NOTES ON THE KATNFALL AT SARK, HERM 

 AND ALDERNET DURING THE YEAR 1908. 



BY BASIL T. ROWSWELL. 



Ix beginning tliis Report on the Rainfall of the smaller 

 islands of the Bailiwick during the year 1908 I have mnch 

 pleasure in once again acknowledging my indebtedness to 

 Capt. J. H. Henry, of La Vallce dii Creux, Sark, to Mr. 

 Leicester Gore, of Herm, and to Mr. W. J. Picot, of Le 

 Hnret, Alderney, who have now for three years so well and 

 ably looked after the rainfall stations established in their res- 

 pective islands in January, 1906. Their kindly co-operation 

 enables me to supplement the excellent work being done by Mr. 

 A. CoUenette for Guernsey by an extension of rainfall observa- 

 tions to the neighbourii'ig islands. As regards the Herm 

 station, some difhculty being experienced in visiting the 

 gauge daily, these visits were discontinued after the 17th of 

 May, and I arranged with Mr. Gore's assistant (Mr. Whiting) 

 for a weekly measurement of the contents of the gauge, as 

 also on the 1st of each month. In this way I have obtained 

 the total rainfall of each mouth at Herm (see table) as also 

 the year's aggregate fall. 



Looking at the year as a wdiole and comparing its totals 

 w^ith those of the two pi-evious years, a great falling off in the 

 amount of the rainfall is at once a])parent at the three stations 

 showing that, as was to be expected, the great drought of 

 1908 embraced all the islands. 



Passing over 1907, a dry year, but of w^hich I have not a 

 complete set of totals (see table) and comparing 1908 with 

 1906, also a dry year and with a rainfall practically similar to 

 that of 1907, we find a falling ofF (for 1908) of 7-56 in. at 

 Sark, 4*90 in. at Herm, and 4*61 in. at Alderney. That is 

 the year 1908 was drier than 1906 at Sark, Herm and Alder- 

 ney respectively to the extent of the amount mentioned. 

 The difference is greater for Sark than for either of the other 

 islands, and is more in keeping with our experience at Guern- 

 sey Avhere, for instance, at Les Blanches, 1908 w^as drier than 

 1906 by 7-46 in. 

 [1908.] 



