ON THE RAINFALL OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



181 



Among the many points of interest brought out by this mode of treatment, 

 pcrliaps the only one to which we need call special attention is the general 

 distribution of rain during 1870 and 1S71. And lirst respecting 1S70 : the 

 accompanying sketch map (p. 179) shows that there were two areas in which 

 great deficiency of rain occurred, and that there was no division in which the 

 fall reached the average. The areas of deficieucy were the south-west of Eng- 

 land and the Avest of Scotland ; and on reference to Table I. it will be found 

 that several stations in those divisions had less than two thirds of their average 

 fall. The divisions in which the fall most nearly approached the average 

 were the north-east of Scotland and Yorkshire, the latter owing to a very 

 heavy local fall in North Lincolnshire, in October 1870, having partially ex- 

 tended into the former county. 



In 1871 the fall was not very much below the average (only 5 per cent.), 

 and the chart docs not reveal such prominent features as in 1870. The 

 greatest differences are found in the two sides of the north of Scotland, no 

 other division differing more than 6 per cent, from the mean of the whole ; 

 and even this is mainly due to a belt of excess running north-eastward across 

 the centre of England. This belt, moreover, is due to a single rain, that of 

 September 6th, which in South-east Yorkshire amounted to nearly four inches, 

 and to between one and two inches at nearly all stations thence south-west- 

 ward to Devonshire. The area of that rain, it may be as well to state (in- 

 cluding only those parts at wliich upwards of an inch fell), was about 14,000 

 square miles ; and taking the fall at the low average of one and a half inch, 

 not less than 1,357,000,000 (thirteen hundred and fifty-seven million) tons 

 of water fell during the twenty-four hours. 



Table I.*- — Comparison of Eainfall, 1870 and 1871, with Average, 1860-69. 



Division. 



I. 

 II. 



Station. 



Camden Square 



Weybridge Heath 



Tan field Lodge 



AValdronhurst 



Wimbledon 



Kew Observatory 



Linton Park 



Himton Court 



West Thorn ey 



Chichester Museum . . . 

 ,, Shopwjke.. 



,, West Dean 



,, Chilgrove, 



Dale Park 



High Wiekham 



Forest Lodge 



Osborne 



Fai'eham 



Petersfleld 



Selborne 



Aldersbot 



Mean, 

 1860-69, 



in. 



25-68 



25-05 



26-33 



24-39 



23-48 



23-28 



27-56 



26-00 



26-88 



29-03 



29-19 



37-08 



33-22 



3373 

 26-37 

 31-48 

 30-73 



33-9' 



38-03 



34'43 

 27-04 



Total Fall in 



1870. 



in. 

 21-32 



i9"5S 

 21-69 



19-80 

 18-22 

 16-64 

 21-69 

 20-49 

 20-58 

 21-37 

 2489 

 28-35 

 27-57 

 27-40 

 24-61 

 24-02 

 21-96 

 24-52 

 28-05 

 26-89 

 22-94 



1871. 



in. 



25-02 



2322 



24-18 



20-24 



22-50 



21-44 



25-12 



2294 



26-19 



25-86 



26-19 



34-39 

 33-19 

 29-87 

 26-74 



30'45 

 29*26 

 29-07 

 347* 

 33'43 

 2559 



Eatio of Fall. 

 (1860-69=160.) 



1870. 1871. 



83 

 78 

 82 

 81 



78 

 72 

 79 

 79 

 77 

 74 

 85 

 76 



83 

 81 



93 

 76 

 72 

 72 

 74 

 78 

 85 



97 

 93 

 92 



83 

 96 

 92 



9J 



88 



97 



89 

 90 



93 



100 



89 



lOI 



97 

 95 

 86 



91 

 97 

 95 



Mean 

 Divi- 

 sional 

 Katio. 



83 97 



* Full particulars respecting the counties in which these stations are, and the heights of 

 the r.iin-gauges above the ground and aliove sea-level, will be found on p. 106 of our last 

 Report. 



