384  I'he  Weather  dariia/  the  Ayricultural  Year,  1903-11>()4. 
the  north  falling  to  at  least  10"  below  the  freezing  point  in 
several  places,  to  12"  below  it  at  Blackpool  and  Harrogate,  and 
to  13"  below  it  at  Garforth. 
Taken  as  a whole  the  mean  temperature  of  the  winter  was 
below  the  average,  the  deficiency  (greatest  in  the  daytime) 
being  due  largely  to  a marked  absence  of  sunshine.  Over  the 
country  generally  the  winter  was  the  dullest  experienced  for 
at  least  ten  years  past,  but  in  London  it  was  not  so  cloudy 
as  that  of  1896-1807.  Rain  was  more  frequent  than  usual,  and 
the  total  quantity  was  everywhere  more  than  the  average,  the 
excess  being  slight  in  the  north-eastern  and  eastern  districts, 
but  large  in  the  south.  In  the  south-western  counties  the 
excess  amounted  to  32  jjer  cent.,  and  in  the  southern  counties 
to  35  per  cent.,  while  in  the  Channel  Islands  it  was  as  much 
as  51  per  cent.  In  some  portions  of  the  two  last-mentioned 
districts  the  winter  proved  the  wettest  of  recent  years. 
The  Spring  op  1904. 
The  weather  of  the  spring  was  rather  changeable — cold 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  March,  but  mild  at  the  close 
of  that  month  and  in  April,  and  cold  again  from  the  end 
of  April  until  after  the  middle  of  May.  The  season  was, 
however,  characterised  by  a general  deficiency  of  rain,  and  had 
there  been  more  di-ying  winds  and  a greater  prevalence  of 
sunshine  the  conditions  would  doubtless  have  been  highly 
favourable  for  agricultural  operations  and  the  growth  of 
vegetation.  As  it  was,  both  these  features  were  conspicuous 
by  their  absence,  so  that,  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  spring 
especially,  the  land  recovered  but  slowly  from  the  waterlogged 
condition  in  which  it  had  been  left  by  the  excessive  rains  of 
the  previous  twelve  months.  Later  on  matters  improved  some- 
what, but  even  in  May  the  general  absence  of  sunshine  was 
again  marked,  the  oidy  really  line  week  being  the  third  in  the 
month,  when  a splendid  amount  was  recorded  in  all  but  the 
south-western  districts. 
March  opened  with  easterly  winds  and  a spell  of  very  sharp 
frost,  the  sheltered  thermometer  falling  below  25"  in  many 
districts.  Snow  showers  were  experienced  during  the  first 
week  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  thunder  and 
lightning  occurred  in  the  south  and  east  of  England  on  the  8th 
and  9th.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  month  the  wind  became 
more  variable,  but  after  a short  burst  of  warmth  about  the  8th 
or  9th,  the  weather  again  turned  cold,  with  sharp  frost  between 
the  10th  and  12th,  and  again  between  the  15th  and  18th,  the 
thermometer  falling  once  more  to  25"  or  less  in  many  places, 
and  to  20"  at  one  or  two  isolated  stations  in  the  south.  Snow 
showers  were  experienced  about  these  times  in  the  northern 
