filter bed of
sandstone to the north of the town, and issues in numerous springs far
above any source of contamination from the inhabitants in the valley
below.

It has been stated (and I think much to the prejudice of Buxton) that the
rainfall of the High Peak, and especially of the Buxton district, is
generally in excess of that of most of the other parts of Great Britain.
Such an assertion is quite incorrect, as may be ascertained by a careful
examination of the rainfall of other localities; although, as in all
hilly districts, we must, on account of the attraction of the hills,
expect a somewhat larger rainfall than on the plains. The annual average
fall in the neighbourhood of Buxton amounts to about forty-nine inches,
which is much less than that of many localities both in the Northern and
Midland Counties. Even when there is an exceptionally heavy fall of rain
the porous nature of the subsoil precludes the possibility of an
accumulation of surface water to any great extent.

The following table shows the mean temperature and rainfall for 1890 and
1891, two years in which we have experienced a lower temperature and a
greater rainfall than for some years past, which, I believe, has been the
experience of most other parts of Britain during the same period:--

Mean Temperature. Rainfall.
1890. 1891. 1890. 1891.
Deg. Deg. inch. inch.
January 37.6 31.7 6.91 4.58
February 33.1 38.9 .945 .68
March 40.0 36.0 4.995 3.895
April 41.1 38.9 1.635 3.40
May 50.2 45.8 3.21 4.935
June 52.4 53.3 4.685 2.878
July 54.7 56.3 4.78 2.52
August 55.2 55.0 6.05 6.45
September 56.0 54.4 1.405 3.505
October 47.2 46.0 4.20 6.595
November 40.0 38.8 9.455 4.535
December 27.8 37.8 1.3 8.745

Mean temperature for 1890 = 44.6 degrees; mean temperature for 1891 =
44.4 degrees.

Rainfall for 1890 = 49.77in.; rainfall for 1891 = 52.718in.

Buxton bein