70 EAINFALL IN HEETFOEDSHrRE IN 1881. 



roast, M5; Bayfordbury, 1-12; "Ware, 1-2'} ; Brocket Hall, 1-74 ; "Welwyn 

 1-18 ; Datchwortli, 1-14 ; Stevenage, 1-53 ; Knebworth, 1-27 : Tbrocking, 1-36 

 'J'herfield, 1-27; Much Hadham, 1-22; Hitchin, 1-26; High Down, 1-20 

 Eoyston, 1-15 ; Odsey, 1-12. 



Other falls of one inch or more not on the day of max. fall are 

 recorded on 



August 8th. Gorhambury, 1-0.5 ; Nash Mills, 1-08 ; Knebworth, 1-06. 

 December 10th, Bushey Heath, 1-20 (S). 



The mean number of wet days in each month, with the relation 



that number bears to the mean for 1870-79, appears to be 



Jan. wet days 10 being 6 below mean. July wet days 12 being 1 below mean. 



Fortunately this year July proved a fairly fine month, and there 

 ■was every prospect of an early harvest ; the rain which fell after 

 August 7th for exactly a month, however, disappointed these hopes, 

 although the actual damage done to the corn was not I fancy as 

 great as was at first feared, and not nearly as great as in previous 

 years. Ever since 1877 either July or August, or both these 

 months, have proved wet ; thus in 1877 July and August were both 

 wet; in 1878, while July was remarkably dry, August was as 

 remarkably wet, the wettest August in fact of the series ; in 1879 

 both July and August were very wet ; while in 1880 a remarkably 

 fine August was preceded and followed by a very wet July and 

 September. 



Again for the second year in succession we have had snow in 

 October, a slight fall occurring on the morning of the 29th. 



Of the heavy falls, the only one which was anything like general 

 was that of Dec. 17th. Falls of 1 inch or more occurred in 5 

 months — February, August, October, November, and December ; 

 only one station in each case, however, records such a fall in February 

 and I^ovember. 



I am glad to be able to add that during the past year observa- 

 tions have been commenced by Miss Joyce Croft of Fanhams Hall, 

 "Ware, who has two gauges at work, one in the district of the Upper 

 Lea, the other in that of the Ash, Fanhams Hall being just on the 

 watershed. 



