THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 15, 1861. 
221 
buds, and form new shoots. By doing this you will have a low, 
dense bush; each shoot of it will produce several flowers, and 
thus the plant will form a handsome specimen. Like the rest of 
the genus, it requires a high temperature and plenty of moisture 
when growing; but less heat and moisture after the growth is 
perfected. It flowers during the dry season in India, and, 
therefore, will flower here just before it is put into a state of 
rest. {To be continued.) T. Appleby. 
METEOROLOGICAL NOTES ON THE YEAR 
THAT IS PAST (1860). 
As all parties agree in describing the year that is past as a 
remarkable one, it is certainly worthy of our notice to show in 
which way it has differed from those before it. And it is to be 
hoped the pages of The Cottage Gardener will, during the 
next few weeks, record observations more or less similar to those 
now given, but from districts widely apart; as, by the various 
meteorological notes that may be received, some useful deductions 
may be made—not that it is necessary to enter so far into details 
as I have done, but simply to give the outline of what the season 
has been elsewhere. But my notes being taken monthly, I 
hereby give a few extracts apart from the tabular matter below. 
January. —General character mild, with a full average rainfall 
and unusual high winds, resembling March. The thermometer 
only once sinking as low as 25°. 
February. —Yery changeable rather than severe : frost, thaw, 
rain, wind, and dry weather rapidly succeeding each other. The 
barometer, as might be expected, changeable also, but often 
high. 
March. —Similar remarks apply to this month, with the 
addition of more wet days, and, on the whole, fewer high winds 
than we usually have in March. 
April. —Unusually cold and wintry, for on the 24th and 25th 
of the month, the snow and rain which fell on these days 
amounted to 1’34 and - 67 in. respectively ; and so late was 
everything that Asparagus, which usually appears on the open 
ground about the 10th, did not show itself until 22nd ; and the 
cuckoo, which is usually heard about 16th, was not noticed till 
27th. The last mornings of the month were also frosty. 
May. —The general features of the month dull and cold, the 
third week, however, much finer. The first expanded Apple 
blossom that I noticed was not until 10th May, just thirty-three 
days later than the same of 1859. Other things were also late. 
The rains, however, improved the grass crop on light lands. 
June. —This is universally regarded as the wettest month ever 
known in Kent at the same season, accompanied with a dull 
cheerless atmosphere and little or no evaporation. The progress 
of all but the coarsest vegetation was much retarded. Subjoined 
is the maximum average day temperature of June for the last 
four years; and as this month usually stamps the character of 
the crops for the season, we need not be surprised at the result 
when we examine the figures. 
June 1857, average maximum temperature 81° nearly. 
„ 1858, „ „ 834° 
„ 1859, „ „ 754° 
,, 1860, ,, ,, 65° 
July. —The first fortnight mostly dry and fine, yet not that 
bright sunny weather we often have at this season. The latter 
part of the month dull, wet, and cold. 
August. —The whole month dull, wet, and cold. Potatoes 
hopelessly diseased; Hops looking very bad, and the corn not 
ripe at the end of the month. 
September. —A slight shock of earthquake was felt here and 
in other parts of Kent on the 3rd, the weather being then and 
up to the 14th tolerably fine. The latter part of the month 
exceedingly wet, delaying all kinds of work, and spoiling much 
corn and other things. 
October. —Some Wheat still uncut on 1st; but the first eight 
days being dry, most of the outstanding com was got in. The 
middle part of the month very wet; but one of the most re¬ 
markable features of the year was some hot days at the end of 
the month—the 28th, 29th, and 30th being oppressively warm, 
the nights being warmer than most of those in June and July. 
A frost on the 12th had injured many of the flower-garden 
plants, but they subsequently recovered and looked well towards 
the end of this and succeeding month. 
November. —This month only remarkable for its more than 
ordinary number of fogs, with frequent but not heavy rains 
keeping the ground always wet and dirty. There were but few 
frosts and these very slight, the weather being often mild and 
warm. 
December. —This month, up to 17th, remarkably mild ; so 
much so, that up to that date some variegated Geranium-beds 
here looked as well as they had ever done during the season, and 
many other things equally well; but severe weather setting in, 
these continued up to the end of the month. The greatest cold, 
however, was not so low as has been recorded in many places in 
England, the thermometer indicating 15° on the morning of 
Cliristmas-day, which was the lowest point; there being a very 
slight covering of snow on the ground at the time, which was 
augmented on the 27th by a snowdrift, but not deep. A thaw 
on 30th and 31st, accompanied by rain, closed the month with 
the highest flood in the year, excepting that succeeding the 
24th and 25th of April. 
Wet as the season has been, a still greater rainfall for twelve 
consecutive months might be shown than that of 1860, by taking 
the year beginning 1st October, 1859, and ending 30th Sept., 
I860, when the rainfall would be 38 67 inches instead of 33 66 
as under. And it is somewhat remarkable that, notwithstanding 
the cold, there have been fiercer winds from the N.E. than on 
previous years, and these less dry than before, while the S. and 
S.W. winds have been unusually cold. Subjoined I give in a 
tabular form the direction of the winds each day at noon, with 
the rainfall of each month, and number of rainy and frosty days. 
Direction of the wind at noon. 
No. of days. 
n 
Qi 
A 
o 
.3 
*3 
u 
to 
QQ 
o . 
I860. 
E. 
S.E. 
S. 
S.W 
w. 
NW 
N. 
N.E 
Not ascer¬ 
tained. 
.a 
.3 
*c3 
PS 
'DO 
. ««-< 
o 
6 
No. of fr 
days 
January . 
4 
1 
18 
1 
4 
3 
2-87 
18 
13 
February. 
1 
2 
2 
7 
2 
7 
5 
i 
1-40 
16 
21 
March. 
1 
5 
8 
2 
12 
1 
2 
2-61 
20 
17 
April. 
2 
1 
2 
2 
3 
4 
4 
12 
2-84 
10 
15 
May . 
i 
3 
8 
6 
1 
4 
1 
7 
3-12 
15 
1 
June. 
1 
9 
15 
2 
3 
5-09 
23 
July. 
i 
8 
2 
2 
3 
13 
2 
2-07 
13 
August.. 
1 
13 
10 
5 
2 
3-54 
26 
September ... 
2 
3 
4 
5 
2 
4 
3 
7 
3-36 
20 
October . 
2 
8 
7 
7 
2 
4 
1 
1-71 
17 
2 
November ... 
5 
3 
5 
i 
1 
1 
14 
2-67 
21 
9 
December ... 
1 
6 
4 
3 
3 
2 
7 
5 
2-38 
17 
15 
Total for 1860 
13 
27 
64 
88 
29 
47 
42 
54 
... 
33 66 
216 
93 
Correspond¬ 
ing for 1859... 
8 
53 
21 
125 
11 
59 
9 
78 
1 
29-55 
151 
93” 
for 1858... 
16 
71 
16 
73 
24 
58 
19 
87 
1 
16-33 
116 
93 
for 1857... 
14 
47 
37 
81 
37 
38 
21 
86 
4 
24-33 
137 
forl856... 
14 
44 
34 
99 
29 
42 
28 
72 
4 
27-7 9 
169 
89 
for 1855... 
21 
32 
23 
63 
36 
48 
25 
115 
2 
20-84 
160 
114 
for 1854... 
32 
17 
29 
100 
62 
41 
36 
47 
1 
... 
122 
The hottest day in 1860, was July 2nd, and August 1st, thermometer 78°. 
The coldest night that preceding the 25th of December, thermometer 15°. * 
The highest range of barometer, February 15th. 30-16. 
The lowest range of barometer, January 24th. 28 32. 
The barometer, though very seldom keeping steady, has never 
run so high nor yet so low as in 1859, but its oscillations have 
often been at variance with the preconceived notions of its 
weather-predictory powers. The winds have been equally per¬ 
plexing ; so that, summing all together, the so-called body of 
astro-meteorologists will have something to do to reconcile the 
many contrarieties which the past season has exhibited, and 
there are few that can wish them to be repeated. But enough 
from one district has been said about the defunct year. Let us 
see what an obituary is sent from other quarters; and whether 
a complaint or the contrary be the theme, let full justice be done 
to the memory of the departed year 1860.—J. Robson. 
FORCING. 
{Continuedfrom page 162.) 
Much of what has been said in reference to furnaces and flues 
will be applicable to all other modes of heating by the burning 
of fuel. The chief advantage of some of these modes, such as 
steam or water, is that the heat can be carried to greater dis¬ 
tances, and presented at a more uniform temperature, and is 
thus better fitted for very large houses, or for a number of 
houses to be heated from one furnace; but for small single 
houses these advantages and others, as to safety and cleanliness, 
are procured at a greater expense for fuel than would be required 
