164 Mr D. Milne on Earthquake- Shocks felt in Great Britain^ 



Years, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. 

 Inches, 33.6, 42.6, 33.9, 25.1, 42.8, 37.1, 34.1, 22.1. 



Thus, it will be seen that, in the year 1839, a greater quan- 

 tity of rain fell than in any of the four previous years, or in any 

 of the three which have followed it. The average quantity for 

 the whole of these nine years was 30.1 inches, — whilst the 

 quantity which fell in 1839 was 42.8, — being more than one- 

 third of an increase. 



Farther, on comparing the quantity of rain which fell in 

 the districts from which the above returns were obtained, 

 during the months of August, September, and October, it ap- 

 pears that, whilst in 1839 there fell, during these three months, 

 12.46 inches of rain, the quantity which fell in the same three 

 months of the preceding year was 9.86 inches, and of the 

 succeeding year only 6.73 inches. 



Mr Luke Howard, in his recent publication on the meteoro- 

 logical character of the last eighteen years, in Great Britain, 

 observes, that " the year 1839 was the wettest of the whole 

 cycle, with the lowest barometer." The Rev. Mr Dunbar 

 of Applegarth, in Dumfriesshire, who keeps a most accurate 

 Meteorological Register, observes, in regard to the year 1839, 

 — " The quantity of rain is greater than has fallen any year for 

 at least 13 years — the mean of that period being 35 inches," — 

 whilst, according to his register for 1839, the quantity of rain 

 was 43.29 inches. 



At Kinfauns,* near Perth, the seat of Lord Gray, where two 

 rain-gauges are observed and registered with great accuracy, 

 there fell, in two days only (viz. between the 22d and 24th 

 October), no less than 1.88 inches of rain, being -^^ of the 

 quantity for the whole year. The quantity of rain which 

 fell there in 1839, was 32.23 inches. Now, according to a re- 

 port by Dr Anderson, on the quantity of raint which falls at 

 Perth (situated only two miles from Kinfauns), ** the maximum 

 " quantity of rain for a period of 16 years (previous to 1835), 

 *' is 3L01 inches." This corroborates Mr Luke Howaid's 

 statement as to the very rainy character of the year 1839. 



* Kinfauns is about 22 miles east of Comrie. 

 t British Ass. Reports for 1840, p. 57. 



