Experimental Plots at Rothamsted, from 1864 to 1883. 401 
peded. The first eleven days of January, 1868, were very cold ; 
but from that time to the end of the quarter (indeed to the end 
of the summer), the weather was unusually warm. There was 
a considerable excess of rain, and there were several gales of 
wind in January ; but only a moderate amount of rain fell in 
February and Alarch. In these months vegetation became very 
forward, and the weather was generally favourable for working 
the land and for spring sowing. April, May, and June, again, 
were all considerably warmer than the average. The average 
temperature of April had, however, frequently, and that of each of 
the other months occasionally been exceeded in the corresponding 
months of other years ; but the average temperature of the three 
months together had only once been exceeded in any corre- 
sponding three months for 98 years (the period for which 
records are available), namely, in 1865, when, though April 
was hotter. May and June were not quite so hot as in 1868. 
The average temperature of the whole period, from the 
middle of January to the end of June, was only exceeded in 
1822. Concurrently with this long continued warm weather, 
there was a great excess of rain in January, and only a 
moderate amount in February and March ; there was a small 
excess in April, a deficiency in May, and a very great de- 
ficiency in June. Temperatures in excess of the average also 
prevailed almost continuously throughout the succeeding quarter, 
namely, to the end of September. July, in particular, was 
excessively warm, with at the same time a great and continued 
deficiency of rain ; August was also warmer than the average, 
but with a good deal of rain ; and September was still warmer 
than August, with a deficiency of rain. In no year of the 
previous 98 had the temperature so far exceeded the average 
for so long a corresponding period, as that from the middle 
of January to the end of September of this year, 1868. The 
total rainfall of the nine months was not much below the 
average ; but the amount which fell was excessive in January, 
as also in April and in August, whilst it was deficient in each 
of the other months of the period, and more especially in those 
of the greatest heat, namely May, June, and July. The degree 
of humidity of the atmosphere was also lower than the average 
in each of the nine months from January to September inclu- 
sive, especially in June, still lower in July, and considerably 
lower in August and September. 
The characters of this extraordinary season may be briefly 
summarised as follows : — After a favourable autumn seed time, 
the first half of the winter was very variable, including some very 
warm, but more stormy, wet, snowy and frosty weather. From 
that time to after harvest, the temperature was almost always 
