purposes, it surely ought to be possible to turn to account the defective receipts of rain gauges high above the surface; and in the absence of a better, perhaps the following suggestion may be of service-Watering-places and other towns of fashionable and wealthy resort, are always naturally desirous of advertising their attractions. Knowing that their visitors dislike rain, their business is clearly to prove that they are remarkably exempt from it. It is true that a wet day is comfortless and a bore simply because it is wet, not because the rain is or is not heavy; hence all that is necessary is to place the town gauge high above the ground, make no record of the number of wet days, publish the annual rainfall thus ascertained, and with it those of towns which have no temptation to this form of utilization. The rainfall will undoubtedly stand in very favourable contrast with that of any of the other towns, and the general public will readily conclude that the wet days were correspondingly few.

Seriously, however, our method of collecting rainfall data is anything but satisfactory, and the figures must fail in the rigid accuracy which science requires.

In concluding this part of my paper, I venture to express the hope that at no distant day all observers will employ gauges of the same size and construction, which shall be tested before being located; that they shall all be at one uniform small height above the surface; that the ground on which they are placed shall be at least approximately level, and quite unoccupied for some distance from them; that none of them shall be placed on buildings, since these, especially when large, cannot but be thermal agents and

affect the rainfall; that, with the exception of a few very elevated stations, the number of wet days shall be duly recorded; and that, for ascertaining the exact relation of rainfall to height above the surface, a series of such gauges shall, at least, at one station in each county, be placed practically in the same vertical line at uniform successive distances, say of 10 feet.

Without intending to express any doubt respecting the accuracy of other gauges, it may be stated that probably none are to be preferred to the "fiveinch gauge" made by Mr. Casella, under the auspices of the British Association, and which, through the figured above. It consists of a Receiver, The last, of course, requires no descrip

tion; and the reservoir may be dismissed with the remark that it is a bottle of stone or glass, 9.7 inches high. The Receiver is a copper circular funnel, 5 inches in diameter, 4 8 inches deep, and terminating in a tube 8.5 inches long and 3 inch in internal diameter. Outside this, and soldered to the bottom of the funnel, is a cylindrical phlange, 2 25 inches deep, and having between it and the tube a space for the reception of the head of the reservoir, which it exactly fits, so that when united a horizontal section through the phlange would disclose three tightly-fitting concentric tubes. The phlange keeps the receiver steady, prevents the rain which falls on the outside of the funnel from leaking into the bottle, and reduces to a minimum the evaporation of the contents of the reservoir. When fitted together the height of the instrument is 14 1 inches; but when in use it is placed firmly in the ground, and should have its top 9 inches above the surface.

Supposed Influence of the Moon on the Rainfall.—That the moon is very influential in, or at least closely connected with, all changes of the weather, is a belief at once widely spread and deeply rooted. Our satellite can neither be full, nor new, nor "fill her horns," without, as is popularly believed, causing or indicating some alteration in the state of the weather. If she is caught "lying on her back," or, in other words, if, when she is less than a semicircle, her cusps are pointed upwards so that the straight line joining them is more or less approximately parallel to the horizontal plane, the fact is supposed to be an indication if not the cause of rain. If she submits to be "towed by one star and chased by another," that is, if she is between and near two conspicuous stars, so that the three bodies are at least nearly in a straight line, the fishermen expect a storm.

Though meteorologists show no favour to these and many similar beliefs, some of them admit that it is neither unphilosophical nor contrary to fact to regard the moon as a meteorological agent. Thus, Sir John Herschel, from his own observations, regards it as a meteorological fact that the clouds have a tendency to disappear under the full moon, and adds that a slight preponderance in respect of quantity of rain near the new moon over that which falls near the full, would be a natural and necessary consequence of a preponderance of a cloudless sky about the full. M. Arago, who concurs in this opinion, states that the expression "the moon eats the clouds," is common in France among country people, and especially among sailors.† The latter philosopher adds that the results obtained from meteorological observations in Germany and in Paris, were that the maximum number of rainy days occurred between the first quarter and full moon, and the minimum between the last *Outlines of Astronomy,' par. 432, and note, p. 285. 5th edit. 1858. +Popular Astronomy,' Smyth's Translation, vol. ii., ch. xxiii., pp. 311-313.

1858.

VOL. VII.

2 K

quarter and new moon; the ratios being 100: 121.4 in Germany, and 100 126 in Paris; but that in the south of France the minimum number of rainy days occurred between the full moon and the last quarter. He concludes with the remark that "the question requires to be examined afresh.'

Having by me an unbroken series of carefully-made rainfall observations from the beginning of 1864 to the present time, I have tabulated the results below so as to show the amount of rain, the number of wet days, and the wet-day rate of rain in each of the four quarters of the seventy-four complete lunations, beginning with the new moon on January 9th, 1864, and ending with January 1st, 1870-a period of 2185 days.

The word "quarter," as used here, may be defined thus:-The first quarter begins with the day of the new moon, and ends with the day immediately preceding that on which, according to the almanac, the moon reaches the first quarter, and so on for the others.

From the foregoing Table, it is obvious that with regard to the three pluvial elements, in South Devon, during the six years ending with January 1st, 1870, the four quarters of the seventy-four moons may be arranged, in descending order, as below:

*Popular Astronomy,' Smyth's Translation, vol. ii., ch. xxxv., pp. 317, 318. The rainfall of one "second quarter" was exactly 25 per cent. of that of the

lunation.

How the Earth is presented towards the Sun, during
the Eclipse, and the path of the Moon's Shadow.