40 On the Temperature of the Sea, and its Injiaence 
3. Tlic same around tlic coast of Scotland, by the Scottish Meteoro- 
lo^'^-'i'l Society. 
4. Extracts from the Log-books of Cuuard's steam-ships, showing 
the temperature of the sea and air six times in tlie twenty-four 
hours for each month, between Liverpool and New York. 
5. In reference to rainfall, I established some years back, with the 
aid of many observers, two lines of gauges from the Western coast 
over the highlands to the interior. They were worked for me by 
many careful observers, wlio kindly gave me a helping hand in 
this inquiry ; and monthly returns were sent me extending ovei'- 
several years. 
G. The Transactions of the Meteorological Societies of England 
and Scotland. 
Thus the materials are at present as abundant as they were 
before scanty, and furnish the means of investigating in all neces- 
sary details the subject of this paper. 
The reduction of this larg-e mass of observations was a matter 
of considerable difficulty and labour. The returns from the coast 
stations were readily resolved into monthly means, but the scat- 
tered observations on the open sea around these islands required 
to be embodied in a set of twelve charts, showing the monthly 
results ; and the records from Cunard's Log-books formed another 
set of twelve charts, extending across the North Atlantic. Of 
these only the January and June charts, combined in one, 
are printed with this paper ; but a lull comprehension of the 
whole subject could not have been obtained without tracing it 
throughout all its monthly variations over the wide Atlantic. 
The observations taken at the coast stations are reduced and 
arranged in the Table on page 41. 
On comparing the readings of the thermometers at the shore 
stations with those a short distance from the land in the winter 
months, they showed a lower temperature for the water on the 
coast line than in the open sea, arising probably fi om the chilling 
effect of the cold night air of the land, and the lower temperature 
of the rivers ; and in order to obtain results uninfluenced by these 
causes I constructed charts of the seas around the British islands 
and laid down on them such observations of sea temperature as I 
could obtain. On the combined charts (see opposite) the 
January observations show the amount of heat in the winter 
sea ; and those of June, distinguished by being severally" 
inclosed in a ring, have been selected, not as showing the 
highest temperature of the summer, but because the observa- 
tions were then more numennis and perfect than in July, 
especially, in the narrow part of the Atlantic between Norway 
and Iceland, where the course and character of the north- 
eastern 
