406  The  Weather  of  the  Past  Agricultural  Year. 
[Continued  from  page  399.] 
year  before.  The  yield  per  acre  fell  from  31'93  cwts.  to  28-85 
cwts.,  while  the  acreage  decreased  by  1,173,400  acres  from  the 
year  before  to  5,432,360  acres,  which  means  a fall  of  21-6  per 
cent.  In  Wales  the  percentage  of  decrease  was  13-4,  and  in 
Scotland  4-2.  Throughout  Great  Britain  the  yield  was  below 
the  average  of  the  preceding  ten  years  by  about  4 per  cent. 
“ Hay  from  Clover,  Sainfoin,  etc.,”  also  showed  a general 
reduction  in  quantity,  having  fallen  in  England  from  2,597,094 
tons  in  1908  to  2,090,595  tons  in  1909.  This  is  a decrease  of 
19-5  per  cent.  The  acreage  meantime  decreased  by  177,546 
acres,  or  nearly  11  per  cent.,  while  the  yield  per  acre  fell  from 
31-93  cwts.  to  28-85  cwts.  The  average  yield  per  acre  for  the 
preceding  ten  years  was  29-64.  In  Wales  also  this  class  of  hay 
was  deficient  in  quantity,  while  Scotland  produced  very  nearly 
as  much  as  in  the  preceding  year,  and  more  than  its  average. 
THE  WEATHER  OF  THE  PAST 
AGRICULTURAL  YEAR. 
As  a result  of  an  inquiry  conducted  some  few  years  ago  by 
Dr.  W.  N.  Shaw,  the  Director  of  the  Meteorological  Office,  it 
appeared  that  in  spite  of  any  adverse  influences  in  the  following 
seasons  a dry  autumn  is  succeeded  almost  invariably  by  a yield 
of  wheat  in  excess  of  the  average.  The  accuracy  of  the 
proposition  appears  to  have  been  confirmed  to  a large  extent  by 
the  agricultural  experiences  of  last  year.  In  the  autumn  of 
1908  there  was  a considerable  deflciency  of  rain  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  the  country.  The  season  was  followed  by  a changeable 
winter  and  early  spring,  with  occasional  touches  of  severe  frost. 
The  later  spring  months  were  characterised  by  much  brilliant 
weather,  but  after  May,  and  with  the  exception  of  an 
exceedingly  flne  fortnight  in  the  early  part  of  August,  the 
weather  of  the  summer  was  almost  continuously  cloudy  and 
cool.  In  spite  of  this  the  crops  appear  to  have  ripened  well,  and 
until  the  commencement  of  the  harvest  they  presented  an 
unusually  flourishing  appearance.  Much  damage  was  after- 
wards occasioned  by  frequent  heavy  rains,  which  also  caused 
serious  delay  in  reaping  operations.  Notwithstanding  all  these 
adverse  influences  the  yield  of  most  of  the  cereals  was  either 
equal  to  or  slightly  above  the  average,  a result  which  caused  no 
little  surprise  to  the  ordinary  individual  who,  smarting  under 
a recollection  of  spoilt  holidays,  regarded  the  summer  as  one  of 
the  worst  within  living  memory.  The  autumn  of  1909  was  less 
propitious  than  its  predecessor,  an  abundance  of  rain  keeping 
the  ground  in  a soddened  state,  and  interfering  greatly  with  all 
