This is the twenty-second item from Robert Dymond's book: "Things New and Old Concerning the Parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor and its Neighbourhood" (1876)

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DARTMOOR RAINFALL.

"The West wind always brings wet weather,

The East wind wet and cold together,

The South wind surely brings us rain,

The North wind blows it back again.”

THE subjoined table is compiled from a paper read by Mr. W. Pengelly, F.R.S., F.G.S., at the meeting of the Devonshire Association, in I874, and based on Mr. Symons’ British Rainfall, for 1866-73 inclusive.

Bearing in mind that one inch of rain on an acre of land equals about I00 tons of water, we can form some idea of the immense amount yearly passing down our rivers, and turned to very little use as a source of power. The table also shows that, as a rule, the highest elevations have the greatest rainfall ; this explains the frequent “ freshets,” or sudden floods, which pass down our rivers when the weather in the lower lands has been dry for some days. These freshets on the Dart are by Totnes people called “Father Widecombe’s visits. ”

* MEAN ANNUAL AVERAGES.

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