Mr Sadler's Report on Open- Air Vegetation. 135 



on the 12th, -when a thaw sot in, which prevailed till the 18th. On 

 the 19th frost set in keen again, 8° being registered tliat morning, 

 with 12° and 11° on the 20th and 21st respectively. Three days 

 thaw, and then three days slight frost followed ; while thaw 

 prevailed from the 28th December until the 10th of January 1880. 



The frost then continued without a break until the 27th January, 

 the severest being 14° of frost on the night of the 18th, the average 

 being about 8° of frost nightly. From the 27th of January till the 

 17th of March frost was only registered on two nights — 7° on the 

 9th of February and 3° on the 9th of March. From the 17th 

 until the 28th March from 4" to 8° of frost were registered every 

 night. In April there were 3° to 4° of frost on four nights — 9th, 

 12th, 27th, and 30th. On the 8th and 9th May 2° and 1° of frost 

 was registered. Since then we have had no frost. 



In summarising the foregoing we find that October hud 7 frosty 

 nights, giving a total of 25° of frost; November, 16 frosty nights, 

 giving 61° of frost ; December, 20 nights, giving 202° of frost ; 

 January, 18 nights, giving 140° of frost; February, 1 night, with 

 6° of frost; March 12 nights, giving 70° of frost; April, 4 nights, 

 giving 15° of frost; and May, 2 nights, giving 3° of frost. — This 

 gives a total for the eight mojiths of 78 frosty nights and 524° of 

 frost. The two winter months, December and January, had 38 

 frosty nights and 342° of frost. The same tw© months in 1878-79 

 had 56 frosty nights and a total of 580° of frost, the severest night 

 being the 14th of December, when 22° of frost were registered. 

 However, the effects of the long-continued frost of 1878-79 were 

 much less disastrous to vegetation than the shorter and sharper 

 frost of the past winter. 



Vegetation in the autumn of 1878 was in a thoroughly -ripened 

 state ; and, being also well protected by deep snow during the 

 severest of the frost, suffered comparatively little injury. In the 

 autunan of 1879, however, vegetation had already suffered a deal 

 from the cold and wet of the previous summer, and was in the 

 worst possible state to withstand the severities of the winter. 

 Frost set in early, and very little snow fell while it lasted to 

 protect the soft and badly -ripened growth of the past season, Avhich 

 in many instances succumbed to less than the usual amount of 

 frost ; and the unusually severe pinch on the 3d and 4th December 

 played sad havoc among many plants that, under more favourable 

 conditions, would probably have easily withstood it. 



The gardens and grounds at Dalkeith are situated about three 

 miles from the sea, on a light, warm soil, with a gi'avel sub-soil, at 

 an altitude of about 190 feet above sea-level, the ground falling to 

 the north, but well sheltered in all directions with heavy timber ; 



