HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE-G OS SIP, 



231 



A COMPARISON OF THE LAST FOUR 

 SPRINGS. 



THE springs of 1879, 1880, iSSi and 1S82 have 

 been so totally dissimilar in character that a 

 short comparison of them may not be altogether un- 

 interesting to the readers of this Journal. The spring 

 of 1879 was extremely late ; in fact, with the exception 

 of that of 1837, it was the latest this century. It was 

 not until the end of April that the hawthorn showed 

 its leaves, and it was June before its blossoms ap- 

 peared. On the 1st of June many trees were as bare 

 as in winter, and it was not till the i8th of that 

 month that they were all fairly in leaf. 1880 pro- 

 mised to have a very early spring, but the cold winds 

 of April and May retarded vegetation to such an 

 extent that it was almost as late as 1879, before all 

 trees were in leaf. The process of development of 

 leaf this year was extremely slow. 



The spring of 1 88 1 was a direct contrast to the 

 preceding. It began rather late, but the warm 

 weather of May hastened on vegetation very rapidly, 

 and the country, which in mid- April presented an 

 almost wintry appearance, by the latter part of May 

 was clothed in its full summer verdure. The process 

 of development of leaf this year was extremely rapid. 



The past spring was as remarkable for its extreme 

 earliness as that of 1879 was for its lateness. By the 

 end of March the country began to present quite a 

 green appearance, many trees being in full leaf. The 

 oak showed its leaves as early as the first week in 

 April, and hawthorn was in blossom at the close of 

 that month (an event which has not happened in 

 these parts, according to returns furnished me by Mr. 

 Orlando Whistlecraft of Thwaite, Suffolk, since the 

 year 1840), and by the first weekvin May every tree, 

 with the exception of the ash, was fully clothed with 

 verdure. It is a remarkable fact that the earliness of 

 the season appeared to have no effect whatever upon 

 the ashes, which were as late as in 1881, it being near 

 the close of May before their foliage was fully ex- 

 panded, or about a month later than every other tree. 

 It is to be hoped that the old sayings — 



" The oak before the ash 

 Fills the farmer's pockets with cash : " 



or, according to another version — 



" Oak before ash. 

 Only a splash : 

 Ash before oak, 

 A regular soak : " 



will prove to be true, and that a fine summer is at 

 last in store for us. 



The extreme earliness of this season is by no means 

 unprecedented (although it is many years since we 

 had such an early spring) as Mr. Whistlecraft informs 

 me that the springs of 1815, 1822, 1840, 1841, 1844, 

 and 1846 were of a similar description. It will be 

 noticed that the early spring of 1S82 followed three 

 years after the late one of 1879, in the same manner as 



the early spring of 1840 followed three years after 

 the late one of 1837. Whether we are to have e. 

 similar succession of early springs, as happened forty 

 years ago, remains to be seen. The following table is 

 from personal observation : — 



The following returns were furnished me by Mr. 

 Whistlecraft (that of the remarkable spring of 1 750 

 being from notes by the late Mr. Marsham of Stratton, 

 Norfolk, and those of 1822, 1837 and 1846 from Mr. 

 Whistlecraft's personal observation), and is interest- 

 ing for comparison with the above : — * 



Norivich. 



A. W. Preston. 



MICROSCOPY. 



Pollen as a Polariscope Object. — Till the 

 other day I was quite unaware of the fact that 

 pollens could be examined as polarising objects. I 

 happened to have some pollen of Godetia under the 

 microscope with the polariscope on, and found that 

 it polarised quite distinctly, though not in a very 

 marked manner. To make sure that the effect was 

 not due to any other cause, I examined some more 

 slides of pollens and found that some of them, as 

 those of Centaurea cyamcs, and of the mallow, polar- 

 ised quite distinctly, though feebly, whilst others, as 

 that of the vegetable marrow, do not polarise at all. 

 The Godetia pollen, which I first examined, was bj- 

 far the best, but was not so distinct as all but the 

 very smallest starches. — G. II. Bryan. 



Braintree Microscopical Society. — Nothing 

 could better indicate the rapid spread of scientific 

 investigation and knowledge than the foundation of 

 societies in our smaller towns for the purpose of 



* An account of the weather of each year from i8ri to 1882, 

 supplemented by a table of vernal indications, from 1819 to 1864, 

 by Mr. Whistlecraft, is about to be published by Messrs. 

 Jarrold & Sons, Norwich. 



