METEOUOLOGICAL NOTES DURING THE YEAH 1903. 157 



March. — The changeable, stormy weather which prevailed so 

 much in Febi-uary continued to an even greater degree through- 

 out this month. Hardly a day piissed without rain. The 

 winds, unfortunately, were not of a drying nature, as rain almost 

 invariably accompanied or followed them. The result was that, 

 owing to the saturated condition of the ground, farmers had a 

 trying time in getting their land in a fit state for seeding. 



Though the barometric readings show the atmospheric pres- 

 sure as being nearly as iiTegular as in the two preceding months, 

 the range is not quite so wide. From 29'00 inches on the 1st 

 there was a slight fall on the 2nd; then followed a gradual rise, 

 and the pressure was fairly even, excepting one sharp change on 

 the 8th, followed by heavy rain, till on tiie 14th it reached 

 29'90 inches. A shai-p fall to 29'10 inches on the I7th was 

 the precursor of the heavy rains which occurred between the 

 16th and 23rd. Towards the end of the month the readings 

 were of a varied and erratic nature. 



The amount of frost registered was trifling, only 8° in all, 

 and that occurring on four mornings. Despite the absence of 

 hard frost, the temjjerature was low, and the average maximum 

 (45°) and the average minimum (36°) were lower by 4° and 1° 

 respectively than those for March, 1902. This can be accounted 

 for by the adverse influence of the heavy rains and high winds. 



The quantity of rain which feU pretty clearly indicates the 

 uatui'e of the weather experienced. Even though there were only 

 two dry days, the rainfall was abnormally heavy, as 8" 31 inches 

 were registered. The greatest fall for twenty-four hours was 

 0"87 inch, registered at 9 a.m. on the 23rd. That amount was 

 closely approached on other two moi'niiigs, with 0'80 inch on 

 22nd and 0"81 inch on the 13th, while on 11 other days over 

 a quarter-inch (0"25) was recorded. 



The open weather had an inciting influence on vegetation, 

 and deciduous trees and shnibs showed much activity in growth. 

 Hawthorns, Poplars, Willows, and Sycamores leafing freely, while 

 Rihes grandifiura and that precocious rhododendron, '" Eugenie," 

 were in full bloom towards the end of the month. 



April. — After the first week, which was mild and variable 

 in character, the weather got drier and colder. Sharp frosts 



