ON THE DROUGHT OF 1858. 107 



First 6 Months Previous 



of 1858. _ Average. 



Inches. Inches. 



Bridgwater 6-70. 15-70 



Bywell 6-87 13-30 



Durham 4-85 12-70 



Wylam ,.4-77 13-27 



Bisliopwearmoiitli 4-42 9-G6 



■Washington 4-00 10'72 



Newcastle 3-05 9-75 



If all the newspaper facts and scraps had been preserved re- 

 specting the drought, the result would have been a curious 

 collection. In many places, the failure of springs and wells was 

 noticed early in April, and water could hardly be obtained for 

 domestic purposes. At Nottingham, in August, Mr. Lowe, in a 

 letter to the Times ^ said: — "All the grass fields about here are 

 now burnt up ; many ponds dry ; and if it goes on much longer 

 without rain, the cattle will die for want of water. Partridges 

 are now dying from this cause. Corn has come ripe suddenly 

 for want of water to keep it growing." On some farms in the 

 county of Durham, the surface of the land was baked as dry and 

 hard as macadamized roads, and the failure of crops was of very 

 common occurrence. The water-works at many places partially 

 failed, as at Bolton, Liverpool, and at Manchester. 



One local anecdote must suffice. In August last, the Mecha- 

 nical Engineers met in Newcastle, and the members of this Club 

 were invited to contribute microscopes for an Evening Conver- 

 sazione. One member, on being asked to name an object, 

 hastily said he would exhibit the circulation of blood in the tail 

 of the newt, a very pretty object; but, the Triton was yet to be 

 caught ! Pools, never before known to be dry, had previously 

 supplied them at a moment's notice; but, on that occasion, they 

 ivere dry; and a walk of some fifteen miles from place to place, 

 in search of a newt, was the penalty inflicted on the thoughtless 

 microscopist. 



At Berwick-upon-Tweed, it was said that there had not been 

 an available shower of rain from August, 1857, to August, 1858 ; 



