Meteorological Summary for 1828. — Hampshire. 317 



Barometrical Pressure. — The mean height of the mercurial 

 column of the barometer this year, is4'-125thsof aninch lower than 

 it was in the preceding, and 19-lOOOdths of an inch lower than the 

 mean of the last thirteen years. Both the aggregate of the spaces 

 described by the alternate rising and falling of the quicksilver, and 

 the number of changes, fall considerably short of their yearly mean 

 amount, and indeed of any year since 1815 ; an indication that the 

 elasticity of the atmosphere has been less disturbed by the prevail- 

 ing winds, &c. notwithstanding that the gales are as many in number 

 as have occurred in any year since the boisterous year 1 82 1 . In July 

 and the first fortnight of August, the mean pressure was lower than 

 in any other part of the year. 



Temperature. — The mean temperature of the external air this 

 year is unprecedentedly high, being 2-38 degrees higher than the 

 mean of the last thirteen years, and O-'tS, or nearly half a degree 

 higher than the mean of the warm year 1822. By comparing the 

 monthly mean temperatures, this remarkable circumstance appears to 

 have arisen from the high mean temperature of January, February, 

 November and December, as it will be recollected that the winter 

 and autumn were uncommonly mild ; but in both these seasons the 

 atmosphere was very humid. 



The difference between the annual mean temperature of the air 

 as taken at 8 A.M. and 8 P.M., is only 3-IOths of a degree. The 

 mean temperature of spring water this year is also higher than it 

 has been since ! 822 ; as there was no penetrating frost to lessen the 

 temperature of the ground. 



Wind. — It will be seen by the scale of the winds, that those from 

 the S.E. and S.W. prevailed much longer than from any other given 

 point of the compass : their duration this year is without a parallel, 

 particularly from the former point, which prevailed mostly in the 

 winter and spring, and from the S.W. in the summer months. The 

 S.E. wind is here generally found to be a dry land wind, and its un- 

 usual prevalence may in some measure account for the high annual 

 mean temperature of the atmosphere. The S.W. wind from the 

 Western Ocean is moist, and, on uniting with the land air, very 

 often brings on haze, or rain, shortens the mercurial column, and 

 lessens evaporation considerably. 



The number of strong gales, or the days on which they have pre- 

 vailed this year, is as in the following scale : 



The number from the S.W. is remarkable, as usual. 



Rain. — Both the rain and evaporation are less than their annual 

 average amounts for many years past. The only three very wet 

 months were January, July, and December. In January nearly 

 seven inches of rain fell here, although there were fifteen days with- 

 out any that was measurable ; and it is remarkable that nearly two 



inches 



