Meteorological Observations. 79 



same plants in spring is also principally due. Persoon, Banks, 

 DeCandolle and other botanists, have more or less partaken of the 

 popular feeling to which we have just referred, but they have all 

 explained it in such a manner as to show that the black fruits of the 

 graminicolous PuccinicB would be orange at the commencement of 

 their development, and in this condition would have been taken for 

 Uredines. None of these observers, I believe, have suspected the 

 existence in this case of the phsenomenon of dimorphism. 



Now that the discoveries recently made in the history of the lower 

 animals have shown what astonishing transformations their specific 

 identity may undergo, these suppositions will be received, I imagine, 

 with less prejudice, especially as they are already supported by a 

 sufficient number of facts to remove a great deal of their apparent 

 temerity. I have moreover great reason to hope that new observa- 

 tions will soon confirm them. — Comptes Rendus, 24th April, 1854, 

 p. 761. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR MAY 1854. 



Chiswick. — May 1. Rain. 2. Rain: low white clouds. 3. Cloudy. 4. Very 

 fine. 5. Foggy : very fine. 6. Cloudy : uniformly overcast : slight frost at night. 

 7. Fine: rain. 8. Heavy rain. 9. Showery : thunder, with heavy showers. 10, 

 11. Cloudy. 12. Foggy : very fine : boisterous at night. 13. Fine. 14, 15. Very 

 fine. 16. White clouds : partially overcast : very clear : frosty. 17. Uniform 

 haze : clear, with very dry air : overcast. 18. Uniformly overcast : clear at night : 

 frosty. 19. Clear and fine. 20. Cloudless: very fine : clear. 21. Cloudy and 

 fine : rain. 22. Densely clouded : rain. 23. Rain : fine : very clear. 24. Heavy 

 showers : clear at night : frosty. 25. Fine : showers, partly hail : clear. 26. 

 Heavy clouds : very fine : heavy rain at night. 27. Heavy rain : hail-storm, with 

 thunder and lightning quarter to five p.m. : clear at night. 28. Fine : cloudy : 

 showery: heavy rain. 29. Rain. "30. Overcast: rain: cloudy. 31. Very fine 

 throughout. 



Mean temperature of the month 50°'07 



Mean temperature of May 1853 51 -27 



Mean temperature of May for the last twenty-eight years . 53 -85 



Average amount of rain in May r77 inch. 



Boston. — May 1. Cloudy : rain a.m. 2. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 3. Cloudy : 

 rain p.m. 4. Fine. 5. Cloudy : rain p.m. 6. Fine. 7. Cloudy : rain, with 

 thunder and lightning a.m. and p.m. 8. Cloudy. 9. Cloudy : rain, with thunder 

 and lightning a.m. and p.m. 10. Cloudy. 11. Cloudy: rain a.m. 12. Fine. 

 13. Cloudy. 14, 15. Fine. 16. Cloudy. 17. Fine. 18. Cloudy : rain a.m. 19, 

 20. Fine. 21. Cloudy. 22. Cloudy : rain a.m. 23. Rain a.m. and p.m. 24. 

 Cloudy : rain a.m. 25. Fine. 26. Cloudy : rain a.m. 27. Cloudy : rain a.m, 

 and P.M. 28. Fine. 29. Cloudy : rain a.m. 30. Cloudy : rain a.m. and p.m. 

 31. Cloudy. 



Sandwich Manse, Orkney. — May 1. Clear a.m. : drops p.m. 2. Clear, fine a.m. : 

 clear p.m. 3 — 5. Clear and fine a.m. and p.m. 6. Clear a.m. : rain p.m. 7. Clear 

 and fine a.m. and p.m. 8. Clear, fine a.m. : cloudy p.m. 9, 10. Bright a.m. : 

 showers p.m. 11. Bright a.m. : cloudy p.m. 12. Cloudy a.m. and p.m. 13. 

 Bright A.M. : showers p.m. 14. Cloudy a.m. : drizzle, showers p.m. 15. Clear 

 A.M. and P.M. 16. Drops a.m. : damp p.m. 17. Showers a.m. and p.m. 18. 

 Clear a.m. and p.m. 19. Cloudy a.m. and p.m. 20, 21. Showers a.m. : cloudy 

 P.M. 22. Cloudy a.m. : drops p.m. 23. Clear a.m. and p.m. 24. Bright a.m. : 

 clear p.m. 25. Cloudy a.m.: rain p.m. 26 — 30. Cloudy a.m. and p.m. 31. 

 Damp A.M. : drizzle p.m. 



Mean temperature of May for twenty-seven previous years . 47°'98 



Mean temperature of this month 48 -39 



Mean temperature of May 1853 49 '07 



Average quantity of rain in May for thirteen previous years . 168 inch. 



