1866.] secretary's report. 29 



of ill-omen to their pomological banquet. Remaining with us so long as any- 

 thing was left upon our trees, they have now migrated, we'' fattened and plump, 

 to stuff' the pot-pies of a wiser people. 



"Donee lassata, needum aati'ata, recegsit." 



It is urged that, at times — before fruit is ripe enough for their excellencies — 

 this robin of ours eats a few earthworms. Possibly he may, if the ground is 

 previously dug up for him ; for he is too proud to work, and to scratch he is 

 ashamed. But the poor worm is harmless, and, therefore, to ensure his de- 

 struction, this worse than useless pest is protected by law ! Let us pray, if we 

 have no other resource, that he may die of a surfeit ! 



If the past year has been one of continued prosperity' to the Society in its 

 corporate capacity, it has aff'orded but chequered success to the members in 

 their character of pomologists. The sudden and extreme changes of tempera- 

 ture which distinguish our climate were never more marked than during the last 

 winter. The secretary finds, upon reference to his diary, the following entry, 

 under date of January 9th : 



"This A. M., at 9 o'clock, closed a period of intense cold, during which, for 120 

 hours, i. e., from Friday, the 5th inst., until now, the mercury in the thermometer has 

 nowhere, and at no time, not even in the sun at meridian, indicated so high a tempera- 

 ture as 10 deg. above 0." 



And again, under date of January 15th : 



" The extremes of temperature are most remarkable and trying. On the morning of 

 Monday, the 8th inst., the mercury indicated 18 deg. below 0. On Saturday, the 13th, 

 at 12 o'clock, meridian, it marked 60 deg. above 0, a change of nearly 80 deg. And on 

 Mondaj', the 13th, it had again fallen to 2 deg. below 0." 



And all this time, as throughout almost the entire winter, the ground was 

 bare of snow, and left exposed to the influences of alternate frost and thaw. 

 Heavy rains from the south prevailed throughout the whole of February, while 

 March was unusually blustering and cold, even for that most disagreeable month. 

 It is no wonder, then, that the buds of the peach were blasted, and even the hardy 

 strawberry succumbed. Of this latter delicious fruit, which adds so much of 

 beauty, fragrance, and relish to our summer exhibitions, the yield has been 

 most meagre. Few of our members had any for their own use, still less for our 

 tables or the market. Attention has been called, by the popular press, to the 

 fact that some beds were prolific which had been carefully covered. But this 

 argument would prove too much, since, if protection alone is essential to the 

 vitality of the strawberry plant, why should it not retain its virtue in all cases ? 

 And yet it is matter of notoriety that it failed in the great majority. Is it not 

 more likely that the causes of fatality are to be sought in the excessive drought 

 of the summer and autumn of 1865, which first parched a plant so excessively 

 fond of moisture ; and in the singular absence of snow, by which it was left des- 

 titute of its closest, moistest, and most effectual winter covering. A confirma- 

 tion of this theory — that it is the character of the covering, rather than the 

 covering at all, which is important — may perhaps be deduced from the fact, 

 within the personal knowledge of your Secretary, that of two (2) plantations of 

 raspberries, one covered by pine boughs, and another, but a few yards distant, 

 5 



