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tropics, through which I have passed, I have found that the atmosphere has 
been so saturated with moisture that at night, when the temperature has 
become reduced and condensation has taken place, the deck of the steam 
vessel would be absolutely wet, as if recently washed, owing to the deposition 
of dew or moisture upon the surface. (Applause.) 
Dep.-Surgeon-General N. Chevers, C.I.E. — I was for a long time a near 
neighbour of Sir Joseph Fayrer’s in India. I have been at Chittagong, 
where we had about 160 inches of rainfall in the year. It is pleasant to re- 
member that, the very first, I believe, of the numerous illustrations of natural 
science in every part of India by which Sir Joseph Fayrer has enriched 
our literature, was a contribution to the meteorology of Burrnah, in which he 
undertook the very difficult task of obtaining for a specified time, the hourly 
temperature, the rainfall, and the barometrical readings of that district. 
He and Mr. J. Bedford were the only men who were the actual pioneers 
in this work. Then followed what was certainly a violent measure on the 
part of the Government, and I am afraid that Sir Joseph Fayrer and 
Mr. Bedford are to be charged with bringing it down upon us. The 
Government sent us a most terrific paper, upon which already hard- 
worked men were expected to register the dry and wet bulb and barometrical 
readings, and the direction of the wind, six times a day, to observe also 
during the night what were the prevailing winds ; and, at the end of the 24 
hours, to register the rainfall. I am now speaking of two and thirty years 
ago, and some of the results were very curious. For instance, some 
barometrical readings, which Mr. Bedford told me had been sent to him, were 
of a very wonderful and surprising character ; upon his inquiring whether 
they could possibly be true readings, the observer wrote back to him, saying, 
“ You are employed in registering atmospheric phenomena ; this is an 
atmospheric phenomenon , and you must register it. 5 ’ There was one pheno- 
menon for which I can vouch. A surgeon who was very much overworked, 
made the duty over to the sub-assistant surgeon, who, I am afraid, made it over 
to a native doctor, who observed that a certain wind blew “ due east-west ” 
for a whole week. (Laughter.) This was registered in one of the documents, 
and there may have been well nigh as little accuracy in some of the other 
conjectural registers. It was my duty, as secretary to the Medical Board, to 
make over the whole mass of these records to one of the brothers Slagen- 
thweit, who afterwards died in India, who, I believe, was unable to publish 
them ; still, many of them were true and accurate documents, very carefully 
compiled by such men as Sir Joseph Fayrer and Mr. Bedford ; and, if they 
could be recovered now, they would give some very curious and interesting 
information. This was all before the time of Mr. Blanford. There was one 
point which interested me very much in Sir Joseph Fayrer’s paper, and that 
was the allusion made to the effects of tree vegetation on the rainfall. I 
remember one or two spots which were wide wastes of sand swept bare by 
the mighty river the Brahmapootra, and which were left entirely without 
the appearance of vegetation for several months in the year ; but we 
