1870.] Rainfall in England, 473 



that whilst a difference of 3 • 5 feet in vertical gauge-distance gave a 

 foot-defect of 1 • 14 per cent, at Cardington, a distance of 6 feet gave 

 a foot-defect of only *83 per cent, at Cockerinouth ; and that 

 whilst a vertical gauge-distance of 36 feet at the former gave a foot- 

 defect of "58 per cent., a distance of 99 '5 feet at the latter gave a 

 foot-defect of no more than * 45 per cent. 



Enough has probably now been said to show, what indeed has 

 long been known to meteorologists, the importance of the height of 

 the gauge above the surface on which it stands, with the consequent 

 absolute necessity of this height being everywhere the same if we 

 are to attach any meaning to the " Eainfall of District," or if rain- 

 fall statistics are to be of any scientific value. 



Devonshire, for example, is one of the " wet " counties of South 

 Britain, and, from its situation, Plymouth might have been expected 

 to have been one of the " wet " stations of the county. This ex- 

 pectation is quite in harmony with the popular belief, which finds 

 expression in such remarks as " It always rains at Plymouth." 

 " Don't forget to take your umbrella when you go to Plymouth," and 

 so on. Nevertheless, the published returns do not confirm it. The 

 average annual rainfall of the county during the four years ending 

 with December 31st, 1869, was 42*40 inches, whilst at Plymouth 

 it was no more than 39*45 inches, that is a deficit of 7 per cent. 

 If the figures are to be trusted then, Plymouth is for Devonshire a 

 "dry" station, at least so far as the annual rainfall is concerned, 

 whatever it may be with regard to the number of wet days, about 

 which no returns are made. The case is rendered by no means less 

 remarkable when we turn to the other stations in the neighbour- 

 hood, all of which confess that they are " wet." Thus Ham, 

 Saltram, and Kidgeway are all within 4 miles of it — the first in a 

 north-westerly, and the second and third in a north-easterly direction 

 — all farther from the sea, and all have their gauges on less elevated 

 ground ; all, in short, have conditions likely to betoken a less rain- 

 fall, yet their average annual falls, during the four years so 

 frequently spoken of, have exceeded the county mean by 4, 9, and 

 1 6 per cent, respectively. The solution of the problem, however, is 

 not far to seek ; it lies in the fact that whilst all the other stations 

 have their gauges very near the ground, the Plymouth gauge is 

 35 feet above it. 



Two other Devonshire stations, Tavistock and Mount Tavy, tell 

 the same story. They are barely a mile apart, and very nearly at 

 the same height above the sea, but the average rainfall of the latter 

 exceeds that of the former by upwards of 12 per cent. — a fact for 

 which no other explanation can or need be given than the sufficient 

 one that the Mount Tavy gauge is only one foot, whilst that at 

 Tavistock is 20 feet, above the ground. 



In this age, so famous for the application of science to commercial 



