FEBRUARY. 
53 
greatest degree of cold experienced here was zero on the morning of 
the 25th December, a day which will be long remembered; for very 
many years may elapse before we experience another Christmas-day 
so intensely cold as that of 1860. The greatest degree of cold, as 
recorded in the columns of our contemporary, the Gardeners Chronicle, 
appears to have been felt in the midland and north midland counties 
and the east coast, or north of an imaginary line drawn from London 
to Gloucester, excluding some parts of Wales, and the estuaries of the 
Dee and Mersey, and a few other favoured localities ; while the frost 
of 1838 was most severe in Surrey, Kent, Middlesex, Berks, and Wilts. 
We believe the rapid fall of the thermometer, from the 24th of 
December to the 25th, to be without a parallel in the records of 
meteorology, and produced the remarkable phenomena observable on 
the morning of Christmas-day. Every atom of vapour in the atmo¬ 
sphere was condensed by the extreme cold, and deposited on the 
branches of trees, which were covered with myriads of brilliant 
crystals, which, when lighted up by the sun, reflected every colour of 
the prismatic spectrum, producing an almost indescribable efect. 
It is too early yet to form a correct idea of the mischief which will 
follow the late frost, but even now its effects are clearly visible on 
many trees and shrubs ; common Laurels, in exposed places, have all 
their young wood killed. Laurustinus, Phillyreas, Arbutus, Chinese 
Privet, Euonymus, have all the appearance of being scalded, and the 
foliage and young wood are quite killed. Scarlet and many other Hybrid 
Pihododendrons, are either dead or irrecoverably injured. The Exmouth 
Magnolia is in the same state; indeed, wherever there was the least 
disposition to tenderness in evergreen shrubs, they have suffered, in 
most places beyond recovery. In the Pinus way, insignis and radiata 
have been struck very hard in some situations; while in others they 
appear unhurt; and even where growing close together, some appear 
to suffer much more than others. P. Hartwegii, apulcencis, ayacahuite, 
Sabiniana, Lindleyana, Montezumce, alltrees from 15 to 25 feet in 
height, are much injured, many beyond recovery, but we must wait 
a month before passing a final opinion. The low temperature of the 
preceding season, in connection with the great* quantity of rain which 
fell nearly up to the end of the year, prevented the wood of trees from 
ripening, and they are therefore much more liable to injury than if 
they had had the benefit of a drier and warmer summer, to prepare 
them for the rigours of the present winter. How fruit-trees will fare 
it is yet too soon also to give an opinion. February will show us better 
how far they have suffered, in common with so many other things. 
We hear of almost ruinous losses in some of our great nurseries ; dor¬ 
mant buds of Apricots, Peaches, and Nectarines, being killed by thousands. 
And the same may be stated of Boses; Teas, Noisettes, and yellow Roses, 
being entirely killed, both in bud, and marketable plants. The destruc¬ 
tion to kitchen garden crops is yet more on a wholesale scale, in many 
situations, the out-door vegetable crop having been quite swept away. 
