Experimental Plots at Rothamsted, from 1864 to 1883. 403 
Twenty-sixth Season, 1868-69. 
The extraordinary warm period of nearly nine months' dura- 
tion ended with September 1868. October and November were 
throughout, with very few exceptions, colder than usual both by 
day and night ; whilst in October there was a deficiency of rain, 
and in November a very great deficiency. December, on the 
other hand, was almost throughout very much warmer than 
the average, with a great excess of rain, some violent gales 
of wind, very variable, but, upon the whole, very low barometric 
pressures, and a high degree of humidity of the atmosphere. The 
average temperature of December had indeed been exceeded 
only twice during the preceding ninety-eight years ; namely, 
in 1806 and 3 852. With the exception of a week after the 
middle of January (1869), the very warm period continued until 
the end of February, completing three winter months of average 
temperature about 6 degrees higher than the average of ninety- 
eight years. There was, again, a considerable excess of rain in 
January, and a slight excess in February. March, on the con- 
trary, was several degrees colder than the average, with about, 
or less than, the average amount of rain. Early in April warm 
weather set in, and lasted till nearly the end of the month, the 
temperature during this period being several degrees higher 
than the average, whilst the fall of rain was generally under 
the average. May and June were, with few exceptions of short 
duration, very much colder than the average. Towards the end 
of May the cold was very extreme for the season, the greater 
part of June was also unusually cold, both by day and night ; 
and in May there was a considerable excess, though in June a 
deficiency, of rain. Early in July there was again a change to 
warm weather, which lasted till the end of the month, during 
which there was very little rain. The first three weeks of 
August were unseasonably cold and showery, though the total 
amount of rain was comparatively small ; but the concluding 
week of the month was very bright and hot. Then came a 
short period of cold weather, but the remainder of Septem- 
ber was warm though stormy, with a good deal of rain. In 
April, May, and June, the degree of humidity of the air ranged 
high, especially in May ; in July it was about the average, but 
in August and September it was below it. 
To sum up the characters of the season : The heat and drought 
of the spring and summer of 1868 were followed by a warm 
and dry September, and a cold and dry October and November 
provided a good autumn seed-time. The three winter months 
were very warm and — December and January especially — very 
wet, which brought the autumn sown crops rapidly forward, and 
