96 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
small, and it was only in the north and north-west that any large falls 
occurred. 
The results of the observations made at Wisley are shown in the 
following table : 
Mean temperature of the air in shade 
Highest „ „ „ 
Lowest „ „ „ 
„ on the grass 
Number of nights of ground frost . 
Mean temperature of the soil at 9 a.m, 
Highest „ 
Lowest „ 
454" 
56 0 on the 
27° „ 
15° 
At depth of 
1 ft. 3 ft. 
438 0 44 -6< 
47° 46° 
4i° 44° 
1st 
23rd 
23rd 
• 13 
4 ft. 
454° 
46° 
45° 
Mean relative humidity of the air at 9 a.m. (complete saturation being repre- 
sented by 100), 90 per cent. 
Rain fell on 12 days, to the total depth of 0-78 in. (equivalent to about 3^ 
gallons of water to the square yard). Heaviest fall on any day 018 in., on the 
2nd. 
The prevailing winds were south-westerly. 
The average velocity of the wind was 9 miles an hour. 
There were 47 hours of bright sunshine, equal to 18 per cent, of the greatest 
possible amount. 
There were 13 days on which no sunshine was recorded. 
February. — In some respects the weather of the first half of this 
month resembled pretty closely that of its predecessor, and was both 
windy and mild, and, with the exception of one day of very heavy 
rain, it was not unusually wet. But in the latter half of the month 
a great change, with the development of quite another type of weather, 
was experienced. The mild westerly winds gave place to a cold current 
of air from the north and north-east, which brought with it frequent 
snow and cold rain, and a great fall in temperature, and made it 
impossible to carry on the usual out-of-door work in the Garden. 
The fall of snow was at times deep ; and in many parts quite unusual 
drifts were formed, and continuing for many days they entirely buried 
everything of dwarf habit in the Garden. At Wisley the total pre- 
cipitation for the month, which of course includes snow, was three 
times the average amount, and over a very large part of England it 
was double. In some exposed parts of south-west England the snow- 
drifts were reported as being from ten to twelve feet deep ! The month 
was exceptionally dull, the average duration of bright sunshine at 
Wisley being but a little over two and a half hours a day, or one 
quarter of the possible amount. 
The average values obtained from the daily observations made at the 
Observatory in the Garden are shown in the following table : 
Mean temperature of the air in shade 
Highest „ „ ,, 
Lowest „ ,, . 
„ ,, on the grass 
Number of nights of ground frost . 
Mean temperature of the soil at 9 a.m_. 
Highest „ 
Lowest ,, . ,, 
39-2" 
53 0 on the 
7° 
At depth of 
1 ft. 2 ft. 
40-6° 42-7° 
443° 44'7° 
36-5° 395° 
15th 
25th 
25th 
. 24 
4ft -o 
443 
45-6° 
425° 
