328 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
" ably below the average ; and therefore over the greater part of the 
kingdom it was by no means an ideal month for the horticulturist or 
the farmer. Everywhere it was very unsettled ; the first few days 
were warm, and at Wisley on the 2nd the thermometer rose to 71 0 ; 
but then there ensued a long spell of cool westerly winds, sometimes 
blowing very strongly, and during their continuance the thermometer 
often failed to reach 50 0 in the warmest part of the day, and at night 
occasionally fell below the freezing-point in the screen, four feet above 
the ground, whilst the thermometer laid upon the ground recorded 
a frost nearly every night, the most severe being 18 0 below the freezing- 
point on the night of the 27~28th. The rainfall also everywhere ex- 
ceeded the average amount, the excess being as a rule about 50 per 
cent., but in some districts very much more, and in the north and 
north-west more or less rain fell every day. This abnormal frequency 
necessarily interfered with gardening and agricultural work — early 
sowing of grain was prevented in some districts, and indeed in places 
in the far west a good deal of hay and corn still remained in the fields, 
awaiting a chance for the crops to dry sufficiently to be harvested. In 
other regions, however, there was a fair amount of sunshine as well as of 
rain. At Wisley more or less was recorded on thirty days, the average 
daily duration being four and a half hours ; and over the eastern parts 
of England about an hour a day in excess of the usual amount was 
recorded pretty generally. The combination of unusual sunniness 
with an abnormally large rainfall, and exceptional cold, did not entirely 
check the vigorous growth of trees and shrubs, noticed at Wisley in 
the earlier months of the year, until this month had nearly closed ; 
but the display of colour and tint in the foliage during the last fortnight 
was unusually fine. 
The Wisley results are as follows : 
Mean temperature of the air in shade . . . . 46-8° 
Highest 71 0 on the 2nd 
Lowest „ „„.... 25 0 „ 28th 
Lowest on the grass . . . .14° ,, 28th 
Number of nights of ground frost . . . . . . . .21 
At depth of 
1 ft. 2 ft. 4 ft. 
Mean temperature of the soil at 9 a.m. . . . 50-1° 52-2° 53-9° 
Highest „ „, . 57° 57° 57° 
Lowest „ „ ... 44° 4^° 50 0 
Mean relative humidity of the air at 9 a.m. (complete saturation being repre- 
sented by 100), 88 per cent. 
Rain fell on 16 days, to the total depth of 3-29 in. (equivalent to about 15I 
gallons of water to the square yard). Heaviest fall on any day 0-52 in., on the 
1 2th. 
The prevailing winds were westerly. 
The average velocity of the wind was 6 miles an hour. 
There were 137 hours of bright sunshine, equal to 42 per cent, of the greatest 
possible amount. 
There was but one entirely sunless day. 
November. — Throughout this month the weather over the greater 
part of the kingdom presented a sharp contrast to that of October, it 
being dry and sunless, but yet warm. At the same time in one other 
