Characteristics of Good and Sad Seasons. 127 



year for barley. For almost all conditions of manuring, 1854 

 was the season of the highest total produce of barley, grain 

 and straw together that is, it was the season of the greatest 

 luxuriance or vegetative activity; but 1857 was, especially 

 for the highest manuring, the one of the highest produce of 

 grain and of the highest quality or maturing of grain, as 

 evidenced by the weight per bushel. Thus, 1854 was the 

 highest for luxuriance and 1857 the highest for maturation of 

 the crop. As for wheat, so for barley, 1879 was decidedly 

 the worst season of the thirty-two. The contrast between the 

 produce on the barley plots in the two very different good 

 years and that in the worst season, 1879, is very striking, the 

 difference amounting in several cases to as much as the 

 average crop of the country. 



Since seasons repeat themselves, the meteorological 

 characters of 1854, 1857, and 1879, however briefly 

 summarised, cannot fail to afford interesting comparisons. 

 In 1854, the season of great luxuriance and high total 

 produce, there was an excess of temperature in January, 

 February, March, and April, with a deficiency of rain from 

 November to April inclusive ; but during May, June, and 

 July, that is, the months of active above-ground growth, 

 there were lower than the average temperatures, with a con- 

 siderable excess of rain in May, and then a deficiency 

 conditions obviously favouring continued vegetation and slow 

 maturation. In 1857 there was less excess of temperature 

 and less than the average amount of rain to the end of April ; 

 then from May to August inclusive there was both consider- 

 able deficiency of rain and considerable excess of temperature, 

 that is, there were throughout the period of active above- 

 ground growth conditions favouring seeding tendency and 

 maturation rather than luxuriance. Thus, then, the two good 

 seasons were very different in their climatic characteristics, 

 as they were in the character of their produce. The very 

 bad season of 1879 registered much lower than average 

 temperatures throughout the winter, spring, and summer, 



