as affecting Agriculture in Ireland. 
381 
(1). By cool days and warm nights ; or (2) by hot days and cold 
nights. Hot days are necessary for the growth of good corn 
crops, and if the days are hot and sunshiny, cold nights are of 
less importance. There is no doubt that the moisture and 
clouds in the atmosphere of Ireland cause cool days, with little 
sunshine ; and though the nights are mild, that does not for the 
purpose of corn-growing make up for the want of heat and 
sunshine by day. 
Dr. Lloyd, the Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, who is 
probably the best authority we have on the subject of Irish 
climate, has been good enough also to suggest to me that another 
subsidiary action, connected with the others of temperature and 
moisture, that plays a sensible part in the phenomena, is the 
frequent lowering of temperature which occurs in July in connec- 
tion with the arrival of the mass of condensed vapour from the 
Atlantic, and which, unhappily for the cereals, occurs at the St. 
Swithin period, just at the time when it is most injurious to 
them, although advantageous to green crops. This shows itself 
very decidedly in the annual curves of temperature as well as of 
rainfall. 
Mr. Whitley, in the article in the Journal above mentioned, 
gives the average summer temperature of Cork at 65°, being, as 
he adds, the highest in the British Islands. There can be no 
doubt that this is founded on erroneous observations. There is 
no such average summer temperature as 65° in Ireland. It is 
probable that the average summer temperature of the South of 
Ireland is about 60°. But 60° is a sufficient average tempera- 
ture for growing wheat well. It is much more than a sufficient 
temperature for growing oats, Avhich are believed only to require 
from 54° to 57°. Yet good crops of wheat can seldom be grown 
in Ireland, especially in the South, and even oats, though so 
much hardier, do not grow so well as in England and Scotland, 
especially on land that is highly farmed. My experience is 
that it is increasingly hard to get a proportionately good crop on 
high-farmed land than on land in worse condition. This is 
the difficulty. The temperature is high enough, according to 
received views, to grow wheat or oats well. But they do not 
grow well. Mr. Buchan's explanation is probably the true one. 
There is no series of accurate observations for any long number 
of years extant. I have been favoured by Mr. R. H. Scott, 
Director of the Meteorological Department, London, with the 
following Table, and those in the Appendix, which are all that 
his Office has, and which are probably, therefore, the best and 
fullest attainable : — 
