"Here we have it clearly put before us that the towns contain a great deal of ammonia. This comes, it may be supposed, mainly from the coal burnt, and the larger quantity in Manchester air agrees with other results. The second column however gives the ammonia from albumen, and we see that the Manchester amount is in that respect greatest also.

"If these results are confirmed by many cases all over the country, it will be difficult to avoid drawing very distinct conclusions affecting several sanitary questions.'

.........

The appended drawings show the different appearances when a drop of the concentrated rain is allowed to evaporate on a piece of glass.

"The crystals appear different in all places tried. When the air around works is examined it is necessary to keep such information as this in mind. The question regarding the effect of such substances on health is one which cannot receive a very ready answer."

"A specimen is under examination from North Uist. The crystals are large cubes of common salt only. At Row they are clearly common salt, but the crystals less complete. Before great towns are reached the land changes the rain."

"It seems certain that chlorides come directly from the sea, or, in other words, that salt is continually floating in the air, so that we must not be too certain that chemical works are doing

FIG. 2.-Sublimate from London Rain.

FIG. 3.-Row Rain, Gareloch, Clyde.

the evil whenever we find chlorides in rain water.

It is only

by a careful examination of the quantity that we can judge." "With the above results from the rain before us we see the advantage of examining the air chemically, instead of merely by trials on our own health or on plants. The rain does in reality give us the washings of the air: with pure air we have pure rain."

The editor abstains from entering on the subject of other bodies contained in the air as not coming so strictly within his present subject. The very popular remarks of Professor Tyndale, "On dust and disease," which have been made so widely known of late, will have brought that part of the subject very fully before most of us.

DISTRIBUTION OF RAIN IN 1869.

As regards the rainfall throughout England generally during the past year, Mr. Symons reports that the proportion of places in which the rainfall was in excess of the average to those in which it was below it were as thirty-five to sixteen, say, two to one, "and therefore that the fall in England was rather above the average. Closer scrutiny shows that (with two or three exceptions, due probably to records not kept with perfect accuracy,) the geographical distribution of the rainfall of 1869 is readily understood."

"There was a marked deficiency in the extreme south-west, in Devon and Cornwall, and a slighter one in the north-eastern counties. Between these two localities very considerable excesses prevailed; in fact, all over the Midland counties the rainfall was above the mean, by amounts ranging from one to twenty-five per cent, and averaging fifteen per cent. At a great many stations the fall was within one or two per cent. of the mean, and taking the average of all English stations, we find the average of the year to have been five per cent. above the mean."

In Scotland "the deficiency was greatest in the south-east part of the country, and extended some distance northward,

but was less marked. In Ross-shire the deficiency was trifling, and in the Orkneys there was an excess."

As regards Ireland, "At Cork there was a deficiency, in the Middle there was an excess, and in the North again a deficiency.” For "the British Isles, taken as a whole, the fall was about one per cent. above the average."

As regards our own district the tables will show the result at a glance.

The following table, taken from Mr. Symons' very valuable work, "The British Rainfall for 1869," will be read with interest.