92 MR. J. BAXENDELL : INFLUENCE OF THE SEASONS UPON 



No observations have been made at elevated stations in 

 Eastern Asia ; and therefore I have been unable to pursue 

 my inquiries beyond the station last given^ Nertchinsk. 



I do not intend to enter, in the present paper, into a 

 consideration of the probable causes of the phenomenon 

 which I have endeavoured to bring under the notice of the 

 Society. My principal motive for bringing the subject 

 forward in its present imperfect state is the hope that it 

 may induce others, having greater facilities of access to 

 good observations than I myself possess, to enter into the 

 inquiry, and endeavour to trace out, more accurately than 

 I have the means of doing, the exact direction and limits 

 of the remarkable belt indicated by my results. I may, 

 however, remark that, if the great changes of temperature 

 which take place in the higher strata of the atmosphere in 

 this belt are produced by the direct action of the sun's 

 rays, it would indicate a less capacity for heat of the air 

 in these elevated strata than of that in corresponding strata 

 beyond the belt. Such a diminished capacity for heat 

 would be produced by a diminution in the quantity of 

 moisture contained in the air ; and we might therefore ex- 

 pect that the ratio of the quantities of rain falling at two 

 stations, one of which is considerably elevated above the 

 other, would be sensibly less at places in this belt than in 

 other localities. It will be seen that this view is strongly 

 supported by the following comparisons of the only trust- 

 worthy data I have yet been able to obtain : — 



Stations North and South of the Belt. 

 I . Allenheads and By well. 



Mean annual rainfall at Allenheads, from five years' inches, 



observations =45'26 



Mean annual rainfall at By well, from five years' ob- 

 servations = 24*90 



The ratio is therefore =i'%i. 



