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VI. — The Meteorology of Edinburgh. By Robert C. Mossman, F.R.S.E., 

 F.R. Met. Soc. (With Four Plates.) 



(Read 1st March 1897.) 



PART II. 



Preliminary. 



The first part of this paper was communicated to the Society on June 1, 1896, 

 and published in the Transactions (vol. xxxviii. part iii., No. 20, pp. 681-755), the 

 data there discussed being mean values of the climatic elements for each day in the 

 year. 



In the present paper an attempt will be made to focus the results deduced from 

 an examination and reduction of the various meteorological registers kept in Edinburgh 

 from 1731 to 1736 and from 1764 to the present time, with special reference to secular 

 and other weather changes. 



The condensed results of a number of minor papers dealing with subjects which 

 have, in many cases, formed part of the daily routine of observation during the last 

 ten years have also been included. Attention may also be called to the list of 

 remarkable atmospheric occurrences, such as phenomenal gales, snow-storms, auroras, etc. , 

 which is contained in the appendix. In presenting this paper my warm thanks must 

 be expressed to Dr Buchan, from whom I received invaluable advice when points of 

 difficulty arose in the reduction of the observations. 



Barometric Pressure. 



The preparation of Table I., showing the mean monthly and annual air pressure 

 since 1769, has been a work of considerable labour. This was more especially the 

 case with the observations taken prior to the establishment of the Scottish 

 Meteorological Society in 1856. During the last forty years these observations have 

 been examined and checked by the Secretary, who further tested the instruments 

 at the Society's stations. The errors of the barometers were thus known and 

 allowed for in the calculation of the monthly means, while any accidental dis- 

 placement of the mercury or other injury was at once apparent on comparing the 

 returns with those made at stations in the vicinity of Edinburgh. The values for 

 the period 1856 to 1896 were accordingly extracted from the Journals of the Scottish 

 Meteorological Society, and entered in the table, any blanks in the observations being 

 made good from the records of contiguous stations by interpolation and differentia- 

 tion. No such easy method of dealing with the older observations presented itself, 



VOL. XXXIX. PART I. (NO. 6). N 



