56 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



July. 



Mean temperature of the air in shade . . 62*8° 



Highest temperature of the air in shade . 87*0° on the 12th 



and 15th 



Lowest temperature of the air in shade . 44"6° on the 19th 



Lowest temperature on the grass . . . 33*2° on the 19th 



Number of nights of ground frost. . . None 



At depth of 

 1 ft. 2 ft. 4 ft. 



Mean temperature of the soil at 9 a.m. . 64-1° 62-3° 597 0 

 Highest temperature of the soil at 9 a.m. 67-8° 64*9° 61 "2° 

 Lowest temperature of the soil at 9 a.m. 6o'0° 59*3° 58*0° 



Mean relative humidity of the air at 9 a.m. (complete saturation 

 being represented by 100), 77%. 



Rain fell on 12 days, to the total depth of 1-56 inch (equivalent 

 to about 7 J gallons of water to the square yard). Heaviest fall on 

 any day 0-35 inch, on the 2nd. 



The prevailing winds were north-easterly. 



The average velocity of the wind was 5 miles an hour. 



There were 150 hours of bright sunshine, equal to 31 per cent, of 

 the greatest possible amount. 



There were 2 days on which no sunshine was recorded. 



August. — Throughout the whole of this month the weather was 

 of an altogether abnormal type, an almost ceaseless procession of 

 atmospheric disturbances crossing the Kingdom from west to east, 

 bringing with them strong winds, an excessive rainfall, and a great 

 deficiency of warmth. At very few places indeed did the temperature 

 rise to 70 degrees, and at Wisley the maximum was only 67 degrees ; 

 at night the screened thermometer frequently fell below 50 degrees, 

 and on one occasion to 41 degrees and upon the grass to 36 degrees. 

 Such general absence of summer warmth has not been paralleled 

 in any August for at least half a century. Over the greater part of the 

 Kingdom the fall of rain was excessive, in many places more than 

 double the usual amount ; the exceptions were provided by a few 

 districts which as a rule are amongst the wettest but which in this 

 month of anomalous weather had hss than their usual amount of rain. 

 But the most remarkable meteorological incident of the month was the 

 extraordinary fall of rain which occurred over Norfolk and part of 

 Suffolk on the 26th, causing most disastrous floods over a large area of 

 which the city of Norwich was the centre. Between 4 a.m. 26th and 

 4 a.m. 27th the fall of rain in Norwich measured 7-32 inches, and the 

 rain had not ceased. A calculation based on rainfall observations 

 covering the whole of Norfolk makes it probable that the fall for the 

 entire county averaged 4 88 inches, and the area of the county being 

 2044 square miles this gives the enormous total of 144,400,000,000 

 gallons as the amount of water which fell upon it, or " twice as much as 



