PREFACE. 



The proposal to obtain information upon the injuries to and losses 

 amongst plants from the great cold of the severe winter 1879-80 

 was first made by Mr. Elwes at a meeting of the Scientific Com- 

 mittee of the Royal Horticultural Society, held on March 9th, 1880 ; 

 when a Sub-Committee was appointed to collect evidence upon " the 

 effects of the severe frost on vegetation," consisting of Sir J. D. 

 Hooker, Mr. G. F. Wilson, Rev. H. H. Crewe, Dr. M. T. Masters, 

 and Col. F. Clarke, Dr. R. Hogg being Secretary, with power to 

 add to their number. Schedules were issued in April and again in 

 November. The returns of which form the first part of the Re- 

 ports of this Volume (pp. 1 — 192). 



The winter of 1880-81 having been also exceptionally severe, it 

 was proposed to issue additional schedules ; and in order to obtain 

 comparative results, the present writer drew up a list of plants 

 which had been very generally described in the previous schedules. 

 The list being approved by the Committee was issued in the sum- 

 mer of 1881. The reports received constitute the latter portion 

 of this volume. 



The extremely low temperatures having formed the particular 

 feature of these winters, I have procured a considerable number of 

 records in addition to those stated by the writers of the Reports; 

 and I endeavoured to verify the latter as far as possible by com- 



