476 



Rainfall in England. 



[Oct. 



quarter and new moon; the ratios being 100:121-4in Germany, 

 and 100 : 126 in Paris; but that in the south of France the mini- 

 mum number of rainy days occurred between the full moon and the 

 last quarter. He concludes with the remark that "the question 

 requires to be examined afresh."* 



Having by me an unbroken series of carefully-made rainfall 

 observations from the beginning of 1864 to the present time, I have 

 tabulated the results below so as to show the amount of rain, the 

 number of wet days, and the wet-day rate of rain in each of the 

 four quarters of the seventy-four complete lunations, beginning with 

 the new moon on Januarv 9th, 1864, and ending with January 1st, 

 1870— a period of 2185 days. 



The word " quarter," as used here, may be defined thus : — The 

 first quarter begins with the day of the new moon, and ends with the 

 day immediately preceding that on which, according to the almanac, 

 the moon reaches the first quarter, and so on for the others. 



Actual rainfall in inches 



Relative rainfall 



Number of times rainfall was more) 



than 25 per cent / 



Number of times rainfall "was less) 



than 25 per cent J 



Number of dry days 



Number of wet days 



Relative number of dry days 

 Eelative number of -wet days 



Mean wet-day rate of rain in inches 



Relative mean wet-day rate of rain 





Quarters. 





First. 



Second. 



Third. 



Fourth. 



56-66 

 2477 



58-87 

 2547 



57-30 

 2505 



55-90 

 2444 



33 



30f 



34 



30 



41 



43f 



40 



44 



274 

 274 

 253 

 248 



301 



248 

 278 

 225 



241 

 307 

 223 

 278 



266 

 274 

 246 

 248 



i -2141 



•2374 



•1866 



•2043 



103 



115 



90 



98 



Totals. 



228-73 

 10000 



1082 

 1103 

 1000 

 1000 



2073 



100 



From the foregoing Table, it is obvious that with regard to the 

 three pluvial elements, in South Devon, during the six years ending 

 with January 1st, 1870, the four quarters of the seventy-four moons 

 may be arranged, in descending order, as below : 



Rainfall. 



Number of Wet Days. 



Wet-day Rate of Rain. 



Second, (greatest) 



Third. 



First. 



Fourth, (least) 



Third, (greatest) 

 J Second. \ 

 \ Fourth./ 



First, (least) 



Second, (greatest) 



First. 



Fourth. 



Third, (least) 



* 'Popular Astronomy,' Smyth's Translation, vol. ii., ch. xxxv., pp. 317, 318. 

 t The rainfall of one M second quarter " was exactly 25 per cent, of that of the 

 lunation. 



