44 Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 
30 years is only 1*20 inch, which may also be considered as of no 
importance for practical purposes. The records for Disa Head do not 
show a similar state of affairs ; but, as already pointed out, the rainfall 
recorded at this station does not afford a safe indication of what takes 
place on other parts of the mountain. 
It may therefore be said that in so far as the determining of the 
average annual rainfall is concerned the statistics for the 11 years 1893 
to 1903 inclusive are as suitable as the data obtained over the period 
of 30 years. 
The agreement of the averages for the 11 years 1893 to 1903 inclusive 
with the averages for the same rain-gauges for the 30 years 1882 to 1911 
inclusive is more than usually interesting, because the first year of the 
11-year period was, with one exception (1896), the driest which has been 
recorded on Table Mountain since the taking of observations began, and 
the three following years, 1894, 1895, and 1896, were the three consecu- 
tive driest years. In striking contrast to the state of affairs which ruled 
during the first few years of the period is the fact that the last year but 
one of the period (1902) was the wettest year which has been recorded 
since the taking of observations on the mountain began. 
So far I have dealt chiefly with the average rainfall as observed at 
the various stations, but this paper would be incomplete without some 
reference being made to the wettest station. As will be seen by 
Table " A," the heaviest rainfall is recorded at McLear's Beacon 
gauge, which is on the summit of the mountain. Eegular records 
were obtained from this station for the first time in 1893. For 1896, 
which was the driest year, the total rainfall was 73*34 inches as com- 
pared with 59"58 inches at St. Michael's, which up to 1893 was the 
station returning the heaviest rainfall. The heaviest rainfall for any one 
month was recorded in August, 1899, when 36*58 inches fell, and for one 
year — in 1902 — when the total fall was 126' 18 inches. 
