AXD METEOEOLOGY OF THE YEAR RELATIVE THERETO. 401 



Castle to the month of the Tay ; from 2° to 3° from Fifeshire south- 

 westward to Bute, in Berwick and Eoxburghshires, and along the 

 Solway ; and in other parts of Scotland from 1° to 2°. The rainfall 

 was above the average, from 10 to 33 per cent, to the north of 

 a line passing through the Minch and the north of Suther- 

 land and Caithness to Wick; and from 10 to 50 per cent', to 

 the east of a line passing through Aberdeen, Arbroath, Dundee, 

 Stirling, Lanark, Wanlockhead, and Silloth, the greatest excess 

 being on the Lammermoors, Pentland, and Upper Tweeddale. 

 Everywhere else the rainfall was under the average, particularly 

 in Skye, Lochbroom, Strathspey, and the mouth of the Clyde, in 

 all which districts the deficiency fell to, or even under, 50 per 

 cent. 



October. — Everywhere the mean temperature of October was 

 from 2° to 6° below tlie average of the month, the greatest defi- 

 ciency of temperature occurring at Lairg, Eoy Bridge, Dalna- 

 spidal, Pitlochrie, Ayrshire, Upper Clyde, and Tweeddale. In 

 not a few places, particularly in inland situations, the sharp 

 frosts which accompanied these exceedingly low mean tempera- 

 tures did no little damage to the potato and turnip crops. The 

 rainfall exceeded the average in Mid and East Lothian and east 

 of Berwickshire, the excess at Edinburgh being 66 per cent. ; and 

 also to the north of a line passing from Aberdeen through Gran- 

 town, Inverness, Dunrobin, Scourie, and Stornoway. Everywhere 

 else the rainfall was very greatly under the average, only a fourth 

 part of the usual October rainfall having been noted over three- 

 fourths of the whole surface of Scotland ; and over a broad patch 

 stretching from the Firth of Clyde to the Tay, the rainfall was 

 about 90 per cent, below the average. It will be noted that the 

 foreshores, looking north, of the Firth of Forth, the ^loray Firth, 

 and the Pentland Firth, had a more than usually heavy rainfall, 

 while the weather in other parts of the country was singularly 

 dry, — a marked contrast of not unfrerpient occurrence, with 

 heavy nortli-east gales. 



Generally over the country, tlie harvest commenced about a 

 fortnight earlier than usual ; in some districts such as Moray, 

 Banll, and Lower Clydesdale about three weeks earlier ; wliilst 

 on the other liand, it began only about the average time in Mid 

 and East Lothian, Selkirk, and Koxburglishires, and in Berwick- 

 shire it was even four days later than the usual time. These 

 later districts, it will be noted, mark off the region where tem- 

 peratures under the average ruled in May, June, and July. 



Wlieat and barley were everywhere above the average ; but 

 tli(^ rains whicli set in in Selkirkshire in harvest darkened the 

 colour of tlie barley ; and that colour was also damaged in 

 Upper Banll'shire and in the Uunkeld and Highland districts of 



2 C 



