192 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
| August SO, 1888. 
colder still, a greater amount of rain falling in the latter month, and 
the temperature on several occasions being below 40°. The June rain¬ 
fall was 2 - 37 inches ; average, 2 inches. July, 4'47 inches ; average, 
3 inches. 
Of gard-n crops Potatoes are about half the weight of a good season, 
but the quality is good, and there is no disease ; Peas are thinly podded, 
and do not fill; French Beans are not yet ready ; Lettuces and that 
class of plants very fine; Carrots fine; Turnips small ; of fruit 
Strawberries over the whole about half a crop, quality deficient ; Apples 
a good crop; Pears fair ; Apricots and Teaches a large crop, also 
Cherries; Plums foor; small fruits generally below the average. All, 
of course, are late. 
Bedding plants have been extremely backward. Tender plants such 
as Iresines, are quite failures; Violas have done badly, Lobelias and 
Calceolarias doing best; Dahlias are very small and late ; Pelargoniums 
the same ; Pentstemons are very fine, also Pinks and Carnations ; border 
Chrysanthemums healthy, though late ; Delphiniums, Boses, Phloxes, 
Hollyhocks, and most herbaceous plants are growing well, and are firm ; 
Gladiolus were damaged with frost, but are now looking better, we are 
now cutting from these ; Lemoine’s hybrids rather earlier than the 
others. 
With fine weather now and later on the season may in some respects 
prove not so bad in the end, but with the same weather we have had 
matters will be very bad all round.—B. P. Brotherston, Tynningliame 
Gardens, Prestonkirk. 
GLAMORGANSHIRE. 
The rainfall here in June was 3-48 inches, which fell on sixteen 
days. The maximum temperature in the shade ranged from 60° to 7(1°, 
and the minimum from 41° to 54°. The prevailing winds during the 
month were from the east and west. There was a severe thunderstorm 
on the evening of the 25th, accompanied with heavy showers of rain and 
hailstones, which did some injury to fruit trees and vegetable crops. The 
rainfall in June, 1887, was 061 inch. The rainfall [in July was 
735 inches, which fell on twenty-seven days. The greatest fall was on 
the 7th, when we had a severe thunderstorm. The maximum tempe¬ 
rature during the month ranged from 59° to 67°, and the minimum 
from 42° to 57°. The prevailing winds were from the south-west and 
north-west. The rainfall in July last year was P51 inch. 
Of Apples and Pears there are very good crops, both on pyramid and 
wall trees. Plums are very scarce here, but good crops in some gardens 
in the district. Peaches a poor crop, and the trees much blighted in 
some places. Strawberries were a partial failure on account of so much 
rain during the time they were ripening. Gooseberries and Bed, White, 
and Black Currants plentiful and good where the buds were not de¬ 
stroyed by sparrows. There are good crops of most vegetables, but some 
of them have been a little later than usual. The early Potatoes are very 
badly diseased in this locality, and there is not more than half a crop. 
Late Potatoes are much better. 
Both annuals, perennials, and bedding plants have done well here ; 
and Boses have been very fine this season, and the blooms bright in 
colour. 
The Vines at Castle Coch are a complete failure this year on account 
of so much rain and want of sunshine during July, and they never pro¬ 
mised better for a good crop than they did in June.— A. Pettigrew, 
Castle Gardens, Cardiff. 
GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 
The cold wet time we have passed through has had a most retarding 
influence on vegetation generally, and nowhere are its effects more 
noticeable than in the kitchen garden, where the crops are later than 
they have been for years. Peas and Broad Beans have filled slowly, 
but the quality has been good, although in some instances the growth 
has been very rampant. Kidney Beans have grown strongly, the crop 
being excellent, but we were unable to gather any until this month, and 
the Runners follow slowly. Amongst Vegetable Marrows, Moore’s 
Cream has proved the best this season, fruiting more freely than any 
other variety we grow. Potatoes are a good crop of fair quality, but the 
disease is showing itself rather freely. Onions are strong, but bulbing 
slowly, and unless the autumn happens to be very favourable they stand 
a poor chance of keeping well throughout the winter. Broccoli and 
other winter vegetables are growing luxuriantly. Small fruits are 
plentiful, but the wet proved most destructive to Strawberries, causing 
a deficiency in flavour, and many to decay on the ground. A notable 
exception was Loxford Hall Seedling, which for the first time has been 
satisfactory. 
Roses never looked more promising than early in the summer, but as 
the garden has rather a low situation the weather was too much for 
them, and many buds of the more tender varieties decayed without 
opening. The more hardy sorts did very veil, being especially fine in 
colour. In the flower garden no other plants have flowered so freely as 
the Tuberous Begonias. Pelargoniums have been better than might be 
-expected, although somewhat inclined to rankness of growth. Verbenas, 
Petunias, and Calceolarias made good growth during the wet weather, 
and are now a mass of bloom. Carnations have been late, and not so 
good as they usually are. Mesembryanthemums and other tender 
bedders have done fairly well, with the exception of Alternantberas. 
Iresine Herbsti has been very effective. Herbaceous plants generally 
have grown well, and make promise of a good autumn bloom. Ferns 
have had a glorious time of it, and their appearance shows how well 
they can appreciate such weather.— J. MacDonald, Angestcn. 
HERTFORDSHIRE. 
Most of the kitchen garden crops have suffered more or less here 
owing to the continuous rain and absence of sun. In June we had 
sixteen rainy days, the rainfall was 3'79 inches In July we had twenty- 
six rainy days, rainfall 4T3 inches. Our gardens are late as a rule, the 
soil being very heavy, with a subsoil of strong clay. Potatoes in this 
district are a good crop, but the disease is very prevalent. Snowdrop 
is our favourite variety, the tubers of which are clean and good. Peas 
made an abundance of growth, but were late coming in, and filled 
badly ; the best were Prodigy and Duke of Albany. Carrots, Parsnips, 
and Beet good. Onions eaten very much by the maggot. 
With sc ireely a fine day in July the summer bedding plants had 
more the appearance of October than the middle of summer, but the 
recent fine weather has wrought wonders. Begonias, Calceolarias; 
Heliotrope, and Lobelia alone seemed to enjoy the unseasonable weather. 
Sub-tropical and carpet bedding are badly coloured, and have made but 
little growth. Annuals and perennials generally I have never seen do 
better. The mixed borders here, which are extensive, are well filled',, 
and are far more satisfactory than they have been in the last two sea¬ 
sons. Hollyhocks, which have escaped the disease here the last three 
years, are badly infested this season.— Edwin Beckett, Aldenham 
Park Gardens, Elstree. 
MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 
We are quite three weeks later this year than last (1887). Tire rain¬ 
fall of June was 3 - 75, seventeen wet days ; of July, 5*85, twenty-one 
wet days. We have a good crop of small fruit, but much spoiled by the 
continued rain and want of sun. Pears on the walls are good, Jargo¬ 
nelles, Clapp’s Favourite, Eyewood, Glou Monjeau, and Bergamot 
Esperen (specially. Peaches and Nectarines fall off the trees from 
want of sun. Amsden's June Peach (usually good here) is ripe, but 
flavourless. Apples much below the average ; Plums below the average; 
early Potatoes diseased ; the later sorts have escaped as yet. 
Flower garden.—Excepting Calceolarias all bedding stuff has felt 
the cold nights. July 13th, our minimum was 36°, the 11th, 37°. Her¬ 
baceous plants are good this year. The more showy now are the 
Aconitums, Veronicas, Campanulas, Centaurea macrocephala, and 
varieties of Sunflower. Among annuals, Scabious, Lupins, Gaillardias, 
and Godetias have proved best.— H. Huntley, The Gardens, Powi* 
Castle, Welshpool. 
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 
The following is a summary of meteorological observations in these 
gardens for June and July, 1888 : - June—Mean temperature of month, 
55-0°; maximum on the 26th, 80 - 3°; minimum on the 18th, 36 - 7°. 
Maximum in the sun on the 26th, 136-9° ; minimum on the grass on the 
1st, 310°. Mean temperature of the air at 9 A.M., 55 - 6°. Mean tem¬ 
perature of soil 1 foot deep, 55 - 0°. The thermometer fell below 32° on 
two nights. Total duration of sunshine in month, 116 hours, or 22 per 
cent, of possib’e duration. We had six sunless days. Total rainfall, 
1-32 inch. Rain fell on seventeen days. Avera.e velocity of wind, 
9 - l miles per hours ; velocity did not exceed 400 miles on any day, and 
fell short of 100 miles on one day. Approximate averages for June 
Mean temperature, 57-1°. Rainfall, 2-26 inches. Sunshine, 162 hours. 
A very dull month with frequent slight showers, but small total fall •, 
very low day temperature, but not cold nights, a large proportion of 
N and N.E. wind ; closely resembles June, 1886. Vegetation very late; 
The first June for twenty years we have not gathered ripe Strawberries. 
July.—Mean temperature of month, 56 - 3°. Maximum on the 19th, 
72'7° ; minimum on the 11th, 39'6°. Maximum in sun on the 19th, 
140'3° ; minimum on the grass on the 1st, 31’3°. Mean temperature of 
the air at 9 A.M., 57°. Mean temperature of the soil 1 foot deep, 57■ 1 
The temperature fell below 32° one night on the grass. Total duration 
of sunshine in month, 88 hours, or 18 per cent, of possible duration; 
we had nine sunless days. Total rainfall in month, 4 - 96 inches ; ram 
fell on twenty-one days. Average velocity of wind, 8'7 miles per hour ; 
velocity exceeded 400 miles on three days, and fell short of 100 miles on 
five days. Approximate averages for July.—Mean temperature, 61'2°. 
Rainfall, 2'36 inches. Sunshine (seven years) 172 hours. The coldest 
and dullest July since observations were commenced here, and the 
wettest except 1880. The days were especially cold, the mean maximum 
being 13° lower than last year. The heavy total rainfall was due to a 
number of moderate falls, and not to any especially heavy ones.— 
Joseph Mallender, Hodsock Priory Gardens, Worksop. 
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
The weather during June and July has been very unseasonable, the 
temperature generally exceedingly low, the maximum only on two occar 
sions in J une reaching 80°, while on six days it did not reach 60°, and 
twice only 56°. The minimum fell below 50° on twenty-three nights, 
and on five nights below 40°. Our lowest readings were 31° on the 
18th, and 34° on the 14th, the radiation minimum falling to 27° on the 
18th. We had rain on thirteen days, the total fall for the month being 
1’66 inch. July was much worse than the preceding month, the maxb 
mum temperature being equally low, only on one day reaching 76°, 
and on twenty days it did not reach 70°, and on two days only 55°, the 
minimum falling below 40° on two nights, the radiation minimum 
falling as low as 29° on the 1st of the month, and at 9 A.M. on the 11th 
the temperature was 45°. Rain has fallen on twenty-seven days during 
the month. The greatest fall in one day was 0'70 inch, and the total for 
the month 5 93 inches. 
The garden crops have suffered through the wet and want of sun. 
Strawberries, which have been a poor crop except James Veitch, decayed 
