300 METEOROLOGY. 



April was a remarkably dry month everj^where south of Greenwich, and 

 particularly so in this county, the total rain in the thirty days being at no 

 station one third of an inch, — at Sennen it was only -03, and at St. Agnes 

 '06, two days only having witnessed a shower. But the weather was marked 

 by great extremes of temperature, ranging at Truro from 26° to 67° ; the first 

 seven nights were frosty there ; and at Altarnun the minima varied only 

 from 25° to 20° during that week. The comparative equability of Falmouth 

 was illustrated; the lowest temperature having been 36"5°, the highest 58'2o. 

 The days were often warm. The same character of season obtained up the 

 country, but there was more heat by day and less cold by night. Capt. Liddell 

 notes for Bodmin that " the long drought was severely felt." 



May was divided into two periods, the first half rather cold and showery, 

 the latter generally fair and warm. There was a marked difference between 

 the western and eastern divisions of the county in regard to the quantity of 

 rain as compared with the average for the month : it was much less than 

 usual in the former, whilst it equalled or even exceeded the mean in the 

 latter. Notwithstanding this, Capt. Liddell remarks that in the neighbour- 

 hood of Bodmin " the sjorings were never known so low in May before " ; 

 but Mr. Tripp says, that at Altarnun " nearly three inches fell in the week 

 beginning on the 10th, and the effect of this welcome supply on the parched 

 and stunted vegetation was marvellous." At Helston the range of temper- 

 ature was from 35° to 77° ; at Falmouth from 38° to 66° ; at Truro, from 

 32° to 74" ; at Bodmin, from 31° to 73° ; at Liskeard, from 34° to 83° ; and at 

 Altarnun, from 26° to 81 -5°. 



June was a very dry month everywhere, and drought was severely felt. 

 At Penzance the heat was over 70° on two days ; at Helston the range was 

 from 43° to 84° ; at Falmouth, from 48° to 75° ; at Truro, from 38° to 82° ; 

 at Bodmin, from 47° to 76° ; at Liskeard, from 44° to 87° ; at Altarnun, from 

 32° to 83°; and at Greenwich, from 41-4° to 90-2o. On the 16th there were 

 thunderstorms throughout the country, from Helston to North Shields, in 

 many places violent. The close of the month was colder and unsettled. 

 Mr. Glaisher states the temperature of the 41 days from the 12th of May to 

 the 22nd of June, as 3|° daily above the average ; and he says that the 

 rainfall in this quarter (1-13 in.), was the smallest on record for these three 

 months. 



July was a very fine summerlike month. The rainfall was considerably 

 below the average at all the stations ; but whilst it fell on only 6 days, half 

 the usual number, at Truro, just the average number (15 and 13 respectively) 

 were more or less wet at Bodmin and Altarnun. There was a thunderstorm at 

 Truro on the 8th, one of the hottest days of the year. The range of temp- 

 erature was at Helston from 48° to 84°; Falmouth, 52-7° to 74-2°; Truro, 

 46° to 84° ; Bodmin, 51° to 83° ; Liskeard, 46° to 88° ; Altarnun, 37° to 87". 

 At the Greenwich Observatory the lowest temperature was 44-8, the highest 



89-7°. 



August was also a fine month, with only a few unsettled periods. The 

 number of days on which no rain fell was one-third greater than the average 

 at all the stations, and Bodmin was the only place where the quantity was 



