SUNSPOTS AND BRITISH WEATHER. 
243 
of rainfall. This might be explained by the hypothesis, pro- 
posed above, but supposing such to be the case, then the years 
1867 and 1877 should be years of considerable rainfall. This, 
however, is far from being the case, the years at the extremity 
of our cycle showing only a very slight excess over the mean 
rainfall for the period. The year 1872, however, which is only 
two years after the year of maximum Sunspots, and should, ac- 
cording to the above reasoning, show a pronounced deficit, has 
the heaviest fall of any year during the whole period, the total 
amount of rainfall exceeding by nineteen inches that which was 
collected in 1870. It will also be noticed that both 1867 and 
1877 are years of Sunspot minima. If then we take 1869 and 
1879, and discuss their rainfall, we are taking two years which 
are distinctly comparable, their positions in the eleven-year cycle 
being exactly the same. It will, however, be found that fifty per 
cent more rain fell in the six months April to September, 1879, 
than fell in the same six months of the year 1869, so that a 
prophecy, based on the rainfall of 1889, could have given us no 
warning of the amount of rain with which we were to be visited 
in 1879. The following table gives (1) the actual amounts of 
rainfall measured within the British Isles during the eleven 
years under discussion ; (2) the amounts smoothed down by the 
above-mentioned process ; (3) the difference of each year shown 
as a percentage of the mean rainfall ; and (4) the relative 
number (also smoothed down) of Sunspots for each year : — 
In. 
In. 
Per-centages. 
Sunspots. 
1867 
36-0 
37*7 
+ 0-3 
8-8 
1868 
38-3 
37*4 
- 0-5 
36-8 
1869 
37-0 
35-6 
- 53 
78*6 
1870 
30-0 
32-8 
- 12-8 
131-8 
1871 
34*1 
36*9 
- 19 
113-8 
1872 
49-2 
41*2 
+ 16-4 
99-7 
1873 
34-0 
38-0 
+ 1-1 
67-7 
1874 
34*9 
35*3 
- 6-2 
43-1 
1875 
37*2 
37-1 
- 1*3 
18-9 
1876 
38-9 
39-8 
+ 5-8 
11-3 
1877 
44-2 
40-4 
+ 7-4 
70 
Leaving rainfall and turning to temperature, the same pro- 
cess has been adopted with the mean temperatures of the eleven 
years as that adopted with amounts of rainfall, but the mean 
temperature shows a course as irregular as that of rainfall, nor 
do the two together show any peculiarities in common (see 
