SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 205 



that during 1909 the Gulf Stream Drift was much later 

 than usual in making itself felt in the Irish Sea, and that 

 when the Atlantic current did appear it was of lower 

 salinity and lower temperature than usual. 



The late arrival of the Atlantic current would plainly 

 delay the Spring maximum of the salinity at all points 

 directly under its influence. It seems to me that the 

 later arrival of the Atlantic current of lower temperature 

 than usual would also account for the departure of the 

 water temperatures from the normal which has been 

 mentioned above. 



As the Atlantic current was late, the warmer water 

 from the end of the previous year would remain in the 

 Irish Sea much longer than usual, and the water tempera- 

 tures in the early parts of the year would consequently be 

 above the normal ; when, however, this water had been 

 swept northwards by the inflowing and colder Atlantic 

 water, the temperatures would fall below those found in 

 more normal years. It may be mentioned here that the 

 results obtained by the Irish Board of Agriculture and 

 Technical Instruction, under Mr. E. W. L. Holt, which 

 will be referred to more fully in the next article, fully 

 bear out our conclusions that the salinities at points in 

 the Irish Sea affected by the Gulf Stream Drift were at a 

 maximum in May and June of 1909. 



Now we know that the weather during 1909 was most 

 unusual, and it seems reasonable to conclude that the 

 abnormal weather and the abnormal Gulf Stream Drift 

 were intimately connected. 



Although the rainfall over the British Isles as a 

 whole during 1909 was exactly equal to the average in 

 amount, it was most abnormally distributed. The amount 

 of rain which fell in the South-west of Ireland, Wales and 

 England, and the North-west of Scotland, was con- 



