December li, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



711 



The Weather. 



[Accumulated temperature indicates the combined amount and 

 duration of the excess or defect of temperature above or 

 below 32° F. for the period named, and is expressed in Day- 

 degree — a "Day-degree" signifying 1° continued for 

 twenty-four hours, or any other number of degrees for an 

 inversely proportional number of hours.] 





Temperature. 





Above or 



below the 

 Mean for 



the week 

 ending 

 Dec. 10. 



Accumulated. 



Districts. 



U 



■4 



If 



is 5 



11 



if 



Principal Wheat pro- 

 ducing Districts. 





Day- 

 deg. 



Day- 

 deg. 



Day- 



deg. 



Day- 

 deg. 



0. Scotland, N. ... 



o above 



23 



1 



— 211 



+ 153 



1. Scotland, E. ... 



S above 



25 



3 



— 400 



+ 68 



2. England, N.E. ... 



7 above 



28 



2 



— 444 



+ 31 



3. England, E. ... 



6 above 



30 



7 



— 311 



+ 94 



4. Midland Cos. ... 



6 above 



SO 



3 



— 398 



+ 72 



5. England, S. 



*5 above 



36 







— 373 



+ 131 



Principal Grazing, &c, 

 Districts. 













6. Scotland, W. ... 



7 above 



31 







- 305 



+ 5 



7. England, N.W.... 



6 above 



34 







— 302 



+ 4-' 



8. England, 8.W.... 



o above 



41 



u 



— 416 



+ 210 



9. Ireland, N. 



■1 above 



31 



6 



— 219 



+ 33 



10. Ireland, S. 



•1 above 



34 



1 



— 192 



+ 45 



— Channel Islands 



4 above 



55 







— 219 



+ 111 





Rainfall. 



Bright 

 Sunshine. 



Districts. 



Ik 



,.i 



c» 



a" 





t=. ro " 



i 



iff J 



5 - = 



Principal Wheat-pro- 

 duoing Districts. 



Tenths of 

 Inch. 





Ins. 







0. Scotland, N. ... 



5 less 



226 



41.7 



ii 



27 



1. Scotland, E. ... 



5 less 



198 



29.5 



13 



SS 



2. England, N.E. ... 



6 less 



177 



26.0 



27 



26 



3. England, E. ... 



3 eas 



:79 



23.9 



28 



29 



4. Midland Cos. ... 



1 less 



167 



25.2 



27 



27 



5 England, S. 



3 less 



174 



27.1 



26 



20 



Principal Grazing, &c, 

 Districts. 













6. Scotland, W. ... 



3 less 



187 



43.4 



15 



29 



7. England, N.W.... 



4 less 



188 



29.8 



22 



38 



8. England, S.W.... 



4 less 



195 



36.3 



21 



3! 



9. Ireland, N. 



(aver.) 



202 



31.7 



28 



27 



10. Ireland, S. 



8 more 



183 



36.8 



30 



3.' 



— Channel Islands 



3 less 



21, 



29.6 



2.? 



30 



MEAN TEMPERATURE OBSERVED AT CHISWICK DUR- 

 ING THE WEEK ENDING DEC. 22. (AVERAGE OP 

 FORTY-FOUR YEARS.) 



Dec. 16 ... 



... 40°.4 



Dec.20 



.. 39*.7 



„ 17 ... . 



... iU".2 



„ 21 



.. 39 3 .4 



„ 18 ... 

 „ 19 ... 



... 40°.0 

 ... 39".8 



„ 22 



Mean for the week 



.. 39'.0 

 .. 39°.3 



THE PAST WEEK. 



The following summary record of the weather for 

 the week ending Dec. 10, is furnished from the 

 Meteorological Office : — 



" The weather has been fairer than of late over our 

 islands generally, but in Ireland considerable quan- 

 tities of rain have again fallen. In the metropolis 

 and some other parts of England thick fogs pre- 

 vailed at the close of the period. 



" The temperature continued much above the mean 



until the 8th, when it fell very decidedly. The 

 average for the week has been 4° above the meau for 

 the time of year in Ireland, from 5° to 7° above in 

 England, and 5° to 8° in Scotland. The highest 

 of the maxima were generally recorded on the 5th, 

 when they varied from 55° in ' Scotland, W,,' to 

 60° in ' Ireland, S.' On the 10th the maxima in 

 some of the south-eastern and ceutral parts of 

 England were very low ; at Loughborough and Cam- 

 bridge the thermometer did not rise above 31°, and 

 in the south of London 33°. The lowest of the 

 minima, which were registered on the 10th, varied 

 from 22° in ' Ireland, N.,' to 31° in ' Scotland, X.,' 

 and to 41° in the ' Channel Islands.' During the 

 greater part of the time the maxima over the king- 

 dom generally were about 50°. 



"Rainfall has been less than the mean over Great 

 Britain, and about equal to it in ' Ireland, N.,' but in 

 ' Ireland, S.,' a decided excess is shown. 



" Bright sunshine has been more prevalent gene- 

 rally than for some time past, but the percentage of 

 the possible amount of duration has continued rather 

 low ; in Scotland it ranged from 13 to 15, in Ireland 

 from 28 to 30, and in England from 22 to 28." 



©fcttttarg. 



Mr. Robert CASTLE, of Merton, Surrey, died 

 suddenly on Monday last, at the age of seventy rears. 

 He had been engaged in private and commercial 

 gardening for over .fifty years, having commenced 

 with his father who had charge of Mr. Swainson's 

 then noted garden at Twickenham, in 1830, and his 

 last charge was at Orsett Hall, Romford, which he 

 left on the death of the owner four years ago. He 

 had a wide practical knowledge of horticulture, and 

 his kindliness of manner gained him many friends, 

 amongst whom, in his youth, he counted Loudon, 

 who, with other leading horticulturists of the time, 

 frequently visited his father at Twickenham. 



Variorum. 



The Annual Ring in Trees.— In the course 

 of his last report, the chief of the forestry section of 

 the Agricultural Department of the United States, 

 referring to the annual rings in trees, asserts that 

 these exist as such in all timber grown in the tem- 

 perate zone. Their structure is so different in 

 different groups of timber that from their appearance 

 alone the quality of the timber may be judged to 

 some extent. For this purpose the absolute width 

 of the rings, the regularity in width from year to 

 year, and the proportion of spring wood to autumn 

 wood, must be taken into account. Spring wood is 

 characterised by less substantial elements, the vessels 

 of thin-walled cells being in greater abundance, 

 while autumn wood is formed of cells with thicker 

 walls, which appear darker in colour. In Conifers 

 and deciduous trees the annual rings are very dis- 

 tinct, while in trees like the Birch, Linden, and 

 Maple, the distinction is not so marked, because the 

 vessels are more evenly distributed. Sometimes the 

 gradual change in appearance of the annual ring 

 irom spring to autumn wood, which is due to the 

 difference in its component elements, is interrupted 

 in such a manner that a more' or less pronounced 

 layer of autumn wood can apparently be recognised, 

 which again gradually changes to spring or summer 

 wood, and then finishes with the regular autumn 

 wood. This irregularity may occur even more than 

 once in the same ring, and this has led to the notion 

 that the annual rings are not a true indication of 

 age ; but the double or counterfeit rings can be dis- 

 tinguished by a practised eye with the aid of a mag- 

 nifying glass. These irregularities are due to some 

 interruptions of the functions of the tree, caused by 

 defoliation, extreme climatic condition, or sudden 

 changes of temperature. The breadth of the ring 

 depends on the length of the period of vegetation ; 

 also when the soil is deep and rich, and light has 

 much influence on the tree, the rings will be broader. 

 The amount of light, and the consequent develop- 

 ment of foliage, is perhaps the most powerful factor 



in wood formation, and it is upon the proper use of 

 this that the forester depends for his means of regu- 

 lating the development and quantity of his crop. 



Markets. 



COl'EXT GAEDEX, December 13. 



[We canr *>t accept any editorial responsibility for the subjoined 

 reports, which, however, are furnished to us regularly 

 every Thursday, by the kindness of several of the principal 

 salesmen, who revise the list, and vshoare responsible for the 

 quotations. It must be remembered that these quotations 

 represent averages for the week preceding the date of our 

 report. The prices depend upon the quality of the samples, 

 the supply in the market, and they fluctuate, not only 

 from day to day, but often several times in one day, and 

 therefore the prices quoted as averages for the past week 

 must not betaken as indicating the particular prices at 

 any particular date, and still less can they be taken as 

 guides to the prices in the coming week, Ed.] 



Business quiet. All classes of goods well sup- 

 plied, with no alteration, in prices. James Webber, 

 Wholesale Apple Market. 



Fruit.— Average Wholesale Prices. 



s. d. s. d. s. d. .«. d. 



Apples, hali-sieve... 2 0- 4 6 | Lemons, per case ...12 0-2) 

 — Canada and Xova Peaches, dozen ... 2 O- 6 



Scotia, perbarrellO 0- 18 Pine-apples, Eng., lb. 1 

 Cobs, 100 1b. ...10) 0-1" n 

 Grapes, per lb. ... 6- 



-St. Michael, each 2 0-80 



Vegetables.— Average Retail Prices. 



Beet, red, per dozen 10-20 

 Carrots, per bunch... 6- ... 

 Cauliflowers, each ... 3- ... 

 Celery, per bundle... 16-20 

 Cucumbers, each ... 9- ... 

 Endive, per dozen ... 3 0- ... 

 Green Mint, bunch... 1 0- ... 

 Herbs, per bunch ... ti- ... 

 Leeks, per bunch ... 4- ... 

 Lettuce, per dozen ... 1 (5- ... 

 Mushrooms, punnet 1 6- ... 

 Pfl TATOS. — Beauty of Hebron, 

 7-t?.; and Magnums, 80s. to 



Mustard and Cress, 



punnet • 



Onions, per bunch ... 

 Parsley, per bunch... « 

 Potatos, per cwt. ... 4 i 

 ,, kidney, per cwt. 4 i 

 Shallots, per lb. ... i 

 Spinach, per bushel... 4 i 

 Tomatos, per lb. ... 1 < 

 Turnips, per bunch, 



new I 



70s. to 80s. ; Imperators, i 

 90s', per ton. Trade very 



Plants ix Pots.— Average Wholesale Prices. 



Aralia Sieboldi, doz. 6 

 Chrysanthems., doz. 4 



— large plants, each 2 

 Coleus, dozen ... 2 

 Cyperus, per dozen . 4 

 Dracaena terminalis, 



per dozen 30 



— viridis. per doz. 12 

 Epiphyllnms, doz....lS 

 Erica bymalis, doz. ..12 



— caffra, dozen ... 6 



— gracilis, dozen... 8 

 Euonymus, in var., 



per dozen 6 



Evergreens, in var., 

 per dozen 6 



d. s. d. 1 

 0-18 ' 



0-9 



0-4 



0-4 



0-12 



0-60 



0-24 



0-30 



0-24 



0-12 



0-12 



0-18 



0-24 



Fern9, in var., doz. 4 0-18 

 Foliage plants, vari- 

 ous, each 2 0-10 



Ficus elastica, each .16-70 





, do/. 



...3 0-6 



■mllis 



!:..> 



10 0-12 

 18 0-30 

 6 0-12 

 each 2 6-21 



dozen pots... 

 Liliums, var., doz 

 Marguerites, doz 

 Palms in 

 Pelargon: 



let, per do/en ... 4 0- it 

 PoinsetAias, dozen ... 9 0-15 

 Primulas, per dozen 4 0-60 

 Solanums. dozen ... 9 0-15 

 Tulij-s, dozen pots ... 8 0-10 



Cut Flowers.— Average Wholesale Prices. 



Abutillons, 12 bun.... 

 Azaleas, 12 sprays ... 

 Bouvardias, per bun. 

 Camellias. 12 blms. 

 Carnations, 12 blms. 

 Chrysanthemums, 



12 blooms 



— dozen bunches... 

 Eucharis, per dozen 

 Gardenias. 12 blooms 

 Heliotropes, 12 spr. 

 Hyacinths, Roman, 



12 sprays 



Lapageria, 12 blooms 

 Lima, white Fr..bun. 

 Marguerites, 12 bun. 



3 0-60 

 9-10 

 6-10 

 3 0-40 



1 0-12 



3 0-60 



4 0-60 

 6-10 



Mignonette. 12 bun. 2 0- 

 Xarcis., paper-white, 



(French). 12 bun... 3 0- 

 Pelargoniunis,]2*pr. 1 0- 



— scarlet, 12 spr.... 4 0- 

 Poinsettias, doz. ... 4 0- 

 Primulaa. dbl..;i2sp. 1 0- 

 Roses, Tea, per doz. 1 0- 



— coloured, dozen. 2 0- 



— red, per dozen ... 1 0- 



— Sairano. dozen... 1 0- 

 Stephanotis, 12 spr. 6 0- 

 Tuberoses. 12 blms.. 

 Violets. 12 bunches... 1 0- 



— dark, Fr., bunch 1 6 



— Parme, Fr., bun. 3 6 



- 1 



SEEDS. 



London: Dec. 12. — Messrs. John Shaw & Sons, 

 seed merchants, of 37, Mark Lane, E.C., write 

 that the seed market has this week been largely 

 atteuded owing to the presence in London of agri- 

 culturists who are up for the Cattle Show. For rel 

 Clover seed there is an improved feeling, and a few 

 quiet purchases, more particularly of French red, 

 are taking place at the low quotations now current 

 Alsike, white, and Trefoil are all steady. In Rye- 

 grasses there is scarcely anything doing. Bird seeds 

 are at present low in price and fine in quality. Blue 

 Feas and Haricot Beans realise former terms. 



CORN. 



Averages. — Official statement showing the average 

 price of British corn, imperial measure, in the week 

 ended December S : — Wheat, 31s. 3d. ; Barley, 

 27s. id. ; Oats, 16s. 9d. For the corresponding week 

 in 1887 :— Wheat, 31s. 2d.; Barley, 29s.; Oats, 

 lis. lid. 



