THE WEATHER AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH. 
135 
In the beginning of April nature showed no signs of animation ; everything bore a 
winterly aspect. The severe weather in March, with the frequent heavy depositions of 
snow partially melted in the daytime, but congealed by the intense frost every night, 
pressed hard on the rose-trees and laurels which had been prematurely brought forward 
by the fine warm weather in February. The check was so great that many of these 
trees were killed. There was not the slightest dawn of spring until the second week in 
April. The poplar and the larch did not come into leaf till the middle of the month. 
The damson was not in blossom before the third week ; and it was the last week of 
April ere the sycamore expanded its leaves. This was later than ever before known. 
But the progress of nature then made such rapid strides, that everything burst into 
active life as if by magic. The oak was in full leaf early in May, and the ash and the 
mulberry expanded their foliage by the middle of the same month, or at least a fort¬ 
night earlier than their average dates. The short space of one month only sufficed to 
accomplish what usually takes from eight to ten weeks in the development of these 
beautiful works of nature. The splendour of the pear, damson, and apple blossoms was, 
under the influence of bright sunny skies with alternate genial rates, so quickly followed 
by the formation of their fruits, firmly knitted and unchecked by frost, that we forgot 
for a time the precarious character of our climate. 
But in the latter portion of May we were once more assured of its vicissitudes. The 
north-easterly winds, which became the order of the day and night, brought intense 
frost; the progress of the spring was retarded by the long persistence of the harsh polar 
currents and low temperature. The wheat and barley and other cereals looked sickly 
and withered ; they were starved by the cold nights. But the great heat at the end of 
May and beginning of June, with plenty of rain, refreshed the pastures and roots. 
The cereals recovered from their unhealthy appearance, and there was every promise of 
excellent and abundant crops. Still the weather was not favourable in June ; tempe¬ 
rature varied considerably; there was great absence of sun ; rain was of too frequent 
occurrence. The crops of grass were heavy, but in the midlands we had passed the 
middle of the month before hay-making commenced, and even then under the non- 
auspicious circumstances of either rain or threatening skies. Dull cloudy weather kept 
the wheat plant from coming into ear till the end of June. 
The most productive harvests have been when hot weather of appreciable duration 
did not set in until after the summer solstice. In 1859, 1863, and 1864, there was no 
summer weather before July, and excellent harvests followed. If great heat prevails 
in June, as in 1826, 1846, and 1858, the grain does not arrive at its proper growth. The 
ripening is premature ; the yield then becomes small. 
What hot weather we had in May and June was of short duration. With twelve 
months unprecedented in these annals for excessive rainfall, there is abundance of mois¬ 
ture in the ground for the roots and pastures on most lands for some time to come. 
Wheat wants no more rain till harvest. This year the cereal plants are not close on the 
fields, but the ears are large and promise to be well filled. There is every reason to ex¬ 
pect, in the event of a fine hot July and August, that we shall be blessed with a good 
and bountiful harvest of every description of grain, roots—indeed, of the earth’s produce 
generally. 
Before commenting on the public health for the last three months, I wish to impress 
the fact that it is only when the mean temperature is below 40° in the absence of cholera 
and fever, the death-rate is seriously affected. Hence it is that the winter interferes 
with our vital statistics. The following table will demonstrate this fact:— 
Annual Mortality per 1000 of Population, Twelve Months ending June 29, 1867. ( Lon¬ 
don, Birmingham , Bristol , Leeds , Manchester , Liverpool , Newcastle-on-Tyne , Sheffield , 
Salford, and Hull.') 
1R66 Mean 
° * Temperature. 
Death- 
rate. 
July. 
... 61° . 
... 28-5 
August .. 
... 58f°. 
... 30-3 
September 
... 54i°. 
... 28T 
October .. 
... 51° . 
... 25-9. 
November 
... 42i°. 
... 26-5. 
December 
... 41° . 
... 28-0. 
Great mortality in Liverpool and London from cholera. 
Much fever in Newcastle-on-Tyne and other towns. 
