10 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 3. 
STRAY NOTES ON THE PAST SEASON. 
So much having been said about the severity of last 
winter, it would seem superfluous to add much more to 
the list of misfortunes which it is reported to have 
entailed upon us, but as we may not have all suffered 
alike, a friendly interchange of notes may not be alto¬ 
gether useless, especially as the influence which the 
winter exercised on different things varied much in the 
respective localities that have been reported on. The most 
severe winter frosts, seemingly, were in the central dis¬ 
trict, or rather a little to tbo north of it; Nottingham and 
its neighbourhood having witnessed the thermometer 
at zero, while here (Staplehurst) we never had more 
than 1!)° of frost, and that only on one night. This, of 
course, makes all the difference, vet it is not always that 
a severo night’s frost is tbo sole cause of all the injury 
done to tender plants; for a period of changeable weather, 
alternating between frost, snow, rapid thaw, and open, 
windy weather, is usually more disastrous than a good 
sharp frost when tbo ground is well covered with snow. 
In fact, the injuries done here may bo more ascribed to 
the changing system than to tho severe one. But much 
damage was done, nevertheless; for soveral plants that 
had been accustomed to withstand tho ordinary winters 
were killed this last one. Yet not more than was done 
in the winter of 1852-53, or rather the Spring of that 
winter, for up to the 10th of February, some of the most 
dolicatc plants of tho flower-garden remainod unhurt, 
except by the continuous damp which rotted them off. 
Consequcnly, 1 took cuttings from several things at that 
time, all of which grew, including Scarlet Geraniums, 
and Mangle's Variegated variety, and from the open 
ground, too, quite unprotected. This was an exceptional 
case; for I do not remember any former season in which 
frost was so slow in visiting us. However, it did come 
immediately after tho time mentioned above, and with a 
vengeance, too, for it destroyed plants which had stood 
the threo or four preceding winters, leaving little or 
nothing, in fact, for tho last one to do, except such 
plants as had been turned out in the intervening time ; 
and it is needless to say they all suffered, only the loss 
of the preceding winter was much moro than the last 
one; for large, bushy plants of Cytisus, and OoroniUa 
glaaca , which had stood some two or throe winters, and 
attained a goodly size, and at tho time of frost setting in 
wore just coining into flower, wore completely cut down 
by the frost. This I attributed, in part, to the excited 
state they were in at tho time severe weather came upon 
them, as well as to the intensity of tho cold. What¬ 
ever the cause, it was so, and they perished outiroly, as, 
likewiso, did the Veronica Undleyana, and other species 
which had likewise stood the preceding winter; while in 
the flower-garden hero, some plants of the old yellow and 
other Calceolarias, which had braved several seasons, 
were quito cut off this ono. And of course I liavo to re¬ 
port tho same of Verbenas ; but some old plants of Fuchsia 
Biecartonii, which have stood uncut down for several 
years, escaped both the two last winters, with only, 
perhaps, a little more of their tips destroyed than on 
former occasions, and they have assumed a sort of 
I scraggy, deciduous, slmib-like appearance, by no means 
inviting in mid-winter. Neither do they flower one whit 
the sooner for being left in that way, only, I think they 
sometimes bloom moro abundantly, but I am not quito 
I sure of that. 1 may observe, that they get no covering 
whatever, and no other attention than the dead wood 
cut away in spring when the live portions show them- 
i selves. 
Now, in reporting that we were not visited with so 
intense a frost the last winter as some districts in the 
I kingdom were, I by no means mean to say that we 
I got oil’ uninjured; for the cold, late spring proved as 
I detrimental to our hardy fruit-trees as the winter’s frost 
did to tender plants ; certainly not killing them all out¬ 
right, but many of them were so far injured as to 
require some years cro they will recover their position 
again, and some never will, and have, ere this, been taken 
up and destroyed. I mean certain Apple, Cherry, Pear, 
and Plum-trees, belonging to various parties in the 
neighbourhood, whilo in the garden and grounds here, a 
corresponding injury was done to wall fruit-trees, 
Pinuses, aud other things. But the harm done to tho 
Pines, &c., was much less than has been reported 
elsewhere. The only adult specimen that I believe was, 
in fact, hurt by the frost, was P. excelsa, but I am not 
certain but its after shabby appearance might arise 
from some other source. Certaiuly, all tho Deodars 
escaped unhurt. The Araucaria Braziliana, usually 
esteemed a tender species, did not seem the least hurt, ] 
although it is fair to say that its growth is very slow ; J 
in fact, I think our situation is too dry for the A raucarias, 
for, although we have the A. imbricata species twenty 
feet high, aud every way beautifully proportioned, still I 
think it would have been higher had tho situation been 
a damp one. A small plant, about two feet high, of 
Cuprcssus funebris, was hurt at the tips, but bas grown 
away beautifully since. Taxodium sempervirens, also a 
small plant, was injured, but 1 do not think much of ! 
this as an ornamental plant. Still loss do I admire the 
Gryptomeria japonica, which, though a large and healthy 
tree enough, looks so shabby for quite six months in the 
year, aud it cannot bo from the severity of the season, 
for it assumes its rusty-looking mantle long before severe 
weather sets in It seems to bear seeds at a very early age, 
for the tree wo have has had cones, or rather globules, on 
for tho last threo or four seasons. It is not, however, a 
quick grower, but if it would only retain its colour, its 
form and habit is, on the whole, graceful and good. 
As I purpose, at an early period, to describo the 
Pinuses here at moro length, I will just observe, that 
Pinus insignis, Sabiniana, aud ponderosa, are the most 
conspicuous wo have, for size and robustness of growth, 
as well as appearance, unless it be tho Deodars, 
which thrive remarkably well; while on the other hand, 
Abies Douglasii will scarcely grow, thus proving that it 
likes a damp situation. Nevertheless, the great mass of 
species seem to relish it, and it is, probably, owing to the 
dry and partially elevated position that they stand the j 
winter so well; only l may observe, that such species as ] 
A. Webbiana, pectinata, and one or two others, which 
bud early, are apt to lose their buds, in consequence of 
the late frosts, or other causes, which is a sad draw¬ 
back to their otherwise beautiful and distinct kinds; 
whether such stopping of buds has a tendency to bring 
on fruitfulness or not, 1 cannot say, but one or two trees 
of Pectinata, which have lost their leaders more than 
once, and been obliged to furnish others, have formed 
cones this season, which they promise to fruit also; but 
more of this hereafter. 
Without entering into a list of all the plants killed 
the last wiuter, I may sum up, and say, it was not more 
destructive that way than the preceding ono. Neither 
were the late spring frosts any more intense than usual, 
for we had none of those memorable frosty mornings, , 
followed by bright sunshine, which have been reported | 
as so destructive in many other places ; but instead of 
that, we had a long succession of dull, cold weather, 
equally hurtful to the blossom as a sharp frost, and, 
certainly, more so to tho tree. This dull period was, 
more especially, observable in May and June. March 
and April wero, on the whole, fine and dry months, with 
moro of clear sunshine than the two following ones; a 
little sunshine at the end of Juno, with an interval of 
showery, dull weather tho beginning of July, followed 
by a few very hot days in tho middle of it, or rather 
towards the end, alternating again with showers early in 
August, which, however, cleared up the second week, 
