INTRODUCTION. 



iii 



80°. Much rain followed from Aug. 20th ; 5-7 ins. falling in 40 

 days. The consequence was that "it had the effect of a smart bot- 

 tom heat " at the end of the year, stimulating vegetation most un- 

 naturally. On Oct.* 21st the temp, suddenly fell to 23°, and on the 

 23rd to 17°, while the ground lost 10° in 5 days. This caused 

 immense damage, especially to succulent plants* 



1860-61. The year 1860 was almost uu parallelled for its cold 

 and wet ; Dec. being the coldest month since 1789. The preceding 

 sunless and wet seasons prevented the ripening of ivood and seeds. 

 The min. temp., Dec. 25th, -15° at Chatteris and Cheadle ; of 180 

 obs., 87 were below 0°; 8 at 0°; 62 below 10°, and 23 above 10°. 

 "There was an almost entire absence of any piercing continuous 

 wind which inflicts such injury on plants."t 



1878- 79. The mean temp, of 1878 was above the av. of 60 years 

 for 9 months (Blackheath). Hence conditions were exactly the 

 reverse of those of 1860. Vegetation was retarded in the spring, 

 while the root development ivas not stimulated in the aid., hence 

 the wood was well matured, and the whole energies of plant growth 

 brought so nearly to a dormant state that they were in the best 

 condition for resisting severe cold, which continued through Jan. 

 The mean temp, of the 3 winter months was 5° below the av. at 

 Bath ; and that of the 3 spring months 2°-5 below the av. spring 

 mean. A marked feature of the winter was that the depression of 

 the max. temps, was greater, or more below the av. than the 

 depression of the min. temps. This explains, in part, the long 

 continuance of cold, without any such extremely low temps, as 

 have occurred in previous long winters. J 



1879- 80. The temp, of every month of the whole of 1879 was 

 below the av. ; such not having been the case since 1776. There 

 was much rain and little sun. The total fall at Blackheath was 

 31-3 ins. Nov. was an exceedingly cold month with scarcely any 

 rain till after the 18th. It was not, however, a dry month, owing 

 to mists. Dec. was remarkably cold, the temp, being lower than 



* Gard. Chron., 1860, pp. 170, 335 and 585. 



t Gard. Chron., 1861, pp. 23, 73, 169. See Report on the unusual Intensity of 

 the Frost of Bee. 1860 and Jan. 1861 Sj-c., by Duncan Forbes, Culloden. 



X Gard. Chron., 1879, L, pp. 112 and 143 ; See, Winter of 1878-9, in Bath, 

 and the Seasons following? by Rev. L. Blomefield. 



