New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-15
4 NEAT RTCORD.

Weather records. ~ We have hitherto had
occasion 10 remark. are generally snar" and
bore No matter whether the hottest day.
or the coolest. or whatever else be set down
on the authority Of the official bureau or Of the
oldest inhabitani. somebody else is sure To- pop
UP with an account of some other day that In
some respect Surpasscs H. Nevertheless. Their"
are some well authenticated records which.
whether they are ever broken or not. are
worthy Of remembrance for purposes Of com
parisOp and perhaps Of consolation. such. for
example is the heat record made In Australia
during the last summer II Is 10 bc commended
to the consideration of all New Workers. who
in the next thrc" months may now ana then
feel Inclined 10 complain Of the combination Of
torridity and humidity which alliicts them
From il they will realize that their midsummer
woes. compared with those Of their antipodcan
Kin. are as moonlight unto sunlight. and as
water unto Wnr.'
In this temperate cline when the mercury
enters the nnctirs men complain When II
ncars hundred in the shade they call upon
gods and men to witness that there never was
anything like it before. But suppose il went 10
100 and upward in the shade: lmpOssiblct
by no means Here is an accurate record Of
Fahrenheit readings observed in the shade on
Il vcranda overlooking the Darling River in
New South Wales. in January last: On New
Years Day. ! T. degrees: on January >. l0T:
thence steadily rising to rs on January !: fall
ing 10 ] II on the lWh. only 10 rise to ~ on
the 1lth and then. with some fluctuations as
low as III. but not lower, scoring los the
10Th and 10Th. and 100 on the 18th Such tenn
pcraurcs in the shade seem incredible. But
the record is true From january 10 January
- the range Of heat was from lOI-thc lowest
to 100 degrees in the shade. What il was in
the sun one hcsitatcs 10 think. Al Adelaide
on January % The mercury registered in the
sun the appalling height of 112 degrees Nor
was there any apprcclablc relief from the heat
AT night. For the first three weeks of January
nj no time in the twcnty-four hours did the
mercury fall below 100. and in many places
l0j was the lowest point recorded.
This spell Of weather. was exceptional no
doubt. Just what caused IL is one of the mys-
tcrleS of Nature thus far nscruablc 10 mortal
ken. Theories are plentiful as backbcrrics,
but none Of them convincing. Perhaps the most
significant scientific fact connected with the
case il that in the Southern Hemisphere sum
mcr occurs when the earth is nearest to- and
winter when it is furthcsi from, the sun; OK
acly the reverse of the conditions prevailing
in the Northern Hemisphere We may natural
~ expect. therefore, 10 find the extremes Of
heat and cold more marked there Than here
/ and such Is indeed The case. Let us compare
for example, Grafton. in New South Wales. near
the coast. with New Orleans They are about
/ equidistant from the Equator Grafton being
In % deg. Is min. south and Nrw-Orlcans in
80 deg. north latitude. The mean tpmpera turc
Of the former Is Il little cooler than that of the
latter-GS.5 and COS degrees, respectively The
mean summer temperature OF Grafton IS the
coolcr-1I.I, against - degrees and the mean
winter warmcr-jS.l, against Dos From these
figures one would say Grafton has n more tenn
perate climate than New Orlcans But the
record of extremes makes different showing:
for the highest reading Of the thermometer nj
Grafton is rs degrees in the shade. while nj
! New-Orleans il is only 81. and The lowest nj
Grafton is 200. against 81 ut New Orleans. The
conclusion is. therefore. that while on the aver.
age the Southern Hemisphere is fully as tenn
perate as the Northern, and perhaps even more