PREFACE. 



paring each temperature with others recorded from the same place 

 or the neighbourhood of it. My main sources of information were 

 Mr. Marriott's papers " On the Frost of December, 1879, and of 

 January, 1881, over the British Isles," as well as Reports from the 

 Meteorological Office, for which I am indebted to the kindness 

 of Mr. R. H. Scott. 



In some cases in comparing the temperatures given by the authors 

 of the Reports with others prevailing in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood, I found considerable discrepancies, and have therefore inserted 

 a [?] indicating some doubt as to the correctness. If no tempe- 

 ratures were given I have added others from the nearest places, 

 giving the approximate distance in miles (measured from accurate 

 maps of the counties) as well as the altitudes, rainfall, &c. These 

 latter details, as well as the brief summaries of the Meteorological 

 Observations for each County are taken from Symons' " British 

 Rainfall." 



I would take this opportunity of calling attention to an article 

 which has lately appeared in the " Annales Agronomiques," torn xii., 

 p. 353 (Aug. 1886), by M. Mouillefert, entitled La temperature des 

 arbres et les effets du grand hiver de 1879-1880 d Grrignon, in 

 which the author observes the effect of the frost of 1879-80, after 

 six years upon the trunks of trees. They exhibited three prin- 

 ciple degrees of injury with intermediate conditions ; viz., some in 

 which the frost having penetrated down to and almost or quite 

 killed the cambium layer, the latter has been renewed by the 

 living medullary rays, the new tissues having united and formed 

 a continuous layer ; secondly, where the injury has been more 

 severe, the restoration has only occurred in isolated places j 

 lastly, where all the primitive cambium has been destroyed, as 

 well as all the fundamental tissue which might have been able to 

 recover it, then the tree has no longer vegetated. 



