456 
EFFECTS OF SEVERE COLD ON PLANTS. 
of the roots. Many weeds were destroyed, SUch as usually survive the winter 
as young plants, springing from seed late in the autumn. Papaver r/iceas and 
Fumaria officinalis are examples of this. The leaves of the Common Parsley 
were killed; those of Common and Lemon-scented Thyme mostly escaped, 
excepting where the snow thawed by day and froze upon them at night. Cactus 
opuntia , under a hand-glass, escaped serious injury. 
In a general way, these remarks will apply to a tract of country extending 
along the banks of the Thames, from Kingston to Walton, constituting a level 
plain of about six miles long, and varying from a quarter of a mile to two miles 
in width, on the Surrey side of the Thames. This plain is probably not more 
than twenty to fifty feet (according to situation) above the highest tides of the 
Thames. To the south of it, the surface rises in undulations, gradually becoming 
higher until we reach the Chalk hills some ten or twelve miles distant. In 
whatever direction we quit this plain, and ascend the low hills which bound it, 
the injury to vegetation is found much less. At a hundred feet of elevation, the 
Laurels escaped with slight injury; but the Bays and Laurestinuses were cut 
down. In the sheltered gardens of Hampton Court, on the opposite side of the 
Thames, the injury was almost as great as in my own garden; although the 
night frosts of spring affect the latter mueh more, as it lies on the side of a large 
common (formerly a marsh), from which the radiation of heat is very rapid 
during severe nights. 
The conditions which appeared to have been most favourable to plants, during 
the cold, were exposure to the north, dryness of soil, recent transplantation, 
layering of the branches, and absence of shade during the preceding summer. 
Many gardeners believe that recently-transplanted shrubs suffer more from the 
winter’s cold; and this may be the case where they are not rooted afresh, and 
during windy weather. I am certain, however, that the most recently-planted 
escaped the best; and the advantage was not confined to those removed in the 
autumn preceding, but could be distinctly traced in those which had stood two, 
three, or more years ; others of the same age suffering to a greater degree, where 
longer fixed without transplanting. 
The preceding remarks apply to plants in the open ground, not protected in 
any way, unless so mentioned. I may add further, that the frost penetrated a 
cold-frame for half-hardy plants; the soil in the pots being hard frozen for ten 
days or upwards. They were thawed very slowly in the dark. Some were lost, 
but several Cape Heaths, Oxalides, Pelargoniums, Mesembryanthemums, and 
Fuchsias escaped with slight injury. Aloe veviucosa , Petunia nyctaginiflora , 
Cyclamen coum , Eccremocarpus scaber , Saxifraga sarmerttosa , Salvia splendens , 
Calla Mlhiopica , Ixia crocata , Primula sinensis, Oranges, Myrtles, Scarlet Veiv 
