218 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



48° on July 8th, 1856. "As a rule," he observes, "the hottest 

 day in the year in London is July IGth, but it would not be at all 

 difficult to find two days in January warmer than these two [11th 

 and 12th] in July." Thus, taking the first that came to hand, 

 he makes the following comparison : — 



This unseasonable coldness is doubtless a result of the remark- 

 ably frequent and heavy rainfalls which have been of almost daily 

 occurrence throughout the month, and earlier; whilst in the 

 mountainous regions of Great Britain, and even in some central 

 parts of England, heavy falls of snow took place. 



It should, however, be borne in mind that this moist season 

 was preceded by a long spell of unusually dry weather in the early 

 spring, which considerably affects the amount of rainfall for the 

 entire half-year. 



From the August number of ' Symons's Monthly Meteorological 

 Magazine,' which contains many interesting particulars respecting 

 the extraordinary summer weather lately experienced in Great 

 Britain, I find that the rainfall in London during last month, when 

 compared with the fall in July of last year, — an exceptionally dry 

 season, — presents an extreme contrast, the total fall having been 

 five times in excess in point of frequency, while it was seven times 

 as great in quantity. At the same time it appears that the actual 

 fall for the month was not unprecedented. July, 1880, indeed, was 

 wetter by 2°, and other of the summer months in several previous 

 years have had a considerably higher register. The apparent 

 excess of moisture, therefore, is due to the fact tliat, although 

 there were several torrential falls of short duration, most of the 

 rain occurred in the form of continuous drizzle. Rain fell on no 

 less than 26 out of the 31 days in the month, and between 

 June 4th and July 31st on 46 days, only 11 days being without 

 rain, against only 10 days rainy weather during the same period 

 in 1887. The month was, indeed, more remarkable for the 

 lowness of temperature than for moisture alone. 



The following is a comparative table of temperature-registra- 

 tion for the last 30 years, as derived from the source above- 

 mentioned : — 



