3904.] PUBLIC DOCUMKXT — No. 33. 11 



The most general eomplaiiit, liowever, during the .sju-ing 

 and sunnner, was in regard to winter-killing. It is seldom 

 one finds so many varieties of })lants injured from this cause, 

 whieli can be traced back to the unusually prolonged warm 

 weather, characteristic of the fall of 11)02, and the sudden 

 freeze following in early December. Among the plants that 

 have suffered to a considerable extent are the following: : — 



The Californian })rivet {Ligustruni ovalifollum) and Ligus- 

 trum ibota were in many cases killed outright. Yellow and 

 crimson rambler roses and certain honeysuckles were killed 

 to the ground. The climbing ivy {A)n]ielo])sis vei(chii) was 

 badly damaged, so nuich so, in fact, that buildings that were 

 tolerabl)" well covered with this beautiful ivy were almost 

 bare in mid-summer. Wistarias, deutzia, spiraea thunbergii, 

 spiraea vanhouttei and fors} thia had their flower buds injured 

 so severel}' that they uiade little show in the spring. The 

 Japanese clematis was in most cases killed to the ground. 

 Euon3mius radicans suflered badly, as did many of the vibur- 

 nums. Many of the choicer aquilegias were killed outright. 

 The fruit buds of cherries, peaches and Japanese plums were 

 practically killed ; in some cases the wood Avas much injured. 

 Grape vines were in some cases killed to the ground, and 

 strawberries, blackberries and raspberries were much injured. 

 Such wild plants as the beech, plum and buckthorn, and 

 many of the wild roses, had their wood severely injured. 

 Many of these plants appeared to come through the winter 

 successfully, and threw out strong shoots in the spring, 

 when they suddenly collapsed. Blackberries and raspber- 

 ries showed a marked tendency to die back after having 

 blossomed and fruited. In some other instances plants not 

 supposed to be hardy, such, for example, as the crimson 

 clover and alfalfa, have gone through the winter without 

 trouble. It would appear that, Avhile the severe frost in 

 December, following the unusually prolonged warm spell, 

 was the means of doing great injury to plants that are sup- 

 posed to be toleral)ly hardy, those like the crimson clover, 

 etc., which are not hardy, were not affected. The limited 

 amount of frost in the ground, due to the snow cover, even- 

 tually proved advantageous to such plants as the crimson 



