590 TRANSACTIO>'S AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE [Sess. iaii. 



encourage further trial in our own clay. It does not quite 

 appear whether he attributed any virtue to the moistening 

 of the bark as well as to the cleansing of it, but when we 

 consider the long exposure of our trees with their tender 

 young buds to the parching east winds of spring, it is 

 reasonable to conclude that frequent drenching of the bark 

 at that season might be very beneficial, not only to the 

 functions of the bark, but by the general supply of 

 moisture to the tree. In his trees obstruction to the 

 functions of the bark could only arise from lichen or other 

 vegetable growths ; but in our town trees the deposit from 

 smoke is perhaps more prejudicial to health, and is certainly 

 more unsightly, and although it would be impracticable to 

 scrub the whole bark-surface of large trees, it might be 

 found beneficial, and it certainly would be an improvement 

 to appearance, if the stems at least could be cleaned from 

 the incrustation of soot which now disfigures them. Should 

 such experiments be made, and prove of utility, it ought 

 not to be forgotten that the credit of being among the first 

 to initiate thein was due to Mr. II. Marsham, of Stratton, 

 more than a centuiy ago. 



On Temperatuke and A'kcietation in the Eoyal Botanic 

 Garden, Edinburgh, during the month of February 1893. 

 By Egbert Lindsay, Curator of the Garden. 



During February the thermometer was at or below the 

 freezing point on eleven occasions, indicating collectively 

 64° of frost for the month, as against 114° for the corre- 

 sponding month last year. The lowest readings occurred 

 on the 13th, 23°; 24th, 22°; 2r)th, 20°; 2Gth,'2G°; 28th, 

 21°. The low^est day temperature was .")9°, on the 24th, 

 and the higliest 5<S°, on the 19th. A good deal of snow 

 fidl during the last week of tlie month. Up till the 23rd, 

 fine mild weather prevailed, and si)ring-llowering plants 

 came rapidly into blossom. The- hybrid llhododcndron 

 prcecox had all its flowers destroyed by frost on the 25th, 

 while one of its parents, IL (hihuricum, is quite uninjured, 

 and is fiowering more profusely this season than has been 

 observed for some years. 



Of the forty spring-Howering plants whose dates of 



