250 COLLIERY EXPLOSIONS AND THE WEATHER OF 1885. ANON. 
were set on fire, and the men had to be withdrawn. According to a 
local account, " the explosion was a comparatively slight one, and the 
report not loud enough to alarm the neighbourhood." The disturb- 
ance passed away and the mercury rose quickly. Two days after the 
rise commenced, the increase of gas in the Monk Bretton Colliery 
made it necessary to cease working, the barometer continuing to rise 
until the 19th. During the month of February the barometer over 
the whole country was unusually low, the average height for the 
month being one-third of an inch below the mean of previous years. 
The only considerable rise of the mercury was accompanied by the 
loss of two lives near Wigan, on the 21st. No accidents were re- 
ported while the great deficiency of pressure prevailed. The last day 
of the month brought another brisk increase, which formed a large 
anticyclonic area over the north and east districts during March 1st 
and 2nd. Towards the evening of the 2nd the centre of highest 
pressure was moving eastward, into the North Sea, and at 9 p.m. took 
place the Us worth explosion, the barometer over the locality at the time 
being at 30 inches, and beginning to fall moderately fast. Again, on 
the night of June 17th a brisk rise came up from the south-west 
across Wales, and by the morning of the 18th the rise had extended 
to the North of England. Shortly after 9 a.m., when the barometer 
was about reaching its maximum, the most disastrous explosion of 
the year occurred, 179 lives being sacrificed at the Clifton Hall Col- 
liery, Pendlebury. It should be noted that after the explosion earth- 
quake shocks were felt in several parts of Yorkshire, but whether 
there was any connection between them it is impossible to say. 
Shocks of earthquake were felt in different parts of the north during 
the next two or three weeks. Coming down to Christmas, we find 
that on December 22nd a rapid rise was in progress, and on the 23rd 
a large area of high barometer had formed over Wales and Ireland, 
the readings over South Wales reduced to sea level being nearly 307 
inches. It was under these conditions that we have recorded the loss 
of 82 lives at Mardy and one at Maesteg on the same day. 
These instances of actual explosions sufiice to indicate to us by 
the very similarity of their accompanying atmospheric changes that 
greater attention must be devoted to areas of high barometer in con- 
