The Meteorology of Whitehaven. 381 
March—Heavy gales prevailed during the first half of the month, 
when the weather became fine and mild, and so continued, with occa- 
sional frost, till its close. On the 3d, primroses gathered; 31st, first 
butterfly seen (Vanessa urlica). 
April—Beautifully fine and mild throughout. No frost, snow, or 
hail. On the Ist, the tortoise-shell butterfly (Vanessa polychloros), and 
on the 16th the Io began to appear. On the 14th the cuckoo, and on the 
18th several swallows were observed in this vicinity. The cuckoo was 
not Acard till the 21st or 22d, a week after it was first seen. On the 
afternoon of the 28th a magnificent Solar halo was visible for three hours. 
May.—The weather throughout the whole of this month was of the 
most beautiful description. Slight showers fell on three days, but the 
whole barely exceeded a quarter of an inch. The atmosphere was in an 
exceedingly dry state, we may say almost destitute of moisture. The 
daily complement of the dew-point varied from 10° to 26°, and the mean 
of the dew-point for the month was 12°.06 under the temperature of the 
air. On some occasions the dew-point could not be obtained without 
the application of a freezing mixture to the instrument. This unusual 
capacity of the atmosphere for vapour, and the prevalence of strong 
easterly breezes, increased the daily amount of evaporation to an enor- 
mous extent, which, combined with the absence of two of the causes 
essential to the formation of dew, a calm and moist atmosphere, greatly 
augmented the severity of the drought. The evaporation exceeded the 
rain by more than six inches. The radiation of heat from the earth’s 
surface during the nights was immense, frequently amounting to 11° and 
even 12°. The mean of the radiation for twenty-four days is 7°.5. 22d, 
an aurora. 3lst, a total eclipse of the moon, seen under most fayvour- 
able circumstances. An account of this occultation appeared in the 
Whitehaven Herald of May 5th. 
June.—The fall of rain from the 23d of April to the 5th of June only 
measured .262, or about one-fourth of an inch. This is the longest pe- 
riod of drought I have recorded, except in 1856, when only two very 
slight showers (.083) fell, from the 27th of April till the 8th of June. 
Prior to the conclusion of the drought, the hay and grain crops had suf- 
fered severely. The springs and wells had ceased to yield their sup- 
plies ; and the lakes, streams, and rivers, were lower than they had ever 
been known since the memorable 1826. A gentleman who made accu- 
rate measurements of the depth of Buttermere Lake both in 1826 and 
on the 4th instant, states, however, that the lake was 54 inches lower 
in the former year. The atmospheric spring on the summit of Great 
Gavel mountain, said to contain water even in the most extreme droughts, 
was this month found empty. On the 14th we observed a patch of snow 
on the Scawfell Pikes, an evidence of the low temperature of these ele- 
vated regions. Severe as the drought was in the north, it was of much 
longer duration in other parts of the kingdom, and especially in the 
southern and eastern counties. At Edmonton, near London, the whole 
of the rain which fell from the 25th of March to the 24th of June, only 
amounted to 1.055 inches. At Doncaster. in Yorkshire, the drought was 
even more severe than in the vicinity of the metropolis, commencing the 
15th of March, and ending the latter part of June: indeed, very little 
rain fell till the 14th of July. From the 15th March till the 15th June, 
the fall scarcely exceeded half an inch. Grass was in many places not 
worth cutting; and, in some instances, for want of pasture, the farmers 
were obliged to turn their cattle into fields destined for hay. 
July.— There was no rain from the 25th of June till the 10th of July. 
The early part of the month was, consequently, highly favourable for 
securing the hay crops, which, in many instances were got under cover 
without a drop of rain. Seed grass proved a miserable crop, but ley and. 
