CLIMATE. 21 



at York, beyond the Pennine range, it is only 29 inches. Still more considerable 

 are the differences between the lowlands and the mountainous districts. In the 

 west of Great Britain and in Ireland, in the immediate neighbourhood of high 

 hills, the average rainfall is from 80 to 150 inches, and in certain localities it is 

 higher. Thus at the Stye, in Cumberland, 950 feet above the level of the sea, 

 224 inches of rain fell in 1866, a quantity immensely in excess of what has been 

 recorded in any other part of the temperate zone, and exceeded only by the 

 downpour at certain localities lying within the topics.* 



It was Mr. Dalton who first observed that the rainfall in the British Isles is 

 most considerable in autumn, and not in summer, as in Central Europe. There 

 are, however, a few stations where, owing to local causes, the maximum occurs in 

 winter or in summer. 



The variability and uncertainty of the climate of Great Britain are frequently 

 dwelt upon as a great disadvantage, but a dispassionate inquiry, and, above all, a 

 comparison with other lands, popularly supposed to be more favourably circum- 

 stanced, must convince us that there are equal countervailing advantages. Sudden 

 changes of temperature and moisture may prove hurtful in the case of certain 

 diseases, but the climate upon the whole is favourable to the development of the 

 physical powers, and hence of the moral and intellectual endowments of man. 

 King Charles II. was not far wrong w^hen, in answer to some disparaging remarks 

 of his courtiers, who extolled the climates of Italy, Spain, and France, at the 

 expense of that of England, he said he thought " that was the best climate 

 where he could be abroad in the air with pleasure, or at least without trouble and 

 inconvenience, the most days of the year and the most hours of the day ; and this 

 he thought he could be in England more than in any other country in Europe." + 



* Average Raixfall in Inches. 



Winter. Spring. Summer. Autumn. Year. 



Eastern slope of Great Britain : — 



Edinburgh 5-8 5-3 6-7 7*4 26-2 



York 5-1 5-1 7-1 11-4 28-7 



Oxford 4-8 4-5 7-1 7-3 23-7 



London 4-0 3-8 5-6 6-8 19-2 



Hull 3-2 2-1 7-0 5-8 18-2 



South Coast : — 



Gosport 8-2 6-9 7*1 10-1 32-3 



Penzance 14-1 9-4 8-4 14-0 45-9 



Western slope of Great Britain : — 



Liverpool 7-3 6-2 9-8 10-8 34-1 



Manchester 8-1 6-9 9-9 10-6 35-5 



Lancaster 11-2 6-4 112 11-7 40-5 



Kendal 16-1 9-6 12-7 15-3 63-7 



Seathwaite (Borrowdale) . . 43-0 22-8 33-2 43-2 142-2 



Whitehaven 12-7 7-1 13-7 13-8 47'3 



Glasgow 5-3 3-7 6-4 5-8 21-2 



Ireland : — 



West Port 12-3 11-7 11-7 10-1 45-8 



Limerick 7-7 7*1 9-3 10-1 34-2 



Armagh S-6 6-8 8-9 9-4 34*7 



Dublin 6'8 5-9 8-1 8-5 29-3 



t Sir W. Temple, Works, iii. p. 220. 



