THE CLIMATE OF THE CHESTER DISTRICT, ETC 87 
holders. Still I am not aware that there are more small free- 
holders in the above-named counties than elsewhere, or that 
there is anything except the greater suitability of the district 
for fruit growing that should incline landlords to plant fruit 
trees more there than elsewhere. It might be thought that 
more fruit would be grown where the population is densest, but 
Table I. shows that Hereford, where there are most orchards, 
has almost the smallest population in proportion to cultivated 
land, while Middlesex, the third largest fruit grower, has the 
largest population. : 
In Table I., compiled from the last Blue Book, showing the 
proportion of orchard land to the rest of the cultivated land 
(including permanent pasture, but not mountain or heath land), 
it will be seen at once that, with the exception of Middlesex and 
Kent, both of which have an artificial stimulant to the production 
of fruit in the close proximity of the great consumer, London, 
the principal orchard counties are grouped round the Bristol 
Channel. From the Table of Temperatures (Table IT.), it will be 
seen that Liverpool-—7.c., Bidston Observatory, on this side the 
Mersey, which may be taken as fairly typical of our district, 
with the exception of the more mountainous parts of Flint and 
Denbigh and the interior of Cheshire—shows on an average 
of three years a very high mean minimum temperature in April, 
and a low mean maximum temperature in August. Compared 
with Cheltenham, which is the most central station for the cider 
counties of which continuous records are obtainable, we have 
the following results :— 
; Mean of 
Mean Min. | Lowest in Mean Max. 
in April. April— in August. 
Three Years. | 
| - 
Liverpool 2 2 Py 40°.4 | 95h 66°.4 
Cheltenham... Pes. Se 37°38 25°.5 69°.1 
Difference ai oS 2°.6 / 7°.6 | 2°.9 
From the above we see that while the mean minimum tem- 
perature at Liverpool in April is 2°.6 higher than that of 
Cheltenham, the mean maximum temperature in July is 4°, and 
August 2°.9 lower at Liverpool than at Cheltenham. And if we 
take the average of the lowest temperatures recorded in April 
for three years at each place, we find that the difference is much 
greater, Liverpool being 7°.6 higher than Cheltenham.* 
* This is important, as a single night’s severe frost when fruit trees are in full blossom 
would be fatal to a good crop. It may be mentioned here that the temperatures are 
taken from the Quarterly Fournal of the Meteorological Soctety, except Chester, 
which are from my own observations, with verified instruments in a Stevenson case. 
To illustrate the value of a difference of a very few degrees of temperature, the 
difference between mean maxima of the miserable August of 1879, and the unusually 
‘fine and hot August of 1880 was only 4°.7 at Liverpool. 
G2 
