The  comparative  freedom  from  mist  and  fog,  for
^which  Strathpeffer  is  indebted  to  the  friendly  shelter
of  the  western  mountains,  is  one  of  the  agreeable
features  of  the  winter,  and  together  with  the  great
purity  of  the  air,  it  contributes  to  the  remarkable
brightness  of  the  sunshine,  which  almost  redeems  the
comparative  shortness  of  the  day.
Taking  the  last  five  winters  severally,  we  may  observe
that  the  temperature  varied  from  35'o  to  38"5  degrees.
The  winter  of  1884-5  "^^^  ^^  coldest,  and  was  5*5  deg.
lower  than  that  at  Greenwich.  January  was  very  cold
and  dry,  its  temperature  being  but  0-9  deg.  above  the
freezing  point.*

The  winter  of  1S85-6  was  cold  and  very  wet,  yet  it
was  only  0*4  deg.  below  that  of  Greenwich.  December
was  very  warm  and  wet,  with  strong  westerly  winds.
January  was  cold,  with  frequent  north-easterly  breezes
and  a.  rainfall  of  5'i  inches — the  largest  amount  regis-
tered in  one  month  except  in  November  1888.  The
winter  of  1886-7  set  in  with  an  unusually  cold  December,
following  upon  a  very  warm  autumn.  There  were  twelve
mean  frosts  in  this  month,  and  night  frosts  occurred
twenty-four  times.  January  was  rather  above  the
average,  and  February  was  a  very  warm  month,  with
many   bright    sunny    days  :    so    warm    and    springlike

*  It  is  only  fair  to  Strathpeffer  to  remark  that  there  have  been
nine  colder  Januaries  at  the  Royal  Observatory  within  the  last
seventy-four  years,  two  of  them  occurring  so  recently  as  1879
and   I 88 I.
THE   CLIMATE.  27


was  it  that  there  were  only  seven  night  frosts,  and  no
mean  frosts  in  this  month.  The  temperature  of  the
season  was  almost  exactly  equal  to  that  of  Greenwich.
