208 
ON THE CHANGE OF CLIMATE IN BRITAIN. 
specimen shown by Mr. Wyness, gardener at Buckingham Palace, at the June show of 
the South London Horticultural Society. A good compost to grow them in consists of 
three parts well decomposed leaf mould, one part rich yellow loam, with silver sand suffi- 
cient to colour it. 
They are easily propagated by cuttings during the months of May, June, July, and 
even August or September ; placed on a gentle heat they strike readily : when about 
3 or 4 inches high they require potting off into small size 60 -pots, when they will only 
require attention to watering and shifting to ensure good plants. The seed of these 
flowers should be sown in February. After the pans are properly crocked and filled with 
the above compost, sprinkle the seed regularly over the surface, press it down lightly 
with the hand, and dust a little of the compost over it, barely covering it ; they should 
then be placed in a moist heat at a temperature from 70° to 75°. The young plants 
generally make their appearance in about three weeks from the sowing. The following 
are good flowers : — Psyche, Duval, Optimus, Duchess, St. Margaret, Hobinson’s Defiance, 
Princess Alice, Duchess dAumale, Mrs. Barker’s Advancer, Fairy Queen, Empress 
of Scarlets. 
ON THE CLIMATE OF BRITAIN HAVING CHANGED SINCE THE 
ROMAN CONQUEST. 
By William Scourfield Grey, Esq., of the Temple , London. 
In page 20 there is an excellent paper on British Oaks, by Mr. C. MTntosh, in which 
he discusses the very interesting question, “ Whether the climate of this country has 
changed ” (for the worse,) “ since the Roman invasion ? ” After citing several facts which 
seem to favour this view, he says : — “ In conclusion I may add that the Roman historians, 
Caesar and Tacitus, who both resided several years in Britain, affirm that the climate 
was in their time superior to that of Gaul (modern France), and that the vine and the olive 
flourished here, which in their day it did not in France.” — Vide Caesar de Bell. Gall., lib. 
v., c. 12 ; Vit. Agric., c. 12 ; and Diodorus Siculus, lib. v. ss. 25, 26. 
I have looked at the passages referred to, and the one in Tacitus does not appear 
to me to favour Mr. MTntosh’s opinion, it is : — “ Solum praeter oleam vitemque et 
cetera calidioribus terris oriri sueta, patiens frugum, fecundum : tarde mitescunt, cito 
praeveniunt; eademque utriusque rei causa, multus humor terrarum ccelique ; ” thus also 
giving the reason — “ on account of the dampness of the earth and atmosphere they grow 
quickly but ripen slowly.” I conclude that the mistake has arisen from the translation of 
the word prater, which no doubt sometimes means “in addition to,” or “besides,” as also 
“ except,” which last is certainly the meaning to be here attached to it. Murphy, in his 
translation, thus renders the passage : “ The soil does not afford either the vine, the olive, 
or the fruits of warmer climates, but it is otherwise fertile, and yields corn in great plenty ; 
vegetation is quick in shooting up and slow in coming to maturity. Both effects are 
reducible to the same cause, the constant moisture of the atmosphere and the dampness of 
the soil.” So also, in a translation edited by Richard Grenewey, fol. 1612, it is said, “ The 
soile, setting aside olive and vine, and the rest which are proper to warmer countreyes, 
taketh all kinde of graine and beareth it in abundance; ” and in a French translation, by 
Perrot, Lyons, 1793, it is construed, “II n’y croit ny vignes ny oliviers, ny les autres 
fruits qui viennent aux pais chauds, quoyque de ailleurs elle soit assez fertile :”p. 647, thus 
putting the matter, so far as Tacitus is concerned, beyond doubt. 
Caesar, in the passage quoted, says: “ Materia cujusque generis, ut in Gallia est, praeter 
fagum atque abietem — Loca sunt temperatiora, quam in Gallia, remissioribus frigoribus.” — 
Edition Oudendorph, 1737, which shows that, except the beech and fir, the vegetation of 
Britain was similar to that of Gaul, and that there were spots where the cold was less intense, 
which is so now. As to the vegetation in Gaul, Diodorus Siculus (who wrote in the time of 
Caesar, and is referred to by Mr. MTntosh,) says, “ bta be rrjv vnep/SoXrjv tov \jsvxov$ 
