The number of days on which rain falls, as is observed by Dr. Clark, does not seem in proportion to the quantity of fluid precipitated. In Mr. Edward Giddy's Register, the average number of rainy days at Penzance during the twelve years, is 1792, and he particularly remarks that, under this head, he comprehends “ rainy, showery, and misty days; in short, all days on which there is any fall whatever, even a slight shower.” In the tables of Mr. Giddy, sen. inserted in my pamphlet on the climate of Penzance, and comprehending a period of fourteen years, viz. from 1807 to 1830, the average number of days on which there was any fall, is 165. In the year 1821, according to my own Register, the number of wet days was 179, and the total fall of rain was 44 inches. In Mr. Moyle's account, kept at Helston,[1] about 14 miles from Penzance, for eight years (1821-1828) the number of wet days is stated to be 165, which accords exactly with the results of Mr. Giddy, sen.'s observations at Penzance. From these statements it must be admitted, that the great fall of rain in the Landsend district, is the consequence rather of more severe rains than of greater frequency of rainy days. It will be remarked as curious, that the average number of rainy days at Penzance, according to Mr. E. Giddy's Register, (the most exact) is very nearly the same as that of London.
The foregoing conclusion respecting the comparative frequency of rain at the Landsend, is certainly
- ↑ Helston is to the eastward, more inland, and on somewhat higher ground than Penzance. The average fall of rain at this place, according to Mr. Moyle, is only 36.9.
