298 THE FROSTS OF EECEXT YEAKS. 



of December. The lowest minima noted here in that winter 

 were 19'2 on December 7th, and 18*4 on January 21st. 

 Much lower temperatures were reported from other stations. 



20. The w^inter of 1880-81 was not severe save in the 

 month of January, but that was a month of unusual rigour. 

 The mean temperature of the whole month was 30*9, and 

 the mean of a period of 19 days, from the 8th to the 26th, 

 w^as as low as 25*5. A minimum temperature of 12*8 was 

 registered here on the 22nd of the month, and on the same 

 day a thermometer placed on the snow fell to 3'5. A violent 

 snow-storm and gale on the 18th and 19th blocked the rail- 

 ways to a degree beyond any previous experience. 



21. In March, 1886, a frost, severe for the time of year, 

 lasted 11 days, from the 7th to the 17th, with a mean tem- 

 perature of 31*6. This frost derives additional importance 

 from having been the culmination of a prolonged period of 

 cold weather, with a mean temperature but little above the 

 freezing point. Thus the first 17 days of March had a mean 

 temperature of 32*2, and the period of 31 days from February 

 15th to March 17th had a mean of 32-6. 



22. In March, 1887, we had another experience of very 

 wintry Aveather late in the season. The mean temperature 

 of the eight days from the 13th to the 20th of that month 

 was 31'8, and on the 15th we had the heaviest snow, as 

 measured by the average depth, that is known to have 

 occurred in this part of the country. This snow was but 

 little drifted, and lay to a nearly uniform depth of 15 

 inches. 



The Frost of 1890-91. 



The month of December, 1890, had a mean temperature at 

 Clifton nearly identical with that of January, 1881, namely, 

 31*0. But such a temperature in December is much more 



