1871.] REPORT OF THE WEATHER. 241 



On April 6 th we had 12°, when Apricot and Plum blossoms suffered under 

 double covering tiffany. In former seasons we have proved that a single covering 

 of No. 2 tiffany will repel 4^° of frost when the atmosphere is dry. 



Keith Hall. G. Donaldson. 



On March 15th, at Meldon Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland, the thermometer 

 registered 15° or 17° below freezing. Mean temperature for March, min. ther. 

 34°. 2, max. 53°. 3. Rainfall, .68. 



At Hintlesham Hall, Ipswich, there were 8° frost on March 14th, 4° on the 

 15th, 10° on the 27th, 10° on April 6th, 11° on April 8th. 



The frost on the 15th of March in the neighbourhood of Leith : — At 6 o'clock on 

 the morning of that day the thermometer stood at 10°. My thermometer is hung 

 outside the window of my cottage, and about 7 feet from the ground, and I 

 found the ice in a tub in the garden | of an inch thick at the above hour. 



By recourse to my note-book, 1 find that the thermometer on the 22d of March 

 1870 stood at 12°, and the ground frozen to the depth of 2 inches. M. K. 



At Castletoun, Carlisle, there were 23° of frost on March 15th. 



March was characterised by an unusually low temperature, with the exception 

 of a few days in the fore end of it, which were as unusually high in temperature, 

 especially on the 4th, when the thermometers showed 55° in the shade ; after 

 ■which, the temperature gradually fell until the 15th, when it fell 12° below 

 freezing in Keithock Gardens. In the immediate neighbourhood the frost 

 ranged from 12° to 14° and upwards below freezing, according to climatic cir- 

 cumstances, such as clayey subsoils or river-sides; and down to the end of the 

 month we scarcely had a night free of frost, with a cutting cold north-east wind 

 all the time, and an occasional slight fall of snow. Such barren weather could 

 not fail to be most detrimental to vegetation in general, and garden crops in par- 

 ticular. Although March dust in most cases is desirable, and especially so to the 

 agriculturist, still it has been in cases of very light sandy soils to an almost 

 damaging degree. The beginning of April brought little or no improvement on 

 the preceding month's weather. On the 6th the temperature fell 10° below 

 freezing, and in neighbouring places to as much as 12° and 14°. Again on the 

 11th the thermometer fell 8° below freezing. Cauliflower under mats had their 

 leaves nearly all destroyed, burned now by the sun like a withered Bay-leaf. 

 Rain fell heavily a few hours on the night of the 12th, refreshing things very 

 much, and changing the weather into a more mild April form, which is to be 

 hoped will continue now. 



The finer class of Coniferse are now beginning to show the damaging effect of 

 the severe frost in January last, more especially those that were autumn shifted. 

 In some cases even Bays and Laurels have suffered. A. Kemp. 



Keithock Gardens, Aj^ril 13, 1871. 



At Welford Park, Berkshire, the temperature on the 15th March fell to only 

 7° below freezing, on April 8th to 11° below freezing. 



At Castle Newe, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, on Dec. 23, it was 2° below zero. 

 March 15th, 12° ; and April 6th, 17° below freezing. 



We registered 24° of frost on the 15th of March, which was the most severe in 

 my recollection at this season. Vegetation seemed to suffer more from it than 

 from the 28° we had at the end of December. A. Kerr. 



The Gardens, Netherby. 



