16 Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 



the Colony seems to vary directly as the intelligence of the- 

 population.'" 



Of the individual stations dealt with, Waai Kopje, on Table 

 Mountain, has the most lavish rainfall. But there are stations 

 close by with more. The absolutely wettest place known in South 

 Africa is probably Maclear's Beacon, also on Table Mountain, with 

 an average annual fall for the seven years 1894-1900 of 86*81 inches, 

 and a variability from 6944 to 105*85 inches per annum. f Par- 

 ticularly wet stations are Evelyn Valley, with an annual average 

 of 59*50 inches ; Hogsback, with 47*49 inches ; Lower Katberg, 

 with 43*20 inches ; Perie Forest, with nearly 40 inches (these 

 four are in Section X.) ; Ceres (Section II.), with 39*69 inches ; 

 Storms Eiver (Section IV.), with 42*52 inches ; stations in Basuto- 

 land (Section XIII.), with 30-40 inches ; parts of Natal, with 

 40 inches more or less. 



The driest station south of the Orange Eiver seems to be Port. 

 Nolloth (Section III.), with only 2*5 inches per annum, ranging 

 from *45 inch to 5*35 inches. Other dry stations are : Garies, 

 with 5*66 inches ; Van Rhyn's Dorp, with 6*20 inches ; Matjes- 

 fontein (Section VI. W.), with 6*33 inches ; Middlepost 

 (Section VIII. W.), with 5*20 inches ; and all the stations forming 

 Section IX. W., Pella being the most prominent, with 3*31 inches. 



Of adjacent stations exhibiting great contrasts we have the 

 Zwartberg Pass, 24*70 inches, a very few miles from Prince. 

 Albert, 9*15 inches; Alicedale, 16 inches, not far from Grahams- 

 town, 27 inches ; Evelyn Valley and Thomas River only 2' of 

 longitude and 3' of latitude apart, and the rainfall of the former 

 nearly three times that of the latter; and of course the various 

 places in the Cape Peninsula. These last resemble, on a smaller 

 scale, the contrasts between the wettest and driest parts of England.} 



With few exceptions the averages of Table 25 are less than 

 Buchan's, the mean difference being probably at least 2 inches. 

 Undoubtedly Buchan's normals include some particularly wet years. § 



* The lack of rainfall records in Natal until recently is remarkable, and does, 

 not confirm the generalisation. It must have been thought that because the best 

 meteorological work in South Africa was being done at the Durban Observatory,, 

 potential observers were relieved of the responsibility of keeping registers. 



f T. Stewart, "The Kainfall of the Cape Peninsula," a paper read before the 

 S. A. Phil. Soc, Feb. 6, 1901. 



I There does not seem to be any tendency in South Africa to a simple 

 relationship between rainfall and altitude, as is sometimes found in more truly 

 mountainous countries. 



§ See also D. E. Hutchins, "Kainfall of S. Africa," in C. G. H. Agricultural 

 Journal, Dec. 9, 1897. 



