40 PROCEEDINGS OP THE 



during May, June, July, and August — namely, 64*1°, while for the 

 same period of 1879 it was as low as 59-3°. 



The weather was especially propitious during the seed-time — 

 March and April — and, combined with a high, moist temperature 

 during the growing season, gave flowers and crops of all kinds the 

 benefit of a good start. The result was, as we all know, a most 

 magnificent display of flowers in all our public parks, the like of 

 which has never been equalled, and an abundant harvest, which 

 has to some extent compensated our farming community for the 

 heavy losses sustained during the previous year. 



It is to be noticed that many plants, termed sub-tropical, which 

 are every year planted out in the parks and gardens of Paris and 

 London, succeeded this summer very well in all our parks and 

 squares. Among these may be mentioned Musa ensetii, or banana, 

 Coleus, alternantheras, palms, Eucalyptus globulus, and the castor-oil 

 plant. The tobacco plant, propagated from seed, also attained 

 perfection, reaching a height of about six feet. While we have thus 

 been fortunate in the North, our Southern friends could not present 

 such a show of flowers in almost any part of England. They were 

 nearly a failure in very many cases from the unprecedented down- 

 pours of rain and hail during July and August ; and agricultural 

 crops also suffered severely from the same cause. 



Trees and shrubs with us flowered very sparingly during spring 

 months, especially the hawthorn, mountain ash, laburnum, and lilac. 

 Consequently there has been an almost entire absence of haws, rowans, 

 and holly-berries during this season. This want has been severely 

 felt by many of our birds, who depend so much upon them for 

 winter food, and at all the Parks we have been feeding them during 

 the past month. The reason of such a scarcity of flowers and fruit 

 on our trees is not far to seek — the season of 1879 being so un- 

 propitious for the growth of trees and shrubs, they only made weak 

 sickly growths, ' and, owing to the wet cold autumn, neither the 

 wood nor flower-buds were properly ripened. Accordingly, buds 

 which should have contained the rudiments of flower and fruit 

 remained simply wood-buds ; and, in addition, a large number 

 of the young unripened shoots were frosted down during the 

 winter. 



In looking forward it is pleasant to note that the beneficial effects 

 of 1880 will, to a certain extent, be carried forward to 1881. 

 There is an abundant promise of a good bloom upon all sorts of 



