EFFECT OF FROSTS OF WINTER OF 1916-17 ON VEGETATION. 393 
His introductory article is printed herewith in full, and the lists 
of plants have, with his consent, been incorporated in the general 
list. 
The Winter of 1916-17 at Aldenham, Elstree, Herts. 
" The winter of 1 916-17 was the most severe that has been 
experienced since that of 1894-5, and I consider that it offers a fair 
test of hardiness ; I mean that any plants which survived it at Alden- 
ham with no, or slight, injury may be tried with fair prospect of 
success in almost any part of England. 
" At no time during last winter was the thermometer abnormally 
low ; the lowest reading at Aldenham was three degrees above zero in 
a screen protected from the north, whereas in January 1895 we touched 
three degrees below zero ; but the disagreeable feature of last winter 
was a continuance of bitter east wind which, if not fatal to plant life, 
resulted in severe damage, defoliation, and disfigurement. Indeed, 
any one who examines the following lists will be struck by the small 
number of shrubs or trees which have actually perished. 
" As will be seen, I have divided the plants into those which are 
uninjured, slightly injured, severely injured, and killed. This sounds 
simple enough, but in practice it is not so easy to decide what con- 
stitutes severe injury as would appear at first sight. The natural 
way would be to regard severe injury as having occurred where a plant 
has been killed to the ground level, or at any rate has had the branches 
and a good deal of the stem destroyed, and this is the view which, 
generally speaking, I have adopted. 
" Such a happening is, however, of very diverse effect in the case 
of plants of quite different character ; e.g. a Cypress, Juniper, or other 
Conifer so suffering is for all practical purposes ruined, and in the 
case of a broad-leaved tree such as an Ailanthus, though ultimate 
recovery may be possible, yet the growth of years may have been 
destroyed, and the symmetrical form definitely spoilt. On the other 
hand, in the case of Fuchsias, Perowskias, Caryopteris, and most of 
the Hypericums, being killed to the ground is a ve^ry ordinary event 
which takes place with me in much milder winters than the past, and 
which does little or no harm to the subject ; indeed in some cases, 
where the plant has become scraggy, is an actual improvement. 
Writing as I do towards the end of July, I find plants of this nature 
which undoubtedly were killed to the ground, but which have grown 
again so vigorously that anyone who looked at them without minute 
investigation would pronounce uninjured. 
" Aldenham seems to me for more than one reason a place where 
a catalogue such as follows should form a good test of hardiness, 
and a guide for those proposing to plant a garden in the colder parts 
of England. It is no doubt very gratifying for Mr. Williams at 
Caerhays or Sir John Ross at Rostrevor to show their friends 
magnificent examples of Embothrium coccineum or Desfontainea 
