1883.] Sun-spottery, 81 
Let us suppose a case in point. Suppose the quotations of 
corn in this country do not constitute a cycle at harmony 
with the seasons and sun-spots, what are the unknown 
factors ? Astronomers, clerks, and reporters grow confused 
alike ; some talk of Providence, others believe in Zadkiel’s 
Almanack. Well, here certainly are some of the desiderata. 
It has always appeared to me a desideratum that merchants 
in grain should keep strict record of weeviled cargoes and 
weeviled granaries ; as merchants, by registering the profit 
and loss, and, if also entomologists, by noting and estimating 
the increase and diminution of the noxious species of beetle. 
It has always appeared to me a desideratum that farmers 
should note when the chaff falls from the threshing red with 
the maggots of the wheat midge ; that they should chronicle 
the growth of charlock, poppies, and other tares that carpet 
their fields ; that loss from smut, mildew, and rot should 
become a matter of exadt register. These agencies are all 
injurious to corn, and their virus will vary as the average 
dryness or humidity of the year ; then, over and above, there 
remains the question of export and import. When all these 
little trivialities are understood, and not till then, shall we 
be fairly in a position to clench the problem of Solar Physics 
applied to the monetary statistics that so absorb our at- 
tention. 
But it may be asked, Do the corn quotations in this 
country never constitute themselves into a cycle, moving in 
consonance with the years and sun-spots. Let us awake 
to the broader prospedt furnished by the past history of trade 
and science. It is the rain that causes the green herb to 
grow for the service of man ; it is the rain that renews the 
face of the earth and paints the vernal meadow with leaves 
and flowers. In this humid climate, however, an excess of 
rainfall is a detriment to the harvest-field in the opinion of 
every well-informed agriculturist. Especially does an excess 
of rain mar the promise of the wheat, the wheat plant which 
replenishes the marts of the Mediterranean and the United 
States of America being much less truly acclimatised with 
us than its bearded sisters the barley and oats, that conserve 
their wiry and amazonian natures despite of culture. The 
rain, again, which is here the fostering or malignant influence, 
is itself but dropping vapour distilled by the superior agency 
of the sun from off the water surfaces that cover the earth, 
and the said vapour or cloud is distributed to its allotted 
place by the winds. In the case of both rain and wind 
heat is the motive power, and any increase or diminution 
in the heat of the sun must depend on changes in the potency 
