OnSERVED IN lIERTFOUBSniRK IN 1898. 135 



perhaps convey some idea as to tin- dry condition oi' the gronnd 

 when this long drouglit was at last brought to an end by the 

 heavy rains which fell in the latter lialf of: October. So hard liad 

 the ground become, that after harvest until the change of weatber 

 took place in October it was impossible to plough up the stubbles. 

 "WT-ien the rain did come the effect on the soil and also upon tlie 

 grass and turnips was little short of magical. In a few days tlio 

 ground was in a workable condition, and so friable, owing to 

 the pulverizing action of the drought, that the autumn corn was 

 soon got in in a perfect seed-bed, and with a very small amount 

 of labour. The grass recovered rapidly, and was soon as green 

 as ever again, and from that time there was never any lack of 

 herbage for the cattle in the pastures. The root crops also 

 considerably improved, but the injuries wbich they had received 

 had in many cases been too great to allow of anything like 

 a moderately-good yield. The wheat germinated readily when 

 sown, and, favoured by the warm soil, made its appearance above 

 ground almost as soon as if it had been planted at about the 

 usual time. 



The effect on vegetation of the rain falling on the heated soil in 

 the gardens was almost equally surprising, but unfortunately these 

 rains came too late to save the winter supply of vegetables, which 

 have seldom at this season been so stunted or poor. The grass on 

 the lawns, however, quickly responded to the genial warmth and 

 moisture, and had to be mown before the end of the season, a by 

 no means usual occurrence at this late period of the year. Owing 

 to the change of weather and the absence of early autumn frosts, 

 many plants remained in flower much later than usual. Indeed, 

 throughout the greater part of November most gardens presented 

 an unusually gay appearance. 



According to the returns sent in to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 

 apples, taking the county as a whole, were rather over average, 

 while plums and pears yielded indifferent crops. 



Mrs. Bishop reports that on September '6rd, and again nearly 

 a month later, her lawns at Watford were much burnt up, and 

 that there was no grass for the cows in the meadow. It was not 

 until the night preceding the 23rd of November that her 

 nasturtiums and heliotropes were destroyed by frost. On the 

 same night my dahlias at Berkhamsted were also killed by frost, 

 which is three weeks later than the average date of their 

 destruction in the previous thirteen years, and later than in any 

 of those years except 1894, when they lasted till December 1st. 



The only autumn-flowering plant on the list, the ivy, came 

 into blossom two days in advance of its usual time. 



