332 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
very little better, but July i, 2, and 3, the first three days of the Battle 
of the Somme, were fine and warm, even if the wind were, as it eve r 
is, in the wrong quarter for our gas. These were immediately followed 
by the disastrous four wet days which effectually precluded our taking 
full advantage of the great successes we had gained in the southern 
part of the battlefield. The weather afterwards improved, but it 
remained cold, and the end of August brought day after day of rain 
and chilly north-west wind and the consequent breakdown of the 
Somme roads. The clerk of the weather has indeed been no friend 
of the Allies in this War. He has on the contrary showered unending 
and incalculable blessings on our enemies. 
September was very cold, and I only note six days in the month 
with wind from south or west : on all the others there was wind from 
north-west or east, a most unusual condition for the month. October 
and November were normal, but there were six consecutive days of 
extraordinarily dense fog from November 28 to December 3. December 
was again a month of rain and floods with mild temperature. 
Wintry weather set in on January 14, and on January 20 began the 
wonderful frost of 1917. From that date until February 15 the most 
rigorous severity prevailed, and the daily minimum temperature from 
January 22 till February 11 actually averaged 11*24° Fahrenheit, or 
2076° of frgst per diem I The hardest frosts were on January 28 and 
February 9, 29° and 27° respectively. There was a recrudescence of 
this long winter during March, the thermometer registering frost on 
sixteen days, but it was less severe. 
The early spring of 1917 was exceedingly tempestuous, and the 
Battle of Arras commenced amid driving snow-storms, very trying 
to the fighting troops. I saw the first swallow on April 23 and heard 
the first cuckoo on May 1. 
The summer of that year was as remarkable in its way as the 
previous winter had been. Between May 21 and June 20 the maximum 
shade temperature fell below 70° on only three days, the highest read- 
ing being 84° on June 18 ; while from June 20 till October 4 it never 
upon one single day fell below 6o°. During this period of 106 days the 
thermometer showed 8o°, or over, only twice ; but it exceeded 70° on 
forty-four days. Only on fourteen days did it not reach 65°. As to 
the minimum daily temperature, the mercury never fell below 50° from 
June 4 till September 20. 
Thus the summer of 1917 was exceptionally equable. Moreover, 
it was fine and sunny without being droughty, and it would be hard 
to find a more lovely month than September of that year. 
The remainder of the autumn was uneventful from the weather 
point of view, and our opinions were much divided as to the winter's 
prospects. Most of us thought we would be let off easily after the 
rigorous experiences of the previous winter. We were wrong. The 
arctic spell began at an earlier date : that was the only difference. 
It froze on December 10, and from that day till January 9 winter held 
us in a grip of iron. We had 21° of frost on December 23 and 26° on 
