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XIV. 
REPOET ON THE RAINFALL IN HERTFORDSHIRE IN THE 
YEAR 1903. 
By John Hopkinson, F.L.S., F.G.S., Y.P. E. Met. Soc., 
Assoc. Inst. C. E„ 
Read at Watford, 2§th March, 1904. 
The staff of our observers for the year 1903 shows an increase 
of four on the number for the previous year, the losses being two 
and the gains six. The stations discontinued are Offside Cottage, 
Cowroast, owing to the death of the observer; and Desmond 
Cottage, Bennington, where the observer, who has since died, 
transferred her rain-gauge to her nearest neighbour owing to ill- 
health. The additions are Fairhill, Berkhamsted, a former station 
reinstated; the Colne Yalley Water Works, Watford, also a former 
station; Yalency House, Eastbury, Watford; Easby, North wood; 
Eileen Cottage, Bennington; and the Manor House, Knebworth. 
Fairhill, Berkhamsted, takes the place of Offside Cottage, Cow- 
roast, making no difference in the number of rainfall stations in 
the river-district of the Bulbourne; the Lower Colne district gains 
three stations, all in the neighbourhood of Watford; and Kneb¬ 
worth adds one to the stations in the district of the Beane, in 
which, at Bennington, Eileen Cottage takes the place of Desmond 
Cottage, the gauge formerly used there having, in fact, been moved 
a short distance only. 
Owing to these alterations the principal table contains the 
records of 52 stations, being four more than in any previous year. 
The number of daily records received is 45, which is five more 
than in any previous year. The year is therefore a record one, 
both in the total number of returns and in the fulness of detail 
supplied by the large number of daily returns. 
Particulars of the 52 rainfall stations, and the monthly and total 
rainfall and number of days of rain in 1903, are given in Tables I 
and II, pp. 99-101. 
A supplementary table (Table III, p. 102) gives twelve other 
records of the total rainfall in the year. Two are records of 
additional gauges at Bothamsted, four are those of additional gauges 
at Odsey, Bosebank and Bose Cottage, Berkhamsted, and at Weet- 
wood, Watford, one was received too late for insertion in the 
principal table, and five are from ‘ British Bainfall, 1903.’ 
The mean rainfall in Hertfordshire in the year 1903 was 37*83 
inches. This is 13*05 inches above the average for the decade 
1890-99, and 11*68 inches above that for the 60 years 1840-99. 
The mean number of wet days in the year was 188, being 21 more 
than the average for the thirty years 1870-99, and 26 more than 
that for the previous year. Last year was therefore one of 
excessive rainfall of frequent occurrence. It was, in fact, much 
the wettest year in our county since 1852, but our records for that 
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VOL. XII.—PART III. 
