94 r)R. J. W. HESLOP HARRISON ON 



Climate, etc. 



As is usually the case on the north-east coastal area, the 

 coldest months are January and February, the warmest July 

 and August. In the first-named month the average mean 

 maximum temperature for the last ten years has been 45*5° F., 

 and the average mean minimum 33"8° F. Similarly, over the 

 same period, the average mean maximum for July has been 

 677° F., and the average mean minimum 51*9° F. The rain- 

 fall for the area is surprisingly slight, the average for the past 

 ten years having been 24*92 inches per annum. The average 

 number of rainy days per annum has been 175, the yearly 

 totals varying between 165 and 214, and most of them very 

 near the former figure. 



III.— BILLINGHAM BOTTOMS. 



The Trollius Bog. 

 Description. — The name " Trollius Bog " was, in default of 

 a better, bestowed upon it by myself as indicative of the (for 

 such a low lying area) unusual plant dominating its vegetation 

 over considerable sections ; as most of us who have worked 

 in, and learned to love the locality call it nothing else, the name 

 will suffice. Whether the appellation " bog " is justified is 

 quite another matter, for the low annual rainfall, combined 

 with a water supply rich in calcium salts, is not such as con- 

 duces to the development of true bogs ; the fact remains that 

 we use it. 



The soil is a clay very rich in calcium and magnesium 

 carbonates with a slightly higher percentage of iron than the 

 usual. As was to be expected, the water content is always 

 very considerably above the average. Still one must note 

 that we have every stage of transition between soils no wetter 

 than those of a fairly well drained pasture and those constantly 

 under water. With such a choice of moisture conditions one 

 cannot wonder at the excessive richness of the vegetation and 

 the unexpected stragglers derived from diverse sources. 



In shape, the " bog" is a long narrow strip lying just north 

 of Billingham Beck toward the western boundary of Billingham 



