mr. a. w. preston’s meteorological notes. 
59 
lower than that of the previous October. The rainfall was three- 
quarters of an inch under the average, and the general force of the 
wind was very low ; in fact, so quiet an October, with a complete 
absence of gales and strong winds, has been but rarely recorded. 
The Autumn tints were unusually beautiful, and there was an 
abundance of garden flowers throughout the month. 
November. 
'1’he month entered with rainy, stormy weather, and it threatened 
to be an abnormally wet November. On the 12th, however, 
a sudden and unlooked-for change took place, and the unsteady 
barometer of the earlier days gave place to a period of very high 
pressure. During the remainder of the month the barometer never 
once fell below 30.17 in., and on the 17th attained 30.72 in. 
There was practically no rain after the 11th. Temperature was 
high throughout the month, and on the mean was higher than 
in any November since 1881. There was practically no frost, 
and the day temperatures exceeded 50 degrees on twenty three 
days, and 60 degrees on three days. The result was that garden 
flowers held on to an extraordinarily late period, and I had a bed 
of show and fancy Dahlias in full bloom throughout the month. 
A violent squall, accompanied by hail, thunder and lightning, 
occurred about 2 p.m. on the 11th, and during its passage great 
and unusual darkness occurred, making it almost necessary to resort 
to artificial light. 
December. 
This month was chiefly remarkable for the unusual severity of 
the ten days from the 8th to the 18th, when lower temperatures 
were registered than in any December since 1890, the thermometer 
falling to 13.5 degrees on the 12th, and 13.0 degrees on the 16th. 
These readings were as low as any in the cold December of that 
year, but the mean of the month (35.9 degrees) fell considerably 
short of 1890, when it was 30.3 degrees. It was a little higher also 
than in 1892, in which year, however, there were no such extremely 
low readings as in the month under review. After the frost broke 
on the 18th the weather was very changeable to the end of the 
year. A great barometric depression occurred on the 29th, the 
