82 E. MAWLEY — PHEXOLOOICAL PHENOMENA 



The work on the farms, owing to the exceptionally favourable 

 character of the autumn, was in so foi^ward a state and so much 

 corn had been already sown, that the laindrance caused by the 

 wet weather in the early part of December was much less felt 

 than it otherwise would have been. In fact, this wet period was 

 welcomed, as the rain made the soil, which had been loosened by 

 the frosts at the end of the previous month, firm round the 

 young wheat. Throughout January the ploughing of the land 

 proceeded without any interruption. So that during February, 

 which was also a dry month, the sowing of spring corn took 

 place under remarkably favourable conditions. Indeed, owing 

 to the beneficial influence on the soil of the continued dry 

 weather and the occasional frosts in January, seldom have spring 

 wheat and oats been provided with such an excellent seed-bed, 

 and never was there a winter giving a better opportunity of 

 ploughing and cleaning the land. So that at the end of the 

 season the autumn-sown cereals presented a most promising 

 appearance. The dryness and mildness of the winter and the 

 plentiful supply of roots allowed the cattle and sheep to make 

 good progress, and to continue unusually healthy throughout the 

 season. The only drawback appears to have been the scarcity 

 of water in the ponds, etc., due to the scanty rainfall of the 

 autumn and winter mouths. 



This proved an equally satisfactory winter in the garden. 

 For during almost the whole season the preparation of the 

 ground for spring crops and the planting of fruit-trees, shrubs, 

 etc., could be carried out under the most favourable circumstances 

 as regards both weather and soil. The absence of anything like 

 severe or prolonged frost also enabled the supply of green 

 vegetables to remain fresh throughout the whole winter. The 

 keen frosts at the end of November had cut of£ most of the 

 flowers then remaining, so that there were scarcely any to be 

 seen in the gardens in the early part of the season. 



The winter aconite came first into blossom in my garden on 

 the 8th of January, which is eleven days earlier than its average 

 date of first flowering in the previous sixteen years, and with two 

 exceptions earlier than in any of those years. 



Taking the county as a whole, the first fertile flowers appeared 

 on the hazel six days later than the average date for the previous 

 twenty-nine years. The song-thrush was first heard after the 

 beginning of the year nine days in advance of its mean date, 

 while the honey-bee was first seen to visit flowers fourteen days 

 later than usual. 



The Spring. 



March proved throughout an exceptionally warm month, 

 while the mean temperatures of April and May were about 

 seasonable. On one night in May the exposed thermometer at 

 Berkhamsted registered 9 degrees of frost — or greater cold than 

 had been previously recorded there so late in the month during 



