REPORT ON METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, WISLEY, 1918. 95 



rainfall upon crops generally was to cause them to make extraordinary 

 progress ; but, on the other hand, the sodden soil of the beds in which 

 . seed had been sown became " set " and hard, so that small seeds especi- 

 ally were unable to make their way through, and were spoiled. Crops 

 generally were, however, at the close of the month looking remarkably 

 well, and there was the promise of a good harvest, and in particular of 

 an exceptionally fine yield of wheat. Generally speaking, there was more 

 than the usual amount of sunshine notwithstanding the large rainfall ; 

 but at the Gardens there was no day without some sunshine being re- 

 corded and its daily average duration was six and three-quarter hours — 

 this, in the same month as the maximum fall of rain. Another feature 

 of note in the weather was the unusual frequency of thunderstorms, 

 some of them of great severity and accompanied locally by 

 phenomenal falls of rain. 



August. — The weather throughout this month was on the whole 

 dry and bright. The rainfall was below the normal amount every- 

 where, and the only falls of any consequence at Wisley occurred in 

 the first two or three days of the month. Throughout the entire 

 month there was only one entirely sunless day (the 2nd) ; and on the 

 hottest day of the month the temperature in the shade rose to nearly 

 88°, and this proved to be the highest temperature of the year recorded 

 at the Gardens. There were, however, but few outstanding really 

 hot days, and at night the temperature was not seldom low for the 

 season ; whilst the thermometer laid upon the grass, fully exposed 

 to the sky, once fell to the freezing-point. The winds were from the 

 south-west almost throughout the month. 



From reports received from various parts of the kingdom it seems 

 that on the whole the weather of this month was seasonable — good 

 for the ripening and harvesting of crops, and yet providing plenty 

 of grass and aftermath in the meadows. And although this conspectus 

 may not hold good for the entire kingdom, yet the exceptions, were 

 limited to small areas widely separated. 



September was unusually wet. Indeed, for the district around the 

 Gardens such a wet September had never before been recorded since 

 rainfall observations were begun in 1904. At Wisley the fall approxi- 

 mated closely to six inches, and the soil became thoroughly soaked. 

 Potato disease became very widely and badly developed ; whilst 

 shrubs and trees, and indeed nearly all vegetation, developed an 

 extraordinary amount of leaf-growth. Squalls of wind and rain, 

 and also thunderstorms, were of somewhat frequent occurrence ; 

 and on the 12th there was a furious squall of wind and rain in which 

 the wind velocity rose to fifty-five miles an hour — an unusual velocity 

 for an inland district. As a set-off to the discomforts of such a wet 

 autumn, it is at least comforting to read that " the public health 

 was good," as indeed is not unusual in wet seasons ; but the tem- 

 perature was below the average for September, and from the 

 horticulturist's point of view the weather of September was by no 

 means ideal. 



October.—^ The weather of this month may be quite fairly described 



