Jannary 1, 1891 ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
11 
majority of cases the minimum occurs in the early morning hours, and 
therefore belongs to the day on which (at !) A.>r.) it is read. Hence, in 
accordance with rule, the entry at Camden Square is for Xovember 29th.” 
Heturns are published from twenty counties. 
-Royal Meteorological Societt.— At the last monthly meet¬ 
ing of this Society, Mr. H. F. Blanford, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the 
-chair. Dr. T. Fowler, Mr. A. Greg, and Mr. IT. Woolcock, C.E., were elected 
Fellows of the Society. The following papers were read :—1, “ Note on 
ei Lightning Stroke, Presenting some Features of Interest,” by Mr. R. II. 
Scolt, F.R.S. On January 5th a house near Ballyglass, Co. Mayo, was 
struck by lightning, and some amount of damage done. A peculiar 
occurrence happened to a basket of eggs lying on the floor of one of 
the rooms. The shells were shattered, so that they fell off when the 
eggs were put in boiling water, but the inner membrane was not broken. 
HAM HOUSE. 
Passing up the River Thames from London to Hampton Court it is 
curious how few gardens or mansions of note are seen on the left or 
Surrey side, though on the Middlesex bank they are very numerous for 
a good portion of the distance. Kew, of course, is one of the great 
exceptions, but after that there is nothing remarkable until Buccleuch 
House, just beyond Richmond Bridge, is reached, and there the beau¬ 
tiful grounds now constitute a public resort in the “ Terrace Gardens,” 
transferred to the town in recent years. Shortly after leaving that point 
Ham House is approached, and there is little else on that side until far 
beyond Kingston. Possibly this may be due in some degree to the pre¬ 
vailing flat character of the Surrey shore for a considerable distance 
above Richmond, but this reason is not very weighty either, as the other 
side is not much more elevated or varied, but the neighbourhood of a suc¬ 
cession of small towns may also have had some influence, and a more 
direct communication with London by road. However the fact 
remains, whatever the cause may be, that Ham House, the subject of 
Fig. 3.-HAM HOUSE. 
The eggs tasted quite sound. The owner’s account is that he boiled a 
few eggs from the top of the basket, the rest were “ made into a 
mummy,” “ the lower ones all flattened, but not broken.” 2, “Note on 
'the Effect of Lightning on a Dwelling House,” by Mr. A. Brewin, 
F.R.Met.Soc. This is an account of the damage done to the author's 
house at Twickenham on September 2.3rd. 13, “Wind Systems and 
Trade Routes between the Cape of Good Hope and Australia,” by Capt. 
M. W. C. Hepworth, F.Pi.Met.Soc. The author is of opinion that the 
best parallel on which commanders of vessels navigating the South 
Indian Ocean between the Cape of Good Hope and the Australian 
Colonies should run down the longitude is between the fist and 42nd 
parallels during the winter months, and between the 45th and 4Gth 
parallels during the summer months. 4, “ Report on the Phenological 
■Observations for 1890,” by Mr. E. Mawley, F.R.Met.Soc. Taking the 
year ending August, the weather of the autumn, winter, and spring, 
and of the first summer month could scarcely have been more favour¬ 
able for vegetation, while that of July and August proved altogether 
.as unpropitious. 5, “ The Climate of Hong Kong,” by Dr. W. Doberck, 
F.R.Met.Soc. This is a discussion of Hie meteorological results at the 
Hong Kong Observatory, and at the Victoria Peak during the five year.=, 
1834 88. 
I this notice, is almost the only private establishment of consequence 
near the river on that side for a distance of twenty or thirty miles. 
The attractions of the river Thames betwmen Richmond and Kingston 
are very great in the summer months, and familiar to thousands 
of holiday makers who journey up and down in the steamers running 
daily from London Bridge to Hampton Court. But there is one 
point near the celebrated Eel Pie Island where a most delightful 
view is obtained of the wooded heights of Richmond Hill and Park, 
which cannot fail to awaken the enthusiasm of the most prosaic or 
unromantic traveller. Seen on a flue summer’s evening when coming 
down the river it can scarcely be rivalled, and it is not surprising that 
poets have there found an ample theme. Then, too, the historical 
associations of the district are full of the deepest interest, and not the 
i least of these are furnished by Ham House, concerning w-hich something 
j has now to be said, but it would require a lengthy discourse to do it 
justice in all its aspects. 
First, as regards situation. There are few residences of similar 
importance an equal distance from London that are as isolated as this, 
and so removed from the noise and bustle of modern life. Richmond 
station is about three miles away, Kingston is almost as far, and the 
nearest station is at Twickenham, on the opposite side of the river ; but 
the ferry affirds a direct if a slow means of communication between the 
two shores. The quiet little village of Ham itself is fully a mile away, 
and so there is practically nothing to disturb the solitude and serenity 
of the house, its garden, and surroundings. All this is appropriate in 
