86 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



rainfall experienced all over the kingdom, the amount recorded in 

 some parts of England being altogether without precedent during the 

 period covered by reliable observation. The measurement of rainfall 

 at the Greenwich; Observatory covers a period of one hundred years, 

 and there are many places in the kingdom where such measurements 

 have been made for at least half that time, but in every instance 

 the amounts now measured were from two to three and a half 

 times the average for the month. This excessive precipitation in 

 December followed upon a wet November, and it is not surprising 

 that in the Thames Valley a large extent of land became flooded, nor 

 that at Wisley practically all outdoor operations had to be suspended 

 throughout the month. But besides being very wet the month was 

 also stormy, and some of the gales were accompanied by heavy falls 

 of rain, rSo inch being measured at the Gardens during a gale on the 

 9th, and half an inch during another on the 13th ; but in East Surrey, 

 on the high land to the south of Croydon, the amounts measured on 

 these days were 2'i inches and ri inch respectively. Notwithstanding 

 the rainfall the amount of bright sunshine recorded was generally 

 above the average, although not to a very large degree. The first half 

 of the month was rather warmer than usual, but this was somewhat 

 balanced by the second half being rather cooler, and the mean for 

 the whole month was 3 degrees above the average. In some districts 

 there was fog, and towards the close of the month slight falls of 

 snow, which quickly disappeared. 



The mean results for Wisley are shown in the following table : — 



Mean temperature of the air in shade . . . .41-9° 

 Highest ,, „ „„.... 55 0 on the 6th 



Lowest ,,„.... 26 0 „ 25th 



Lowest ,, on the grass ..... 20 0 ,, 23rd 



Number of nights of ground frost . . . . . . . .17 



At depth of 

 1 ft. 2 ft. 4 ft. 



Mean temperature of the soil at 9 a.m. . . . 42*3° 44'4° 46-6° 

 Highest „ „ „ „ 48° 47° 4»° 



Lowest „ „ „ „ 37° 4^° 45° 



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

 s en ted by 100), 89 per cent. 



Rain fell on 23 days, to the total depth of 7-35 in. (equivalent to about 34! 

 gallons of water to the square yard) . Heaviest fall on any day 1 ■ 80 in., on the 9th. 



The prevailing winds were from between south and south-west. 



The average velocity of the wind was 9 miles an hour. 



There were 40 hours of bright sunshine, equal to 17 per cent, of the greatest 

 possible amount. 



There were 12 days on which no sunshine was recorded, and four others on 

 which its total duration did not exceed five minutes. 



******* 



The Meteorological Observatory in the Society's Gardens at 

 Wisley was established in January 1904, and the foregoing yearly 

 Report upon the results obtained there is therefore the eleventh which 

 has been published in the Journal. At the beginning a difficulty 

 was experienced in finding any climatological observations which had 

 been made in the near neighbourhood of Wisley, during a period 

 sufficiently long to yield averages of temperature and rainfall, with 



