206 FRENCH MARKET-GARDENING 



on intensive principles, it has occurred to me that it 

 might be useful to the grower to have some idea of 

 the average temperature of the air and the soil for 

 each month of the year. I have, accordingly, ex- 

 tracted this information from Lindley's Theory and 

 Practice of Horticulture, the figures given being those 

 taken for ten consecutive years in the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society's late Gardens at Chiswick some years 

 ago. The mean air temperatures at Paris have 

 also been included for the purpose of comparison. 

 It will, of course, be remembered that places farther 

 north or south than London will have different mean 

 temperatures, and it would be well for growers to find 

 them out and place them in a conspicuous place in 

 their gardens for future reference. So far as the 

 rainfall is concerned, there is very little difference 

 between that of Paris and London the average 

 rainfall in the former being about 23 in., and 25 in. in 

 the latter. Here again, of course, great variation is 

 to be found, as more rain generally falls on the western 

 side of Great Britain than on the eastern. 



By the kindness and courtesy of the authorities 

 at the Observatory Department of the National 

 Physical Laboratory at Kew, I am enabled to give 

 below the meteorological averages of Rainfall, Sun- 

 shine, and Temperature which have been extracted 

 from the records by permission of the Meteorological 

 Council. These figures may serve for comparison 

 with observations made in other parts of the kingdom. 



From these figures it will be seen that the popular 

 expression " February fill dyke " is by no means 

 accurate, as February and March are generally the 

 driest months in the year. At Ealing the average 



