94 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the first week of May. Then the wind changed from east, which 

 had been its general direction for some time, and became westerly. 

 This was accompanied by a decided increase of temperature and a 

 general improvement in the weather, although it was also attended 

 by severe thunderstorms and heavy local falls of rain and hail. Some 

 of these storms were of exceptional severity, especially those that 

 occurred in the north of England and south of Scotland. In one of 

 them an observer counted forty-five flashes of lightning in one minute ; 

 and as evidence of the severity of the storms generally much damage 

 was reported to have been done to potatos and other growing crops, 

 whilst in places timber trees were so cut about by hail as to appear 

 defoliated. Damage from the rain, hail, and lightning which accom- 

 panied the many storms of this period was more or less severe in 

 places scattered over a very large area ; but this was due entirely 

 to the unwelcome violence of the storms — the rain they brought with 

 them was much needed and very acceptable indeed. But on the 

 whole it was a splendid growing month, with an abundance of sun- 

 shine and sufficient rain, and without frosts by night, or nipping 

 winds by day. 



June. — The peculiar feature of this month's weather was that, 

 after beginning with a couple of abnormally hot days, there ensued 

 a long spell cf cool and altogether unseasonable weather, lasting to 

 within a couple of days of its close, when it wound up with another 

 brief spell of seasonable midsummer warmth. The winds were from 

 a northerly or westerly direction throughout the greater part of the 

 month, keeping the days cool ; whilst with clear skies at night 

 terrestrial radiation was very active, resulting in low night 

 temperatures and much more frequent ground-frosts than are usual 

 or desirable in June. At Wisley the thermometer laid upon the 

 grass, open to the sky, fell to freezing-point on a dozen nights ; and 

 bracken on the adjoining common, and potatos growing in more 

 than one part of the garden, were " cut " on the night of the 5th ; 

 and still more badly on two occasions later on towards the close of 

 the month ; beans and marrows also suffered at the same time. The 

 month was a dry one, and there was a very liberal amount of sun- 

 shine ; but owing to the lack of rain the crops generally suffered 

 from drought, and notwithstanding the sunshine the weather of the 

 month as a whole was cool and unpleasant. The deficiency of rain- 

 fall, although general, varied considerably in degree over the kingdom, 

 but everywhere the fall was below the normal amount. At the 

 Gardens it represented only six gallons of water to the square yard, 

 which is little enough for a midsummer month, and especially so 

 since one-third of it fell on a single day — the 14th. 



July. — Both the beginning and the end of July were dry and warm, 

 but in the middle three weeks rain fell in greater or less quantity 

 every day, giving a total fall for the month of five and three-quarter 

 inches — the largest fall in any July since the observations have been 

 made at the Gardens, and representing a deposition of over twenty-seven 

 gallons of water to the square yard. The effect of this phenomenal 



