BY THE REV. E. F. WHEELER, M.A. 386 



help perhaps not to be matched in any other part of England : 

 every one may easily find for himself a hobby which he can 

 ride to his heart's content, and feel at the same time that his 

 labours need not perish with himself. In the Transactions of 

 the Club they can find a resting place, and be made as useful 

 to others as they have been pleasant to the observer. The 

 editor cannot but congratulate the Meteorologists of the North 

 on the completion, during the last autumn, of the self-regis- 

 tering anemometer at Alnwick Castle, by His Grrace the Duke 

 of Northumberland. 



The Duke has most kindly promised to place the records of 

 this instrument at the disposal of the Club, as well as all the 

 other meteorological observations now regularly made at the 

 Castle. The first instalment will be found in its proper place 

 in the following report. 



NOTES ON THE MONTHS. 



January. — 



" January blossoms fill no man's cellar." 



— Portuguese P'roverh: 



Greenwich. — With the exception of the seven days from Janu- 

 ary 19th to 25th, the month of Ja.nuary was exceptionally warm. 

 The mean temperature of January was 41-1°, being 4-9° higher 

 than the average of 98 years, higher than the corresponding- 

 temperature in 1867 by 6-9°, and in 1868 by 3-9'', but lower 

 than 1866, when 42-6° was recorded. 



The daily range of temperature was 0*2° less than the average. 



The readings of the barometer, at the height of 160 feet above 

 the mean level of the sea, oscillated above and below the aver- 

 age during the first few days of January, but on the 6th a steady 

 increase set in, and with the exception of the 14th and 15th, 

 remained constantly above the average till the 25th, the read- 

 ings during the whole of this time being generally above 30 

 inches. A period of depression then ensued, which lasted till 

 February ord, and on two occasions during this time the defect, 

 from the average was as much as 0'8 inch, being 28'9 inches. 

 On the 30th there was a very severe gale in Ireland, which rlid 



