Meteorology of Whitehaven. 377 



On the night of the lOth-llth, there occurred a violent thunder-storm, 

 attended with some peculiar circumstances. The electrical disturbance 

 appears to have been confined to the immediate neighbourhood of this 

 place. 



Cuckoo heard, and first swallow seen at Whitehaven on the 6th, much 

 later than usual. In the country, these spring visitors made their ap- 

 pearance towards the latter end of AprU. 



Heard the corncrake about the 20th. 



June. — A fine dry, month ; the mean temperature is 1°'21 under the 

 average. The difference of the dew-point and air temperatures, and the 

 amount of evaporation, are nearly coincident with their respective ave- 

 rages. The radiation of heat from the earth's surface at night, has been 

 greatly impeded by the intervention of clouds, both in this and in the 

 previous month; in May and June 1546, the mean radiation is 8°"o2 

 and 9'"07 ; in the corresponding months of 1847 it is represented respec- 

 tively by o°-ll and 4^' 70. Hail showers on 8th and 14th. 



The mean temperature of the quarter ending June 30th is l°-20 under 

 the average of 10 years. The mortality in this town is 80 per cent., 

 and for the whole Union it is 79 per cent., above the average for the 

 quarter in the previous eight years. 



The deaths throughout England are 6745 above the corrected quar- 

 terly average. 



July. — The driest and the hottest July I have recorded. The mean 

 temperature is 2"^ -74 above the average. The fall of rain slightly exceeds 

 three-fourths of an inch, and the quantity received by the steeple-gauge, 

 at 80 feet above the ground, is rather more than was measured in the 

 garden, near the surface — a somewhat rare exception to the general law 

 of condensation. The evaporation and the complement of the dew-point 

 are both above the average, the former by '595 inch, the latter by 1°'14. 

 The amount of terrestrial radiation is small, being exactly the same as 

 in the corresponding month of last year, when 9 inches of rain fell ; 

 hence we may infer that the earth has retained through the night most 

 of the heat absorbed during the day. 



August. — Mean temperature 1"'10 under the average. The comple- 

 ment of the dew-point and the evaporation are both above the average 

 for the month ; the former by l'"&6, and the latter by 0'.51 inch. 



Hail on the 8th and 23d. Multitudes of shooting stars and several 

 bright meteors, almost every clear night between the 2d and 20th. The 

 grain harvest commenced in this neighbourhood about the 17th. The 

 yield was good, and the crops secured in excellent condition. 



SKptcinher. — Mean temperature 2" '87 under the average. The com- 

 plement of the dew-point is 1°'67 above the average, and the evapora- 

 is 0*56 under tlie mean quantity. Fine aurorse on the 26th and 29th. 

 A magnificent arch begirt the sky from W. to E. on the evening of the 

 26th. 



The mean temperature of the quarter ending September 30th is 0-°41 

 under the average ; the complement of the dew-iwint and the evapora- 

 tion are both above the average, the former by l'°55, the latter by 0"18 

 inch. 



The deaths throughout the Union during the quarter, exceed the average 

 number by 87, or 54 per cent. ; in the town of Whitehaven, the mortality 

 is 45 per cent, above the quarterly average. 



