408 Mr Lindsay's Report on Open-Air Vegetation. 



lieavy fall took place on tlie 10th, and at intervals till the 

 month closed there were renewed falls. Outdoor work has 

 in consequence been greatly interfered with. Notwith- 

 standing the severity of the weather experienced, vegeta- 

 tion has not suffered to any great extent, owing to the 

 protection afforded by snow and the dry frost-bound condi- 

 tion of the ground. A large number of half-hardy plants 

 have either been killed outright or badly injured. With 

 few exceptions, they are species which survive only during 

 very mild winters in this district, and are never risked out 

 of doors without our having duplicate plants to fall back on 

 secured indoors. Common Wallflowers and East Lothian 

 Stocks are almost destroyed, while Intermediate Stock is 

 comparatively safe as yet. Wallflower appears to be 

 becoming more tender than it was formerly. This may 

 probably be due to selecting for seed, varieties having 

 improved flowers only, little or no attention being paid to 

 varieties having a vigorous constitution as well. Golden 

 variegated hollies are slightly injured, showing that they 

 are more tender than either the silver variegated or green 

 varieties, which are not at all injured. 



On the Eock Garden twelve species and varieties of 

 plants came into flower during the month, viz., Primula 

 vulgaris catdescens, Crocus Imperati, Draha aizoon, Hepatica 

 angulosa, Helleborus abschasicics^ N. antiquorum, H. albicans 

 major, H. olympicus, H. o. alhus, H. purpurascens minor, H. 

 viridis, H. guttatus. Of the forty selected plants, whose 

 dates of flowering are annually recorded to the Society, not 

 one has opened during January, while in former years as 

 many as sixteen have been recorded in January. 



February, — The weather has been extremely wintry, with 

 much snow and uninterrupted low temperatures ; vegetation 

 has therefore most fortunately been held well in check. 

 Had it been otherwise, the results would have been much 

 more disastrous than we now find them, particularly when 

 such unusually severe weather has been protracted into the 

 present month. 



During February the thermometer was at or below the 

 freezing point on twenty-two mornings, indicating collec- 

 tively 128° of frost for the month, as compared with 67° for 

 February 1885. The lowest readings were registered on 



