CHAPTER XXXIII. 

 MONTHLY CALENDAH. 



1. — Aspect of the Month. 



19:0. The eighth month from 

 I\Iarch, the first month of the old 

 Eoman year, October, according to 

 the quaint old Peachum, "is drawn 

 in a garment of yellow and carnation ; 

 ujjon his head a garland of oak-leaves, 

 in his right hand the sign of Scoi-pio, 

 and in his left a basket of ' services, ' medlars, and 

 other fruits that ripen late." The mean tempera- 

 ture of the month is nearly 7° lower than that of 

 September, and frost is by no means uncommon 

 towards the end of the month. The moisture in 

 the atmosphere increases, and evaporation dimi- 

 nishes considerably; the mean average tempera- 

 ture being, at one foot below the surface, 51-52°; 

 at two feet, 5278° ; and at the surface, 49-35°. 

 192 1. The autumn-al fall of the leaf, with the change of 

 colom- which precedes it, is among the most interesting 

 phenomena of the month. That the latter is due to light 

 •was established by the experiment of Mr. Macaire Prinsep, who found that 

 the exposed part of the leaf was always the most deeply-coloured poi-tion. 

 In order to determine whether any change of colour took place in abso- 



2 R 2 



