( IV  ) 
1881,  in  which  month  the  temperature  exceeded  90°  on  two  days, 
and  was  above  80°  on  many  days.  The  atmospheric  pressure  was 
generally  below  its  average,  and  rain  fell  in  showers  on  17  to  20 
days  at  stations  situated  in  the  south  of  England,  the  number  gradu- 
ally increasing  to  25,  and  to  29  at  northern  stations.  The  wind  was 
mostly  from  the  S.W.,  frequently  blowing  strongly,  and  there  was 
almost  a total  absence  of  wind  from  the  east.  The  month  was 
cold,  wet,  and  ungenial — a bad  month  for  haymaking,  and  many 
fields  remained  uncut  at  the  end  of  the  month. 
The  month  of  August  was  moderately  fine  at  the  beginning,  but 
cold  and  showery  from  the  14th ; the  maximum  temperatures  in 
this  month  were  low,  at  many  stations  not  reaching  80°  during  the 
whole  month,  and  the  stations  at  which  it  exceeded  80°  were  few 
in  number.  The  fall  of  rain  was  generally  less  than  the  average. 
The  atmospheric  pressure  was  above  its  average  till  the  11th,  and 
was,  with  the  exception  of  the  17th,  constantly  below  it  during  the 
remainder  of  the  month. 
The  weather  in  the  month  of  September,  during  the  first  week 
was  moderately  fine,  but  from  the  7th  was  cold  and  unsettled ; the 
highest  temperature  reached  in  the  month  was  less  than  70°  at 
several  stations,  but  exceeded  70°  generally;  the  mean  temperature 
of  the  month  was  lower  than  of  any  other  September  back  to  1863, 
excepting  that  of  1877  ; the  atmospheric  pressure  was  constantly 
below  its  average  from  the  10th  to  the  29th;  rain  was  generally 
less  than  the  average,  but  was  above  at  a few  stations.  The  month 
on  the  whole  was  cold,  and  the  air  more  humid  than  usual,  parti- 
cularly in  the  Midland  Counties,  and  in  the  early  afternoon  hours, 
causing  harvest  operations  to  be  slow. 
Upon  the  whole  the  unsettled  weather  which  began  in  June 
continued  till  the  end  of  this  quarter ; the  number  of  days  within 
these  four  months  which  could  be  described  as  summer-like  have 
been  very  few. 
The  mean  temperature  of  the  air  in  the  quarter  was  58°T,  and 
was  1°‘6  below  the  average  for  the  corresponding  period  in 
111  years. 
The  amount  of  rain  measured  at  Greenwich  during  the  quarter 
was  6-01  inches,  and  was  nearly  an  inch  and  a half  below  the 
average  amount  in  the  corresponding  periods  of  66  years.  The 
deficiency  of  rainfall  was  1'29  inches  in  August,  and  the  fall  was 
slightly  below  the  average  in  each  of  the  other  months  of  the 
quarter.  Rain  was  measured  at  Greenwich  on  19  days  in  July, 
15  in  August,  and  14  in  September;  in  all,  on  48  of  the  92  days 
in  the  quarter.  At  39  stations  of  observation  the  recorded  rain- 
