608 



Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 



[No. 5, 



of the entire system would be entrusted, and would be tlie immediate 

 superior of the local Reporters. His duties would be to issue in- 

 structions as to the local Officers, to superintend the comparison and 

 distribution of instruments, and their repair when necessary. He 

 would carry on all correspondence with the Government and local 

 Officers, and would receive all local reports, from which he would 

 undertake the preparation of maps and such general reductions of the 

 results of the department as would bring them into a form readily 

 available to Government and the public, for general application. He 

 would also place himself in communication with the Meteorological 

 Departments of England and other countries, with a view to the 

 exchange of Meteorological data, and in order that European Science 

 might avail itself of the undoubtedly valuable additions which sys- 

 tematic observations in an inter-tropical country, possessing features so 

 marked and varied as those of India, . cannot fail to afford. These 

 duties would demand much scientific knowledge and administrative 

 capacity; and indeed the success of the system must, in a great 

 measure, depend on the efficiency of this Officer. It would probably 

 not be practicable to obtain a person qualified for the post at any 

 salary below 1,000 Eupees per mensem, with travelling expenses and 

 office allowance superadded. The appointment of some such officer is ? 

 it is considered, an essential part of any useful scheme of Meteorolo- 

 gical registration, and the greatest care should be exercised in the 

 selection of a person for the post. 



The local Reporters, of whom one to each Government would 

 probably prove sufficient at the outset, need not, it is considered, be 

 Officers appointed exclusively to Meteorological work. It would be 

 highly desirable that they should possess something beyond a mere 

 empirical knowledge of Meteorology, and should be at least well 

 acquainted with those portions of physics and physical geography 

 which most closely relate to Meteorological phenomena ; and to secure 

 such qualifications, either a high salary must be offered, or a more 

 moderate salary as an addition to that drawn for some other appoint- 

 ment. The latter course would probably be preferred; the more 

 readily, as a larger field of selection would in this way be secured. 

 It is considered desirable that persons habitually devoted to the pursuit 

 of abstract knowledge, such as, for instance, some of the Professors of 

 the Government or other Colleges 3 should, as a rule, be preferred for 

 these appointments. 



