[ 34 ] 
STUDIES IN PHENOLOGY, No. 3, 1921 1 
By FRANCIS DARWIN 
T he most obvious character of the dates of flowering in 1921 is 
their remarkable earliness. My phsenological work was begun in 
1917, so that I have only the record of four years with which to 
compare the facts of 1921. Of these four years 1918 obviously shows 
the earliest dates of flowering. I have therefore compared 1921 with 
1918. And where I have recorded (in 1921) the flowering dates of 
species not occurring in 1918, I have compared them with the mean 
dates given by Blomefield 2 . 
In Nature, Sept. 15,1921, p. 96, a useful summary of the Meteoro¬ 
logical conditions for 1921 is given. It appears that: “The mean 
temperature was above the normal in all districts with the exception 
of north and east Scotland, the greatest excess being 23 0 F. in the 
Midland counties 3 .” 
The following table shows the deviation from normal at Clifton: 
Week 
no. 
Date 
Deviation 
from 
normal 
Week 
no. 
Date 
Deviation 
from 
normal 
1 
Jan. 1-8 
+ 6-5 
21 
May 22-28 
+ 4*3 
2 
9-15 
+ 4'4 
22 
29-Ju.4 
-i-9 
3 
16-22 
+ 6*o 
23 
Ju- 5-i1 
+ i-o 
4 
23-29 
+ 8-o 
24 
12-18 
+ 3-i 
5 
30-Feb. 5 
-o-8 
25 
19-25 
+ 2-9 
6 
Feb. 6-12 
— 2' I 
26 
26-July 2 
+ 0-3 
7 
13-19 
+ 2*8 
27 
July 3-9 
+ 3-6 
8 
20-26 
+ 3*7 
28 
10-16 
+ 8-2 
9 
27-Mar. 5 
+ 2*0 
29 
17-23 
+ 6-8 
10 
Mar. 6-12 
+ 1-7 
30 
24-30 
+ 2-4 
11 
13-19 
+ i*8 
3i 
31-Aug. 6 
+ o*6 
12 
20-26 
+ 5-6 
32 
Aug. 7-13 
-4-3 
13 
27-Apr. 2 
+ 2-6 
33 
14-20 
+ 0*2 
14 
Apr. 3-9 
+ 1*2 
34 
21-27 
+ o-6 
15 
10-16 
-0*1 
35 
28-Sep. 3 
-2-9 
16 
17-23 
-3’9 
36 
Sep. 4-10 
+ 2-8 
17 
24-30 
+ 2-3 
37 
11-17 
-i-5 
18 
May 1-7 
-i-9 
38 
18-24 
+ 1*2 
19 
8-14 
+ i*8 
39 
25-Oct. 1 
-0-2 
20 
15-21 
-o -5 
1 Nos. 1 and 2 were published in the New Phytologist, 18 and 20. 
2 In his Naturalist’s Calendar. Cambridge, at the University Press, 1903. 
3 Sir Napier Shaw (The Times, Oct. 15, 1921) writes: “The weather of the 
British Isles...has been remarkable for its drought, its abundant sunshine and 
its exceptional warmth.” 
