( 220) 



at IQS. 6d. per bushel; barley at 7*. to *js. 2d. ; oats at 

 3*. 6d. ; and clover seed at ^"5 10*. per cwt. Good 

 Worcester hops, 2 25. per cwt. (Tooke). 

 1783 Wheat, 52*. Sd. per qr. {Official Returns). 



Very hot summer. Wheat bought for seed in October 

 at is. per bushel ( Winter). 



To January i6th, rainy, with heavy winds. To 24th, 

 hard frost. To the end of the first fortnight in February, 

 blowing, with much rain. To the end of February, stormy, 

 dripping weather. To May Qth, cold, harsh winds (thick 

 ice on May 5th). To the end of August, hot weather, 

 with frequent showers. To September 23rd, mild, with 

 heavy, driving rains. To November i2th, dry, mild 

 weather. To December i8th, grey, soft weather, with 

 a few showers. To the end of the year, hard frost. 

 Rainfall at Selborne, 3371 {Gilbert White). 



June 4. Vast honeydews this week (Gilbert White). 



This summer was an amazing and portentous one, and 

 full of horrible phenomena; for, besides the alarming 

 meteors and tremendous thunderstorms that affrighted 

 and distressed the different counties of this kingdom, the 

 peculiar haze or smoky fog that prevailed for many weeks 

 in this island and in every part of Europe, and even 

 beyond its limits, was a most extraordinary appearance, 

 unlike anything known within the memory of man. From 

 June 23rd to July 2oth inclusive, during which period the 

 wind varied to every quarter without making any altera- 

 tion in the air. The sun at noon looked as blank as 

 a clouded moon, and shed a rust-coloured ferruginous 

 light on the ground and floors of rooms, but was par- 

 ticularly lurid and blood-coloured at rising and setting. 

 All the time the heat was so intense that butchers' meat 

 could hardly be eaten on the day after it was killed, and 

 the flies swarmed so in the lanes and hedges that they 

 rendered the horses half frantic and riding irksome. All 

 the while Calabria and part of the isle of Sicily were torn 



