METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT CHISWICK IN 1903. 543 



REPORT ON THE METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE 

 IN THE SOCIETY'S GARDENS AT CHISWICK IN 1903. 



By Edward Mawley, Past-President R.Met.Soc. 



There has been no change during the year in the position of any of the 

 instruments, and the readings have been taken regularly, as in the four 

 previous years, by the observer, Mr. T. W. Turner, at 9 a.m. each day. 

 After carefully checking the entries in the observation book and com- 

 paring all those which appeared in any way doubtful with similar 

 observations made at other meteorological stations in the London dis- 

 trict, it was found necessary to alter only four of the entries. In seven 

 cases the columns of figures had been incorrectly added up, and in three 

 cases the means had been incorrectly calculated. In June I tested all 

 the thermometers, and where any slight changes had taken place in their 

 readings since they were last examined, the corrections to be used in 

 future by the observer were noted on their Kew certificates. 



Note. — At the beginning of the present year (1904) all the meteoro- 

 logical instruments were moved to the Society's gardens at Wisley, and 

 set up, under the direction of Mr. R. H. Curtis, F. R.Met.Soc, and 

 myself, on an excellent site, within easy access of the cottage of the new 

 observer, Mr. T. Frazer. To the instruments used at Chiswick have 

 been added a Campbell- Stokes sunshine recorder and a self -registering- 

 Robinson anemometer. By the beginning of April this new meteoro- 

 logical station will be in good working order, and the observations from 

 that time duly recorded. 



A Brief Monthly Summary of the Observations taken in the Society's 

 Gardens at Chiswick in 1903. 



January. — Very warm and rather wet. The days were, as a rule, 

 about 2 degrees warmer, and the nights about 3 degrees warmer, than is 

 seasonable. On the coldest night the thermometer on the grass showed 

 16 degrees of frost. 



The rainfall was rather heavy, being about half an inch in excess of 

 the average quantity for the month. 



Mean temperature of the air in shade 41°.2 



Highest „ „ „ ... .... 58°.7 on the 5th 



Lowest „ „ „ 25°.8 „ 16th 



Lowest „ on the grass 15°.8 „ 15th 



At 1 ft. At 2 ft. At 4 ft 

 deep deep. deep. 



Mean temperature of the soil at 9 a.m 39°.6 42°. 1 45°. 1 



Highest „ „ „ 450.3 450.0 46°.8 



Lowest „ „ „ 330.9 3909 43 o 4 



Mean relative humidity of the air at 9 a.m. (complete saturation being 



represented by 100; 87 



Rain fell on 16 days to the total depth of 2-18 ins. 



(Equivalent to about 10 gallons on each square yard of surface in the Gardens.) 

 Heaviest fall on any day 0*73 in. on the 4th 



