Meteorology of Whitehaven. 61 
earth’s crust at night, is pretty equal at all seasons, and at all tempera- 
tures of the air. 
The following brief notes will convey a general idea of the character 
of each month in the bygone year. 
January.—A seasonable frosty month. The temperature, rain, and 
evaporation, are all below an average ; the first by 4°°70, the second by 
0°338 inch, and the evaporation by 0°164 inch. The thermometer in 
air has been below 32° on 23 nights, and on the night between the 28th 
and 29th, it fell to 15°, a point which it rarely reaches at this place. 
February.—An excessively wet month, with an unusually high tem- 
perature, and an extremely Jow atmospheric pressure. The average 
fall of rain for the second month is 3°611 inches; but this year we have 
had 7°815, or 4:204 above the average quantity. This is the wettest 
February on record at this place. The barometer was below 28 inches 
from the morning of the 22d February to the night of the Ist of March, 
a period of nine days. The mean temperature is 2°'95 above the average 
of 10 years, and the evaporation is 0°298 inch below the mean amount 
for the month. 
Bees began to bear burdens on the 20th. 
March.—Similar to February ; a wet month, with high temperature 
and low atmospheric pressure. The temperature and depth of rain are 
both above the average, the former by 0°75, the latter by 0-90 inch. 
The evaporation is nearly half an inch below the usual quantity. ‘The tor- 
toiseshell butterfly (Vanessa Urtica) was seen on the 23d. The zodiacal 
light was visible on several evenings during the month. 
The temperature of the quarter ending 31st March, is 0°33 below the 
average. The average fall of rain in the first quarter of the year is 
11'179 inches ; in 1848, we have had 16°148 inches, or 4°967 inches 
above an average quantity. The evaporation is 0:909, or nearly an inch 
below the usual amount. 
The deaths throughout the Union during the quarter, are 276, being 
43°9, or 19 per cent. above the corrected quarterly average (232:1) ; for 
the town only, they are 151, being 45°3, or 43 per cent. above the 
average number, which is 105°7. The numbers, both for the town and 
Union, are greater than in any corresponding quarter (except in 1847) 
since the register was begun in 1839. The deaths exceed the births, in 
the town by 56, and in the whole Union by 52. It appears by the Re- 
gistrar-General’s report, that the same remark applies to the mortality all 
over the kingdom. The deaths are 6,755 above the calculated average 
for the quarter. 
April.—A fine dry month, with frequent very slight showers. Less 
than half-an-inch fell in 17 days, and there was only one day on which 
the sun did not shine out more or less. The temperature is ;%ths of a 
degree under the average. The depth of rain is 1968 inch below, and 
the evaporation is 0°232 inch above, the mean quantity. The lo butter- 
fly appeared on the Ist. Swallows made their appearance on the 21st; 
and the euckoo was heard towards the end of the month. The cuckoo was 
heard, and three swallows were seen at Wastdale Head on the evening 
of the 19th. 
Between the 2d and the 9th, the maximum temperature had fallen 
21°, and the minimum 15 degrees. 
May.—A month of most delightful summer weather, with an unusual 
proportion of clear sky. ‘The sun shone out every day in the month, and 
