25 
in  its  Effect  on  Cultivation. 
most  extraordinary  season  still  continued  above  the  mean  tempe- 
rature; fears  were  entertained  lest  the  wheats  should  be  more 
productive  in  straw  than  corn. — The  month  of  February,  still  5° 
above  the  mean  temperature.”  * 
CO.  In  1845  the  * Clyde,’  in  her  voyage  to  Barbadoes,  found  the 
temperature  of  the  water  near  the  Scilly  Islands  as  warm  as  it 
usually  is  off  the  coast  of  Portugal. f The  succeeding  autumn 
months  at  Truro  were  exceedingly  mild,  and  the  following 
January  and  February  were  6°  above  the  average  temperature. 
It  is  known  that  the  water  of  the  Gulf-stream  is  warmer,  and 
flows  with  greater  velocity  in  some  years  than  in  others,  which  is 
the  most  probable  cause  of  the  great  variations  which  occur  in 
our  winter  temperature,  and  a mild  winter  is  generally  accom- 
panied with  much  rain. 
Cl.  Amount  of  insensible  Vapour : Mists — Fogs — Clouds. — 
The  great  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  western  coast  of 
England  and  Ireland,  has  been  much  commented  on  by  every 
writer  on  the  climate  of  these  parts,  and  in  most  agricultural 
surveys  it  forms  the  standing  topic  of  remark ; as  if  nothing 
further  were  required,  “ climate  very  mild  and  humid  ” appears  to 
have  been  thought  a sufficient  description  for  that  of  Ireland, 
Wales,  and  half  of  England.  But  when  we  come  to  examine  the 
quantity  of  moisture  contained  in  a given  space  of  atmospheric 
air,  and  compare  it  with  that  of  the  eastern  coasts,  we  are  sur- 
prised at  the  small  difference  which  the  most  accurate  observations 
show.  The  following  table  is  compiled  from  the  quarterly  returns 
of  the  Registrar-General  for  1848. 
Table  VIII. — Showing  the  Mean  Weight  of  Vapour  in  Grains  in  a Cubic  Foot 
of  Air  for  every  Month. 
Place. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Mar. 
Apr. 
May. 
June. 
July. 
Aug. 
Sept. 
Oct. 
Nov. 
Dec. 
Mean. 
Greenwich  Observatory  . 
2-2 
3-0 
2-9  I 3-1 
3"  9 
4-3 
4-8 
4-5 
4-2 
3-8 
3-0 
3-1 
3-2 
Latimer  Rectory,  Bucks 
2-3 
3-5 
3-0 
3*3 
4-4 
4-7 
5-1 
4.7 
4*  1 
4-0 
3-0 
3-1 
3*5 
Aylesbury  .... 
2-4 
3*0 
3-0 
3-3 
4*6 
4-9 
5-2 
4-8 
4-2 
3-9 
2-8 
3-0 
3-4 
Saffron  Waldren  . 
2-3 
3-0 
2-9 
3-6 
4-9 
53 
5-9 
5-3 
5-4 
3-4 
3-0 
2-9 
3*5 
Cardington,  near  Bedford 
2-3 
3-0 
3-1 
3*4 
4-5 
5-0 
5-3 
5-0 
4-8 
4-1 
3-1 
3-1 
3-7 
Norwich 
2-3 
2-9 
3-2 
3-6 
4-3 
5-0 
5-3 
4-8 
4-7 
4-1 
2-9 
3-0 
3-5 
Derby 
2*5 
2-8 
3-0 
3'1 
4*5 
4-6 
5-2 
4-9 
4-6 
39 
3-1 
3-1 
3-4 
Highfield  House,  Notts. 
2-4 
2-9 
2-9 
3-0 
4-2 
4-5 
4*9 
4-5 
4-1 
3-8 
2-9 
2 9 
3-1 
Liverpool  Observatory  . 
2-4 
3-1 
3-0 
3-2 
4-1 
4-3 
4-8 
4.4 
4.4 
3-7 
3-1 
3-0 
3-4 
Durham 
2-3 
2-7 
2-8 
0-5 
1*3 
1-0 
4-5 
41 
4-0 
3*5 
2-7 
2-9 
2-3 
Whitehaven  .... 
2'3 
3-1 
3-0 
3-3 
4*1 
4.4 
4-9 
4.4 
4.4 
3*7 
3-1 
3-0 
3-5 
Newcastle-on-Tyue  . . 
2-4 
3-1 
3-1 
0-4 
0-9 
0-6 
4-9 
4.4 
4.4 
39 
31 
29 
2-4 
Helston  . • . . . 
3-5 
3-2 
3-5 
4*3 
4-6 
5-2 
5-0 
4-7 
4-0 
3-4 
3-7 
3-6 
By  comparing  Helston  with  Greenwich,  and  Whitehaven  with 
Durham  in  this  table,  it  will  appear  that  the  atmosphere  of  the 
western  coast  is  the  most  humid,  and  that  the  relative  difference 
is  greater  in  the  north  of  England  than  in  the  south.  The  figures 
* Phil.  Mag.,  June,  1826. 
f Edin.  Phil.  Jour.,  Jan.  1816. 
