Mr Robert Middlemas on an Ancient Inscribed Stone. 453 



more properly belongs to Northumberland, but is within a 

 stone's cast of the Border line, near the sources of the North 

 Tyne and Liddel. The following is the rainfall : — : 



January, 







90 



February, 





80 



March, 





50 



April, 





30 



May, 





40 



June, 





43 



July, 





60 



August, 



.... 



5-0 



September, 





9-0 



October, 





9-2 



November, 





80 



December, . . 





92 

 79-7 



in 1871, 43-3. 



Total in 1870, 37 5. 



Total in 1869, 503. 



It is curious to compare with the above the tremendous 

 rainfall on the Cumberland hills, where the year 1872 has 

 been the wettest on record. The greatest fall was at The 

 Stye, and it was the enormous quantity of about 244 inches ; 

 truly a marvellous fall of rain, and greatly in excess of any 

 former year on record. In 1866, 224*56 inches fell at the 

 same place, which is known to be the wettest spot in Europe, 

 and the quantities of rain above noted are said to be the 

 heaviest falls ever recorded except in tropical countries. Of 

 the rainfall in that district a very full and accurate record is 

 kept by Mr Isaac Fletcher, M.P., who resides near Cocker- 

 mouth. 



On an Inscribed Stone in the possession of Mr William 

 Wightman, Bank, Wooler. 



^ The inscribed stone figured on Plate II., is in the posses- 

 sion of Mr William Wightman, Wooler. It was found on 

 the north side of a hill called Whitelaw, the next eminence 

 south-east from Yeavering Bell. The stone is a very hard 

 gritty sandstone, and bears distinctly the tool marks by 

 which the circles have been cut. The tool must have been 

 of iron or bronze, as the material is too hard to be operated 

 upon by stone implements ; moreover, the tool marks shew 



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