ino 
TfTE THOPIOAL AGRICn.TrrdST 
for a (Ire extinjiuislicr. The ingredients are fjiven 
as common nalt and sal HmuKiniac (iiifnite of 
soda). As sal animoniac is not nitrate of soda but 
ainnioniuni chloride, one is luiahle to make out 
wlietlier sal animoniac or nitrate of soda the 
second ingredient. As the correct ieei|je M'i!l he 
a u.s'iful one, and as mixed chemicals are not 
always safe, it would he an advantage to have 
the point cleared up.— Yours, ic. C, D. 
HIGHEST RAINFALL IN 24 HOURS. 
27th July, 1898. 
DkaR Sir,— The following; correspondence on the 
above suhject is interesting now that Ceylon i4 
competing with (^aeensland and India for the high- 
est record rainfall in 24 hours. — Yours truly, 
C. D. 
A IIemai!KAI;lb Raiwall.— r send a few particulars 
of the icoent rdinarkable v.iii)fi>U at Crohamhurst 
situated on the weateni slope of Mout Blanc, 'i peak 
on a spur of the D'Aguilar Han^'e, au offset from 
the Blaokal I Ranges, South Eistorn (Queensland. The 
whole of this district is watered by the Stanley 
river:, a tributary of the Brisbane river, and hence 
the values givou below were piominent factors in 
producing the terrible floods from which we have 
suffered. I may mention that the observer at Cro- 
hamhurst is Mr. Inigo Owen Jones, one of my speci- 
ally trained assistants, and that implicit reliance 
can be placed on his figures. The following are the 
more remarkable falls of the flood period at Croham- 
hurst : — For 24 hour.s ending 9 a.m. February 1 
10-775 iuchos; ditto February 2, 20 OoG inches; ditto 
February if, SiVTM inches; ditto Pfhruary 4, 
10-760 inches. The gauge is a standard of the' 
"eight inch" pattern, sttinding one foot above tlie 
ground at >vn aUiiude of about 1400 feet above 
mean sea level. The approximate hititude und longi- 
tude of Crohamhurst are 2(5° uO'S. l.")2° 5:".'K. The 
Kauge was emjUieil ovpry three hours, night and day, 
on the occasion of the greatest fall. I think in«leoro' 
legists will n.greo that for a 21 lionrs fall wo have 
beateu the world's record. Clement 1j. Wra^'ge, Go- 
vernment Meteorologist of Queensland. (L^te of Ben 
Nevis). Brisbane, March 22. 
—Nature, May 4, 1893. 
This Greatb3T Rainf.vlt, in Twkntv-i.'oi'r Hofas. 
In N'ttwre, May 4, !Ur. Clement Wragge, of Brisbane 
coi.fideutly asierts that Queensland has beaten the 
world's record in the extraordinary amount recorded 
on February 3, viz., 3o'7 inches. I am sorry to have 
to take away such an unenviable palm tcorn Queens- 
land, by recalling; a fact well-known to every Indian 
Meteorologist that the liiijheat record extent balonfs 
to Chirapunji, in the Khisia hills, where on June 
14, 1876, 40'8 inclies were rjcoiiled in the tweuty-foiir 
hours. Not only so, but on th;^ 12(,h 30 inches fell 
and in the four davs, from the ]2ih, to the 15th 
inclusive, as much 102 inches. Of course the 
effects were not so disastrous in thi^ case, as indeed 
such a state of thing? is little removed from the 
normal at China in tin early part of June, but I 
have a very clear recollection of it as I was at 
Chirapunji on the 12th and 13tn, and not far from 
it on the memorable 14th The conditions which 
have occurred in Queensland and the North Islands 
of New Zealand during the last sis months hsive 
been a remarkable example of persistent abnormals, 
and though the total number o£ rational causes m y 
still be wantiuf^ to explain everything, one or two 
were evidently in "operation when I tva.; there from 
October to January, and I am confident that from 
the empirical liw of persistency, coupled with a few 
rational inferences, a forecast of impjnding floods 
could have been made and can be m.o.,de for the 
future, much in the same way as tUe geiieral 
character of the monsoon can be foretold in India 
(iV({fitre,|May 13 1893.) 
With regard to the statement made by Mr. E 
Douglas Archiba d iu our issue of May 25th, that 
the hifihest rainfall in twe.,ty.four hours i"'. 
jncbe^ registered at Chirapui.ji, m the KhasI hilh a 
correspondent write, to 'he t',,v/o,. O/.,.,.,' al fol 
ows If tne 7,«f,«„ J'l„uUr»' Gazette of 2«th Jan 
o 'lVi'i\^°i"*'''' fo'lowiug paragraph establiBhe. 
a 8t.ll higher reoord. ()„ pa«;e 59 one reads : oTx 
correspondent writes on J.inuarv 21th 
Ju .'•„ »'f<l"«''' hid Winches of rain, iud all 
the hills are covered with snow. It i. still raining 
i<or thi.j to hive any scientific value, however it 
must be known who were the observere, and by What 
meauB the rainfall was gaug.d,-.V«'«rr. July' 27th. 
HiOHRsr Riixi ALL IN TwENTv loUB Hocm.-With 
r-^ference ro the paragraph qrotH in vour not-s of 
thH w.iSK s •• .s uure'' from ih:. y,<7/«» Hantt,:,' Oaz.tU, 
o .Ian 2;jih Iv'.n the m^st .elementary knowledge, 
of Indian me eorology woall sufli'-e to show that 
tlie rematkihle figure. 4h inches, supposed to reor«. 
sent the fall of a single nig'.it in Jann.ry at Dehr. 
Dumi H simply a misprint f .r 4.s Tue entire rain 
Ull of the w.nter season iu no part of ludi^ 
exceeds one-half this amount, and I havenohcsi- 
ation in d,^lan„K m.cI, a figure a. 4S inches in 
t.v|.nty four hours to be absolutely without precodent 
and in my opinion, so extraordinary at such a season 
that. If It really were 48, it would require us to 
regard all existing Indian meteorological data with 
suspicion. Thirty inches in twenty "four hours has 
T,i? r*'" recorded at Chirapunji iu June and 
July. Can any one show a single instance of even 
20 inches in twenty.four hour, at Dehra Dun,?" 
Moreyer, tne whole annual supply »t Dehra Dann ie 
only,., inches, while that of Chirapunji is 000 incbe, 
E. DOUGLAS ARCHIBALD ' 
CEYLON TEA IN GERMANY 
UHGtNT APPKAL. 
AN 
^ fijniniadiia, July, 30 
l)l:.\M SIR,— It seems an age sin-e I lifted mv 
pen t<. open my mind lo yon, l.ui having ju/t 
retnrnc! from .1 very enjoy.al.le trip of „i„e .jiy, 
I caiinot let ih.^ inipr&s.<ions received from mv 
journeying he altogether lost. 1 shall not at nre- 
sent attempt to describe in.lividual e.state* 
factories or the hospitalities I met with in 
Badulla, L dapu*sell«wa an I Dolosbaffe, but rush 
to the subjects I feel most deeply cone -m the 
^I'tLraS. ^'^ '"^--ti'y ««<ie*vourin^ 
I was greatly plea.sed to see. that .so many 
papers had given favourable noties.s of the Plan 
ters Association Commeinoration present to the 
Eniperor of Au.stria, and think that now is a 
htting opportunity for the Thirty Committee to 
show their appreciation of the notices, by send- 
ing each of the Ediwrs of those papers a 50 lb 
box of the best hoiis.diold tea the country can 
produce. In sending tiiese presents tne Committee 
might also advocate the reduction of the import 
duty on tea in Au.nria pointing out .some of 
the advantages the reduction of the duty would 
bring to the people in.liviJually, and to he 
great increase of revenue their Country would 
receive Con.pann? Euglan I'.s consumption of tea 
lent' day' ° ^''at the pre 
tlJ'l-p?^-^'"r.^'°'^'°'"^'' ^'^^"'-'^ ^'^^ approach 
th ueim.tii Government on beh.ilf of the ^reat 
1 viastj y winch ,s so often spoken of ani rrnlv^con 
SKlered t:.e backbone of this country. \V?rhTut 
he tea planting industry, Oeyion would be in a 
very bad way. It is therefore to my mind the 
duty of t:ie G .vern-n^nt to help t.'iat industry 
in every possiu.e Ic^idmate way it can, and the/ 
1.5 no way more likely to be productive of aoo 
