42 



THE FALL OF RAIN IN ENGLAND. 



The high coiuTitiou of Engli.sh agriculture, the sameness iu hinguagc, aud the 

 mutual trade betv/een England and tlie United States, lead to much study of its 

 agriculture here. Without takinginto consideration the great difference in climate, 

 especially of the amount and times of its rain, writers here, looking only to the 

 results of English agriculture, draw conclusions from them, and through these 

 give counsel to American farmers, that almost inevitably ends in disappointment. 



The English climate is made by the Gulf stream, which carries with it heavy 

 fogs and dews, with a less but more uniform quantity of rain than falls in the 

 United States. Our droughts, and extremes of heat and cold, are unknown to 

 Great Britain. It has no regular periods in the year when drought is to be ex- 

 pected, as here ; this is seen in the tables. The months, at all times, Vciry a 

 good deal, but usually enough rain falls in any two for the purposes of vegeta^ 

 tion. There the amounts that fall are well distributed; here much may fall; 

 yet the distribution is often so unfavorable that, whilst the month may show a 

 good foil in quantity, it yet suffers much from drought. 



The following table of the fall of rain near London, for a series of years, will 

 be interesting for comparing the rain-fall of the two countries : 



Annual depth of rain at Chiswick, near London, England, in inches and tenths 



of inches, in the years 1841 to 1S63, inclusive. 



1841—1852. 



1853—1863. 



Monthly maximum iu 23 years, July, 1855 6. 30 



Monthly minimum in 23 years, j ^'^".Si^TIs: :::::::".:::".:::::::"- : : : : : o. lo 



Yearly maximum in 23 years, 1852 32. 55 



Yearly minimum in 23 years, 1838 15. 78 



Greatest monthly average in 23 years, October 2. 75 



Least monthly average in 23 years, February 1. 19 



