THE WATERSPOUT ON THE CHEVIOTS—BROKEN PEAT-BED. BRITISH RAINFALL, 1893. LONDON: C SHIELD, PRINTER, 4, LEETE STREET, CHELSEA ; & LANCELOT PLACE, BIlOMVTON. 1894. BRITISH RAINFALL, 1893. THE DISTRIBUTION OF UAIN OVEE THE BRITISH ISLES, DURING THE YE1R 1893, AS OBSERVED AT NEARLY 3000 STATIONS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, WITH ARTICLES UPON VARIOUS BRANCHES OF RAINFALL WORK. COMPILED BY G. J. SYMONS, F.R.S., CHEVALIER DE LA LTSGION D'HONNEUR, Secretary Royal Meteorological Society; Membredu Conseil Societe Meteorologique de France. Member Scottish Meteorological Society ; Korrespondirendes Mitglied der Deutschen Meteorologischen Gesellschaft; Registrar of Sanitary Institute ; Fellow Royal Colonial Institute ; Membre correspondant etranger Soc. Royale de Medecine Publique de JleJgique, Socio correspondiente Sociedad Cientifica Antonio Alzate, Mexico, $c. AND H. SOWERBY WALLIS, F.R.MetSoc. LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD, COCKSPUR STREET, S.W 1894. CONTENTS. PAGE PREFACE ... ... ... .. ... ... ... .. ... ... ... .. ... ... 7 REPORT—PUBLICATIONS—OLD OBSERVATIONS—FIXANCE ... ... ... .. 8 THE WATERSPOUT (OR CLOUD BURST) ON THE CHEVIOTS ... ... ... ... 14 HEAVY FALLS OF RAIN AT CAMDEN SQUARE, 1858—1894 ... ... ... ... 18 EXPERIMENTS ox EVAPORATION AT SOUTHAMPTON WATER WORKS AND AT CAMDEN SQUARE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... ... 23 COMPARISON OF GERMAN AND ENGLISH RAIN GAUGES AND OF MR. SIDEBOTTOM'S Sxo\v GAUGE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 27 RAINFALL AT THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREENWICH ... ... ... ... 30 THE STAFF OF OBSERVERS... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 31 OBITUARY ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 46 RAINFALL AND METEOROLOGY OF 1893. ON THE METEOROLOGY OF 1893, WITH NOTES ON POME OF THE PRINCIPAL PHENOMENA ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... [ 3] OBSERVERS' NOTES ON THE MONTHS OF 1893 ... ... ... ... ... ... [ 38] OBSERVERS' NOTES ON THE YEAR, 1893 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [79] HEAVY RAINS IN SHORT PERIODS IN 1893... ... ... ... ... ... ... [121] THE EASTBOURNE RAINFALL OF JULY 16TH ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [123] HEAVY FALLS IN 24 HOURS ix 1893 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [126] DROUGHTS IN 1893 ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [137] MONTHLY RAINFALL OF 1893 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [148] TABLES OF MONTHLY RAINFALL AT 233 STATIONS IN 1893 ... ... ... [149] Ox THE RRLATION OF THE TOTAL RAINFALL IN 1893 TO THE AVERAGE ... [158] COMPARISON OF THE RAINFALL OF THE YEAR 1893 WITH THE AVERAGE OF THE YEARS 1880-89 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [l6l] EXTREMES OF RAINFALL IN 1893 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [165] GENERAL TABLES OF TOTAL RAINFALL. EXPLAXATIOX OF THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE GENERAL TABLES ... ... [l68] COUNTY INDEX TO GENERAL TABLES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... [169] ILLUSTRATIONS. EFFECTS OF THE WATERSPOUT ox THE CHEVIOTS... ... ... ... Frontispiece. SITES OF WATERSPOUTS ON THE CHEVIOTS ... .. .. ... ... face p. 16 THE HEAVIEST RAINS DURING 26 YEARS AT CAMDEN SQUARE ... ,, ,, 22 GERMAN RAIN GAUGE ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ,, 27 SIDEBOTTOM'S Sxo\v GAUGE ... ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ,, 29 DIAGRAM OF HEAVY FALLS IN SHORT PERIODS ... ... ... ... face ,, [122] MAP AND DIAGRAM OF THE EASTBOURNE RAINFALL OF JULY 16TH, 1893 ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... „ „ [ I24l DURATION (IN DAYS) OF THE PARTIAL DROUGHT OF 1893 ... ... ,, ,, [138] MAPS OF MONTHLY RAINFALL ix 1893 ... ... ... ... betivcenpp. [156] & [157] MAP OF ANNUAL RAINFALL IN 1893 ... ... ... ... ... ... face p. [160] ERRATA IN BRITISH RAINFALL, 1892. Page 22. Headline for WinchGeld, read Winchester. ,, 29. Berks, Reading (Russell Sb.) No observations. They have been for­ warded since. ,, [18] Foot note for p. 82, read p. 81. ,, [89] Both notes from Driffield were from York Road. ,, [142] Scotland, Dumfries, erase Drumlanrig Castle ; return imperfect. ,,[167] Cerne Abbas (Melbury). For 28'80, read 32"33. ,, [211] Ennis. Height of gauge 3ft. 2in., not 18ft. BRITISH RAINFALL, 1893. No part of the annual volume is so pleasant to write as the Preface. There are two reasons for this : (1) Because I am always con­ scious that it would have been impossible to create arid to maintain the rainfall organization without extreme kindness on the part of the observers towards the editor—and it is here only that I can appropriately express the thanks I always feel; (2) Because the Preface is always the last portion of the book written; and, fond as I am of the subject, the labour and anxiety requisite to keep up to our usual standard of accuracy are such that it is an immense relief to send the last sheet to the printers. British Rainfall has now appeared for 34 consecutive years, and there is one respect in which this is disadvantageous—some persons seem to think that one volume is like another, and do not take the trouble to read the new one. There is a resemblance outside, and in the tabular matter inside ; but having read every line of every one of the volumes, it is perhaps not presumptuous for me to assert that those who entertain that false idea little know what interesting facts their brother (or sister) observers report in these pages. I am not going to point out the most interesting facts; everyone knows that 1893 was noteworthy for other features besides the great drought. Mr. Sowerby Wallis and I have tried hard to produce a record worthy of the year; it is for others to decide whether or not we have succeeded. G. J. SYMONS. 62, CAMDEN SQUARE, N. W. July 2lst, 1894. REPORT. IN my last report I expressed two opinions as to the future, each of which has been negatived. I said that I feared that errors might be less rare than usual in British Haiti/all 1892, the list of errata on page 6 shows that this fear was groundless. Secondly, I said that I hoped to deal with the question of monthly and seasonal rainfall during the autumn, but I never had time to do so. Publications. —Besides the preparation of British Rainfall 1892, and of the Meteorological Magazine, we had much extra work of a similar character. The Meterological Council is preparing a pub­ lication for which it required some hundred sheets of tabular matter. The Royal Agricultural Society wished for a paper on the Drought, and for it we prepared several of the longest lists of droughts ever compiled, the paper was published in the Quar. Jour. Roy. Agri­ cultural Soc. The Society of Arts requested a paper giving a general history of Rainfall work; this was prepared under the title of ' Rainfall Records in the British Isles,' read before the Society (Sir Frederick Bramwell, Bt., D.C.L., F.R.S., presiding) on Feb. 28th, 1894, and printed in the Journal of the Society of Arts for March 2nd.* Old Observations.—It is to me very singular that many persons who possess long records of rainfall in past years, seem to think them of little value, and do not send me copies. Moreover, with a death roll of about 60 observers per annum, and rather more than double that number of stations failing from other causes, I am obliged to use every effort to prevent this loss—(say 200 observers per annum)— from seriously impairing the completeness of our staff. Although some of my correspondents are very kind in telling me of fresh observers, the majority do not, they seem to assume that I know of every observer—say in Perthshire—as well as they do who reside there, and if they see a rain gauge in a friend's garden, or the record of it in a local paper, they neither turn to the pages of British Rain­ fall to see whether it is quoted, nor even send me a post card reporting its existence. As I have just said, I do get some help of this kind, but I should welcome much more. Meanwhile the largest accession of new observers has always resulted from the courtesy of the suc­ cessive Editors of The Times, who, for more than thirty years, have * A few extra copies were struck off and while any remain they can be obtained gratuitously on written application to 62, Camden Square. from time to time allowed me to address, through its columns, an invitation to those keeping rainfall records to communicate with me. In December last the following letter was inserted, and it not only brought in more than 50 new observers, but among them several who had been observing for long periods, and did not know that their old observations were of any value. BRITISH RAINFALL. To the Editor of the Times. SIR.—The exceptional drought of the spring and sum­ mer of the present year probably induced many persons to commence a record of the fall of rain. Some of them probably are not aware that incomplete records are of any use, but, for such a season as we have lately passed through, they are. I am very desirous that the record for the present year should be as nearly perfect as possible, and shall send at the end of this month blank forms to every careful observer known to me, but as above intimated there are probably some from whom I have not heard, if any such will forward name and address, I will see that proper blank forms are sent to them. Your obedient servant, G. J. SYMONS, F.R.S. 62, Camden Square, N. W. Dec. 18th, 1893. Finance. —It seems to be generally admitted that money is scarce, and therefore I suppose we must not be surprised that the following subscription list shows a considerable falling off. There are three principal reasons for this. (1.)—All persons deriving income from land, have found that income decrease rapidly, and not a few have reduced or entirely stopped their subscription. (2.)—The Obituary is unusually long and (although some of the subscriptions (and records) have been continued by relatives) the deaths represent a net loss of quite £30 per annum. One deceased observer, Mr. Arthur Marshall, used to send £10 a year. (3.)—Many of the new observers are not aware that the work has absolutely no resources except the subscriptions of the observers. Therefore, though we have increased our number of observers, we have not kept up the funds requisite for carrying on so large an organization as this rainfall one has become, nor obtained the means for providing that additional space which the proper care of the thousands of original records requires.