( n ) 
niglit, at Blackheath, in places free from drift, it was 15 inclies in 
depth ; nearly all tlie lines of railway out of London were blocked, 
and some of them early in the afternoon ; trains were imbedded in 
the snow all night and during the next day. This snowstorm 
extended southward to Jersey and Guernsey, where the depth was 
from 12 inches to 14 inches, with drifts up to 4 and 5 feet. 
In the Isle of Wight the depth was about 15 inches, and the island 
was white with snow from the 17th to the 29th, a second heavy 
fall of 18 inches having taken place on the 20th; the total depth 
of snow which fell on these two days was therefore 33 inches. 
On the 18th the depth of snow at Biighton was 18 inches; in 
Cornwall and Devonshire it was from 12 to 14 inches, with drifts 
of from 10 to 12 feet. The amounts were less, proceeding north- 
wards ; at Cambridge the depth was 8 inches, and at Leeds and 
Bradford the fall was very small. The loss of life in England due 
to the snow was great, and small birds died in great numbers, their 
food being covered by the snow. Dr. Compton, of South Bourne, 
says, " Books were seen to kill and eat sparrows, and blackbirds to 
eat each other on my lawn, where a great congi-egation of birds 
were collected," 
The mean temperature of the air for the quarter was 37^'3, being 
1°"4 below the average. 
The amount of rain or melted snow measured at Greenwich during 
the quarter was 5*43 inches, which was nearly half an inch in 
excess of the average. 
The number of hours of bright sunshine recorded during the 
quarter at the Eoyal Observatory, Greenwich, was 173"7, against 
141-0, 137*5, and 235*9 in the three preceding corresponding 
quarters. 
Second Quarter {April, May, June). — The mean reading of the 
barometer during the quarter was 29*84 inches, and slightly above 
the average for the corresponding period in 40 years ; the mean 
showed an excess in April and May, and corresponded with the 
average in June. 
The cold E. and N.E. winds, which set in towards the end of 
March, continued till the 10th of April, the sky being generally 
clear ; the direction of the wind then changed to the S.W., but 
came back again on the 17 th to a compound of the east. The 
weather was very cold at the beginning of the month ; it was 
warm from the 10th to the ISth, and moderately cold afterwards. 
The fall of rain in the month was small. 
The weather in ^lay was cold at the beginning of the month, 
•with a cloudy sky ; then there were a few warm days, succeeded 
