Hay 1, leee. ] 



JOTJENAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



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whole winter a variety of gales ; one of these, ■with a pressure 

 of about 24 lbs., from the south-east, hroke panes of small 

 glass in the hothouse, while those of 26 inches by 22 in close 

 proximity were uninjured ; but they were in much peril, ami 

 we were obliged to introduce soft substances, such as rags, be- 

 tween the edges, as the elasticity of the rafters was too great. 

 Another violent storm, not of a rotatory character, from the 

 south-west broke a number of the small panes of glass framed 

 in Bolid rafters, and left the large panes uninjured. The 

 squalls of this storm were frightful, and reached a pressure of 

 28 lbs. per square foot, damaging the roof of the dwelling- 

 house, and levelling many fine trees. At other times, many 

 large-sized panes in the old orchard-house were broken along 

 the upper ridge, while none of the lower was injured. This 

 was by the direct action of the ground current. Again : at 

 other times, when the wind struck the back walls it leapt over 

 them, and, penetrating under the edges of the large panes, 

 broke them by rattling them together. JIueh glass is lost in 

 this manner, and it would be well to have the glass of the 

 upper part and of the extreme ends of greater thickness. On 

 the whole my experience tends to this, that the largest panes 

 are safe if the glass be of 21 ozs., and the rafters not too 

 elastic. There can be no doubt as to the appearance and 

 orchard-house look produced by the use of such large-sized 

 glass. It must, however, be carefully laid on, and the edges 

 should fit accurately. 



The storm of the 11th of .Tanuary was in this wise. It blew 

 continuously, as, indeed, it does in this island generally, from 

 the Sunday night to the Wednesday afternoon, previous to the 

 fatal Thursday. The wind oscillated wildly during this period 

 from south-west to north-west. It then fell calm for four 

 hours, the aerial current backing to the south-east. At night, 

 however, a circling storm from south-west to north-east true , 

 reached us finally from the south-east. This was an exposed 

 quarter for me, but the pressure was only very moderate, being 

 12 lbs. per square foot, or a velocity of forty-nine miles an 

 hour. Then, about midnight, a sudden lull fell on the island 

 for two hours. During this period the vortex of the cyclone 

 passed over us. The clouds at this time presented a menacing 

 appearance — heavy and black cumuli, hard-edged and rolled up 

 in unshapely masses of dense and confused vapour, while from 

 their bases a drenching torrent of cold rain fell. In one hour 

 a rainfall of 1 inch was registered. The effects of this were 

 disastrous ; the ground became soddened, banks were under- 

 mined, and trees lost their hold on the subsoil. The baro- 

 meter fell to 28.41 inches, an p.lmost unprecedented reading ; at 

 any rate here we only know of one resembhng it, on Decem- 

 ber 2oth, 1821. 



About 9 A.M. on the 11th the wind veered from the east to 

 the north-east with startling suddenness, and the inner whirl 

 of the cyclone passed over the island, somewhat partially. In 

 a few minutes the velocity rose to forty-three miles an hour ; 

 by noon it was sixty-five miles, equal to a pressure of 21 lbs. 

 per square foot, according to Ostler's self-registering anemo- 

 meter ; and, during the numerous squalls, it reached seventj'- 

 two miles, or 2C lbs. of pressure. Prom 1 p.m. to 2 f.m. the 

 storm was fearful, and the pressure per square foot increased 

 steadily to 28 lbs., with more violence in squalls. 



The damage done to trees was universal. Many buildings 

 suffered, and, but for the fact that the stonn reached us when at 

 its worst from the north-east, a point on which all the vineries 

 in Guernsey, being lean-to's, were best defended by their back 

 walls, the damage must have been great. As it was, one large 

 •vinery was blown bodily away from its wall. The shifting 

 nature of the storm added materially to its dangerous charac- 

 ter, as most of the houses had one or more weak sides. They 

 are, however, generally very strongly built, and placed in 

 sheltered localities whenever possible, and there are no span- 

 roofed houses except of small size. 



We were fully employed all day in securing the houses, 

 much glass having cracked by the vibration of the structures, 

 and slipped down. Thin planks are always in readiness to 

 naU under any broken pane, which, with hay stuffed between, 

 effectually secure the houses. Warned, however, by these ex- 

 periences, I am dividing the houses by glass partitions, so that 

 if any were damaged during a gale at night the other divisions 

 might not suffer. Large branches of trees were blown across the 

 houses into the open square, and a huge tree narrowly missed 

 falling on the houses, being caught in the fork of another tree. 

 A row of trees which somewhat shaded the new house had been 

 topped, which saved them and it. The high bank, however, on 

 whiah the new portion stands gave way, together with palings 



and trees, and slipped down bodily about 20 feet. With the as- 

 sistance of numerous workmeu, obtained fortunately, the house 

 was shored up and secured with large beams. Cracks in the 

 green mortar threatened instant destruction, and the work, 

 during the roar of the storm, was not done without some risk, 

 and had to be speedily executed. The expenses incurred in 

 under-pinning this house have since been great. 



In the grounds many fine old trees were levelled, especially 

 some Quercus ilex about seventy years old. These trees 

 fiuurish well in the island, where the sea-blast dwarfs most of 

 our timber. Had my state of mind been cajiable of rehshing 

 a joke at that period, it might have been found in the country 

 people returning home, sitting obstinately in their carts until 

 the public way was cleared, and steadily refusing to take any 

 other road, vowing all manner of legal penalties. To see them 

 thus, the women especially, wearing the ill-chosen national 

 dress of dingy crape, and clearly demonstrating to us how 

 wrongly we were acting in thus blocking up the highway with 

 fallen timber " 'twixt the wind and their nobility," was indeed 

 a curious sight. On a subsequent occasion a litigious farmer 

 actually unloaded a large cart of hay which could not pass 

 freely nnder the beams placed to shore up the orchard-house, 

 sooner than take another path close by. Failing in persuading 

 us to remove the obstacles (there being some risk, of course), 

 he deliberately unloaded his cart and then he actually lodged 

 an information against me. Numerous grave authorities were 

 invited to inquire into this matter. They did so, but the 

 obstacle was already gone ! A Fir tree which we tried to pre- 

 serve contributed also some mistimed hilarity ; for about 

 twenty of the good neighbours having'" tailed on" to a pon- 

 derous tackle, under the guidance of a much-flogged old man- 

 of-war's man, the rope of course yielded, and I cannot say how 

 many gallant oflicers, clergymen, and medical men were 

 prostrated amidst the applause of numerous juveniles. The 

 tree, however, was saved, but we can always observe that 

 •carriages quicken their pace when they pass under it. 

 I This was our experience of what a rotatory storm can do. 

 The pressure, at times, was greater than that of 28 lbs., nearer 

 j 30 lbs. in fact. The mean temperature %vas 41°, never lower 

 I than 40' and never higher than 42°. This was a remarkably 

 1 high temperature even during an exceptionally mild winter. 

 Geraniums and other plants have not suffered at all. We 

 had frost only during a few nights, and the thermometer in 

 the new orchard-house has never registered lower at night 

 than 40°. It was also from G° to 8' above the outward air. 

 What an advantage if others would also record the lowest 

 night temperature during the winter. I must, however, defer 

 this portion of ihe matter, and other changes introduced in 

 training in the new house, for a future paper. 



On the more immediate part of the subject — the right situa- 

 tion with respect to natural shelter for orchard-houses, their 

 disposition with respect to protecting each other, their size and 

 form, the dimensions of the glass and its arrangement, the 

 strength and proper elasticity of the rafters — all these and 

 many kindred questions seem to me to be of the utmost im- 

 portance in orchard-house matters. 



We have made a very fair start, and I am, for one, surprised 

 that panes of glass 26 inches by 22 should resist gales of 28 lbs. 

 of pressure per square foot as well as panes of the ordinary 

 greenhouse size. They should, however, he of 21-oz. glass, 

 and overlap with the greatest accuracy. — T. C. Eeehact, 

 Rkltmond House, Guernsey. 



WARNING TO T0BACC0-GE0^\T3RS. 



I ruvE had the supervisor of excise to take account of my 

 tobacco. The Revenue authorities seem alarmed at my grow- 

 ing so much, and thought I must be manufacturing it for sale. 

 I told the supervisor that I had none on hand at present. He 

 wanted to know how much seed I had left. I told him I had 

 1 cwt. including stsms and all. I suppose we shall have a duty 

 on home-grown tobacco next. I, for one, shall decline growing 

 it then. I grow it as much for ornamentation as anything, ad- 

 miring, as I do, its Begonia-like flower.' — Lachenalia. 



Crtstai- r.u^ACT!.— The thirteenth season, commencing Ml 

 May-day, opens with great promise. Among other attractions 

 the great Flower Show of the season will be held imder the most 

 favourable auspices on Saturday, the 12th of May. As a feature 

 of additional interest, and to afford additional accommodation, 



