So far as regards the annual amounts of the rainfall of Scotland, deduced from observations made at 296 different places, the chief point brought out is the enormous difference between the rainfall of the west and that of the east; the stations along the west coast showing such figures as 40, 45, and 54 inches, as compared with 24, 27, and 30 inches at stations on the east coast, not situated in the immediate neighbourhood of hills. When it is considered that the source of the rainfall is the prevailing south-westerly winds, it is evident that the comparative dryness of such districts as the south shore of the Firth of Forth is due to high land lying to the south-west, which drains the winds of a large portion of their moisture in their passage across them.