METEOROLOGY. 265 



drawn from another, and from the above statements of rainfall. The last 

 division, showing the actual weather at three fixed hom'S daily, probably 

 furnishes materials for a close approximate estimate of how much dry 

 weather there is in each month, and how much wet ; and it may prove con- 

 solatory to be assured, that in the ordinary run of years, and during these 

 six months, it does not rain so much as three hours out of the twenty-four ; 

 not much more than one day in nine. Last summer, the rainy hours were 

 nearly one sixth of the whole ; but if we turn to the middle section of the 

 table, we find some compensation in the amount of sunshine, which was a 

 good deal more than usual, that of cloud being proportionally less, — about 

 17 minutes in the hour. Turning to the first section of the table, we find 

 only a moderate difference in the means for the half year, but a very decided 

 contrast between the months of May and August ; the former marked by ex- 

 treme dryness, the latter by extreme humidity. May is, as a rule, the driest 

 month of the year ; but through the intensity of this quality, associated with 

 strong and cold winds, it proved a very prejudicial, as well as disagreeable, 

 season ; and the unusual dampness of August, usually a rather damp sum- 

 mer month, followed by the floods of September, placed the harvest every- 

 where in great jeopardy, and ruined it in many places. The west of England 

 suffered less than many other parts of the country, in the saving both of 

 hay and cereals. It is remarked by Capt. Liddell, that with the exception of 

 two heavy gales on the 11th January, and the 23rd March, the year was very 

 remarkable for the absence of high winds. 



After the above summary for the year 1866, as a whole, it will be inter- 

 esting to take a cursory review of the several months, with some reference 

 to the simultaneous condition of other parts of England, in regard to which 

 ample information has been provided by Mr. Glaisher's quarterly remarks, 

 and Mr. Symons's " British Rainfall." 



Janiiari/. The weather at the beginning of the year was stormy. The 

 temperature was high for the season, giving a mean of 46''-2 at Truro, and 

 45 '3 at Bodmin, nearly 3" above the average of the last 17 years; and the 

 greatest cold was 33" at Helston, 24" at Truro, and 28" at Bodmin. At Altar- 

 nun, the coldest Station, the thermometer on the grass fell to 32" on only 9 

 nights. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean temperature was 

 42"'6, being warmer than any January since that of 1851, and 6^" above its 

 average value from 50 years' observation. There was a fall of snow on the 

 10th, heavy in the eastern districts only, with drifts from 5 to 10 feet deep, 

 in which large numbers of sheep were smothered. This fall of snow ex- 

 tended from the east to the west of England— most heavily along a line from 

 London through Exeter. There was a very heavy fall of rain and rapid thaw 

 on the 12th, which Mr. Tripp reports to have caused the river Inny to rise 

 higher than it has done since December, 1860. This effect was still more 

 marked eastwards. The gale, which commenced on the 10th, from S.E., 

 and increased as it retrograded to E. and N.E., was very violent and de- 

 structive. The wrecks in Torbay were unprecedentedly numerous, and pros- 

 trate trees might be counted by thousands in Devon and Cornwall. In the 

 west, the stonn varied from N.W. to N.E., causing the stranding of the 



