502 Commg Weather. 



The mean temperature for the first ten days of March was 43 •5'' ; for the 

 second ten days, 42'4° ; for the last eleven days, 43"9° ; for the month, 43*2'', 

 The range of the thermometer for the month, from 32° to 33°. The mean 

 height of the barometer for the same periods was 28'82, 28'88, and 29*57 

 in. From the 2d to the 7th, the mercury vacillated between 28'72 and 

 29 in. ; from the 8th to the 10th between 28-82 and 29 in. On the 1 1th it 

 fell to 28"70, and on the 12th to the unusual depression of 28°31. It con- 

 tinued below 29 till the 18th, and vacillated between 29 and 29"9 till 

 the 30th, and rose to 30 in. on the last day of the month. The wind shifted 

 from westerly points to due east on the 8th, where it continued two days ; 

 on the 10th it veered to the west, and continued to blow from that direc- 

 tion till the 23d ; from the east and south-east on the four following days j 

 from the west on the 27th and 28th, and on the following three days from 

 the east. Tlie only days of brilliant sunshine were the 3d, 7th, 18th, and 

 27th ; on the rest the atmosphere was more or less cloudy. 



April. In this month there has been nothing deserving the name of a 

 storm to place on record. The mean temperature of the first ten days 

 45'3^; of the second ten days, 48'8°; and of the last, 48°. The mercury in 

 the thermometer ranged between 31° and 60°, but in temperature there was. 

 no remarkably sudden fluctuation in this or the preceding month. The 

 mean terapei-ature for the month is nearly 2° higher than the ordinary ave- 

 rage at this place, it being 47*3°. The mercury in the barometer for the 

 above periods gave a mean height of 29*08, 29'37, and 29'67 in. ; it vacil- 

 lated from the beginning of the month to the 5th between 30 and 28*8 in.; 

 from the 5th to the llth between 28'55 and 29; from the llth to the 

 26th between 29*5 and 28 in. ; on the last four days of the month, between 

 28*95 and 28'6 in,; and this depression, with an easterly wind, indicates 

 an additional fall of rain to the copious showers that have lately fallen. 

 The depth in the rain gauge amounts to 1*8 in., nearly the ordinary ave- 

 rage. 



The velocity of the wind throughout the month did not exceed six miles 

 per hour : it set in from the east on the first three days, the atmosphere 

 being clear on the 2d and 3d ; but, as not unfrequently happens on a change 

 of the wind's direction, it became clouded on the 4th, when the wind 

 shifted to the west, and some rain fell ; after two days the wind again shifted 

 to the east. This rapid shifting, and consequent mixture of different cur- 

 rents of air in the higher regions, produced a copious fall of rain on the 7th5, 

 the atmosphere still continuing cloudy. On the 8th and 9th the wind was 

 variable, and some light showers fell, accompanied with distant peals of 

 thunder. On the llth the wind shifted to the west, and clear sunshine 

 succeeded on the 12th, and continued, with little interruption, till the 17th j 

 on that day the wind shifted to the east, and continued to blow gently from 

 that point till the end of the month, with the exception of the 19th and 

 27th, on which days it was variable. On the 25th the atmosphere be- 

 came cloudy, and showers, with little sunshine, have prevailed since that 

 period. 



Larches were in leaf here on the 5th, white-thorns on the 15th, maple on 

 the 18th, horsechestnut on the 28th, and bii'ch on the 30th. As I judge,, 

 the mean temperament at Howick will be something more than 1° higher 

 than here, and at Southampton something more than 3°; vegetation will be 

 proportionally forward, and it might add to the interest of our remarks if 

 a few notes were taken by each of the progress of vegetation. Might I 

 ask Mr. Rogers to point out four plants, the leafing or flowering of which,^ 

 each of us might notice in every month ? — Archd. Gorrie^ Ammt Gardens^ 

 April SO. 183 L 



