260 METEOROLOGICAL REPORT, 1868, 



of the Trade winds, but also driven easterly by the prevalent 

 westerly winds of the return Trades. The variations thus caused 

 in the direction and velocity of the northern part of the Gulf 

 stream must be a cause of fluctuation of the weather on the 

 western coast of Europe, and especially in Norway, Sweden, 

 and Denmark, which will perhaps be more immediately influ- 

 enced than the coasts of Great Britain, France, and Spain." 



The southerly winds which have prevailed to so remarkable 

 an extent are no doubt the proximate cause of the high tempera- 

 ture of 1868. Coming freighted with the warmth gathered in 

 their passage over the plains of Africa, and the warm currents 

 of the equatorial ocean, they have given us the almost tropical 

 summer we had in nearly every part of England. But the ques- 

 tion then naturally arises, what has caused this set of atmos- 

 pheric currents from the South ? and a satisfactory answer to 

 that question has yet to be found. 



Whatever may have been the cause of the great heat there is 

 no doubt as to the disastrous effects which it produced in many 

 parts of the country. The heather on the moors was frequently 

 on fire, and great numbers of grouse, rabbits, and other game 

 were destroyed. The grass was everywhere burnt up ; the hay 

 crops were consequently very scanty, and there was no pasture 

 for the sheep or cattle before the rains came towards autumn, 

 and stock might have been bought on almost any terms. Very 

 much damage was done to the crops growing alongside of the 

 railways from the readiness with which the straw took fire when 

 a spark from the engine fell amongst the corn. Some of the 

 railway companies have had to pay very large amounts in com- 

 pensation. But against this must be set the splendid wheat 

 harvest which was not only good in quality, but housed at little 

 expense and in the very best condition. 



The editor would be glad to find more of his fellow-labourers 

 making use of the hygrometer. A somewhat enthusiastic meteo- 

 rologist* says of it — " No single weather instrument is sufficient 

 of itself, even for ordinary indications, unless it be the hygro- 

 meter Armed with the hygrometer, no farmer will ever 



* Steinmetz' "Sunshine and Showers;" a very interesting woik. 



