ENGLAND: MARRIAGES Registered in Quarters ended 30th September, 1865-63; and BIRTHS and DEATHS in Quarters ended 31st December, 1865-63. No. No. ENGLD. & WALES.... Totals 179,020 177,444 178,297 121,304 123,458 115,116 REMARKS ON THE WEATHER DURING THE QUARTER ENDING 31ST DECEMBER, 1865. By JAMES GLAISHER, ESQ., F.R.S., &c., Sec. of the British Meteorological Society. The remarkable fine and dry weather which had prevailed in September, continued during the first week in October; the barometer reading during this time was about 30 in.; at the beginning of the second week there were indications of a change, the temperature fell, and the barometer reading decreased on the 12th day to nearly 29 in., then decreased rapidly to 29.9 in. by the 15th, and decreased to below 29 in. by the 18th day; from this time rain fell very heavily, and heavy gales of wind were experienced; the weather continued stormy to the end of the month, rain falling in abundance. At the beginning of November there were frequent gales, and much stormy weather; at about the 10th day the weather assumed the aspect of a more settled character, the barometer reading ascended above the average, and was nearly 30-4 in. on the 12th; from the 17th to the 22nd the barometer reading decreased very rapidly, and was 28-8 in. on the latter mentioned day, this was accompanied by a fearful gale, acting with ruinous effects on both land and sea. The reading of the barometer was very unsettled during the remainder of the month. The month of December opened with light S. E. winds, the air was mild and warm. The barometer reading increased by the 11th day to 30-8 in. About the middle of the month trees budded and daisies were in blossom. Towards the end of the month the barometer decreased quickly till it was 29-0 in. by the 29th. Frequent and violent gales occurred, causing many shipwrecks. The force of the wind on the last day reached 24 lbs. on the square foot, both at Greenwich and at Liverpool. The temperature during the whole quarter, with the exception of a few days about the middle of October, the beginning of November, and the middle of December, was in excess of the average, to the daily amount of 130. The mean temperature of October was 50°-9, being 0°-4 above the average of the preceding 24 years, and of the same value as last year. The mean temperature of November was 44°8, being 0°-8 below the average of the preceding 24 years, and 2°-8 above that of 1864. The mean temperature of December was 4204, being 2°1 above the average of the preceding 24 years, and 309 higher than in 1864. The temperature of the air decreased from September to October by 7° or 8° at Guernsey and Devonshire, but by 10° to 13° at all other parts of the country. November was colder than October by 6° or 7°, and the decrease from November to December was from 1° to 2° only; in some northern places December was even warmer than November. The mean high day temperatures in the months of October, November, and December were 60°, 50°8, and 46 7, being 1o3, 1o·7, and 1o·5 above their respec tive averages. The mean low night temperatures were 4307, 3807, and 38°1 respectively in these three months. The fall of rain in October was 5.9 in., and in the quarter 9 in. The fall for the whole year was 29 in., being about 3 in. in excess of the average. The mean temperature of the air at Greenwich in the three months ending November, constituting the three autumn months, was 532, being 30-3 above the average of the preceding 94 years. Note. In reading this table it will be borne in mind that the sign (—) minus signifies below the average, and that the sign (+) plus signifies above the average. Thunder storms occurred or thunder was heard and lightning was seen on Thunder was heard but lightning was not seen on 8th October at Guernsey II.-SCOTLAND. MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, AND DEATHS IN THE QUARTER ENDED 31ST DECEMBER, 1865. This Return comprises the BIRTHS, DEATHS, and MARRIAGES registered during the quarter ending the 31st December, 1865, in the 1,011 Districts into which Scotland is divided for the purposes of Registration. From these returns it would appear that the Births, Deaths, and Marriages during the quarter have been considerably above the average of the ten previous years. BIRTHS.—26,866 births were registered in Scotland during the quarter ending the 31st December, 1865, being in the annual proportion of 342 births in every 10,000 persons of the estimated population. This is greatly above the average birth-rate of the fourth quarter of the ten previous years, which only indicates a proportion of 337 Births annually in every 10,000 persons. The births in England during the same quarter have also been above their average; for 179,020 Births were registered in England during the fourth quarter, yielding a proportion of 337 births in every 10,000 persons, the average of the quarter for the ten previous years being 329 births in a like population. The town and rural districts exhibited the usual difference in the proportion of their births. Thus, in the 126 town districts (which embrace all the towns with populations of 2,000 and upwards), 15,614 births were registered; while in the 885 rural districts (embracing the remainder of the population of Scotland), only 11,252 births occurred; thus indicating an annual proportion of 373 births in every 10,000 persons in the town districts, but only 307 births, in a like population in the rural districts. TABLE I.-Proportion of Illegitimate in every Hundred Births in the Divisions and Counties of Scotland, during the Quarter ending 31st December, 1865. Of the 26,866 children born during the quarter, 24,178 were legitimate, and 2,688 illegitimate, being in the proportion of one illegitimate in every 9.9 births, or 10 per cent. of all the births illegitimate. The proportion of illegitimate births was, as usual, lowest in the town and highest in the rural districts, only 9-6 per |