RAINFALL IN DORSET. 213 



by itself and the 16 others separately and combined ; and the 

 difference between Haselbury Bryan and the mean of the rest is 

 given at the foot of the table. The actual rainfall having appeared 

 in this and previous reports need not be repeated. The resulting 

 values, which must not be confounded with the ratios in Table II. 

 of "Dorset Annual Rainfall, 1848-92," exhibit Haselbury Bryan 

 as relatively the wettest of the Dorset stations in 1888 and 

 1890 and the driest in 1894 and 1895. This is very unlikely. 

 No diminution of rain to an extent such as that indicated has been 

 experienced at any other place. It will be noticed that the 

 change occurred in 1892, since which time the fall has approxim- 

 ated to that at Cheddington and other villages among the hills. 

 Probably the conditions of observation have undergone an alteration 

 for the better in the last year or two, and 42 or 43 inches instead 

 of 49 inches may ultimately turn out to be the annual rainfall. 



There has been a deficiency of about 5 per cent, in the rainfall 

 for the year, as deduced from 20 stations, omitting Haselbury 

 Bryan (Table II., column 9). More precisely, compared with the 

 period 1848-92, the total rain has been as 94-9 to 100. 



The chief meteorological feature of the year was the frost which 

 commenced on the 30th December, 1894, and, with an interval of 

 mild weather from the 14th to the 21st of January, lasted till the 

 5th of March, with some relaxation towards the close. Just 

 100 years ago a still longer frost, particularly severe in January, 

 prevailed from the middle of December, 1794, to the commence- 

 ment of March following. Since then, with the exception of the 

 very snowy winter of 1813-14, when frost persisted almost 

 uninterruptedly from the 27th of December to the 5th of February, 

 the months of January and February together of the present year 

 have undoubtedly been the coldest of the century. 



Bloxworth Rev. 0. P. Cambridge : An almost total absence of 

 thunderstorms. 



Chalbury Rev. G. H. Billington : Highest temperature 77 on 

 the 27th of September, lowest 13 on the 6th of February. In 



