NOTES ON THE DRY SUMMER OF 1896. 179 



sycamore, caused by a fungus known as Rhytisma Acerinum ; of 

 the abundance and enormous size of haws ; and of the 

 extraordinary occurrence of the holly-berries being perfectly 

 ripe by September. Equally necessary is it to state that what 

 the summer's drought, with its attendant myriads of insect pests, 

 failed to do, the cold blasting wind, which blew from the north- 

 west on the 25th and 26th of September, accomplished. 

 Vegetation bowed before it, as by fire or frost. The leaves of 

 the trees which caught the stroke of the blast were simply 

 blackened, and in a few days they strewed the ground. Every- 

 where in the valley the storm wrought untold mischief, and 

 brought to a sad and premature end, one of the finest summers 

 of recent years. ' 



