18 
REVIEWS—METEOROLOGY. 
“ critical ” botany must soon work out its own cure. What that cure 
is has been already indicated in these pages; it is, to recognise that 
the vast and abounding fertility of nature will not be tied down by 
our hard and fast lines. It is, to acknowledge that, however many 
“species ” we may describe, we can still discover numerous specimens 
which will accord with none of them. It is, to give up the vain idea 
of inventing a name for every plant we find, and to remember that 
many of our modern definitions of species are merely descriptions of 
a group of individuals from some particular locality or kind of habitat. 
The “splitting fever” is now, perhaps, approaching its height; the 
crisis past, reaction will set in, and recovery will be slow, but sure. 
It must not be supposed, however, that the whole of this pamphlet is 
like the extracts which have been made above. There is some interest¬ 
ing information about British plants, with records of new localities, 
but it is too evident that, if it were not for the recent intense develop¬ 
ment of the craze for the minute subdivision of species, the Botanical 
Exchange Club of the British Isles would have little left to do. 
W. B. G. 
METEOKOLOGY OF THE MIDLANDS. 
THE WEATHER OF NOVEMBER, 1882. 
BY CLEMENT L. WRAGGE, F.R.G.S., F.M.S., ETC. 
Great and unusual disturbances, both atmospheric and magnetic, 
marked the month of November. Generally it was very stormy and 
wild, with an abundant rainfall and resulting fioods. Thunderstorms 
took place on the 4th and 8th, with hail; snow on the loth and 16th, 
and more hail on the 27th. Strong winds and gales were frequent. 
Brilliant and continuous displays of aurora with co-existing earth 
currents of great strength, causing the partial collapse of the working 
of the telegraph system, occurred, especially during the third week. 
The existence of a tremendous sun-spot at the same time—which, as 
my sketches show, marked a region of extraordinary activity and 
disturbance in the solar atmospheres—proves, I think, conclusively 
the close correlation existing between the great solar storms and 
terrestrial magnetism. The aurorae were well observed at FortWilliam. 
A smart shock of earthquake occurred in the west of Scotland on the 
morning of the 12th. In Central England the highest reduced 
barometric reading was about 30T37, and happened on the 30th ; the 
lowest, 29T10, took place on the 8th. Mean temperature was about 
41*3; amount of cloud only 5‘7 (scale 0 to 10), and relative humidity 
88 %. Westerly winds prevailed. The absolute maximum temperature 
in sun’s rays (reported) was 105-3 at Hodsock on the 5th; and the 
absolute minimum on grass was 11-7, on the 18th, at Aspley Guise. 
Some 19 ground frosts were noted. Bright sunshine 72-9 hours, at 
Hodsock, or 29 %; 78-5 at Strelley, 72-4 at Aspley Guise, 81 at Oxford, 
and 53-3 hours at Blackpool. The mean temperature of the soil at a 
depth of one foot was 42-9 at Hodsock, 40-9 at Strelley, and 41-7 at 
Cardiff. The mean amounts of ozone were 1-8, 2*2, 5-0, and 6-8—values 
for Oxford, Cheltenham, Carmarthen, and Blackpool respectively. 
Solar halos were observed in the Midlands on the 21st and 28th ; a very 
fine lunar halo on the 23rd ; and a beautiful lunar corona at Fort 
William on the 25th. 
