December 0. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
125 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
M* W 
Id d 
DECEMBER 6-12, 1819- 
Weather near London 
in 1848. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R. & S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bef. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
6 Tn 
Nicholas. December moth seen. 
T. 57°—40°. 
S.W. 
Rain. 
53 a. 7 
50 a. 3 
11 
42 
€ 
8 
40 
340 
1 7iF 
T. 55°—50°. 
S. 
Rain. 
54 
50 
morn. 
23 
8 
14 
341 
8,S |Conception B.V.M. Skylarks in flocks. 
T. 57°—48°. 
S.W. 
Rain. 
55 
49 
0 
53 
24 
7 
48 
342 
9 Sun 2 Sun. in Advent. Laughing Goose 
T. 57°—33°. 
S.W. 
Fine. 
56 
49 
2 
2 
25 
7 
21 
343 
10, M 
Ash-destroying beetle found. comes. 
T. 60 °— 29 °. 
S.W. 
Rain. 
57 
49 
3 
10 
26 
6 
53 
344 
lllTu , 
Grossbeak sometimes seen. 
T. 60°—38°. 
S.W. 
Fine. 
68 
49 
4 
16 
27 
6 
26 
345 
121 W 
Winter Tortrix moth seen. 
T. 55°—37°. 
S.W. 
Fine. 
59 
49 
5 
20 
28 
5 
58 
346 
St. Nicholas, a native of Patara, in Lycia, was so celebrated for 
his piety, that Constantine the Great raised him, whilst a layman, to 
the bishopric of Myra, in Syria, where he died on this day, a.d. 343. 
So diffused were his benefits, that many classes, from children up to 
bishops, were considered as under his especial patronage ; but on 
the present occasion we will confine our attention to the fabled origin 
of his tutelage of schoolboys. Two young students, journeying to 
Athens, were directed by their father to visit Bishop Nicholas by 
the way. Arriving late at Myra, they lodged for the night at an inn, 
where the landlord murdered them, and salted down the pieces of 
their bodies for the purpose of selling it as pickled pork. The mur¬ 
der was revealed in a vision to the bishop, who, on the morrow, not 
only was the agent in miraculously re-uniting the dismembered bodies 
of the boys, and restoring them to life, but also of converting the mur¬ 
derer into a devout Christian! This, says the legend, sufficiently 
explains the naked children and tub which are the well-known em¬ 
blems of St. Nicholas. A curious custom, which prevails at some 
schools, has reference to this guardian saint of boys, and may be re¬ 
membered by the reader. When a boy at any game of speed or 
activity requires time to recover breath at those schools, he brings 
his antagonist to a halt by crying out Nin’lris. We remember another 
jrotective cry in our boyish contests, S’cruce, which, we think, must 
je a contraction of saiwto cruce, and have reference to finding sanc¬ 
tuary by taking hold of the nearest cross. 
Conception op tiip. Virgin Marv. —This event was believed 
by many to have occurred in a house that subsequently was brought 
by angels from Galilee to Loretto in the year 1291. This legend, 
which became so popular, soon rendered Loretto one of the richest 
places in the world. Pilgrims flocked thither, and a munificent 
church, speedily enclosing the “holy house,” was sufficiently en¬ 
dowed by their votive offerings to “ Our blessed Lady of Loretto.” 
Meteorology of the Week.— The average highest tempera¬ 
ture of the above seven days, as shown by the Chiswick Garden tables 
during the last twenty-two years, is 45°, and the average lowest tem¬ 
perature 31.6 3 . During the same time, the highest point the ther¬ 
mometer indicated was on the 9th, in 1817, when the mercury rose 
to 57°, and it fell the lowest on the 6th in 1846; for it then sank 
to 14°. During the twenty-two weeks, rain fell on seventy-two days, 
and the other eighty-two days were fine. 
Natural Phenomena Indicative of Weather. —We know 
people who can tell whether an east wind is blowing as soon as they 
arise in the morning ; and many nervous persons are troubled by its 
influence during the night with imperfeet sleep, headache, and con¬ 
fused dreams. It is remarkable that good astronomical observations 
cannot be made when the wind blows from the east. Frequently 
when the celestial objects seem to wave about before the telescope, 
an east wind follows, the cause of the waving being the occurrence 
of the current from the east having before set in from that quarter in 
the higher regions. These phenomena have never been explained satis¬ 
factorily. The whole creation so suffers from the malign influence 
of the easterly blast, that it has become a proverb — 
“ The wind when in the east 
Is bad for man and beast.” 
“ The south may bring moisture, and the north whiten the ground ; 
but, though the latter is cold, it is bracing, and neither is absolutely 
disagreeable. The east wind and its companions are the unwelcome 
visitors—and why is it so ? ” Philosophy has found no reasonable 
reply to the query. 
Insects. — During the present 
and others of the winter months, 
succulent plants, such as Sedums, 
die., become sickly, and die appa¬ 
rently without a cause. They are 
thus destroyed by a small, footless 
grub feeding upon them just below 
the surface of the earth. This grub 
(/ 
RANGE OF BAROMETER—RAIN IN INCHES. 
Dec. 
1841. 
1842. 
1843. 
1844. 
1845. 
1846. 
1847. 
1848. 
5 
B. 
r 29.761 
20.223 
30.358 
30.216 
29.495 
29.811 
28.837 
29.376 
L 29.582 
30.210 
30.316 
30.203 
29.454 
29.732 
28.550 
29.215 
R. 
0.30 
— 
— 
— 
0.01 
— 
0.17 
0.05 
f 29.868 
30.333 
30.287 
30.294 
29 990 
30.127 
29.202 
29.670 
l 29.793 
30.309 
30.073 
30.292 
29.634 
29.904 
28.611 
29.505 
R. 
0.15 
0.01 
0.01 
— 
— 
— 
0.01 
0.15 
8 
B. 
f 29.478 
30.404 
30.212 
30.172 
30.156 
30.231 
29.725 
30.015 
\29,391 
30.389 
30.153 
30.058 
30.0'4 
30.147 
29.528 
29775 
R. 
0.01 
— 
— 
— 
0.06 
— 
0.16 
0.01 
9 
B. 
/ 29.865 
30.297 
30.288 
30.119 
30.171 
30.161 
29707 
30.253 
\29708 
30.282 
30.270 
30.104 
30.109 
30.084 
29.538 
30.130 
R. 
0.15 
— 
0.08 
— 
— 
0.07 
0.03 
— 
10 
B. 
/ 29.659 
30.265 
30.289 
30.104 
30.310 
29.904 
29.835 
30.273 
I 29.252 
30.165 
30.247 
30.044 
30.256 
29.651 
29-778 
30.155 
R. 
0.07 
— 
— 
-- 
0.08 
0.01 
0.01 
11 
B. 
/ 29.913 
30.017 
30.326 
29.962 
30.027 
29.641 
29.872 
30.160 
1 29.879 
29.851 
30.257 
29.952 
29.879 
29.591 
29.730 
30.038 
R. 
0.09 
0.32 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
12 
B. 
/ 29.660 
29.942 
30.434 
29.924 
30.428 
29.741 
30.018 
30.164 
I 29.515 
29.802 
30.413 
29.750 
30.286 
29.584 
29-937 
30.097 
R. 
0.17 
0.01 
0.01 
is about half an inch long, colour dirty white, fleshy, slightly curved, 
bristly, and without legs, but furnished at the sides with tubercles, 
which uid it in moving. At the latter part of May, these grubs enter 
the chrysalis state, becoming white, and having the appearance of 
the body of a beetle stripped of its wings, and in a mummy state. 
From this state the perfect insect comes forth, at the end of June, in 
the form of a small beetle, as pictured in the accompanying drawing. 
but not longer than the curved line by its side. It is black, slightly 
glossy, numerously granulated, so as to resemble shagreen, and a 
few pale-grey hairs scattered over it. The best mode of saving suc¬ 
culents from this pest is to have it very assiduously sought for among 
them during the month of June. If the beetles are allowed to deposit 
their eggs, the mischief is done. This beetle is the Otiorhynchus 
sulcatus of some writers, and the Cureulio sulcatus of others,” 
We answered a question two weeks since which in¬ 
volves an important principle in gardening, and de¬ 
serves a more prominent notice than our space for an¬ 
swers to correspondents is calculated to afford. It is in 
reference to the best time for sowing the seeds of the 
Jxia tribe, including the Gladioli and others. (See 
page 9.2). Our readers have already been informed, 
in our first volume, that the ixias, and indeed the 
greater portion of the irids generally, are bulbous 
plants, natives of the Cape of Good Hope, and that 
they renew their bulbs annually—the old ones dying 
as soon as they have flowered and produced seeds. It 
will also be recollected, that those bulbs in their native 
country endure the scorching rays of an almost verti¬ 
cal sun during many months, being luxuriant on the 
return of the periodical rains, at which season they 
spring up as if by magic. Now, although these and 
similar plants, under the same influences in different 
No. LXII., Vol. III. 
