark, on 

 the North Tyne, informs me that during the coldest weather he 

 has seen the thermometer as low as 6°, 4°, and even 2^ Fahr. 



The Tyne, on whose frozen bosom I have walked on two occa- 

 sions, namely, in January, 1814, and in December, 1860, was 

 this year, thanks to the skill and energetic work of the Tjme 

 Commissioners, not frozen over below Seotswood, but at and 

 above Ryton it was closed altogether by ice. 



By way of contrast to the state of our winter weather, allow 

 me to read a short paragraph from The Melbourne Argufi, show- 

 ing a very different state of things at the Antipodes. The paper 

 is of date February 21st, 1879, and the paragrapli, whicli was 

 brought to my notice by our fellow member, Mr. Henry Relton, 

 is as follows: — "The weather we have had during the past 

 month has been something teriific. There are some few who re- 

 member the celebrated Black Thursday, and, of course, they say 

 that the weather we have had lately was nothing compared with 

 that day. Other persons, who have some little knowledge of 

 temperature, declare that with a few more degrees of heat we 

 sliould all have been roasted alive. This appears very feasible 

 when we find the thermometer at the Observatory, on the 20th 

 of January, showing lOe^" in the shade and 146° in the sun. 

 Tliis is comparatively cool to wliat it is said to have been at 

 YaiTawonga, a small township on the river Murray, where it is 

 said to have been 120° in the shade on the hottest day we have 

 had." 



Tlie general liealth of our popuhition lias, 1 am happy to add, 

 been wonderfully good during a winter wliicli will long be re- 

 marked in the annals of Meteorology for its unusual length and 

 severity, for the a])undance of snow, tlie prevalence of N. and 

 N. E. winds, and the paucity of bright sunlight. 



