66 E. MAWLEY PHENOLOGICAL PHENOMENA 



while a singularly heavy crop of hay was in most localities gathered 

 in under favourable conditions. For although rain fell heavily at 

 times during June, there occurred, on the other hand, in that month 

 an unusually large number of days which were perfectly fine. At 

 the end of July, however, the pastures and roots began to show 

 evident signs of distress through the long continuance of dry 

 weather. That the ground was at that time gradually becoming 

 very dry, is shown by the fact that at the beginning of the third 

 week in August no measurable quantity of rain-water bad passed 

 through either of my percolation gauges, the soil in which is 2^ feet 

 deep, for nearly six weeks. No sooner had this drought come to 

 an end than rain fell abundantly until the close of the season. The 

 contrast between the first and second halves of August was very 

 great, the former being warm, dry, and sunny, while the last 

 fortnight proved cool rather than otherwise, besides being very 

 wet and sunless. Consequently all the early-harvested com was 

 gathered in in good condition and with little trouble and expense, 

 whereas that which remained in the fields after the middle of 

 August was got together under trying conditions as regards 

 weather. As was the case on the farms, so in the vegetable and 

 flower gardens, the season continued particularly favourable until 

 the July drought began to make itself felt, as was evidenced by 

 the lawns, which soon became quite brown. 



Writing from Harpenden Mr. Willis states that the first wheat- 

 ear was out of its sheath on June 14th, or eleven days later than 

 in the previous summer. 



The wild dog-rose came first into blossom four days in advance 

 of its average date, while the black knapweed was one day late, 

 the harebell two days late, and the greater bindweed six days late. 



The Autumn. 



September proved cold, but during the latter half of October 

 and nearly the whole of November the temperature remained 

 unseasonably high. The warmest period of all was in the middle 

 of October, during what is often termed " St. Luke's Little 

 Summer." The three autumn months are generally among the 

 wettest of the year, but during the autumn of 1897 less than 

 half the average amount of rain for the quarter fell. September 

 and November were gloomy months, while October, on the 

 contrary, proved exceptionally sunny for the time of year. 



The roots and pastures, favoured by the September rains and 

 warm sunshine in October, made good progress, and the former 

 became unusually well matured before the end of the season. 

 Moreover, the soil was in such splendid order that winter corn 

 was got in under the most favourable conditions possible ; that 

 is to say, until the dry weather in November had caused the ground 

 to become so hard as to be in many cases almost unworkable. 



Flowering plants in the garden have seldom blossomed so 

 abundantly or so late in the year as during last autumn, 

 particularly where the more tender kinds escaped injury from the 



