814 
The Autumn of 1894. 
while at Falmouth the weather remained absolutely dry for a period 
of twenty-three days ending with the middle of October. In the 
west of Scotland and the north of Ireland the drought was far 
more severe, the longest period without rain being reported at 
Edgeworthstown (Co. Longford), where an absolute drought lasted 
from September 5 to October 8, an unbroken run of thirty-four 
days. In many parts of these districts September was the driest 
month experienced for at least thirty years past. Soon after the 
middle of October, however, a great change in the weather took 
place, and during the ensuing four weeks an enormous excess 
of rain was reported over all the more southern parts of the 
country. In the midlands the total quantity for this period 
was more than twice as much as the average, in the Channel 
Islands nearly two-and-a-half times as much, and in our south- 
ern and south-western counties more than two-and a-half times 
as much as the normal. At several places in the south-western 
parts of England the rainfall for the four weeks amounted to an 
average of more than 3 inches per week, the largest individual 
falls being 16*3 inches at Hazel bury and 14*7 inches at Godman- 
stone (both in Dorsetshire), 14*3 inches at Arlington (North Devon), 
13*5 inches at Cattistock (Dorsetshire), and 12*7 inches at Llan- 
dovery (Glamorganshire). The heaviest rains in a short period 
occurred between November 11 and 14, when an aggregate of 
between 3 and 4 inches was recorded over a considerable portion of 
the southern half of England, the largest amounts at present reported 
being 6*6 inches at Hazelbury, 5*7 inches at Godmanstone, 5*5 inches 
at Scilly, 4*8 inches at St. Agnes (Cornwall), and 4*7 inches at 
Osborne (Isle of Wight). In many places the amount for these four 
days was in excess of the average quantity for the whole of 
November. It is not a little singular that a season which commenced 
with a partial drought should have been marked later on by so 
unusually heavy a rainfall, and it is still more remarkable that the 
two successive years 1893 and 1894 should have been distinguished 
respectively by one of the longest droughts and one of the heaviest 
floods of the present century. During the latter part of November 
the weather again became very dry, the last week being marked by 
an entire absence of rain in nearly all parts of England. Taking 
the quarter as a whole, we see from the table that there was a slight 
excess of rainfall in the Channel Islands, and a large excess over 
our southern and south-western counties. In the eastern district 
the autumnal rainfall agreed very closely with the normal, but in 
the north-eastern, the midland, and the north-western counties it was 
deficient, the amount in the last-mentioned district being only about 
three-fourths of the average. As a proof of the plumping nature of 
the rainfall, it will be seen that in the south-west, where the total 
amount was so large, the number of days with rain was considerably 
less than the average. A large deficiency in this respect was shown 
also in the Channel Islands, and, naturally enough, in the north- 
western counties ; but in the east and south of England the number 
of rainy days was slightly in excess of the normal. 
