day's delivery, selling at an average of £10 per last. At Yarmouth the deliveries were on the same scale. Boats were coming in all the day heavily loaded, their gunwales nearly level with the water; and others reported that, so great was the number of Herrings in their nets that it was impossible to get all of them in, and part of the nets, had to be cut away. This continued, with one brief interval of bad weather (on the 19th), till the end of the month, the result being, that at Yarmouth 9441 lasts were landed, and at Lowestoft 5049. The heavy weather, which commenced early in December, brought to an end one of the best seasons for both owners and fishermen which has been known for many years, and with comparatively very little loss of life and property.

The great success of the season's fishery, it will be seen, was due to the enormous takes of November.

The importance of the Herring Fishery, from a commercial point of view, to the Eastern Counties, will be better seen by the following figures. The total catch for the year, for the ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft, was 30,335 lasts, equal to 400,422,000 fish, which, at the moderate estimate of £15 per last, represent a money value of £455,025. Each last is estimated to weigh 25 cwt. The quantity of wholesome food thus contributed by the bountiful ocean in this one species of fish alone amounted to 37,919 tons.

For the following returns I am again indebted to Mr. H. Teasdel, Jun., Corporation Accountant at Yarmouth, and Captain Massingham, Harbour-master of Lowestoft.

RETURN OF HERRINGS LANDED AT YARMOUTH AND LOWESTOFT
FISH-WHARVES IN 1883.

XI.

METEOROLOGICAL NOTES, 1883.

By A. W. PRESTON.

Read 25th March, 1884.

JANUARY.

THE thermometer, on the first day of 1883, stood at 55 degrees, a height which was not again attained until April 1st. The weather, until the 24th, was variable, but mild and open, and with a considerable rainfall. On the 24th it became colder, and snowstorms occurred on that evening, and on the morning of the 27th. Mildness, however, again set in, and continued to the end of the month. The barometer which, on the 23rd, stood at 30.56, by the morning of the 26th fell to 20.10, and these readings were the extremes of the month. The highest temperature recorded was 55 degrees on the 1st, and the lowest 29 degrees on the 23rd, the mean of the month being 39.1. Frosts occurred on nine nights only. The wind was chiefly from the south and west; and the rainfall 2.30 in. Rain fell on eighteen days; the heaviest fall on one day being, on the 24th, 0.51 in.

FEBRUARY.

The first fifteen days of this month were characterized by continued mildness and excessive rainfall, no less than 2.25 in. of rain falling during that period. The remainder of the month was dry, warm, and sunny, and of a character rarely to be met with so early in the year. No remarkably high readings of the thermometer were registered, but the unusual amount of bright sunshine and absence of rain rendered the second half of this month a pleasing contrast to the first. The highest reading of the barometer was on the 23rd (30.68), and the lowest on the 2nd (29.08).

The barometer oscillated much throughout the month. The thermometer was highest on the 28th (54 degrees), and lowest on the 16th (32 degrees); the last named being the only occasion throughout the month that the temperature fell as low as the freezing point. The mean of the month was 42.2; and southerly and westerly currents again predominated. Rain fell on fifteen days; 0.44 in. being recorded for the 10th. No snow all the month. Total rainfall, 2.63 in.

MARCH.

This remarkable month entered with a continuance of the summer-like weather which characterized the latter half of February, and, during the first five days, the sky was nearly cloudless, and no rain fell. Up to this date, the winter had, throughout, been unusually mild; snow had fallen on four days only, and very slight frosts had occurred. On the 6th March a most extraordinary change took place, winter setting in with a severity that had not been experienced since January, 1881. Snow fell almost daily till the 28th, and there were sharp frosts nightly. On the 9th the temperature fell to 23 degrees, and on the 23rd to 25 degrees. It is stated that, in some parts of Norwich, the thermometer on the grass fell to 11 degrees on the night of the 9th. On the evening of the 29th, a welcome change to warmth occurred, which continued to the end of the month. The barometer was highest on the 3rd (30.71), and lowest on the 25th (29.23). Thermometer highest on the 31st (52 degrees), and lowest on the 9th (23 degrees); mean temperature, 35.3 degrees. This was the coldest March since 1845 (which is stated to be the most severe on record), but the mean temperature of March, 1845, was but two-tenths of a degree colder than that of March, 1883. Northerly and easterly winds prevailed. Frosts occurred on twenty-one nights; snow fell on eighteen days, and rain on two days. The total fall for the month was 2.31 in., the heaviest downfall being on the 8th, when 0.38 in. of melted snow was registered.

APRIL.

Entered with warm, sunny weather which continued till the 6th, when cold easterly winds prevailed for a week, after which it was

warm to the 20th. During this period no rain fell, but a heavy fall occurred on the last-named day (0.53); and the weather became cold and ungenial to the end of the month, with snow and sleet showers on the 23rd. The barometer was highest on the 6th (30.63), and lowest on the 28th (29.49). The thermometer highest on the 5th and 18th (68 degrees), and lowest on the 23rd (30 degrees); the mean being 47.9, and frosts on the nights of the 1st, 9th, and 23rd. The wind was chiefly from the east; and the rainfall 1.77 in., rain having fallen on nine days only.

MAY.

This month may be divided into two parts; the period from the 1st to the 12th being of a cold and very ungenial character, and that from the 13th to 31st of a most summer-like description. Showers of rain, hail, snow, and sleet occurred on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, and cold rains and much dulness prevailed to the 12th, the thermometer in no case exceeding 60 degrees. On the 13th the winterly weather suddenly gave place to the most perfect summer, which continued without intermission to the end of the month. Vegetation, which had hitherto been backward, at once pushed forward with great rapidity, and by the end of the month was in advance of the average. Great heat at times prevailed. The barometer was highest on the 17th (30.40), and lowest on the 8th (29.54). The thermometer highest on the 24th (81 degrees), and lowest on the 4th (34 degrees), the mean of the month being 54.3. The wind was chiefly northerly and easterly during the first half of the month, and southerly during the second half. Rain fell on eleven days; but the total for the month was but 1.19 in., of which 0.25 in. fell on the 26th.

JUNE.

The fine weather with which May ended continued during the first half of June with a remarkably clear atmosphere, the heat being somewhat tempered with easterly breezes. It became unsettled and rainy for a few days about the 14th, but on the 22nd the warm weather returned, and great heat ensued till the end of the month, with occasional night rains. The two last days of the month were the hottest of the year, 82 degrees being attained.

On the 30th, between 5 and 7 p.m., two disastrous thunderstorms passed over Norwich, much damage being done by the electric fluid, both to life and property. The barometer was highest on the 13th (30.29), and lowest on the 15th (29.68). The thermometer highest on the 29th and 30th (82 degrees), and lowest on the 17th (43 degrees), the mean temperature being 59.2. The prevailing current was easterly. Rain fell on fourteen days; the heaviest fall being 0.63 in. on the 15th, and the total for the month was 2.88 in.

JULY.

The fine and hot weather continued up to the 12th inst., the heat being very oppressive on the first three days, 79, 81, and 81 degrees respectively being recorded. On the 13th cold, wet, and gloomy weather, similar to that so frequently experienced in the summers of recent years, set in, and continued to the end of the month. During this period there were only three days on which rain did not fall, and temperature did not once exceed 69 degrees. There was much thunder at times. The barometer attained 30.09 on 1st and 26th, and fell to 29.50 on the 21st. The thermometer registered 81 degrees on the 2nd and 3rd, and 45 degrees on the night of the 20th; and the mean temperature was 60.4. Westerly and north-westerly winds predominated. There were twenty-one days on which rain fell, the heaviest fall (0.35 in.) on the 20th, and the month's total, 2.39 in.

AUGUST.

Up to the 11th, although not so cold and wet as during the last three weeks of July, the weather still continued somewhat unsettled, but on this day a fine, sunny, and dry period, such as had not been known in August for many years, set in, and continued to the end of the month. During this period, but a quarter of an inch of rain fell; the sun shone from a nearly cloudless sky for many days together, and the harvest, which, in the neighbourhood of Norwich, was not commenced until the 12th, was completed by the end of the month. The thermometer was above 70 degrees every day from the 18th to the 31st, with the exception of the 29th, when it attained 69 degrees. Not a single thunderstorm occurred throughout the month. The barometer was highest on

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