3. About 70 copies of the China Coast Meteorological Register were distributed in the City daily, and hand-made copies of the daily weather map were exhibited on the notice boards as in past years.
4. The Directors of the Philippine Weather Bureau and of the Formosa Weather Service kindly forwarded "extra" meteorological messages from stations in the Philippines and Formosa during the prevalence of typhoons in the neighbourhood of those areas. The messages so forwarded were comparatively few in number owing to the breakdown of land telegraph lines at these times. The interruption of telegraphic communication on such occasions is a serious handicap to all those engaged in the task of issuing storm-warnings, but it is understood that wireless apparatus will be installed at some important outlying stations in the Philippines in the near future, and the Chinese Government has promised to erect such a station at Pratas Shoal.
5. As in the previous year, the Imperial Maritime Customs Authorities at Swatow kindly forwarded an extra meteorological observation, made at 9 p.m., from May till October, but the messages were frequently much delayed during transmission.
6. The Hoihow and Pakhoi telegrams continue to be received too late for forecasting purposes.
7. Special warnings, in addition to the ordinary warnings sent by code, were forwarded to the Authorities in Canton whenever typhoons threatened the coast in this neighbourhood.
8. By the courtesy of the Naval Authorities, meteorological observations made on H.M. Ships were occasionally forwarded to the Observatory by wireless telegraphy.
9. The Telegraph Companies, as in previous years, have continued to forward daily a large number of meteorological telegrams from outports to Hongkong free of charge, and the thanks of the Government are due to the Companies concerned for these valuable services. In addition, the staffs of the Eastern Australasia and China Telegraph Company at Sharp Peak, Iloilo, Bacolod, and Cebu render great assistance by kindly making and transmitting meteorological observations twice daily.
10. During the year 1911, in addition to meteorological registers kept at about 40 stations on shore, 3,113 shiplogs have been received. A few of the latter have been copied on board, but the majority have been forwarded by the captains. The total number of vessels whose logbooks have been made use of was 348. The total number of days' observations (counting separately those made on different ships on the same day) was 24,653. Acknowledgment is here made of the courtesy of those masters of vessels who have been good enough to forward their observations.
11. The entry of observations made in degree squares for the area 9° South and 45° North latitude, and between the longitude of Singapore and 180° East of Greenwich, has been continued, and 418,760 in all have now been tabulated in the books.
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