June 1, 1S69.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



121 



SPRING FLOWERS. 



HE stereotyped 

 heading, " Mildness 

 of the Season," — 

 so amusing to a 

 naturalist when 

 found (as in local 

 papers it often is) 

 in conjunction with 

 a January Dande- 

 lion or a Christmas Primrose 

 — so frequently appears, year 

 after year, in naturalists' perio- 

 dicals, that a critic might re- 

 mark that each successive 

 season seemed to be earlier 

 than its predecessor. Yet I 

 would preface these somewhat 

 disconnected remarks with a 

 few brief notes on the flower- 

 ing-time of plants during last 

 spring, in order that they may 

 be contrasted with the dates 

 of the same plants as given in 

 Gossip for May, 18G8. The 

 mild weather which ushered in the year induced a 

 number of flowers to put in an appearance long 

 before they were due ; and until the beginning of 

 March this continued : but towards the middle of the 

 month cold weather set in, and vegetation remained 

 almost stationary for at least a fortnight. The 

 result of this was,'that while many plants blossomed 

 much earlier than usual, others, from the sudden 

 check, were kept back until their usual time of 

 appearing. 



The following are the dates to be compared with 

 those given last year : — Windflower (A)iemone nemo- 

 rosa), March 3; Goldilocks [Ranunculus auricomus), 

 April 12 ; Meadow Crowfoot {R. acris), April 4 ; 

 Great Stitchwort (Stellaria Holostea), March 2; 

 Wood Sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella), March 26 ; Mos- 

 chatel (Adoxa Moschatellina), March 1; Golden 

 Saxifrage (fihrysosplenium oppositifolium) , April 10 ; 

 No. 54. 



Cowslip {Primula veris), March 2; Mezereon 

 {Daphne Mezereum), February 21 ; Wood Spurge 

 (Euphorbia amygdalo'ides) , March 2. The Daffodil 

 and Toothwort I omitted to note on their first ap- 

 pearance ; hence they are not entered above. Four 

 of these plants appeared later, the remainder earlier, 

 than last year. As an evidence of the sudden check 

 to which I have referred, I may remark that between 

 the 3rd and the 2Gth of March, only three wild 

 flowers put forth their first blossoms in this neigh- 

 bourhood, as far as I can gather from the observa- 

 tions of careful "searchers of simples" who have as- 

 sisted me in compiling my kalendar. The Hawthorn 

 (Crataegus oxyacantha) was in blossom on April 26 

 in several localities ; and the Coral wort (Dentaria 

 bulbifera), which Mr. Syme, perhaps wisely, con- 

 siders a Cardamine, flowered on April 12 : the former 

 six, the latter five, days before its earliest date 

 during the last five years. 



In the Wycombe district, Violets of each Bucking- 

 hamshire species have been remarkably abundant 

 and luxuriant this season ; remarkably rich, too, in 

 aberrant forms. Of the Sweet Violet {V. odorata) 

 I found two tufts, in a lane leading from Downley 

 to West Wycombe, having deep claret-coloured 

 blossoms ; and adjoining the same lane was a large 

 plot of a pink-flowered variety of the same species. 

 Although the form V. imherbis, Leight., is said to 

 be common, I have been unable, by diligent search, 

 to discover it in this neighbourhood ; but, curiously 

 enough, I found one blossom in which one of the 

 lateral petals wanted the usual tuft of hairs. The 

 Hairy Violet (V. hirta) has this year behaved in a 

 most unexampled manner, apparently with the 

 object of becoming as much unlike itself as possible 

 — an object which it has certainly attained. I 

 have gathered specimens which had the scent of Y. 

 odorata, but the leaves of V. hirta ; others which 

 were scentless, but approached V. odorata in the 

 shape of the leaves, as well as iu their less conspic- 

 uous pubescence; and one specimen, with the leaves 

 and flowers of unmistakeable V. hirta, had the con- 



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