290 a year's weather. 



The goldfinch, which is becoming scarcer in Cornwall, brought 

 itself in record by hatching out a nest of young ones recently in 

 Mrs. Paull's garden at Bosvigo, Truro. 



Our nicest evening was on the 29th, no wind, temperature at 

 9 p.m. 63 degrees, jelly fishes in the river everywhere, the youngest 

 and smallest of swallows just on the wing. 



August 7th, 1889. 



Singularly enough, the measured amount of rain which has 

 fallen during the past month is exactly that registered for August 

 last year, 2*92 inches, so that 1889 remains yet drier than 1888. 

 There will be, we think, as regards Cornwall, a consensus of opinion 

 that August this year is more unfavourable to cereal crops ; yet 

 August twelve months ago was accompanied by thunderstorms, 

 sudden and heavy rains, and cold winds. The feeling of unfavour- 

 ableness cannot arise from temperature, for their agreement on this 

 point is as remarkable as their rainfall. The average of the daily 

 temperature in the shade was 67*8 degrees, and the minimum (night) 

 temperature $ 1 '9 degrees, and the mean of these was within one-tenth 

 of a degree of what it was last August. The explanation, we think, 

 will be found in the delivery of the rain. Last August there were 

 only twelve wet days ; this month twenty-two. With the exception 

 of a few days towards the end of the month, we had not two really 

 dry days together. August, last year, was a month of cumulus 

 clouds, which permitted to the country hereabouts one-third more 

 sunshine ; but this year it was one of nimbus clouds, which cut off 

 direct sunlight. Bad as it has looked, however, we cannot call it 

 a wet one: our mean annual August rainfall is 3*016, the average 

 British rainfall, 2'7i inches. The wettest August we have had for 

 nearly half a century was 5" 84 inches, in 18773 and our driest 

 •19-inch 1880. 



We had a remarkable barometrical depression of nearly three- 

 quarters of an inch between the 16th and 21st, as many of our 

 seafaring people too sadly know. Our hottest day was the 31st — 

 80 degrees in the shade ; our coldest night the 28th — 41 degrees. 

 The range of temperature in the nights was 20 degrees — a difference 

 which many people called frost, but no frost was registered with 

 the thermometer. Like last year the wet caught the full foliage 

 of the trees, and the growth of fungi and spread of autumnal 



