THE NATURALIST. 



VOL. III., NO. XXIV.— SEPTEMBER, 1838. 



EFFECT OF THE WINTER OF 1838 ON VEGETATION IN THE 

 NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THAMES DITTON, SURREY. 



By Hewett Cottrell Watson, Esq., F.L.S., &c. 



Editor of the Phrenological Journal* 



In The Naturalist for May last (p. 241) are some observations oh the lowest 

 temperature of January, 1838. During one night of twelve hours, following the 

 1 9th day, the thermometer indicated a temperature below zero of Fahrenheit, 

 the lowest point observed being eight degrees below zero, that is, forty degrees 

 below the freezing point. On the morning of the 15th it had been as low as five 

 degrees above zero. The ground being thinly covered with snow, and these very 

 low temperatures enduring only for a few hours, the roots of plants must have 

 been in a much higher temperature ; but the soil was hard frozen to the depth of 

 half-a-yard and more, unless in places where dead leaves or other covering formed 

 a protection. On the 22nd the thaw was rapid on the surface of the ground, the 

 sun shining brightly, and the thermometer rising to forty-six. Much of the snow 

 melted, and the water remained on the ground, the ice underneath preventing it 

 sinking into the earth. On the night of the 23rd, the frost again set in, but the 

 thermometer here did not sink below nineteen degrees after the 20th of January. 

 On the 29th we had the thermometer at forty-seven and a half, and on the 8th 

 of February as high as fifty ; frost again following these high temperatures. I 

 mention these particulars, in the supposition that much of the injury to vegeta- 

 tion was owing to the rapid and temporary thaws of the surface of the ground. 

 In time, we shall probably have many reports published, showing the effects of 

 the cold, in its different degrees of intensity, in various places. If these reports 

 are collected together, much valuable information may be obtained, for the pur- 

 poses of the botanical geographer, the vegetable physiologist, and the practical 

 gardener. In offering my quota, I shall limit my observations chiefly to plants 

 (particularly evergreen shrubs) in my own garden ; because continued observa- 

 tion was necessary to judge accurately of the extent of injury to several species; 

 some not exhibiting signs of life until midsummer; others lingering alive for 



vol. in. — no. xxiv. 3 o 



