81 



1S58.— There was a very cold period from the 6th of February to the 

 12rh of March ; and again from the 28th October to the 24th November, the 

 temperature being s below the average duriDg the whole time, and the 23rd 

 and -4U November bring the two coldest consecutive days in November for 

 45 yeai'3. There was scarcely any winter after, thus verifying the old proverb. 



1859.— There was an extraordinary defect of temperature from October 

 21st to October 31st, being as much as 15 s below the average on the 24th, and 

 nearly as much for some days. Another cold period set in on November 9th and 

 continued, with the exception of a very few clays, till December 23rd. The 

 cold was excessive from the ICth to the 19th December, 15°, 17°, 16£°, 15i° 

 below the average. The range of temperature was also very great in the months 

 of October and December, it having been above 80° in London and many other 

 places in October, and down to 19° at York in the former month, and in 

 December varying from 2° at Lampeter to 64.8° at Osborne. 



I860.— This was an exceptionally cold year, with great deficiency of sun" 

 shine and large excess of rain and cloudy cold weather. Christmas day was 

 memorable for its intense frost. On the surface of the snow at Eoss the ther- 

 mometer registered 10° Fahrt., and in 7S stations in England it was also noticed 

 below zero. This coming rather suddenly after warm weather (on the 7th it 

 was 54° and there had been no severe frost till the 18th) was very destructive to 

 evergreens, shrubs, &c. Laurels and Liurestinas were killed down to the ground, 

 as they were in the winter of 1838. A very large evergreen oak, at least a 

 hundred years old, in the rectory garden, Eoss, was apparently destroyed ; it 

 has since partially recovered. The cold was again nearly as great on the 29th, 

 after which, there was a rapid thaw for two days, but the frost set in again 

 in the beginning of January, and continued very severe till the 19th. The first 

 half of January being colder than for 41 years — 1814 and 1820 having been each 

 slightly more rigorous. 



1864. — There was a severe frost until January 9th, the ice on the sides of 

 the river Wye bearing firmly. Very fine weather had continued for weeks all 

 over the country to the end of 1863 (Christmas day was like a summer day), 

 and the sudden change to severity proved very destructive to garden vegetables 

 — celery, brocoli, and lettuce were mostly killed. The gTound was frozen to the 

 depth of 15 inches. 



1865. — T'ue first, three months of this year were icmarkable for large snow 

 f<tlls — snow falling at one or other parts of the country for 81 days in the 

 quarter — on the 27th January the snow was eighteen inches deep on the level at 

 Leominster, decreasing to about a foot at Eoss, and in hilly districts drifts 6 or 

 8 feet deep occurred in places, being the heaviest fall for many years. Tha 

 mouth of March was colder than any since 1S45, the only other instances as cold 

 this century being in 1S14 and 1837. 



18(57.— January 4th, an intensely cold day. In London, Hampshire, 

 Surrey, &c, very deep snow. Traffic much impeded. Trains stopped for hour* 



