Weather and Natural History Notes. 223 



examjaled sunshine, biillianc}', and heat ; and the scarcity of 

 water in many places for stock and domestic purposes. 



In a paper read at a meeting of the Royal Microscopic 

 Society by Mr C. Harding — " From statistics gathered from the 

 various observing stations of the British Isles, compared with the 

 Greenwich Records back to 1841 " (from facts thus brought 

 together) — the writer showed that as far as Temperature was 

 concerned, the Summer of 1911 was "unique." "The mean 

 temperature for the summer was higher than for any similar 

 period during the last 70 years, so many hot days during the 

 summer have never before been recorded. That the rainfall 

 for the three summer months has only been smaller in three 

 previous years during the last seventy; and also that the dura- 

 tion of sunshine was greater than in any previous summer since 

 the introduction of sunshine recorders in 1881." I give these 

 notes from Mr Harding's paper because he has access to very 

 old records, while mine only go back 18 years. The year was 

 also remarkable as being the Coronation year, for its political 

 events, and for the number of Comets observed — eight ha\ing 

 been seen, four of which were visible to the naked eye. 



15tji March, 1912. 



Chairman — M. H. M'Kerrow, Esq., Treasurer. 



Some Local and other Plant Names. By Mr S. Arnott, 

 F.R.H.S. 



On two former occasions I have endeavoured to collect and 

 to relate some of the popular plant names current in the district, 

 together with some of the appellations of the same plants in other 

 districts. At the request of your Secretary I have again taken up 

 the subject, although I fear I have already occupied too much 

 of your time with the question, and have already monopolised too 

 many of the pages of the Society's "Transactions" with what 

 must appear to some as subjects too trivial for consideration. 

 Yet I venture to think that they are at least as worthy of con- 

 sideration as many others which have been presented to the 

 Society. I mav state that the former papers were read in the 



