1876.] Report of the Meteorological Committee. 207 



1872. Discussion of the aneinomefcrical results at Bermuda, 1859-63. 



1873. Eainfall of the Loudon district for 60 years, 1816-1872, by 



G. Dines, E.M.S. 

 Results of observations taken at certain stations of the Second 

 Order for the year 1873.] 



The Appendix last mentioned leads to an important subject calling for 

 remark — the study of the climatal conditions of these islands by means 

 of returns from stations auxiliary to the self-recording observatories. 



Such stations have been gradually organized ; and in January 1873 the 

 Committee were able to inform the Registrar-General, in reply to an in- 

 quiry made by him, that if the Office were called upon to furnish mate- 

 rials to him for his statistical returns, it was in a position to do so. 



Of late the list of stations in connexion with the Office has received 

 an important reinforcement by the conclusion of au arrangement by 

 which the Meteorological Society (of London) supplies returns from some 

 of its stations, in return for a small annual grant to defray the expense 

 of copying. 



That Society has recently organized a system of stations with much 

 care, which exhibit a satisfactory agreement as to the character of the 

 instruments and the conditions under which all the observations are taken. 



This cooperation of the Society, and of a considerable number of pri- 

 vate observers throughout the country who have volunteered to supply 

 their schedules of observation gratis, renders it possible for the Office to 

 take its part in the general international scheme of publication of returns 

 from eye-observations proposed by the Permanent Committee of the 

 Vienna Congress, in order to facilitate climatological inquiries. 



The publication of these returns, demanded for 15 stations in the 

 United Kingdom, has been commenced for England and Ireland. As for 

 Scotland, it is hoped that the Scottish Meteorological Society will supply 

 their quota of materials for this international object. 



The Committee have felt it their duty to afford every facility to their 

 Director to attend, as their representative, the meetings of the various 

 Meteorological Congresses which have been held of late years, and, more- 

 over, have entertained the members of the Conference on Maritime Me- 

 teorology, which was held at their Office in August 1874. 



The Office is therefore at present fulfilling all that is called for from 

 this country for international purposes, as defined by the Permanent 

 Committee of the Vienna Congress ; and there can be -no doubt that the 

 information now coming in is, as regards accuracy, fully equal, if not supe- 

 rior, to any published from a similar system of stations in any country. 



Further may be mentioned the fact of the recent publication by the 

 Office, at the request of the Government, of a volume entitled "Instruc- 

 tions in the Use of Meteorological Instruments," which has been com- 

 piled with the assistance of several meteorologists unconnected with the 

 Office. 



VOL. XXTV. Q 



