256 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 1, 1886. 
and we shall soon be tempted to forget the experiences of the late 
bitter cold weather in the warm and sunshine of genial spring. — 
D. C. Powell, Pomderham Castle Gardens. 
ESSES. 
The weather experienced has been generally cold and sunless here, 
about two miles north of the Thames, in a low and damp situation. The 
fogs have been heavy, no very severe frosts, but continuous until the 20th. 
The frost has not been out of the ground in the shade since the beginning 
of January : 17° of frost is the most registered. The absence of snow 
during February and March has had a bad effect. Shrubs are un¬ 
injured, but vegetables are destroyed, unless protected. Cabbage 
stumps killed, nine-tenths of the Savoy tribe also ; Brussels Sprouts have 
held their own again, Lettuces nearly all gone, Spinach less than at 
Christmas, autumn-planted Cabbages nearly all perished. — J. Gadd, 
Bellms Gardens, Aveley. 
LANCASHIRE. 
Although the winter has been long and severe for this neighbour¬ 
hood, vegetation generally has not suffered to any great extent. The 
most harm has been done to annuals and biennials, such as Candytuft, 
Antirrhinums, Campanulas, and similar plants. Carnations and Roses 
have suffered not so much from the severity of the weather as from the 
continual thaw during the day for the past month. Many of the former 
have been lifted out of the ground, and will therefore succumb. The 
latter, such as Souvenir de la Malmaison and Tea varieties, will have to 
be pruned hard back, they are all right at the base. Stocks, Wallflowers, 
Auriculas, and spring-flowering plants have suffered much from the same 
cause. Rabbits have done much mischief, having barked the fences, 
Apple trees, Hollies, &c., that they could get at, as well as cleared ofE 
Carnations, Pinks, and all plants of a similar nature. This has been the 
longest and most sunless winter experienced during the ten years I have 
been in this neighbourhood. We have on several different occasions 
registered more frost, for instance in 1882, when the thermometer fell 
below zero, and vegetation suffered more than has been the case this year. 
We have only registered 16° of frost here, which was on the morning of 
the 7th inst. February has generally been mild, and brought fruit trees 
into blossom early only to be destroyed by late frosts. Everything is 
fully one month behind, and I think we may look forward for a good fruit 
year.—W. Baronet, Norris Green Gardens, West Derby, Liverpool. 
LEICESTERSHIRE. 
The coldest nights we have had this winter were—September 26th, 26° ; 
27th, 27° ; 28th, 26° Fahr. November 16th, 17° ; 17th, 23. December 
8th, 17° ; 11th, 13° ; 33rd, 20°. Feb. 24th, 19°. March 4th, 16° ; 5th, 
17° ; 7th, 9° ; 8th, 15° ; 9tb, 21° ; 10th, 16° ; 11th, 19°. These were the 
lowest readings of the thermometer. Probably the frosts of September 
did more damage than all the rest during winter, and will most likely be 
remembered for many years to come by gardeners, nurserymen, and 
florists, most of whom must have suffered seriously ; some of the latter 
in this district (who are not in a very large way) have estimated their 
losses at upwards of £50 each. Their principal damage, I think, would 
be in Chrysanthemums, which were a general failure. Azaleas suffered a 
great deal, the bloom buds falling off as soon as they were put into the 
forcing house. The principal injury during the winter has been to 
vegetables ; Broccoli and Cabbage have suffered very much. I have never 
seen spring Cabbage cut up so before, Vegetables have been very scarce 
about here, principally owing to the ungenial weather in the summer and 
autumn. For several days the thermometer ranged from 70° to 80° 
during the day in the shade ; at the same time the night temperature 
would range from 34° to 40°, and many vegetables did not grow large 
enough to cut; this is one cause of scarcity, and scarcely any growth was 
made after the sharp frosts in September. As far as I can judge at present 
very little damage has been done to shrubs and Conifer®. An unusual 
quantity of snow has fallen this winter, and the ground in many places 
was covered from Feb. 20th until March 18th, when a change to milder 
weather set in, which I hope will continue.—J. L. B. 
LINCOLNSHIRE. 
The weather has been very severe in this district for the past nine 
weeks. Snow fell on January 8th, and in all ten days snow fell; sharp 
frost on the 20th, 14° ; temperature very low all the month. In Feb¬ 
ruary snow fell on five days, sharp frost on twenty-six days, greatest on 
the 7cb, 14°; temperature very low all the month. March, heavy fall of 
snow on the let, 6 inches ; very sharp frost on the 8th, 22°. From the 
1st of January to the 18th March we have only had five nights without 
frost, and the ground has been covered with snow more or less from the 
8th January to the 18th March, when we have had a change. Broccoli, 
Brussels Sprouts, Greens of all kinds are very much injured—in some 
cases past recovery. Portugal and common Laurels, Aucuba 9 , Laurustinus, 
and Arbutus much injured. I am afraid Apricot buds are much injured, 
but must wait till the buds unfold to see the full extent of damage done. 
Garden operations are far behind. Turnips have decayed on the ground 
through the severe frosts.— David Lumsden, The Gardens, Bloxhohn 
Hall, Lincoln. 
MONMOUTHSHIRE. 
The winter of 1885-86 will be remembered by horticulturists on account 
of its severity and the consequent results—injury to vegetation and heavy 
coal bills. Fortunately many plants have been partially protected by 
snow from the most intense frosts; but here the snow itself wrought 
considerable damage amongst trees and shrubs. In the first storm it fell 
so suddenly and densely, and Deing unaccompanied by wind it laid heavily 
on the branches, and many were broken down by its weight. Amongst 
Conifer®, tall specimens of Junipers and Cryptomeria japonica suffered 
most, and before they could be relieved from their burden—and many 
deciduous trees, especially Acacias, Elms, and Oaks—have lost large 
branches. 
In the vegetable garden the crops belonging to the Brassica family are 
much damaged, the Broccoli particularly so. Quite three-fourths of them 
are killed, while the other are crippled. Winter Spinach is shrivelled, 
and Endive, Parsley, and Celery where unprotected was greatly injured. 
The greatest depth of snow we experienced was 9 inches, and the most 
severe frost 26°• There is an old adage, “ It’s an ill wind that blows no 
good.” Some good we may hope to derive from the protracted inclement 
weather—viz., late blossoming of fruit trees, and their escape from spring 
frosts.— Thomas Coomber, Hendre Gardens, Monmouth. 
NORTHUMBERLAND. 
March, 1886, will be long remembered in Northumberland as one of 
the severest on record. On the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd snow fell continuously, 
and drifted into immense thickness, from 5 to 15 feet, blocking all traffic 
on roads and railways, and in this part of Northumberland people had 
to be content without their letters and newspapers for four days. Such 
a thing has not occurred since this line of railway was made nearly forty 
years ago. In looking over the old registers of the weather, I find the 
thermometer has only on two occasions been so low in March since the 
year 1841. From that year to 1867, the mean temperature for March 
was 40°. On March 17th, 1867, there was 14°, and from that year to 1881 
the mean temperature was 37°. On the 1st and 2nd of March, 16° and 
15° consecutively, and on the 6th, 9th, and 13th of the present month we 
had 13°, 13°, and 12°; and from 1881 to the present month I find the 
mean temperature still declining to as low as 34°, which bears out Mr. 
Thomson’s remarks in his letter to the Scotsman, and also in his excellent 
little book, that our climate is deteriorating. And in looking back fifty 
years in our old meteorological register I find such observations as 11 Fine 
day ; warm ; genial growing weather but now our summers are much 
colder, and we have now, as a rule, to write, “ Dull cold day throughout,” 
or “ Hazy day, with cold east wind.” 
We have not been able to get any seeds in the ground yet, as we have 
had no good weather since Christmas, and shall not be able to do so all 
this month, let the weather be ever so favourable. Our early Cabbage 
have stood well, and come out fresh from under their deep covering of 
snow. Hardy fruit is now on the move. Apricots are showing some 
flowers, and should we have no frosts later on we expect as good a crop 
as last year.—D. Inglis, Homich Hall Gardens. 
SUSSEX. 
At last, on March 19th, we had an agreeable change of weather. This 
was the first day the soil had been in a fit state to receive any kind of small 
seeds, it having almost continually frozen since the new year. Of the 
seventy-seven days up to the 18th of March the thermometer fell below 
the freezing point on fifty-eight nights. There has been no extreme frost. 
The lowest readings were—January 8th, 19° ; February 8th, 9th, and 
10th, 22° ; March 7th and 17th, 20°. The eighteen days of March bave 
certainly been remarkably severe, only on the night of the 2nd it did not 
freeze ; and the readings for the eighteen days give an average minimum 
temperature of 254°. The snow that fell on the 1st March was all gone 
except where drifted the next day, so that vegetation has suffered from 
the effect of the frost very much. Lettuce and Parsley have vanished ; 
the edges of Cabbage and Broccoli leaves are withered as if scorched. 
Buda Kale is about the only thing that has not suffered. Many vegetables, 
such as autumn-sown Onions and Cabbage in the seed beds, are thrown out 
of the soil and are withering on the top ; and even large labels in tte 
kitchen garden have been gradually worked up till they have tumbled 
over, where they were firmly inserted in the autumn.—R. Inglis, Cuck- 
Jield, Sussex. 
WARWICKSHIRE. 
We have had a long cold winter with dark sunless days and heavy falls 
of snow, but not very severe frost, the most we registered being 18° on the 
6th of March. No damage has been done to shrubs. Vegetables, such as 
Broccoli, winter Cabbages, &c., have suffered roost, which is always the 
case with such frosts as we had in the beginning of this month with 
bright sunny days. Vegetables are very scarce in this district. We had 
a dry summer with little rainfall until the second week in August ; then 
the weather broke up with a hailstorm such as has not been witnessed here 
since 1851. Wheat and Oats were nearly destroyed. I have charge of a 
farm here in conjunction with garden and estate work. I threshed 20 
acres of grand straw crop of Oats, and they did not produce two quarters 
per acre. I enclose a leaf of Aucuba to show the effect the hail had on 
them, and everything in the shape of green vegetables were destroyed. A 
pond in ihe kitchen garden containing Water Lilies had the appearance of 
a huge bowl of fine “ mint sauce.”— William Brown, Solihull. 
WESTMORELAND. 
Sudden changes in the weather have been experienced this long winter, 
which began, I may say, on September 26'h, when 6° were registered. 
March came in with exceptional severity, and has continued more or le?s 
to this date ; 22° of frost on the 7th inst. is the lowest temperature recorded 
this winter. The fierce north-east winds at the beginning of this month 
soon played sad havoc amongst the green stuff ; Caboage and other plants 
have disappeared. The Broccolis were laid as usual in November, 
and the winter ones are useless. Dilcock’s Bri le, Leamiugton, and 
Lauder’s Goshen amongst the spring ones, seem uninjured as yet. 
