42 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
climate of which is generally mild as com¬ 
pared with most parts of England, owing to 
the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, was not 
exempt from the visitation of severe cold, for 
at Nenagh and Armagh the temperature was 
1° below zero, but at Mullingar and Monks- 
town it was no lower than 11° in the one case 
and 17° in the other. 
Notwithstanding so general and severe a 
frost, it seems very questionable whether the 
damage to vegetation will prove so great as 
might be anticipated, for the earth was in 
most parts covered with a thick mantle of 
snow, which would keep the ground warm, 
and prevent injury to the roots, as well as to 
some extent protect the leaves and branches. 
Nevertheless, Laurels and other evergreens 
have been generally much injured, and in 
several instances killed, and even such hardy 
vegetables as Brussels Sprouts, Sprouting 
Broccoli, Savoys, and even Scotch Kale, have 
been destroyed in some places and much in¬ 
jured in others. Rose trees have also suffered 
severely, and in Yorkshire large numbers are 
stated to have been killed, especially varie¬ 
ties belonging to the Bourbon, Noisette, and 
Tea sections. 
Crystal Palace. —Almost coincident with 
our last issue, the tropical department of the 
Crystal Palace, with its Palms and Ferns, its 
Parrots and Chimpanzee, its big tree and its 
big images, was destroyed by fire. Alas, 
for the remnant of Loddiges’ Palms, which 
perished with the rest! Mr. Fuller has 
originated a movement for raising a public 
subscription in aid of rebuilding the portion 
destroyed with every prospect of success. The 
restoration of the Palace, indeed, may be said 
to be of national importance, so greatly has it 
tended to the refinement and social progress of 
the people. Many valuable plants will no 
doubt be contributed from private gardens, to 
replace, as far as possible, those which have 
been so unfortunately destroyed. 
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS. 
STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE. 
The beat -which the sun’s rays impart to 
the surface of our globe is as a general law 
greatest at the equator—that is, where they 
strike the body of the earth in the nearest 
perpendicular direction, or in the greatest 
number in a given space. Individually they 
are perhaps equally as powerful, probably 
more so, after passing through the clear air 
of the Polar regions as they are after reach¬ 
ing the earth through the vapour-loaded at¬ 
mosphere of the tropics, but in the former 
case comparatively few rays can take effect, 
the direct action of their main body being in¬ 
tercepted by the globe; so that a level surface 
in the Polar regions can only receive the few 
which impinge at a tangent in an almost 
horizontal direction. Whilst decrease of heat 
is general from the equator towards the poles, 
it is not uniformly so in accordance with the 
degrees of latitude; many circumstances in¬ 
terfere with such regularity—hill and dale, 
mountains and forests. The shelter from sun 
and wind which these afford, tends to produce 
a great diversity of climates under the same 
parallel of latitude. Some winds follow a 
long track over continents and lands, where 
under a bright sun and vapourless sky only 
such vegetation can exist as Cacti, which re¬ 
tain their succulence in the midst of sandy 
deserts. On the other hand, the track of 
some winds is far over the ocean, till loaded 
with moisture they reach the land, forming 
then a climate moist and shaded, the reverse 
of that mentioned as the abode of Cacti. 
Where these bloom with splendour in their 
arid sunny deserts, Orchids would, if trans¬ 
ported thither, appear as if parboiled in a 
single day. Such difference of climate may 
occur on the very same parallel of latitude. 
The one may be termed the extreme of heat 
and dryness, the other that of heat and mois¬ 
ture, corresponding to the Dry Stove and Moist 
Stove. Therefore plants cannot be grouped 
according to latitude; elevation above the 
level of the sea must be taken into considera¬ 
tion, as well as proximity to, or distance 
from, the equator ; bearing in mind that the 
higher the colder. By so doing the climate 
natural to most plants will be known with 
tolerable accuracy, at all events sufficiently 
near to guide within safe limits. In accordance 
with these remarks the temperature for the 
moist stove may fall to 60° or 65° at night, 
and rise to 7 0° by day ; but a slight shading 
will be advisable for plants not indigenous to 
sunny regions. Achimenes, Gesneras, Glox¬ 
inias, &c., may now be started. Orchids .— 
The temperature above mentioned for stove 
plants generally will be suitable for Orchids, 
only in cases of a very clear air and bright 
sunshine, a little shading will occasionally be 
necessary. Dry turfy peat should be pro¬ 
cured, so that by beating the fibrous part 
may be separated for potting, which should 
now be commenced and proceeded with, as 
the respective kinds exhibit signs of fresh 
growth. This will be the surest guide for 
the regulation of the operation. Such kinds 
as are coming into bloom should be in the 
coolest part of the house, or removed to a 
cooler structure. Covering the glass at night, 
