14 
PROCEEDINGS COTTESWOLD CLUB 
1918 
artificially raising the temperature. Thus branches put into a 
warm room at the end of October showed absolutely no tendency 
to develope. In December, however, they could be forced, and 
as time went on they proved to be more and more amenable to 
the effect of a rise in temperature. In other words, the invisible 
process of preparing for the spring was automatically proceeding. 
The following figures give the number of days of forcing needed 
at various dates to make cherry branches flower : — 
My object in discussing this case is to show that the 
effect of temperature on plant-development is not a simple 
problem. The most picturesque association with what is known 
as the science of Phrenology (i.e. the lore of the appearance of 
flowers) is its practical connection with ancient agricultural 
maxims. Blomefield puts the thing very clearly 1 : " The 
middle of March may be in the long run the most suitable time 
for sowing various kinds of grain,” but the husbandman may 
easily go wrong in this or other operations if he sticks to a 
fixed date. But if he knows that the conditions necessary for 
his purpose are also necessary for the flowering of some familiar 
herb, he will be safer in waiting for his guide to show itself than 
in going by dates. Wrongly or rightly, this assumption has 
been commonly followed. 
Stillingfleet quotes from Aristophanes that “ the crane points 
out the time of sowing ” and “ the kite when it is time to shear 
your sheep.” An old Swedish proverb tells us that “ when you 
see the white wagtail you may turn your sheep into the field, 
and when you see the wheatear you may sow your grain.” 
I have come across an English proverb : “ When the sloe tree 
is as white as a sheet, you must sow your barley be it dry or 
December 14th 
January 10th 
February 2nd 
March 2nd 
. 27 days. 
. 18 
• 17 
March nth 
March 23rd . . 
April 3rd 
1 A Naturalist’s Calendar, p. xii. 
