a year's weatheb,. 289 



"A heavy hay harvest, with a good cereal harvest to follow, if 

 the rain keeps off," may tersely express the present agricultural 

 prospects. It is gratifying to record that 1889, so far, is drier than 

 1888. Up to July 31st this year 20*33 inches of rain fell • 

 last year, during the same months, 21*13 inches, shewing nearly 1*25- 

 inches, or about E20 tons of rain to the acre, less this year. A 

 Penzance record gives the rainfall of January 1st to July 31st, 1888, 

 at 21*45 > a St. Agnes one, 19*60 • and the average of Devon, 22*86 

 inches. 



This year has been wetter in the earlier months and drier during 

 June and July. A more unsummer-like month than July, 1888, 

 is probably not on record. The cold, rainy weather of July was a 

 continuation of what had been in the last week of June. In some 

 places, in the first week, one to two inches of rain fell in thirty to 

 forty minutes 5 in the second week snow fell over most of England, 

 and frost was registered in the night. The rainfall in Truro was 

 the heaviest for 27 years (1861)5 the rainfall throughout England 

 was 81 per cent, above the average, the only districts which were 

 about normal in downpour being North Cornwall and North 

 Lancashire. During July, 1889, rain fell on 17 days 3*325 July, 

 1888, 6*45 inches, or over 3 inches of rain more last July than this. 

 We had a sudden and heavy downpour of rain on the 13th, '33, 

 one-third of an inch, falling in twenty minutes — 2.20 to 2.40 p.m. 



The prevailing winds were N.W., S.W., and N. The 

 highest reading of the barometer was on the ist, 30*45 — the lowest 

 on the 10th, — 29*53-inches. On the last four days of this barometrical 

 depression exactly half the rainfall of the month fell. The greatest 

 heat in the shade was on the 7th, 82 degrees ; the coldest night was 

 on the 19th, 43 degrees, a difference of 2>9 degrees. Taking the 

 average, however, for the month, July was remarkable for warm 

 nights — 52*6 degrees — which shewed a difference of only 17 degrees 

 from the average maximum in shade in the day. 



The acropetal growth of the foxglove enables one to judge, now 

 that it has nearly done flowering, how favourable June and July 

 were to it and kindred flowers. Mr. Jesse gave me a record of one 

 7 feet 3 inches high, with 9 lateral branches and 293 seed pods and 

 blossoms. A specimen we came across near Ponsanooth was 7-feet 

 7-inches high, and had 166 seed pods on the main stem, the average 

 number of seeds in a pod being 960. 



