426 Some RemarlcciUe Fectiuves in tlie Winiei' oj 1890-91. 
Germany from the soutli-westward, and as the borders of this 
system extended northwards over a considei'ahle portion of our 
islands, the conditions over England remained, for the most part, 
under the influence of high barometer readings. As a result of 
the very marked persistence of anticyclonic weather it appears 
that the mean pressure over the British Isles was above the average 
in all three of the winter months. In December 1890 the excess 
was slight in the southern parts of the United Kingdom, but large 
(0-3 in. or more) in the north and east of Scotland. In January 
1891 the difference from the mean amounted to between O'lO and 
0'15 in. over Great Britain, but to 0'20 in. in the south of Ireland. 
The most remarkable difference was, however, in February, 
when the mean pressure over the United Kingdom was from 0'3 
to O o in. above the average in all districts, the greatest excess 
being found over England and the east of Ireland. At Kew 
Observatory, the mean pressure for February derived from the hourly 
readings of the self-registering barograph was no less than SO'lT-t 
ins., or O'-ITO in. in excess of the average for the twenty years 
1871-90, and 0 087 in. higher than in any month of the same ex- 
tended period. 
The effect of so constant a prevalence of anticyclonic conditions 
upon temperature has been dealt with in Mr. C. Harding's paper 
on " The Great Frost of 1890-91 " (see page 196 of this v olume of 
the Journal). Its influence upon the winds, the weather, and the 
rainfall of the winter were no less mai'ked, and are deserving of 
special notice. 
Wind. — Firstly, as regards the wind, we find that over tlie 
United Kingdom generally the winter was unusually quiet. Even 
in the extreme west and north, where the weather was influenced 
from time to time by low-pressure systems which advanced from 
the Atlantic, the gales experienced were neither frequent nor severe, 
while over England there was an almost entire absence of the 
ordinary winter storms. 
The influence of repeated anticyclonic weather during last 
winter is shown very forcibly by the unusually high percentage of 
calms in London, the actual value (22 per cent.) being more than 
double the average, and considerably higher than in any othe 
winter of the past twenty years. The number of gales experienced in 
the Metropolis was only two as against an average of seven, and of 
severe gales there were absolutely none whatever. The weather 
over this part of the country was, in fact, less stormy than any we 
have had since the winter of 1875-7G, when the nundjer of gales 
was equally small. In the seasons both of 1876-77 and 1884-8.') 
there were in London six times as many gales as there were in 
1890 91. 
The prevalence of calm weather was, however, not tlie only inter- 
esting feature. From an examination of the proportion of winds 
experienced from various points of the compass we learn that there 
was a very large falling-oft in the percentage of winds from between 
