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INJURIES TO PLANTS, WINTER, 1879-80. 



of its leaves, and Picea Pindrow lost them all, but both are again in 

 fine foliage. Fruit trees, &c, among hardy fruit plants there has 

 not been much damage done. Nectarines and Peaches on walls have 

 suffered most, a good deal of the young shoots being either killed or 

 so badly injured as to be useless. The result is no fruit, and the 

 trees present a very ragged appearance. Most kinds of fruit trees had 

 abundance of blossom upon them this spring, especially Cherries and 

 Plums ; but owing to the unmatured state of the buds last autumn, 

 they set badly, and there will not be above an average crop of fruit 

 as a rule. Some few trees are heavily laden, but a great many have 

 not a fruit upon them, fully two-thirds of the Pear trees having 

 none. Currants and Raspberries are abundant, Gooseberries being 

 about an average. Strawberry plants, where exposed to the full sun 

 in winter, have been a good deal injured by the repeated freezing 

 and thawing ; the fruit this year is about an average. Vegetables, 

 these stood the severe frost well. Broccoli plants, laid over in Nov., 

 with their heads to the N., but protected in no other way, came 

 through without any loss, and have been plentiful and good from 

 Nov. till the present time. Celery stood well without any protec- 

 tion ; and all other winter crops, except a few Curled Kale and 

 Savoys which grew in the lowest part of the garden, only a few feet 

 above the level of the South Esk ; where they were killed entirely, to 

 a height of about 20 feet above the river as the ground rises from it. 

 Vegetable crops this season are so far very satisfactory, and fully a 

 month earlier than at the same period last year. Flowering 

 Shrubs — A noteworthy fact in connection with the present season 

 is the remarkable scarcity of flowers on most of our hardy trees and 

 shrubs. Early Rhododendrons flowered pretty freely, but R. ponti- 

 cum and all the later varieties are almost flowerless. Any flowers to 

 be seen on them are puny and badly formed, and not at all 

 attractive. Our Sikkim Rhododendrons, a large number of which 

 have been raised from seed sent from India a good many years ago, 

 and are now fine plants ranging up to 10 ft. high and as much through, 

 have suffered considerably in their foliage ; but few, if any, are killed 

 outright, and most of them are breaking well from the old wood, 

 and promise soon to recover their former vigour. Deutzias, Lilacs, 

 Philadelphus, Ribes, Weigelas and others have as a rule but sparsely 

 flowered. Many Horsechesnuts are without a single flower-spike ; 

 and the fine old Hawthorns, for which Dalkeith Park is famous, have 



