Calendar of Nature, 



U^ 



of spring, blackbirds began to sing on the 6th, and partridges chimed their 

 love-notes, and began to pair. The deception was of short continuance : 

 hoar frost, followed by slight sprinklings of snow, gave the vale of the 

 Carse of Gowrie a mantle, which, though only 3 in. deep, lay undissolved 

 for 3 weeks. 



Although the mercury in the thermometer never fell below 25°, yet the 

 storm continued throughout the whole of December, and the greater part 

 of January. The mercury in the barometer ranged unusually high for 

 the season, as will be seen from th© diagram, and while we heard of the 

 Seine and the Thames being frozen over, such was the mild and lingering 

 nature of the storm in this quarter, that ice 2 in. thick could not be easily 

 obtained for preserving. 



Vegetation for the two past months has been stationary above ground 

 wheat sown on the 29th of October gave a braird on the 9th of December, 

 a period of 41 days. Mean temperature of that period 40*4°. Wheat sown 

 on the 26th of November has not yet appeared. The winter aconite is just 

 beginning to break the surface ; it was in flower last season by the 23d of 

 January. The berries of the J'rbutus Unedo (winter strawberry) only 

 begin to colour, and a great part are still green. During these 18 past 

 years the berries on the same plants were ripe by the end of January. The 

 low temperature in October and November has retarded the ripening 

 process. 



The following Table (^fig. 37.) will show, at one view, the mean temperature 

 (t) for every 10 days in 1829, and the dark line (« m t) the annual mean tem- 

 perature. {Enc. Gard., 2350.) — A, G, Annat Gardens, Feb. 1, 1830. 



37 



isf 4- 



