April, 1912. 



KXO\VLi:i)GE. 



METEOROLOGY. 



By JOH.N A. Curtis, F.R.Met.Soc. 



The weather of the week ended February 17th. as set out in 

 the Weekly Weather Report issued by the Meteorological 

 Office, was very dull generally, with a good deal of fog and 

 mist in places. Temperature was above the average in all 

 districts, the excesses varying from 2°-7 in Scotland, K., to 

 5° -4 in England. E. Maxima above 50° were recorded in 

 all parts ol the country, the highest being 57° reported at 

 Tottenham. Llandudno and Killarney. The minima were 

 below the freezing point in all districts except England. E., 

 and the English Channel. The lowest reading reported was 

 25° at West Linton on the 11th. In the Channel Islands the 

 temperature did not fall below 38°. On the grass readings 

 down to 18° at Dublin and 19° at Aspatria, were observed. 



Rainfall was slightly in excess in England, N.E.. the Midlands. 

 and England, S.E.. but was in defect elsewhere, the greatest 

 defect being in Scotland, N., where it was but one-fourth the 

 average amount. Simshine was less than usual in all parts 

 except Scotland, N. In that district the daily duration was 

 l-l hours (24 "ol, while in the English Channel it was 2-7 hours 

 (27 %). In England. N.E., however, the daily amount was only 

 0-2 hour (2 %). At several stations the week was sunless. 

 Westminster reported 0-7 hour (7 %). 



The mean temperature of the seawater round the coasts 

 varied from J7°-9 at Burnmouth to 46° -7 at Salcombe, and 

 was, as a rule, a little above the normal. 



The week ended February 24th was cloudy and damp, with 

 fog and mist on the coast. Temperature continued high and 

 was again above the average in all districts, by as much as 

 7°-4 in England. E. A maximum reading of 60° was recorded 

 at Birr Castle. Ireland, on the 22nd, the next highest reading 

 being 58 at Hawarden Bridge, near Chester, on the same day. 



In Jer.-^ey the highest reading was 56°. Frost was recorded 

 in all districts except the English Channel, where the minimum 

 was 39". The lowest of the minima reported was 25° at 

 Llangammarch Wells, but the thermometer on the grass at 

 that station fell to 20°. .\X Dublin the grass thermometer was 

 as low as 19°. The temperature at one foot below the earth 

 surface was above the normal at all stations and by as much 

 as 5' in the South-East of England. 



Rainfall was in excess in all districts except England. X.W., 

 the diftereuce from average being considerable in places, 

 especially in Ireland. 



Sunshine on the other hand was in defect in all districts 

 except Scotland, W., where it was slightly in excess. The 

 sunnUst district was Ireland, S., with a daily value of 

 2'8 hours (28%). At Westminster the daily amount was only 

 0- 1 hour or 1 per cent. 



The temperature of the sea water was higher than usual, 

 and the mean values varied from 38°- at Burnmouth to 

 48°- 1 at Salcombe. 



The week ended March 2nd was very unsettled, with rain 

 on most days. In the extreme N. and N.W. the rain was 

 sometimes heavy. Temperature continued above the average, 

 the excesses above the normal being very high, 10° -0 in 

 England, E., and nowhere less than 6°-2. The maxima, 

 however, did not exceed 60° at any station, but this value was 

 recorded at many stations between York and Jersey. The 

 high average was due to the high minima, and in each district 

 the average of the minima this week was higher than the 

 normal average temperature, the excess in England. E., being 

 as much as 4° • 6. On the grass the lowest readings recorded 

 were 23° at Rauceby and 24° at Crathes and Markree Ciistle. 

 The earth temperature at one foot depth was higher than 

 normal at all stations. 



R.ainfall was slightly below the normal in the Midlands and 

 North-Eastern districts, but was in excess elsewhere, especially 

 in the North. .-Vt some stations the total precipitation was 

 more than twice as much as usual. Thus, at Stornoway the 

 total was 2-84 inches as compared with the average of 

 0-99 inch, and at Newton Rigg 1-38 inches compared with 

 the average of 0-67 inch. Sunshine was below the normal 

 in all parts, the sunniest district being the Enghsh Chaimel 



with a daily mean of 3-4 hours (32%). Of the individual 

 stations, Torquay recorded the most sunshine, 3-8 hours per 

 day (36%). The sea temperature varied from 38° at Burn- 

 mouth to 50° at Plymouth and Scilly. 



The week ended March 9th was again unsettled, with 

 frecjuent rain at many stations in the West and South-West. 

 A feature of the week was a well-marked line squall that 

 travelled from the S.W. of Ireland to the S.E. of England on 

 the 4th, accompanied by sharp thunderstorms and exceedingly 

 heavy gusts of wind. The maximum velocity recorded in this 

 stiuall was eighty-nine miles per hour at Falmouth (Pendennis), 

 but a few hours later a gust of ninety-eight miles per hour 

 was recorded at the same station. 



Temperature was again above the average in all districts, 

 the excesses, however, being of less amount than in the 

 preceding week. The high average was due as before 

 to the high minima, for the maximum nowhere exceeded 

 58° which was the reading at Jersey on the 5th. In most 

 districts the maxima for the week were below 55°, and in 

 Scotland, W., the highest reading was only 50°. The minima, 

 on the other hand, were high and there was but little frost. 

 The lowest reading recorded was 28° at Nairn and at Balmoral 

 on the 8th. In Scotland, W., the temperature did not fall 

 below 34°, and in the English Channel the lowest reading was 

 36°. On the grass, however, severe frost was registered, 

 the readings falling to 20° at Crathes and to 21° at Plymouth 

 and Southampton. .At a depth of one foot the earth was 

 much warmer than usual. Rainfall was slightly below the 

 average in Scotland, N. and E., but above it in all other 

 districts. In England, S.W., and the English Channel, 

 the totals were nearly three times the usual quantity. The 

 week was much more sunny than those which immediately 

 preceded it, and daily averages were reported up to 5-1 hours 

 (46%) in Ireland, S. All the districts showed excesses 

 except England, N.E., and the English Channel, which were 

 slightly in defect. 



The mean sea temperature ranged from 39° -9 at Burn- 

 mouth to 49' -0 at Newijuay. which was considerably above 

 the average. 



The past "Winter," that is, the period of thirteen weeks. 

 December 3rd. 1911, to March 2nd, 1912, has been on the 

 whole warm and wet, but dull. In England, S.E., of the 

 thirteen weeks six were unusually warm, five normal and two 

 cold ; nine weeks were unusually wet, three normal and one 

 dry, but only two weeks unusually sunny, one normal and ten 

 dull. 



MICRO.SCOPV. 



coiidiicted with the assistance of the following 

 Diicroscopists : — 



Akihur C. Bankield. 

 The Rev. E. W. Bowkm.. 



n. Ca 



AN ATTRACTIVE "COMMON OBJECT."— An inter- 

 esting but perhaps little-known micro-object, plentiful in 

 spring, may be found at the base of old dead nettle stems. 

 The stem should be carefully drawn out from the ground 

 after first loosening the earth round it. On examination it 

 will be found in nearly every case, that under the cuticle just 

 above the root, there are a number of little black points. With 

 a moderate magnification they are seen to be flagon or bottle 

 shaped bodies ; when not crowded many are very symmetri- 

 cal in form, while others owing to pressure and crowding are 

 more or less mis-shapen. They have a narrow neck which 

 pierces the cuticle, appearing on the exterior as a minute 

 papilla with an orifice at the summit. These are specimens 

 of the ascomycetous fungus Sphaeria acuta. If the stem 

 supporting them is carefully dried they form an attractive 

 object for a low power — say one inch or one-anda-half inches 

 — under incident light especially with a binocular. With 

 vcrv little trouble a preparation showing their minute struc- 

 ture may be made. For this purpose they should be detached 

 with as little injury as possible, and should be soaked in 

 strong spirit for some hours ; then a little glycerine (dilute) 



