December 9, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 525 
Oxford, they frequently become larger. This species has been 
stated to be a native of Eastern Siberia, but it was brought to this 
country about the commencement of the present century from 
China, where it has long been in cultivation. Although the plant 
has thus been in English gardens for nearly eighty years it is still 
comparatively scarce, a fact which is the more to be regretted as 
it is so well adapted for growing in small tanks in cool houses. The 
flowers are pure white, and the leaves a rich green tint—a pretty 
contrast; and were it possible to obtain some forms with blue or 
rose-coloured flowers they would be very welcome additions. 
Those who have the means and opportunity of acting upon it would 
do well to consider the suggestion of Mr. F. W. Burbidge in his 
work on the “ Improvement of Cultivated Plants.” He remarks 
that “ if N. pygmaea were fertilised with pollen from N. rosea, 
N. cmrulea, or other species, a race of elegant miniature Nymphreas 
might be the result,” which is certainly within the bounds of 
probability, as some very satisfactory results have already been 
obtained in the genus by hybridising. 
The really tropical and heat-loving Water Lilies now claim our 
attention, and these form the greater part of the collection under 
notice. One of the most handsome at the time of my visit was 
N. Devoniensis, a charming hybrid that originated at Chatsworth 
about thirty years ago. It was obtained by crossing N. rubra 
with N. dentata or N. Lotus, and is unquestionably a great im¬ 
provement upon both parents. It bears very large rich crimson 
flowers which produced during the greater part of the year—a 
quality that is not possessed by many of the genus, while it is 
remarkable for the vigour of its growth. Altogether N. Devoni¬ 
ensis is one of the most attractive Water Lilies known. N. Lotus 
is the Egyptian White Lotus that grows in the River Nile, and of 
which N. edulis, N. rubra, N. dentata and others found in India 
are considered by some botanists as merely varieties. The typical 
form has flowers of moderate size, white tinged with pink. The 
tubers and seeds of N. edulis and some others are employed as 
food by the natives of the countries where they abound. Another 
of the Egyptian Lotuses is N. cserulea or cyanea, and this was 
flowering very freely, the colour being a very delicate blue tint. 
The flowers also possess a most agreeable fragrance—an additional 
recommendation of considerable value. N. micrantha is con¬ 
sidered as a variety of that species ; it is very pretty, but is 
deficient in colour and is chiefly remarkable for the buds borne on 
the leaves, which somewhat resemble the bulbils of Liliams or the 
plantlets produced on the fronds of some Ferns as they separate 
from the parent and become new plants. N. scutifolia is similar 
to N. casrulea, its foliage being especially fine. The bright rose- 
coloured N. rubra has been incidentally referred to ; and of all the 
other forms grown at Oxford I can only note one more—namely, 
N. gigantea, which represents the genus in Australia. This hand¬ 
some species has very large rich blue flowers that are freely 
produced, and the plant is marked by its vigorous habit. It 
should be grown wherever sufficient space can be given to permit 
its unimpeded development. 
While discussing the Nymphaeas it may be remarked that they 
are very variable, and much difficulty is experienced in defining 
species and varieties, and as a consequence considerable confusion 
exists in the names. Some valuable characters to aid in deter¬ 
mining the different forms have been drawn from the seeds, 
flower buds, and air vessels in the stems and leaves.—L. Castle. 
THE SEASON NEAR INVERNESS. 
From what I read in the daily papers it would seem that the 
weather we have been having in these parts has been more or less 
general all over the United Kingdom. The heavy fall of snow 
which occurred here on the 17th ult,, covering the ground in some 
places to a depth of 18 to 20 inches, has been followed by a 
general thaw, ushered in with strong gales from the south-west 
accompanied with heavy showers, and for the past three or four 
days the rain has been so persistent as to render all outdoor work 
almost impracticable. 
This year we had an exceptionally warm summer, and in the 
beginning of August there was a grand display of what is known 
in these parts as “ the merry dancers,” otherwise the northern 
lights, which, instead of appearing as usually seen—like a bright 
halo in the heavens, on this occasion seemed more like the rolling 
waves of a prairie on fire, chasing one after another in rapid 
succession, continuing, as it were, flowing onward and onward 
from the north to the south. This was considered by most of 
those who have resided long in this district as sure indications of 
a severe winter. In 1860, when the “merry dancers” were seen, 
they appeared wonderfully bright but steady, and continuing 
every night for about five or six weeks. The thermometer then 
indicated, I am told, as low a temperature as 4^° below zero, and 
it was the severest winter known. During the continuance of the 
snow this year the lowest temperature registered was, I think, 8° 
above zero, a difference of 12^° from I860 ; still, we had as sharp a 
frost as one would wish to feel. 
There is no doubt that our climate is and has been undergoing 
great changes ; and as evidencing this 1 would mention that in 
looking over some old family letters written from this glen nearly 
one hundred years since, the writer—a lady corresponding with 
her brother who was then in India—informs him “ of the Peach 
tree in the open having yielded a wonderful crop that season, 
about one hundred having come to full perfection, many of them 
weighing from 6 to 7 ozs., and of the highest flavour.” Now this 
was written from Sheughlie, a farmhouse situated at the extreme 
west end of our Loch Meiklie, which is about seven miles or there¬ 
abouts from Temple Pier on Loch Ness, and is considered about 
the coldest as it certainly is the bleakest-looking house in the 
whole glen. It is about 300 feet above the sea level. The same 
lady, writing in September, 1788, says, “ The harvest his been a 
very good one in general, a good crop, and most of it already 
safely got home, but we in the braes of Urquhart are rather late 
by reason of a late seed corn we got amongst us. I must see to 
rectify this in future. Cows still give a great price—£4 10-?., my 
father’s price overhead. Corry (the neighbouring farmer to West) 
gives £5 and £6, but he has rather a better kind—in short, these 
are favourable circumstances in the highlands of Scotland. 
Butter and cheese also give an amazing price, and yet they are 
coming into the art of making much larger quantities than 
formerly.” 
Now, anyone attempting to grow Peaches in the open air 
would be regarded as nearly a lunatic ! The frequent alterna¬ 
tions of temperature to which we are subject, together with the 
very scant allowance of sunshine with which we are generally 
favoured, totally precludes all idea of growing any fruit except 
that of the hardiest kind. My gardener will have it that they 
were better people in those days than the present, and that is 
why they were blest with such good seasons. Whether this be the 
case or not—which, like any Scot, he would be ready to argue on— 
it is quite evident that our seasons are altering for the worse, for 
rarely do we hear now-a-days “ of most of the crops being safely 
home by September.” You will note the difference also in prices 
ruling in those days, £4 10.?. being considered a great price for a 
cow, which now would fetch more than three times that sum. 
Unfortunately the price of butter is not mentioned ; but if we may 
