186 
Our Climate and our Wheat-Crops. 
was a great excess of rain in May, June, August, and Septem- 
ber, and there was about an average amount in July. The 
harvest was very late. Wheat was in some localities not de- 
ficient in bulk, but generally very much damaged, yielding but 
a small proportion of grain, and that of very low quality. 
The characteristics of this season, yielding a crop both late 
and much below the average, both in quantity and quality, were, 
then, a winter alternately very cold and very mild, and upon the 
whole wet, followed by a spring, summer, and autumn generally 
stormy, cold, wet, sunless, and unseasonable. 
1879.- — Of all the eleven months, from November to Sep- 
tember inclusive, March alone showed about average mean tem- 
perature. Each of the others was colder than the average. 
The deficiency was in November 2 "6, in December 5'5, in 
January 4"7, in February 0-5, in April 2-9, in May 4-1, in 
June 1'3, in July 3"5, in August 1, and in September 0 2 degree. 
Then as to the rainfall. There was an excess in every month 
of the eleven excepting December and March. In November the 
excess amounted to 1"05, in January to 0*59, in February to 2"32, 
in April to 0-90, in May to 1-36, in June to 2-39, in July to 
1'12, in August to nearly 3 inches, and in September to 0"43 inch. 
The total excess over the period was more than 11 inches. 
Thus, from seed-time to the harvest of 1879, there was a con- 
siderable deficiency of temperature, compared with the average, 
in every month excepting March. It is remarkable, however, 
that there was even a lower mean temperature in June 1854, a 
season of very great abundance, than in June 1879, the season 
of the worst crop known within the century. But it was by the 
continuity and excessive amount of the rainfall that the season 
of 1878-9 was especially characterised ; the excess during the 
eleven months from November to September inclusive, being, 
as already said, more than 11 inches over the average; and the 
total amount was more than double that over the same period of 
some of the seasons of high productiveness. 
It remains to compare the characters of the disastrous season 
of 1878-9, with those of 1815-16, to which period, by common 
consent, we must go back for a wheat-crop at all approaching in 
deficiency, both in quantity and quality, that of the season just 
past. 
1816. — Each of the ten months from November 1815 to 
August 1816, inclusive, was colder than the average. The defi- 
ciency was — in November 4'3, in December 2'6, in January 0'3, 
in February 4-2, in March 1-7, in April 2-5, in May 3-2, in 
June 3'1, in July 4'6, and in August 4'6 degrees. The average 
deficiency over the ten months was 3*1 degrees ; and the defi- 
ciency was the greatest in the months of more active growth 
and of maturation. Compared with 1878-9, December and 
