Insular climates are almost invariably milder than those of continents, or even those of the inland regions of large islands, in the same latitudes, and the climate of Orkney is no exception to this rule. Like so many other things Orcadian, the climate is conditioned by the proximity of the sea, and in this case by a sea whose waters are considerably warmer than their latitude might lead one to suspect. The warm surface drift of the North Atlantic is of itself sufficient to explain the relatively mild winter of Orkney, and the presence of the widest portion of the North Sea on the eastern side of the Islands has also a modifying influence. It must also be borne in mind that in cool climates rain brings heat. Our westerly and south-westerly winds, passing over sun-bathed seas, collect in their courses the vapour of warmer climates, and when this vapour, coming into contact with the cooler air of more northerly latitudes, is again condensed into water, a certain amount of the heat thus collected is set free, and raises the temperature of the air, of the rain itself, and of the land on which it falls. TABULAR STATEMENT OF ORKNEY WEATHER. Mean Mean Mean Temperature. Hours Sunshine. Rainfall. Years 1871-1905. 1880-1907. 1841-1907. January 39.0° 29.7 3.72´´ February 38.5 55.5 3.05 March 39.3 101.1 2.82 April 42.4 154.1 1.99 May 46.4 178.5 1.81 June 51.3 160.9 1.97 July 54.2 141.3 2.57 August 54.0 121.8 3.01 September 51.5 108.8 3.09 October 46.4 75.5 4.43 November 42.4 36.5 3.97 December 39.9 20.8 4.21 ---- ------ ----- Mean 45.4 Total 1184.5 Total 36.65