Tlie Weather of I he Past Ayricultural Year. 421 



was accompanied by a violent squall of wind of a tornado-like 

 character, which swept .quickly from west to east across the 

 southern parts of England and Wales. On the 28th and 29th 

 the thermometer again rose to 90° and upwards in several places, 

 and touched 93" at Bath. Early in August heavy falls of rain 

 occurred in the west and north, but after this another long spell 

 of hot, dry weather set in, and on the 9th, and again on the 13th, 

 shade temperatures exceeding 90° were again registered in 

 many parts of the country. The record heat for the entire 

 summer was reached on the 9th, when the thermometer at a 

 large number of places in eastern, central, and south-eastern 

 England exceeded 95°, a reading as high as 98° being recorded 

 at Epsom, Canterbury, and Raunds, 99° at Isleworth, and 100° 

 at Greenwich. The reading at Greenwich was nearly 3° in 

 excess of anything recorded at the Royal Observatory since 

 precise temperature observations were started in 1841. After 

 the middle of August the weather gradually ])roke up, 

 although many districts continued to enjoy a fair allowance of 

 bright sunshine. 



For the season as a whole the mean temperature was, of 

 course, greatly in excess of the average, the summer being in 

 many places the hottest since that of 1868. Rainfall was very 

 deficient in all districts except the north-east of England, where 

 the total amount was largely swollen by the heavy storm of 

 June 23rd and 24th ; over our south-eastern counties it was 

 little more than one-half the average. Over the United Kingdom 

 generally the total dui-ation of bright sunshine was the largest 

 observed in any summer since the establishment of recording 

 instruments in 1881. In the south-west of England the mean 

 daily amount was more than two hours in excess of the average, 

 and in the south-east it was nearly two hours and a half 

 in excess. 



The Autumn op 1911. 



1911 was, as we have already seen, no ordinary year, and it 

 was not until the middle of September that the summer could be 

 regarded as at an end. In the early part of the month the weather 

 continued fine and hot, and on the 2nd, a shade temperature . of 

 90°, or a trifle above it, was recorded at several places in 

 the east and south-east of England. Still higher readings were 

 observed on the 8th, when the thermometer, for the seventh 

 time in this wonderful year, rose above 90° in many 

 English districts, and touched 94° at Greenwich, this 

 reading being the highest on record for the month of 

 September. Four days later, on the 12th, the thermometer 

 again rose above 85" in several parts of our eastern and 

 south-eastern counties and touched 89° at Camden 



[Continued on page 424. 



