LENGTH OF THE YEAR. '25 



leaves,* the honeysuckle protrudes them in the 

 month of January ; the gooseberry, currant, and 

 elder in the end of February, or beginning of 

 March ; the willow, elm, and lime-tree in April ; 

 the oak and ash, which are always the latest 

 among trees, in the beginning or towards the 

 middle of May. In the same manner the flow- 

 ering has its regular time : the mezereon and 

 snow-drop push forth their flowers in February ; 

 the primrose in the month of March ; the cowslip 

 in April ; the great mass of plants in May and 

 June ; many in July, August, and September ; 

 some not till the month of October, as the mea- 

 dow saffron ; and some not till the approach and 

 arrival of winter, as the laurustinus and arbutus. 

 The fact which we have here to notice, is the 

 recurrence of these stages in the developement of 

 plants, at intervals precisely or very nearly of 

 twelve months. Undoubtedly, this result is in 

 part occasioned by the action of external stimu- 

 lants upon the plant, especially heat, and by the 

 recurrence of the intensity of such agents. Ac- 

 cordingly, there are slight differences in the times 

 of such occurrences, according to the backward- 

 ness or forwardness of the season, and according 

 as the climate is genial or otherwise. Gardeners 

 use artifices which will, to a certain extent, ac- 

 celerate or retard the time of developement of a 



* Loudon, Encyclopaedia of Gardening, 848. 



