Our Climate and our Wheat-Crops. 
193 
considerably warmer during the summer also, but the majority 
were characterised by but little higher, or even lower, than 
average temperatures in the summer. There was also a pre- 
vailing deficiency of rain in the winter and spring, but a less 
marked deficiency in the summer. 
The second class includes four seasons of high produce of 
corn, but of small produce of straw ; and these seasons of high 
^ ield gave, on the average, less corn per acre than the seasons 
of greater total bulk of produce. Here, again, we have higher 
than average mean temperatures in every month but November 
and March, and then the deficiency was quite insignificant. 
But, in these seasons of comparatively small total produce, but 
of high yield of grain, the distribution of the excess of tempera- 
ture is exactly the opposite of that observed in the case of the 
seasons of heaviest gross produce. We have now comparatively 
insignificant excess of temperature in each month prior to May, 
but a considerable excess in May and the subsequent months, 
to harvest. Then as to the rainfall : the only month of the 
twelve in which there is any excess above the average is 
January ; whilst it is in May, June, and July, the months of 
excess of temperature, that the deficiency is by far the most 
marked. It is in these three months too that the number of 
rainy days is the most below the average. 
In the cases, then, of small produce of straw, but of high 
proportion of corn to straw, the result was associated with little 
more than fairly average conditions as to temperature during 
the early stages of development of the plant, but with a consider- 
able excess during the period of active above-ground growth, and 
of maturation. There is, at the same time, though a consider- 
able total deficiency of rain, a much more marked deficiency 
during the periods of more active above-ground growth, and 
of ripening, than during the earlier stages. 
The third class of seasons, that including four of unusually 
low produce, shows very marked differences from either of the 
foregoing. The averages show an actual deficiency of tempera- 
ture in ten months out of the twelve ; and in only one from 
seed-time to harvest was there an average excess of any im- 
portance, namely, in January. The deficiency of temperature 
was also more marked in the spring than in the winter, and 
more in the summer than in the spring. With this great defi- 
ciency of average temperature almost throughout, we have also, 
almost throughout, an excess of rain ; and the excess is very 
much the greater in April and afterwards up to harvest than 
previously. The number of rainy days is also greatly in excess, 
especially in the summer months. Very low productiveness 
Was, then, associated with both low temperatures and excess of 
VOL. XVI. — S. S. O 
