Nov 20, 1884] 



NATURE 



57 



in various parts of the United Kingdom, the excess or 

 deficit of rain which has occurred during the first, second, 

 and third quarters of the present year, and also similar 

 values for the month of October. In the last column we 

 have the number of months in which the rainfall has been 

 less than the average. It must, however, be explained 

 that these numbers do not necessarily signify consecutive 

 months. The values in the table have been compiled 

 from the Monthlv and Weekly Weather Reports issued 

 by the Meteorological Office, and the averages employed 

 have been those for the fifteen years 1866 to 1880. 



An examination of the first column shows that during 

 the first quarter of the year there was a deficiency of rain 

 over the midland and south-eastern counties of England, 

 but an excess in all other parts of the kingdom. The 

 deficiency was most clearly marked in London and its 

 immediate neighbourhood, where the total fall was from 

 28 to 30 per cent, less than the average. The excess was 

 greatest in the north-west of England and north of Ire- 

 land ; in most parts of these districts the aggregate was 

 from 30 to 40 per cent, more than the average, but at 

 Blackpool it was as much as 41 per cent. more. 



The figures in the next column show that during the 

 second quarter of the year the weather became much 

 drier, and in fact a deficiency of rain was recorded over 

 the entire kingdom. With the exception of Marlborough, 

 where the falling off amounted to only 9 per cent., and 

 Hereford and Londonderry, where it was respectively 19 

 and 16 per cent., the deficiency varied between 22 and 54 

 per cent., the lower value being recorded at Cirencester 

 and the higher at York. Upon the whole it appears that 

 the driest weather was experienced in Scotland, the north 

 and north-west of England, and the neighbourhood of 

 London. 



From the figures in the third column it would appear 

 that a very similar state of affairs prevailed in the July to 

 September quarter. With the exception of Leith and 

 Glasgow, where there was a trifling excess, ever)' station 

 in the table again had a deficiency of rain, the districts 

 more seriously affected being the western and southern 

 parts of England and the east of Ireland. In the catch- 

 ment basin, from which the northern towns derive their 

 water-supply, the deficit was not so strongly marked as in 



other parts of the kingdom, and the serious state of 

 affairs which prevailed during October must therefore be 

 set down to a long continued rather than an exceptionally 

 severe spell of dry weather. 



The figures for the month of October, given in the 

 fourth column, show that the fall of rain was then abnor- 

 mally small. At Londonderry, it is true, there was a 

 slight excess, and at Aberdeen the deficit was not par- 

 ticularly striking, but in other parts of the country the 

 falling off was very considerable. At many of the English 

 stations the total for the month was only one-third of the 

 average, while at Dublin it did not amount to as much as 

 one-fourth. The places least affected were Stonyhurst, 

 Leicester, and Cambridge, where the amount was from 

 29 to 39 per cent, less than the average. 



The general result of all these facts, as given in the 

 fifth column, shows that, with the exception of London- 

 derry, the rainfall of the past ten months has been less 

 than the average in all parts of the kingdom. At Black- 

 pool, Leith, and Glasgow the deficiency has not been 

 particularly remarkable, but elsewhere, and especially in 

 London and the home counties generally, it has been 

 very great. At Oxford, and also in London, the aggre- 

 gate fall for the period has been only about two-thirds of 

 the average ; and there is consequently no reason to 

 doubt that, unless the weather of the remaining few 

 weeks of 1884 undergoes a very sudden and decided 

 change, the total for the year will be unusually small. 

 Up to the present time (November iS) the rainfall for 

 November has only amounted to one-third of the average 

 for the whole month. 



The last column in the table gives the number of 

 months during which the amount of rain has been in 

 defect of the average. At Manchester, Leicester, and 

 Dublin there have been eight such periods, and at Cam- 

 bridge nine ; while at Oxford, and also in London, every 

 month has shown a deficiency. 



In endeavouring to compare the above figures with 

 those for previous years, the meteorologist is met at the 

 outset by a very familiar difficulty, namely that of finding 

 reliable information for any very long period. As regards 

 London, however, some valuable statistics are to hand in 

 the rainfall diagram prepared some years ago by Mr. 

 George Dines, F.R.Met.Soc. This diagram, which gives 

 the monthly and annual fall of rain in the London district 

 during the sixty years 18 13 to 1872, was compiled with 

 great care and precision partly from Luke Howard's 

 observations, partly from the Cobham journals, and to a 

 large extent from information published or supplied 

 by Mr. Symons. By completing the statistics up to 

 the present time, we get a long and very valuable series 

 of returns, and are also able to obtain a really good and 

 reliable average. In the following table are shown the 



total amounts of rain in London during some of the driest of 

 the past seventy-one years, together with the percentage 

 difference from an average based on the seventy years' 



