January 17.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
205 
M 
D 
W 
D 
JANUARY 17—23, 1850. 
Weather near London. 
Sun 
Rises. 
Sun 
Sets. 
Moon 
R & S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
Clock 
bef. Sun. 
Day of 
Year. 
17 
Tu 
Hedge Accentor sings. 
T. 54°— 27 °. 
S.W. 
Rain. 
8 
21 a. 4 
8 43 
4 
10 
25 
17 
18 
F 
Prisca. Tufted Pocher goes. 
T. 50°—46°. 
s.w. 
Fine. 
59 a. 7 
22 
9 50 
S 
10 
45 
18 
19 
S 
Cole Titmouse heard. [goes,' 
T. 53°—42°. 
S.W. 
Fine. 
58 
24 
10 59 
6 
11 
3 
19 
20 
Sun 
2 S. aft. Epipii. Fabian. Grey Goosander 
T. 51°—41°. 
S. 
Fine. 
5 7 
26 
morn. 
7 
11 
21 
20 
21 
M 
Agnes. Sun’s declinat., 19 ° 55's. Grosbeak 
T. 50°—39°. 
S.w. 
Rain. 
56 
27 
0 8 
S) 
11 
38 
21 
22 
Tu 
Vincent. Mezereon flowers. [goes. 
T. 50°—48°. 
s.w. 
Fine. 
55 
29 
1 20 
9 
11 
55 
22 
23 
W 
Skylark’s song heard. 
T. 51°—45°. 
s.w. 
Fine. 
54 
31 
2 35 
10 
12 
10 
23 
Prisca became a convert to Christianity at an early age, and was I 
martyred, for adhering to her faith while yet a youthful maiden, ! 
during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, a.d. 47 . 
Fabian, the nineteenth Bishop of Rome, according to some, suc¬ 
ceeded to the papal chair, a.d, 236 ; but others place him in an earlier 
part of the century. He was a strenuous promulgator of the Christian 
doctrines, and, after retaining the papacy about fifteen years, was put 
to death for his proselyting zeal, in the persecution which occurred 
during the reign of the Emperor Decius. So stern and cruel was the 
persecution, that no one dared to accept the papal crown ; and it re¬ 
mained vacant from the death of Fabian—on this day, a.d. 250—till 
Cornelius accepted the dangerous office, on the 4th of June, 251. 
Agnes, like Prisca, was a Roman virgin, martyred for her adhe¬ 
rence to the Christian faith ; but her death occurred much later, in 
the reign of Diocletian, a.d. 306. On the eve of this day, our rural 
maidens very generally performed, and still perform, various mystic 
rites, to obtain a revelation of their future husbands from the visions 
of the night. Another charm, betraying more ignorance, because 
believed in, whilst the above is more jocular than credited, is the fol¬ 
lowing. In some parts of England, if one of the family is suffering 
from ague, the eldest female of that family puts her head up the 
chimney, on St. Agnes’ Eve, and says— 
Tremble and go ! 
First day shiver and burn. 
Tremble and quake ! 
Second day shiver and learn. 
Tremble and die ! 
Third day never return. 
Vincent was a native of Saragossa, in Spain, and was ordained 
deacon by Valerius, bishop of that city, but never was enabled to 
preach, owing to the increase in an impediment to his utterance ; yet 
he was indefatigable in his private ministration, and soon was singled 
out for punishment, during the same persecution in whicli Agnes was 
put to death. Vincent was burned, on this day, a.d. 304. Valerius 
was banished, and died broken-hearted. We presume that it was 
considered fortunate if this day was fine, for an old Latin line is pre¬ 
served, and thus Englished:— 
Remember, on St. Vincent’s day, 
Whether the sun his beams display. 
Meteorology of tiie Week.— The average highest and lowest 
temperature of these seven days, during the last 23 years, is 42'1° 
and 317°. The highest temperature observed during the same years, 
was 53° on the 23rd, in 1841 ; and the lowest temperature was 4 V° on 
the night of the 19 th, in 1838. There were 93 fine days during the 
same period, and on 68 days rain fell. 
Natural Phenomena Indicative of Weather.— Headaches, 
says Dr. Forster, often foretell a change of weather in persons subject 
to this complaint. There is also some obscure changes of weather 
near to the periods of New and Full Moon, which causes an epheme¬ 
ral headache, beginning usually in the morning, getting worse about 
i two o’clock, and subsiding in the evening. It is attended by an irri- 
I tated stomach, and much resembles the ordinary bilious headaches 
j arising from repletion. Indeed, most periodical disorders seem to be 
i connected with some atmospheric changes ; and it is very remarkable, 
that they should so often have their worst paroxysms, and the crisis 
of their terms, about the time of the conjunction and opposition of 
the moon.—( Viet. Nut. Phen.) 
1 
RANGE OF BAROMETER—RA N IN INCHES. 
Jan. 
1841. 
1842. 
1843. 
1844. 
1845. 
1846. 
1847- 
1848. 
1849. 
17 
B. 
f29729 
30.207 
30.198 
30.197 
30.095 
29.726 
30.114 
29.630 
29.945 
129.605 
30.042 
30.182 
30.180 
29.988 
29.658 
29.090 
29-328 
29.712 
R. 
0.02 
— 
0.03 
— 
— 
0.01 
— 
0.23 
0.05 
18 
B. 
r 29.725 
30.399 
30.454 
30.190 
29.801 
29734 
29.604 
30.112 
29.461 
30.006 
129.685 
30.353 
30.326 
30.150 
29.560 
30.081 
29.306 
29.934 
R. 
0.24 
— 
— 
— 
0.45 
0.24 
— 
— 
— 
19 
B. 
r 29.91s 
30.452 
30.502 
30.007 
29.568 
29.194 
30.131 
29.643 
29-983 
129.778 
30.197 
30.438 
29.932 
29.000 
28.943 
30.068 
29.399 
29.909 
R. 
0.02 
«— 
■- 
— 
0.88 
0.44 
— 
— 
— 
20 
B. 
r 30.182 
30.098 
30.237 
30.017 
29.878 
29-484 
30.037 
29.882 
30.254 
\ 30.019 
30.023 
30.086 
30.003 
29.117 
29.309 
29.969 
29.807 
30.009 
R. 
— 
— 
0.04 
— 
0.03 
0.14 
— 
_ 
— 
21 
B, 
f30.505 
30.024 
30.030 
29.955 
30.210 
29.313 
29.896 
30.131 
30.238 
130.374 
30.009 
30.008 
29-919 
29-998 
29.145 
29-788 
30.073 
29.965 
R. 
— 
— 
— 
— 
— 
0.33 
0.48 
— 
0.16 
22 
B. 
/ 30.303 
29-881 
30.038 
29.920 
30.199 
29-228 
29-758 
30.081 
30.214 
130.157 
29.285 
30.003 
29.865 
30.178 
29.053 
29.736 
30.010 
29.955 
R. 
0.10 
— 
0.02 
— 
— 
0.02 
0.01 
— 
23 
B. 
f 30.108 
29.584 
30.027 
30.100 
30.135 
29.226 
29786 
30.283 
30.414 
130.004 
29.220 
29.892 
30.026 
29.677 
29.154 
29.628 
30.091 
30.303 
i 
R. 
0.12 
0.05 
0.03 
0.27 
0.03 
Insects. —One of the most 
curious, and often most de¬ 
structive to our kitchen-gar- 
den crops, of all the subter¬ 
ranean vermin, is the Mole- 
cricket, known, in different 
parts of England, by the va¬ 
rious names of Earth-crab, 
Jarr-worm, Churr-worm, and 
Eve-churr. It is the Gryllu- 
tulpu vulgaris and europiea 
of some naturalists, and the 
Gryllus gryllotalpaoi others. 
It rarely appears upon the 
surface of the soil, but makes 
burrows, like the mole, and 
destroys all roots which in¬ 
terrupt it in forming these 
passages. When full-grown, 
it is nearly two inches long, 
and four lines broad; colour, 
dark brown ; antenme, bris¬ 
tle-shaped, and in front of its 
black eyes ; thorax, hairy ; 
wings, broad, large and tri¬ 
angular when fully opened ; 
abdomen, nine or ten-joint¬ 
ed, furnished at the end with 
two hairy, awl-shaped fila¬ 
ments. The two fore-feet are 
broad, like those of the mole, and similarly intended for digging. 
The female hollows out a place, about half a foot from the surface, in 
the month of June, and lays her eggs in a heap, from two to three 
hundred. They are shining, yellowish-brown, and like grains of 
millet. The young, which are hatched in July or August, greatly 
resemble black ants, and feed, like the old ones, on the tender roots 
of grass, corn, and various culinary vegetables. They betray their 
presence under the earth, by the withered decay of culinary vegetables 
in the garden. In October and November, they bury 
themselves deeper in the earth, as a protection from cold, 
and come again to the surface in the warmer days in 
March. Their presence is discovered by their throw¬ 
ing up the earth, like moles. The surest of remedies 
is, destroying the brood in June or July. Gardeners 
know, from experience, where the nest of the M ole- 
cricket is situated; they dig it out with their spades, 
and destroy hundreds, in the egg state, with little 
trouble.— Kullur. 
Resuming our observations from page 163, on the 
science of gardening, we may next remark, that we 
have never been able to discover that light has any 
injurious influence over the germination seeds ; and 
in those experiments apparently proving the con 
trary, due care was not taken to prevent the seed 
being exposed to a greater degree of dryness as well 
as to light. If seed be placed on the surface of a 
No. LXVIII., VOL, III. 
