1871 



THE POMOLOGIST AND GARPRNER. 



167 



Essay^ on Hortlcnltural meteorology. 



fiMd Before the Seini- Annual Meeting of the Kansas State llor- 

 tiatltnral Soriety, as Highland. June 1th. 1871. 



By the Associate Editor. 



Mr. President and tVllow members nf Ihe Kansas 

 Horticultural Society. It is not our object in this 

 brief essay on Horticultural Meteorology to fully 

 discuss the subject, but to rather call your attention 

 to its magnitude and importance. Meteorology 

 holds such an intimate relation to fruitgrowing, 

 that we cannot expect to be successful, except by a 

 proper understanding of the subject. By Meteor- 

 ology we mean the .science of the atmo.spliere and 

 its various phenomena — particularly the state of 

 the weather. 



Heat and cold, wind and storm, humidity and 

 drought, cloudiness and sunshine, also altitude, with 

 the various sudden changes, embrace some of the 

 most important phenomena. The meteorlogical 

 conditions of a country are what constitutes its cli- 

 mate. That climate has an effect on animal life, 

 none will deny, but that it equally affects vegetable 

 life may not be so full}' admitted, yet Is neverthe- 

 less as true. Who has not observed how soon a 

 plant will languish and die when removed from its 

 native home and placed in a different climate 

 under different conditions. To secure the health 

 of plants in different localities, they must be placed 

 under similar conditions congenial to their nature. 

 So true is this, that wherever we find the same 

 meteorological conditions, we find the same 

 species of plants and trees distributed over the 

 globe. 



It was the careful study of the conditions of vari- 

 ous plants, which led us to understand their geo- 

 graphical distribution, as there is an intimate cor- 

 relation existing between climate and vegetation. 



If we ever expect to be successful in the cultiva- 

 tion of fruit, we must carefully study the peculiari- 

 ties and characteristics of plants and the climate to 

 which they are naturally adapted. It is not sufl5- 

 cient to study the geography of the country to 

 determine it, for neither latitude, longitude or alti- 

 tude will give it; but, it requires the exact meteor- 

 ological conditions of the particular locality, and a 

 congenial soil, adapted to the habits of the plants or 

 trees. 



From the foregoing remarks you ma}' see the 

 intricacy, vastness and range of our subject. It 

 does not only consider and determine the climate 

 and condition of the plants of our own district, but 

 embraces that of all others, and also grasps and 

 reveals that of past ages. 



Although our subject is comprehensive, yet heat, 

 light and moisture are the most essential elements, 

 they hold such an intimate and important relation 

 to the health and growth of vegetation, so as to re- 



quire a definite amount at different periods for the 

 lilants to perform their various functions nt Mir 

 proper time. So truthfully and forcibly has Lip- 

 pincott in his (ii<i(/rap/ii/ of Plants said that : "Tli<' 

 successful cultivation in northern countries, by 

 artificial means, of plants naturally demanding the 

 high temperatuH! and long seasons of more South- 

 ern latitudes do l)Ut combine tlie duration and 

 degree of heat. Nor need it excite our surprise 

 that so well defined are the laws regulating the 

 temperatures necessarily accorded to each variety 

 of plant undergoing these artificial climatic condi- 

 tions, and so accurately determined are they by 

 practical gardeners, that they have become experts 

 to that degree that they succeed in producing the 

 flower or the matured fruit on a given day. 



While there can be no doubt that different plants 

 require different amounts of heat from the time of 

 sprouting to full maturity, though the time through 

 which this may be furnished may be different in 

 different instances, and that a great heat may pro- 

 duce the same effect on plants which is produced 

 by a lowe^ degree operating during a longer term, 

 another principle of much importance must be 

 observed, in order to the successful cultivation of 

 plants under natural or artificial circumstances. 



This second principle is that each species requires 

 for each one of its physiological functions a cer- 

 tain minimum of temperature, or as has been well 

 said, each species of vegetation is a kind of ther- 

 mometer which has its own zero or lowest degree 

 at which it will vegetate. A temperature above a 

 certain minimum of heat is found necessary for 

 germination, another one for chemical modiiicatiou, 

 and a third for flowering, a fourth for the ripening 

 of seeds, a fifth for the elaboration of the saccharini' 

 juices, and a sixth for the developement of aroma 

 or bouquet. A certain intensity of light is also 

 demanded to render green the tissues, and a due 

 supply of humidity in the air and in the soil to fur- 

 nish a vehicle for the materials of growth and pre- 

 vent undue desiccation. A plant is thus not only 

 under all the influences which effect the thermome- 

 ter, but is likewise acted upon as is a hygrometer 

 by humidity and dryness. From the stud}' of 

 special examples among plant.s, under the combined 

 influences of temperature, light and moisture, a 

 later inquirer believes he has reached most interest- 

 ing results regarding the limiting effects of these 

 causes towards the north, and on mountain sides. 

 From the point of view taken by this later investi- 

 gation botanical geography ceases to be a simple 

 accumulation of facts, takes a place among the 

 sciences and assumes to explain by the study of the 

 distribution of living plants the actual conditions of 

 climate, as well as those that prevailed in former 

 ages." 



So fully can this be demonstrated that if we take 



