68 The Eothamsted Wheat Experiments. 



same period of some of the seasons of high productiveness. 

 A comparison of 1879 with 1816 shows that the former year 

 was characterised by a season which was, from seed-time to 

 the end of the summer, worse than that of the latter. 

 1816 suffered more from low temperature, but less from 

 excess of rain during the summer. Both crops were, however, 

 very late, and, for getting in the crop, the season of 1816 was 

 much worse than that of 1879. 



It is now desirable, disregarding as much as possible the 

 specialities of individual seasons, to consider the average 

 character of classes of seasons, arranged according to the 

 general character of their wheat crops. The classes are as 

 follows : Six years of high produce of both corn and straw 

 1832, 1834, 1835, 1854, 1863, and 1864 ; four years of high 

 produce of grain, but not of straw 1833, 1857, 1868, and 

 1870 ; four years of very low produce 1816, 1853, 1860, 

 and 1879. 



Taking the six years of high produce, and confining 

 attention, in the first place, to the period of six months, 

 from November to April inclusive, in only one of the six 

 seasons which go to make the average were there two 

 months, and in four others there was only one month, of the 

 six of in any material degree lower than average temperature, 

 and in only one season (1854) was there a really severe 

 winter month. With these few exceptions, every other 

 month of the six within each of the six seasons was either 

 about average or over average, and in many cases very much 

 over average, as to temperature. As to rainfall over the 

 same period, in two of the seasons there were two months, 

 and in two there was only one month with any considerable 

 excess of rain ; whilst in the other two there was a deficiency in 

 every month of the six. There were, therefore, in each of the 

 six seasons, four, five, or six of these six months considerably 

 drier than the average. Concerning the next three months 

 of May, June, and July : in two out of the six seasons, each 

 of the three was warmer than the average, in two each was 



