40 Ture CLIMATE OF THE BRITISH ISLEs. 
1872, in Ireland 1903, whilst in Scotland 1877 and 1903 had 
been almost equally notorious. There was less variation from 
year to year in Ireland than in Great Britain, and, roughly 
speaking, it might be said that it rains oftener in Scotland than 
in England, and oftener in Ireland than in Scotland. 
The distribution of sunshine could not be pictured so fully 
as that of rainfall, but it appeared probable that, as regards 
Scotland, the north-eastern and south-eastern counties were the 
sunniest. The explanation was simple, for the Grampians and 
the southern uplands intercepted the westerly winds, which were 
largely dessicated of their moisture or cloud-forming element by 
the time they had reached the east coast. The south coast of 
England was the actually sunniest part of our islands, and a com- 
parison of the sunshine records of, say, Hastings, with those of 
Davos Platz, the famous health resort in the Upper Engadine, 
was of interest. The two places had almost the same annual 
allowance of sunshine, but during the winter half-year it was 
much sunnier in the Swiss Highlands, and during the summer 
half-year much sunnier in the south of England. 
The question whether our climate had changed within 
historic times was a difficult one, and no answer was attempted. 
That secular changes had taken place we knew from geology. 
An argument in favour of the view that our climate was growing 
milder was often based on the fact that the Thames is now never 
frozen over. Inthe 16th and 17th centuries we read of that river 
being ice-bound for two or three months at a time, of “frost 
fairs ’’ on the river at which oxen were, roasted whole. Thus 
Evelyn, the diarist, makes such a definite statement as that 
“coaches plied from London to Westminster’? on the ice. 
But now the Thames has not been fairly frozen over for nearly 
a century. Our winters may have grown milder, but one cannot 
recognise in such an argument any proof of it. The Thames 
near London was a very different river, and one much more 
difficult to freeze, since the removal of Old London Bridge 
about eighty years ago. The old bridge with its many arches 
acted as a sort of half-tidal dam, greatly lessening the rise and 
fall of the river, and therefore making the water much easier 
to freeze. 
In France records had been kept of the date of the vintage 
each year as far back as the 14th century. An examination of 
