THE RAINFALL OF AUSTRALIA. 257 
the year being very wet, whilst the middle six months are 
extremely dry. 
The coast from Perth to Albany has a good and sufficient 
rainfall, but from Albany all round the Australian Bight 
the rainfall is very scanty. For Adelaide I have shewn a 
wind chart, and this seems to be an illustration of a well 
known law, viz., “If the winds, even though having 
traversed a large extent of Ocean, yet on arriving at the 
land proceed to lower latitudes or regions markedly warmer, 
the rainfall is small or nil.’’' 
It will be seen that the best rains in the wheat growing 
area near Adelaide occur in the middle six months, when 
wheat crops require good rain; then, the winds are chiefly 
northerly, and but little rain falls in the first and fourth 
quarters when the winds are chiefly from the Southern 
Ocean; this reverses the conditions at Palmerston. In 
some few cases I have shewn in which part of the year the 
greatest rain falls—at Palmerston, Geralton (Q.), Adelaide 
and other places. _ 
To get a true estimate of the rain conditions, the quar- 
terly returns should be shewn in each case, or better still, 
monthly returns. With this information supplemented by 
temperature records, one could determine with much 
accuracy What crops would be suitable for cultivation in 
any given part, always supposing that the soil is good. I 
should like to see such work undertaken by the Common- 
wealth Government. It would greatly benefit intending 
settlers from other countries. 
Coming to Tasmania, a very remarkable irregularity © 
appears in the rainfall. Whilst asmall part near the north- 
west coast has an annual rainfall up to 145 inches, at 
Hobart there has never been more than 40 inches, and that 
1 Encyc. Brit. 
Q —Dec. 2, 1908. 
