COUNCIL FOR 1878. 
13 
Mr. Wakefield reports that the chief meteorological features 
of the past year were the prevalence of uniform barometrical 
pressure, the mildness of the first four months, the entire 
absence of frost in May, the genial weather of July, the wetness 
of August, the heavy snow storms of November, and the severe 
cold of the same month which also prevailed during the whole 
of December. 
The mean height of the mercurial column, corrected to 32° 
F. and mean sea level, was 29*8941 inches ; the highest reading 
was 30*679 inches on March 16th, and the lowest 29*032 inches 
on April 1st, giving a range of pressure of 1*647 against that 
of 1877 of 2*022 inch. 
The mean temperature for the year was 48*10 or 0*5 of a 
degree above a mean of fifty years. The first five months each 
showed an excess over the average. June alone out of the first 
ten fell below its normal warmth. January, February, July 
and October, were 3*21, 3*55, 3*44 and 2*36 degrees above the 
respective means. Seven times the thermometer exceeded 80 
degrees, viz., on June 26th, 27th, and July 17th, 18th, 19th, 
20th, 21st; and the hottest whole days were June 26th and 
July 19th, with a mean temperature of 74*5 and 72*5 degrees 
respectively. The coldest mean day temperature was on 
December 14th, with 19*5 degrees. The difference between the 
highest point reached in the year and the lowest, amounted to 
77 degrees, while in 1877 the range was 5*7 degrees between 
the extremes; and the difference between the warmest whole 
day and the coldest was 55 degrees. There were 85 frosty 
nights in the year, viz., in January 10, February 10, March 14, 
April 6, October 1, November 14, and December 30. The 
mean temperatiu’e of December was 30*01 degrees or 8*69 
degrees below the average of 50 years. Every day except the 
last four was below the mean. The mean daily temperatime of 
the fifteen coldest clays consecutively was 25*1 degrees, while 
that of the same number of days, though not consecutive, in 
1874 was 26*4 degrees. The lowest reading of the thermometer 
was 11 degrees on the 24th as against 5 degrees on the 29th of 
the same month in 1874, and 4 degrees on 24th December, 
1860. The following table exhibits the months of excess and 
defect of temperatui’e. 
