The Zoologist— August, 1871. 2709 



General Observations. 

 The months of January, February and March were not very 

 severe ; but short periods of frost, thaw and rain alternating made 

 the soil inconvenient to work, kept the roads and paths in an 

 unpleasant condition, and prolonged the winter. On the 23rd of 

 March there was a severe dry frost, and slighter frosts, with a little 

 snow, occurred to the end of the month. Spring opened very late. 

 My date for the leafing of the honeysuckle in 1869 was the 6th of 

 February; this year it is the 19th of March. For the leafing of the 

 gooseberry last year it was the 18th of March ; whilst this year it is 

 the 4th of April. The sallow and all the other early flowering plants 

 were kept in check by ungenial weather. The newts and other 

 animals in the ponds were also very late in appearing. About the 

 10th of April the weather became finer ; leaves and flowers burst 

 out suddenly, various insects appeared, the birds began to sing 

 and build their nests, and the earth to present a more spring-like 

 aspect. After a term of dry weather the few showers which fell 

 towards the end of April and the beginning of May assisted vege- 

 tation. On the 4th of May I have this note: — "Beautiful growing 

 weather after the showers: bees and insects more abundant." In 

 May flowers came out very rapidly. The difference in the time of 

 flowering of June plants was not so great as in that of early plants; 

 in fact, the difference was scarcely perceptible : my dates for the 

 blooming of the wild rose [Rosa canina) are June 16th, 7th, 21st 

 and 11th, for 1867, 1868, 1869 and 1870, respectively. Wheat, 

 barley and oats came into ear about the same time as last year. As 

 summer advanced the effects of the drought becanie visible: the 

 hay crop, the mowing of which commenced about the 4th of July 

 (the same as in 1869), was very deficient in quantity; peas and 

 beans suffered for want of rain, and turnips made little progress. 

 Although spring was late vegetation redeemed itself by rapidity of 

 growth. Harvest commenced eighteen days earlier than last year, 

 and was finished nine days earlier: harvest-work began in this 

 neighbourhood on the 26th of July and ended on the 30th of 

 August. As the weather was generally fair all the crops were 

 housed in good condition. Wheat seems to have yielded a full 

 average quantity; barley and oats were moderate, the grain being 

 unusually heavy. Potatoes were not diseased, and, considering 

 the dryness of the season, produced a good crop : the crop of 



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