FURBECK WILD FLOWERS IN DECEMBER. 83 



The temperature returns for London shewed a mean for November 

 of 47 J, P., or 3'7 above the average of 15 years, 4 above that of 

 46 years, and 5-1 above that of 116 years; but a still more 

 remarkable feature was that the thermometer 4ft. above the 

 ground never once fell below the freezing-point throughout the 

 month, and only once reached that point ! The beginning of 

 December was equally warm, and, as an illustration, it may be 

 mentioned that over a third of the country the thermometer did 

 not fall below 50 on the night of the 4th ; while the day temper- 

 atures on the 5th ranged from 50 to 54, London, with a 

 temperature of 53, being 4 warmer than Biarritz, 11 warmer 

 than Nice, and 19 warmer than Paris! The principal cause of 

 this mildness was to be found in the continuous succession of 

 cyclonic disturbances which came to us from the Atlantic Ocean, 

 bringing with them a warm damp atmosphere ; and its effect on 

 vegetation was twofold, for not only did the absence of frost allow 

 many of the summer and autumn flowering plants to continue to 

 open their petals, but the high temperature which prevailed for 

 week after week forced on as though in a hothouse many of our 

 spring flowers, and made them come into bloom several months 

 before their time. This will account for the peculiarly mixed 

 variety of species found side by side, which, in the ordinary course 

 of events, are never associated together. As an instance of this 

 we may mention that such summer flowers as the Red Poppy, 

 Corn Marigold, Foxglove, and the several species of heath were in 

 bloom at the same time as the autumn-flowering ivy, and such 

 peculiarly spring plants as the Lesser Celandine, the Dog Violet, 

 and the Primrose. 



Although such an unexpected sight in December was most 

 welcome to a lover of Nature, yet the highly injurious effects caused 

 to the plants themselves, which were thus forced into unwonted 

 activity at such a season of the year, will be readily understood, 

 and were clearly noticeable in the following spring and summer. 

 Instead of being able to recruit their energies during the winter 

 months, as in the natural course of events, many plants were 



