Since May, 1860, all the observations have been made at the West-terrace observatory. For several Years I had no assistant, and having a growing Telegraph Department to look after and control, the area of my work was necessarily restricted, and I labored under many disadvantages; but I early established meteorological stations at Clare, Kapunda, Strathalbvn, Goolwa, Robe, and Mount Gambier, and placed rain gauges at the different telegraph offices. I also introduced the system of publishing daily reports of the weather and rainfall from all stations at the head telegraph office in Adelaide.

We have now meteorological stations, having standard or Board of Trade barometers, dry and wet bulb thermometers, maximum and minimum thermometers,. and rain gauges, at Port Darwin, Daly Waters, Alice Springs, Charlotte Waters, Strangways Springs, Farina, Port Augusta, Yongala, Clare, Kapunda, the Agricultural College at Roseworthy, Mount Barker, Strathalbvn, Eucla, Fowler's Bay, Streaky Bay, Port Lincoln, Cape Borda, Robe, Mount Gambier, and Cape Northumberland, and 370 rain gauges; at the lighthouses at Cape Borrda and Cape Northumberland, and at the telegraph offices at Port Darwin and Alice Springs, the observations are taken every three hours, night and day: at other stations at 9h. a.m., 3h., p.m., 9h. p.m.; whilst ,it Alice Springs there is a large evaporation tank similar to the one at the observatory, which it may be convenient here to describe.

It consists, first, of a brick tank, lined with cement; internal measurement, 4ft. 6in. square and 3ft. 2in. deep. Inside this tank is another, made of slate, 3ft. square and 3ft. deep, leaving an intervening space between it and the larger tank of 7in. Both tanks are filled to the same level, or to within 3in. or 4in. of the top, fresh water being added as required. The evaporation is measured by a graduated vertical rod, which is carried by a float placed in a vertical cylinder of copper 4in. in diameter (perforated at the bottom) standing in the inner tank. The rod is graduated to 1/10 of an inch, and is read off by means of a fixed vernier to 1/100 of an inch. A rails gauge is placed by the side of the tank, and both the evaporation and the rainfall are read at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

As the question of evaporation is an important one in connection with water conservation, I give below the mean evaporation at Adelaide, deduced from twenty-three years' observations, and at Alice Springs, in the centre of the continent, during the years 1890, 1891, and 1892.

Evaporation at Adelaide		Evaporation at Alice Springs
Mean of Twenty-three Years.		1890.	1891.	1892.
	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.	Inches.
January	8.928	-	12.840	14.020
February	7.226	11.200*	13.840	10.550
March	6.035	11.990	11.850	8.720
April	3.599	6.000	5.040	7.180
May	2.1?1	4.760	4.480	4.660
June	1.382	3.150	2.660	3.950
July	1.461	4.440	3.820	4.210
August	2.029	5.430	5.810	5.690
September	3.017	-	7.780	8.170
October	4.859	11.222	8.225	9.845
November	6.499	11.730	9.265	11.870
December	8.359	13.790	12.940	11.490
Year	55.525	-	98.550	100.355

* Twenty-seven days.

Greatest in one year at Adelaide .......... 60.953 inches in 1876.
Least in one year at Adelaide .......... 47.392 inches in 1892.
Average rainfall at Adelaide for fifty-four years .......... 21.077 inches.
Average rainfall it Alice Springs for nineteen years .......... 11.254 inches.

Bureau of Meteorology