1882.] Preliminary Report to the Solar Physics Committee. 417 



7. The following are questions which suggest themselves with refe- 

 rence to the numbers of Table II : — 



In the first place, do the inequalities of declination-range at all 

 correspond with those of temperature-range ? and, secondly, if so, what 

 is the difference in phase between the two sets of inequalities ? 



I shall endeavour to reply to the last question first. In order to do 

 so, let us take any three months of temperature-range, and try to find 

 how far it is necessary to push forward the declination-range numbers 

 in order to obtain the maximum amount of correspondence between 

 them and those of the temperature-range for the three months under 

 consideration. This will be denoted by a maximum algebraic sum of 

 the two inequalities ; in fine, we pursue precisely the same process as 

 that adopted for ascertaining the difference of phase when comparing 

 together the declination-ranges at Kew and Prague ("Proc. Roy* 

 Soc," vol. 29, page 316). 



Now let us perform a number of such operations, taking various 

 sets of three months each, so that the middles of the sets may corre- 

 spond, as far as possible, to the middles of the various months between 

 the beginning of 1871 and the end of 1872. 



8. The results of this process are exhibited in Tables III and IV, 

 in which, for shortness' sake, the various months of the year are num- 

 bered in order, instead of being named. 



9. The results of Tables III and IV are conveniently embodied in 

 the following table : — 



Table V. — Showing by how many Days the Declination-range Fluc- 

 tuation precedes the corresponding Temperature-range Fluctuation. 



Corresponding to middle 

 of month. 



J anuarv . . 

 February. . 

 March 



April 



May 



June 



July 



August. . . , 

 September 

 October . . 

 ^November , 

 December 



Precedence of Declination. 



First year. 



Second rear. Mean 



6 

 6 

 5 

 9 

 9 

 12 

 13 

 9 

 7 

 10 

 12 



4 

 5 

 5 

 9 

 9 

 11 

 13 

 10 

 5 



9 

 9 



11 -5 

 18 



9-5 



6 



8-5 

 12 



It thus appears that the precedence of declination is smallest about 

 the equinoxes and greatest about the solstices, and it seems probable / 



