76 THE EFFECTS OF THE SEVERE FROST OF THE 



The weather during the early ^Yeek of January 1880, although 

 frosty, was comparatively mild for the season, yet there was no 

 vegetation whatever, probably resulting from the unparalleled 

 check the vegetable kingdom liad sustained by the frost of the 

 early part of December 1879. About the end of January the 

 temperature rose, and between 27th January and 17th March 

 little frost worth notice was recorded, excepting on one or two 

 nights ; from the 17th to 28th March there was more or less 

 frost every night, and during the whole month of March almost 

 daily there was bright sunshine, with chilly fogs and mists at 

 night. In April there was sharp frost at several stations on several 

 nights, and the treacherous sunshine continued. Many injured 

 plants showed unmistakable symptoms of increased debility and 

 decay, and when May was ushered in, on some nights there were 

 from 3° to 4"" of frost in several localities recorded durinc^ four 

 successive nights, until the 8th and 9th of that month, when mild 

 genial weather prevailed, but the steadily persistent easterly and 

 north-easterly winds of March and April, which still prevailed, 

 had greatly and obviously to the most untutored eye, increased 

 the injury done by the winter to the trees and shrubs, which 

 was now visibly apparent on the slowly advancing growths. 



During June 1880, and in the early weeks thereof, more par- 

 ticularly in several places in the south and south-east districts of 

 Scotland, the thermometer at night fell several degrees below the 

 freezing-point, while the day temperatures continued high ; for 

 example, on 2nd, 3rd, 11th, loth, and 18th of that month 68°, 70°, 

 64°, 73°, and 67°, were noted at the Eoyal Botanic Garden, Edin- 

 burgh, — and there are similarly high returns from other quarters. 

 This, accompanied by bright sunshine and cold arid easterly 

 winds, and with frequent cold mists and fogs at night, all told 

 most severely upon the weakened survivors of the last winter, 

 and sent many dying or pining specimens for ever beyond re- 

 covery. In situations where the supposed dead branches of 

 laurels, hollies, lauristinus, Lombardy poplars (thirty feet high), 

 and many evergreens had been cut out months before, it was 

 now seen that such action had been rather premature, and that 

 many branches left as then evincing life and promising buds, 

 were now hopelessly killed, and that a second crusade was inevi- 

 table to remove the numerous dead branches and stumps which 

 the generosity and hopes of the arborist had spared in spring, 

 but for which the deceitful sunshine and chill winds of March 

 and April and May had proved too severe in their debilitated 

 and frost-bitten condition. 



Such is a general cursory survey of the fluctuations in tem- 

 perature and weather of this memorable winter, and the effects 

 produced on trees and shrubs, but before closing this report we 

 ^must give a few individual experiences of losses among various 



