President's Address. 147 



blooming of their favourites, have to provide greenhouse 

 protection for them in spring, although, as in the past 

 winter, they were not perceptibly injured by a December 

 temperature of fully 30° under the freezing point. 



II. Plants that expand their Buds later in Spring than 

 others, are consequently exempt from, or much less liable 

 to be injured by late frosts. The common Sycamore (^Acer 

 Pseudo-Platanus) may be instanced as showing that the 

 difference in time between the expansion of buds in the 

 earliest and latest plants of the same species is much greater 

 than is generally supposed, for while the leaves on some 

 plants are fully expanded in March, other plants may be 

 seen alongside that scarcely begin to open their buds till 

 May. Although the sycamore is so hardy that even its 

 earlier varieties seldom suffer from frosts, yet its large 

 leaves are by no means exempt from being torn and dis- 

 figured by equinoctial and other early spring gales. It is 

 admittedly one of the most suitable trees for withstanding 

 both land and sea winds on very exposed places, but those 

 planting it in such places would do well to select only the 

 latest budding plants. In proof of this I may mention, 

 that for clothing the ground about wind and sea-spray 

 exposed marine residences, I have found young sycamores 

 taken promiscuously from the nurseries to be quite incapable 

 of maintaining their existence ; but, having replaced them 

 with only the latest budding plants that could be found, 

 their success has been highly satisfactory. Having about 

 twenty-five years since planted an arboretum in which those 

 splendid silver firs, Picea Pindroiu and P. Webbiana, were 

 intended to form conspicuous features, their early budding 

 habits led to frequent disappointments, till, visiting a 

 nursery where a great number of them had been reared 

 from Himalayan seeds, I selected a few plants of each 

 towards the end of April, in which the buds had scarcely 

 begun to swell, although those on many of the otliers were 

 well expanded, and tlie after success of the former was all 

 that could be desired. 



III. Plants that continue growing latest in Auturan are 

 most liable to suffer from early autumnal frosts. While 

 unusual coldness or lowness of temperature has doubtless 

 been the main cause of that recent plant destruction wliich 



