232 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 
The rainfall (1:91 in.) was also. under the average, while there 
were fourteen dry days. The winds, excepting on four days, were 
easterly, the N.E. predominating. The barometer readings were 
fairly steady—from 29°30 to 30:05 in. 
While the weather was not so dry and warm as in April last 
year, vegetation made a good start, and by the middle of the 
month several trees, notably sycamores and chestnuts, were leafing, 
and the early white rhododendrons in our Parks were in full 
bloom. However, the cold winds soon tarnished the latter, and 
checked the growth of the trees, and, generally speaking, vegeta- 
tion at the end of the month was nearly a fortnight later than in 
1893. 
May.—Vnlike the corresponding month of 1893, when atmos- 
pheric conditions were of a delightful character, the weather 
during this month was extremely disagreeable, being cold and 
changeable. The wind having changed on the lst from E. to W., 
rain fell almost daily until the 18th, when the wind having again 
veered eastward, the weather became colder and drier, and con- 
tinued so. The rainfall amounted to 2°28 in., and there were 
fourteen dry days. The barometer readings showed many changes, 
but within a moderate range—from 29°30 to 30°25 in. The 
temperature was also even, the maximum (day) averaging 55°, 
and the minimum (night) 37°, while the highest reading was 
only 63° on the 24th, and the lowest 28° (or 4° of frost) on the 
21st and 22nd. The minimum thermometer was at or below 
32° on five mornings, and 10° of frost were registered. Only on 
five days did the maximum thermometer rise above 60°, while 
in May, 1893, it was above that figure on twenty-two occasions, 
and the maximum and minimum averages were’61° and 45° 
respectively. 
The cold winds and low temperature of the month had a 
damaging effect upon vegetation. The cold wave which passed 
over the country on the 21st and 22nd, when we had 4° of frost, 
seriously damaged the fruit crops, and caused considerable damage 
to the trees and shrubs throughout the Parks. Many trees, 
notably sycamores and chestnuts, had not only the foliage de- 
stroyed, but also the young shoots, and many made a second ~ 
growth, which is rarely of a satisfactory nature, Consequent 
