202 Dr. Mac Culloch on the 



the present paper is drawn up ; as, should it even prove that the 

 progeny from seed is not, in the majority of cases, really hardier 

 than the parent, there will still perhaps be pointed out to English 

 gardeners some plants, out of the whole list, which are still 

 treated with unnecessary suspicion and tenderness. 



I am aware, however, that the rules which hold in Guernsey 

 will not hold universally in England, however they may suit the 

 southern coasts in general, from Penzance even to Southampton, 

 and perhaps still further east. Yet in some of the cases formerly 

 enumerated (in the transactions of the Caledonian Horticultural 

 Society), the result was, a considerable success, in some parts of 

 Scotland, as to the exclusion of many plants from the greenhouse, 

 respecting the necessary tenderness of which no gardener had 

 ever doubted. Should but a few plants more be thus gained for 

 the shrubbery, the labour will not be lost. 



Whatever be the peculiarities of the climate of Guernsey, it 

 remains to be proved much more clearly than yet has been done, 

 what it is precisely by which the hardiness of plants is regulated, 

 or how it is influenced. It is easy to make use of general terms, 

 but they will not satisfy a philosophical mind. The effect of frost 

 can unquestionably be understood in a general way ; yet the 

 tender greenhouse plants of England, which are hardy in Guern- 

 sey, are not killed by the frosts, in which that island is not wanting, 

 nor by the cold easterly winds, which prevail there with consider- 

 able duration and severity. They have always survived those 

 attacks ; and sometimes, with the usual shelter from long east 

 winds, have passed through even those very severe winters, 

 so well remembered, in which this island proportionally par- 

 ticipated. 



Could it serve any purpose, I might here give the meteorolo- 

 gical register of Guernsey for a considerable period ; but it would 

 not deserve the space it would occupy, as, in truth, very little 

 useful information has yet been derived from the accumulation 

 and parade of those records. To say that the climates of Guern- 

 sey and Penzance are very coincident, will be information enough 

 on this head ; with this exception however in favour of the latter, 



