Himalayan Journals — Volume 2: Or, Notes of a Naturalist in Bengal, the Sikkim and Nepal Himalayas, the Khasia Mountains, etc.Hooker, Joseph Dalton
History
Himalayan Journals — Volume 2: Or, Notes of a Naturalist in Bengal, the Sikkim and Nepal Himalayas, the Khasia Mountains, etc.
Hooker, Joseph Dalton
Himalaya Mountains -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Himalaya Mountains
A good Photometer being still a desideratum, I had recourse to the
old wedge of coloured glass, of an uniform neutral tint, the distance
between whose extremes, or between transparency and total opacity,
was one foot. A moveable arm carrying a brass plate with a slit and a
vernier, enables the observer to read off at the vanishing point of
the sun's limb, to one five-hundredth of an inch. I generally took
the mean of five readings as one, and the mean of five of these again
I regarded as one observation; but I place little dependence upon the
results. The causes of error are quite obvious. As far as the effects
of the sun's light on vegetation are concerned, I am inclined to
think that it is of more importance to register the number of
hours or rather of parts of each hour, that the sun shines, and its
clearness during the time. To secure valuable results this should be
done repeatedly, and the strength of the rays by the black-bulb
thermometer registered at each hour. The few actinometer observations
will be found in another part of the Appendix.
The dew-point has been calculated from the wet-bulb, by Dr. Apjohn's
formula, or, where the depression of the barometer is considerable,
by that as modified by Colonel Boileau.* [Journal of Asiatic Society,
No. 147 (1844), p.135.] The saturation-point was obtained by dividing
the tension at the dew-point by that at the ordinary temperature, and
the weight of vapour, by Daniell's formula.
The following summary of meteorological observations is alluded to at
vol. i., chapter i.
I.--_Table-land of Birbhoom and Behar, from Taldanga to Dunwah.
Average elevation 1,135 feet._
It is evident from these observations, that compared with Calcutta,
the dryness of the atmosphere is the most remarkable feature of this
table-land, the temperature not being high; and to this, combined
with the sterility of the soil over a great part of the surface, must
be attributed the want of a vigorous vegetation. Though so favourably
exposed to the influence of nocturnal radiation, the amount of the
latter is small. The maximum depression of a thermometer laid on
grass never exceeded 10 degrees, and averaged 7 degrees; whereas the
average depression of the dew-point at the same hour amounted to 25
degrees in the morning. Of course no dew was deposited even in the
clearest star-light night.
February 1848.
Hour Sunrise 9 a.m. 3 p.m. 9 p.m.
TEMPERATURE
Mean 56.6 70.1 75.5 61.7
Max. 65.2 77.0 81.7 66.2
Min. 46.3 61.2 65.2 55.5
Range 18.9 15.8 16.5 10.7
WET-BULB
Mean 48.2 53.7 55.3 49.3
Max. Depression 12.5 19.3 22.5 20.5
Min. Depression 6.0 14.3 16.7 9.0
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive