572 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. c December 23 , isso. 
soil employed, which he obtains from land adjoining the houses. 
He prefers the single-stem method of training, although several 
of the plants along the wall have been allowed to retain two, and 
in some cases three shoots. The plants with only one stem are 
from 10 to 12 feet in height, and bunches of fruit have been cut 
from them weighing from 2 to 4 lbs., and single fruits weighing 
more than a pound have been frequently cut. One house is filled 
with young plants about 3 feet high just commencing to bloom, 
and these are expected to maintain a supply until the main crop 
begins next season. The variety most grown is the Old Lied ; a 
house filled with Stamfordian proved a complete failure. 
The majority of the Vines, which share the houses with the 
Tomatoes and show the same good management, were only 
planted in the spring of the present year, yet they have each 
carried one to two bunches of good size, and the wood is strong 
and perfectly ripened. 
A house of Cucumbers attracts notice. The plants are now 
coming into bearing, and are remarkably healthy and strong. 
Judging from present appearances they will no doubt well repay 
for the skilled labour and excellent attention bestowed on them. 
—Visitor. 
OXFORD BOTANIC GARDEN.—No. 4. 
Many other aquatic plants occupied the same tank as the 
Nymphmas, some very rare in cultivation, or marked by special 
attractions either in their flowers, their structure, or their history. 
A description of all, or even a passing reference to them, would 
exceed the bounds of my notes, but a few of the most remarkable 
may be briefly alluded to. The charming Eichornia azurea was 
in first-rate condition, growing vigorously and flowering abun¬ 
dantly, and, like the aquatic plants generally, seemed thoroughly 
at home. It had increased very rapidly, and several botanic 
gardens where its culture had been unsuccessful obtained fresh 
supplies from Oxford. There also appears to be a probability of 
the plant becoming popular for ponds and tanks out of doors, as 
Mr. Robert Baxter informs me that in August last cuttings were 
placed in the pond there, and the plants thus obtained grew fast 
and flowered beautifully until November, attracting considerable 
attention from visitors. 
Limnocharis Humboldtii and L. Plumieri, the South American 
allies of our British “Flowering Rush,” as the Butomus um¬ 
bellate is inaptly termed, were notable for their pale yellow 
flowers of brief duration but freely produced. They are both 
admirably adapted for cultivating with Nymphaeas or similar 
plants and are easily managed. The Water Caltrops (Trapa 
natans) was flourishing in one portion of the tank. This plant is 
invested with much interest, as is generally known ; but, for the 
benefit of those unacquainted with its peculiarities, it may be 
stated that it is chiefly remarkable for its seed, which has a strange 
triangular form, suggestive of the instrument indicated in the 
popular name. The seeds also abound in starch, which has given 
rise to their use as food in some countries. For instance, they are 
stated to be so employed in Venice, where they are known as 
Jesuit’s Nuts, and in other parts of Europe they are converted 
into flour. But as a food product the species Trapa bispinosa is 
even more remarkable, for we learn on good authority that the 
seeds form a large portion of the diet of several thousand persons 
in Kashmir during five months of the year. The ally of our 
native Piilwort, Salvinia natans, with its neat elliptical leaves 
closely studded with bristle-bearing warts on the upper surface, 
and arranged in a pinnate manner on the stem, is always attrac¬ 
tive to the lover of vegetable curiosities. It was growing most 
vigorously, as well as its diminutive relative Azolla pinnata, and 
the still smaller Riccia fluitans, the latter of considerable interest 
to the microscopist. Those pretty Scrophulariaceous marsh plants 
Herpestis Monnieri and H. reflexa, with their pale blue flowers and 
thick leaves, were in good condition upon some soil at the edge of 
the tank ; while among larger plants in pots were handsome speci¬ 
mens of Thalia dealbata, Caladium distillatorium, C. esculentum, 
Cyperus pseudo-giganteus, and Papyrus antiquorum that added 
considerably to the beauty of the house. I had nearly omitted to 
mention that the Nelumbiums were also very attractive, both 
N. speciosum and N. luteum being in fine condition and flowering 
well. 
A brief notice of one other plant and I will conclude my re¬ 
marks upon this house, which have already proved somewhat 
lengthy. It is the rarely seen Houttuynia cordata I wish to 
draw attention to, for when well grown and in flower it is elegant 
and striking. It is a marsh plant from Tropical Asia and Japan, 
and is one of the few representatives of the small natural order 
Saururacefe, which is allied to the Piper family. The flowers are 
individually of little beauty, but they are borne in a close compact 
spike several inches long, at the base of which is a ring of large 
white bracts, constituting the chief floral beauty of the species. 
The leaves are, as the specific name implies, cordate in form, and 
their rich green colour renders the plant at all times worth grow¬ 
ing where sufficient heat and moisture can be provided. 
Of the occupants of the several other houses much could be 
written without exhausting the subject, but I must confine myself 
to a very cursory description of the most noteworthy. In a stove 
near the aquatic house were an extremely large specimen of the bril¬ 
liant Euphorbia splendens, and one of the oldest plants of Chamte- 
rops humilis in this country. It is said to have been in the Oxford 
garden for over one hundred years, and appears likely to last for 
a long time yet. Xylophylla latifolia was represented by a large 
plant bearing the flowers in the peculiar manner which charac¬ 
terises the genus—namely, on the margins of the leaves, or, more 
strictly, phyllodes. The house devoted to Ferns contained a good 
collection, including several rare species, and generally healthy. 
A cooler structure was occupied by Cape Pelargoniums, bulbs, 
and Haworthias. Of the last-named genus a number of species and 
varieties are grown, some being far more attractive than the 
majority of succulent plants, though they are comparatively little 
known except in a few large collections. The house specially 
reserved for such plants contained many specimens of great age ; 
the two most notable being Cereus heptagona, one of the oldest 
inhabitants of the gardens, and Cereus senilis, 14 feet in height 
and about 8 inches in diameter. Aloe socotrina was also very 
fine, and several others were similarly remarkable. There remains 
one plant to notice that 1 have never seen in cultivation before, 
and perhaps there are few other botanic gardens where it could 
be seen—namely, Conferva segogropila, the Vegetable Ball or Cow’s 
Cud, a most peculiar species of a singular genus. It consists of 
dull green slender filaments, which grow in lakes and similar situa¬ 
tions, but at Oxford is grown in a vessel of water placed in one of 
the houses. These filaments are at first loose, but gradually be¬ 
come aggregated, and finally form a firm spherical ball usually 
2^ to 3 inches in diameter, but it sometimes attains a greater size, 
as I have seen dried specimens fully 6 inches in diameter, but 
these also included several other substances. As a curiosity 
perhaps the plant is not rivalled in the whole collection. 
The hardy plants, like those in the other departments, are well 
attended and numerous, but unfortunately at the time of my visit 
the weather was so wet that it precluded any satisfactory examina¬ 
tion of the grounds. Therefore to another visit, which may possibly 
be made under more favourable circumstances, I must defer any 
notes upon that portion of the garden. I cannot, however, con¬ 
clude these brief and incomplete jottings without expressing my 
thanks both to Mr. W. H. Baxter and his son for their courtesy 
during my short stay at Oxford.—L. C. 
THE METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
PHENOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR THE YEAR 1880. 
The usual monthly meeting of this Society was held on Wednesday 
the 15th inst. at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Mr. G. J. Symons, 
F.R.S., President, m the chair. After the election of new Fellows a 
paper on the above subject was read by the Rev. T. A. Preston, M.A., 
F.M.S., who stated—Agriculturally speaking the year may be con¬ 
sidered as disappointing. Till June the weather was such as has 
rarely been experienced for farm operations. The severe cold of the 
winter broke up and mellowed the soil, and the dry open weather 
enabled farmers to clean their land from the excessive growth of weeds 
caused by the damp of the year before. The dry May was not favour¬ 
able for the hay, which suffered severely in some places ; but still a 
crop with far more real nourishment in it than would be obtained 
from a rank growth would have been secured had it not been for the 
terrible floods of July in the midland counties, which not only seriously 
injured the crop, so that it was frequently not worth the trouble of 
removing off the land, but also carried it entirely away in low-lying 
districts. The corn, again, which was looking most promising till 
July, suffered much during that damp period, and had it not been for 
the subsequent fine weather would have been ruined. But the 
unfavourable season of 1879 produced very serious effects on vege¬ 
tation, especially on trees and shrubs, and their produce. The young 
wood of the trees was not ripened, and as a natural consequence the 
severe winter killed an enormous quantity of some kinds, and greatly 
injured others. Laurustinus was generally killed to the ground, and 
in some districts the destruction of other shrubs was severely felt. 
The evergreens in many cases lost large quantities of their leaves. 
Hollies especially are mentioned by several observers, and Privet 
hedges were sometimes quite leafless. With respect to fruit trees, 
Apples and Pears in some localities, but not all, were hardly able to 
put forth any bloom, and the crops were consequently extremely poor. 
Wall fruit was also a general failure, but this was partially owing to 
severe weather when the trees were in bloom, for in some instances 
the show of bloom was splendid. Gooseberries and Currants produced 
enormous crops, and Strawberries were very fine, but they lasted an 
unusually short time. Seeds generally ripened with difficulty; much 
