Reports on the sanitary condition of the labouring population of Scotland : in consequence of an inquiry directed to be made by the Poor Law Commission.

  • Great Britain. Poor Law Commission.
Date:
1842
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports on the sanitary condition of the labouring population of Scotland : in consequence of an inquiry directed to be made by the Poor Law Commission. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    223/350 (page 215)
    The sand lies upon a stratum of new sandstone ; this is quarried in the immediate vicinity of the town, and yields excellent mate- rials for building. Beneath the sandstone there are valuable beds of coal, and the mining and exportation of the coal afford employ- ment to a large portion of our labouring population, and consti- tute the staple trade of Ayr. The valleys of the Ayr and the Doon are richly wooded; but from the shallowness of the soil and exposure to the west winds, the plain at a distance from those valleys is generally deficient in trees. The ground upon which Ayr itself stands is very flat, its declivity towards the sea, being scarcely perceptible, and that towards the river on either side not considerable. The climate of Ayr is mild in respect of temperature, more so I believe than that of any other place on the mainland of Scot- land. This arises from the circumstance that the winds for about two-thirds of the year are westerly and partake of the temperature of the ocean; whilst the north and east winds only prevail for short periods, and are somewhat, though imperfectly, intercepted by the hilly amphitheatre that bounds our plain. From com- paring thermometrical tables kept at Ayr with those kept at Greenwich, I am satisfied that the average temperature of our winters approaches, if it does not equal, that of the mildest dis- tricts of England; and it is certain that snow lies for a very short time in the immediate neighbourhood of Ayr. At Ayr the mean temperature of the month of December, 1840, at 10 a.m., was S/ S Fahr.; the minimum at that hour being 26° (on the 24th), whereas at Greenwich the mean temperature of the same month at 9 A.M. was 31-3°, and the minimum 18° (on the 23rd). We must make a deduction for the difference of an hour in the times of observation, and for the observations in the one instance being made at Groom's hill and in the other nearly at the level of the sea, still a difference of 6'5° is much too great to be accounted for from these circumstances. Whilst the temperature is moderate, we cannot boast of the moderation of our winds; those from the west are often extremely tempestuous, although they are by no means cold. They are generally accompanied by heavy rains • indeed almost the whole of our rain falls during high westerly winds; and we are not infested with those fogs and drizzling showers which are so frequent and so unwholesome in the narrower parts of the Frith. On the contrary, our atmosphere is clear, pure, and elastic ; which causes the natives of Ayr, when they visit inland towns, to complain much of the oppressive thickness of the air, so different from what they had been accustomed to inhale. The bed of. sand on which the town is built renders the soil remark- ably absorbent, so that immediately after the rains have subsided the principal streets of the town, and the beautiful walks in the neighbourhood, appear dry and clean. This feature strikes visitors, ;vho have been accustomed to the wet and muddy streets of such