72 THE EFFECTS OF THE SEVEKE FEOST OF THE 



scarcity of the members of the feathered tribe, caused by the 

 decimating effects upon them, also, by the severity of the winter's 

 cold. Other sorts of fruiting trees appear to have suffered 

 similarly, although of the deciduous order, and the injury they 

 sustained was in the destruction of their young wood and 

 terminal twigs of their branches. For example, in many locali- 

 ties the common walnut had two-thirds of the length of its 

 previous year's shoots killed outright, while in a few instances, 

 in heavy soil of a clayey nature and damp situation, the injury 

 which this generally hardy tree suffered was much greater, 

 whole limbs of six inches in diameter having died off this 

 summer upon large specimens. Wall-trees in fruit-bearing 

 orchards suffered more than standard trees in the open ground, 

 and the injury sustained by peaches, plums, and all " stone 

 fruit " trees upon walls, and by apple and pear trees also, w^as 

 very general and severe, all the two years' growths of the im- 

 perfectly-ripened w'ood of these seasons being killed. Eoses 

 in every situation suffered very much, many of the grafted 

 varieties being totally killed; but in this respect, as we shall 

 by and by find w^hen we refer to the continental winter, this 

 country has not been singular, nor so severely dealt with 

 perhaps, as our neighbours across the Channel. We have not 

 been able to observe any cases of bark or tree splitting during 

 the past winter, probably owing to its being the second very 

 severe winter in succession, so that probably any organisms 

 liable to suffer in that way had already suffered, and were too 

 imperfectly closed again to show any fresh fissures ; and, more- 

 over, the deposit of young wood was in 1879 much under the 

 normal average, so that less soft camhiiim was present to be 

 affected by the intensity of frost, and to cause the splitting so 

 frequently observed in most exogenous trees after unduly low 

 temperature. 



Another course of probable damage may be found. to consist 

 in the very sudden and extreme variations in temperature during 

 this winter. It is not so much the number of desjrees of con- 

 tinuous frost wdiich a plant is called upon to resist that proves 

 fatal to its vitality, as the sudden and rapid rise from an unduly 

 low indication of cold, or vice versa. Trees and shrubs will stand 

 a continuous run of a steadily persistent frost of many degrees 

 much better than a short frost of no greater severity, followed 

 by a sudden rise, with sunshine during day in the early spring- 

 time. Hence it is that probably less damage was done over the 

 same area by the winter of 1860-61, when the frost was steadily 

 continuous, with clear nights, and dull snow-laden cloudy skies 

 by day, than by the winter of last year, when the frost, though 

 quite as intense, was only so for a short period. For although 

 it is quite admitted that the 4th December 1879 was everywhere 



