401. 
TITE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 29, 1859. 
NETTING AS A BLOSSOM PROTECTOR. 
lx answer to your request, in The Cottage Gardener of 
March 15, to be informed of any proof as to the efficacy of 
netting to preserve fruit trees from frost, I have much pleasure 
in informing you, that, for many years, I have adopted it with 
complete success. 
Mentioning the subject to two friends about a month ago, j 
curiously enough they both coincided with me as to its efficacy. 
One of the two.friends, who has a large garden attached to his j 
Rectory, stated, that he had several times given it the most con- J 
vincing trial. On the same wall he selected three trees. One lie 
covered with fir boughs, one with bunting, and the third with 
netting, and that was the only tree of the three that was well 
covered with fruit. The other friend stated that, many years 
ago, he bought a hundredweight of old herring netting, at Deal, i 
which he has used for his fruit trees for years with success ; and, 
although it is full of holes, by applying it double and treble, it 
still serves his purpose. I need not say, it requires some sticks to 
be placed slantingly against the wall, to keep the net from, touching 
the tree, lest the wind should cause it to pull off some blossoms. 
The advantages of this net, although doubled, which I recom¬ 
mend, are, that it requires no moving ; the sun can got to the plant, 
and the bees to the blossom. 
I hope this will fully corroborate the system adopted at 
Knowsley, although on a limited scale. 
Old netting can be bought from a penny to three-halfpence a 
yard at any of the seaport towns, or in London; but it is cheaper 
to buy it by the hundredweight.—W. A. E. 
METEOROLOGICAL REPORT EOR JANUARY. 
I have been pleased to see that attention is being called, in 
your columns, to the study of meteorology in connection with 
gardening and general horticultural operations. Mr. J. Robson, 
of Linton Park, has drawn your attention to the very small fall 
of rain during last year, which was very considerably below the 
average. I enclose you copies of my report for the month of 
January last, which will give some information upon the subject. 
This period has been remarkable for the entire absence of snow; 
as the ground has never been covered, and snow only fell on two 
occasions during the winter.—G. Y. Vernon, O/d Trafford, near 
Manchester. 
“ The accompanying table gives the quantity and days of ozone 
for each wind with which it occurred :— 
Wind. 
Days on which 
Ozone occurred. 
Mean daily amount of Ozone. 
Moffatt. Sclidnbein. 
S. ... 
. 4 . 
... 8T2 . 
. 5-75 
S.TY. ... 
. 11 . 
... 655 . 
. 5'82 
TV. ... 
. 1 . 
... 600 . 
. 7'00 
the mean direction of the wind accompanying these amounts 
being almost due S.TY. The mean fall of rain for forty-seven 
years, given by Dr. Dalton, for January, is 2-257 in.; showing that 
the fall has been 0"496 in. below that average, although much less 
than the average of the past eight years. The amount of evapora¬ 
tion has been computed from the corrected readings of the dry | 
and wet bulb thermometers, using the values of the elastic force 
of vapour, computed by Mr. Glaisher, in page 5 of the introduc- i 
tion to the second edition of his ‘ Ilygrometrical Tables.’ These | 
determinations were taken as being deductions from the most 
carefully conducted experiments yet made upon this point, being I 
those of M. Rognault, and may be found in the 1 Annales de 
Chimie et de Physique,’ iroisieme serie, tome xv. The relations 
between wind, mean temperature, rain, and clouds, have been as 
follows:— 
t. _ Direction 
D l - s ‘ of wind. 
Mean temp. 
Diffce. mean 
for month. 
Clouds. 
Days 
rain. 
Fall in 
inches. 
2 ... N.E. 
1 ... N. 
.. 36-05° ... 
.. 37-90° ... 
—5-05° ... 
—3-20° ... 
6-0 
10-0 
... — ... 
- - 
5 ... TV. 
.. 39-24° ... 
—1-86° ... 
9-2 
... 2 ... 
0-051 
4 ... S. 
.. 41-16° ... 
+ 0-05° ... 
10-0 
.. 4 ... 
0.284 
16 ... S.TV. 
.. 41-67° ... 
+ 0-57° ... 
86 
... 9 ... 
1.358 
3 ... N.TV. 
.. 45-90° ... 
+ 4-80° ... 
10-0 
... 2 ... 
0067 
Referring the 
wind to the four principal points only, 
N.= 6; 
E.= 2; S.= 2 
0; W.= 24 
The mean 
direction of the 
wind for 
the month has been S.W. 7° TV. The mean direction of t he wind 
in January, for ten years, is N. 10; N.E. 5'6; E. 14; S.E. 
4-4.; S. 3'8; S.TY. 8-5; TV. 1-9; N.TV. 4-4. The mean direction 
in January, for ten years, is S. 3° E. With the exception of 
January 1851, the month just passed has been the warmest of the 
last ten years, and has been remarkable for its resemblance to 
spring, and, at the same time, an entire absence of snow. Although 
the mean temperature of the year 1858 has been 1'64° below that 
of 1857, owing to the high summer temperature, June especially, 
there has been a great prevalence of diseases of the zymotic class— 
scarlatina and measles especially ; and a great increase in pulmo¬ 
nary diseases during the part of the year, especially accompanying 
the very low temperature in November. This has caused the 
year 1858 to be classed as an unhealthy year, according to the 
figures furnished by the return of the Registrar General. The 
very small fall of rain during the year 1858, has, no doubt, 
greatly tended to increase the mortality, owing to organic matter 
in a decomposing condition not being removed, as if would 
have been by a greater quantity of rain. During the great 
prevalence of diarrhoea and cholera in 1832, 1849, and 1854, the 
fall of rain was greatly deficient; and in 1832, not more than a 
fourth of the average fell during the cholera epidemic. 
“ I remain, yours most truly, 
“ G. V. Vernon, E.R.A.S. 
“ Old Trafford, February 7, 1859.” 
Barometer 
Mean (at 32° Falir.). 
Highest . 
Lowest . 
Range. 
Temperature :— 
Adopted mean. 
Range for month. 
Daily range . 
Maximum in shade . 
Minimum in shade. 
Maximum in sun. 
Minimum on grass. 
Temperature of evaporation .... 
Temperature of dew point . 
Temperature of air—dew point. 
Required to saturate ditto. 
Weight of a cubic foot of air 
Elastic force of vapour. 
Clouds (Covered—10. Clear—0). 
Prevailing winds. 
Rain . 
Number of days on which it fell... 
Ozonometer j scMuhejn.'.'.'.'.'.'.';;:.';: 
Daily evaporation. 
Monthly ditto. 
1859. 
Mean of 
Diffnce. 
29-9G3 
• 8 years. 
... 29-702 . 
.. +0.2C4 
30*652® 
... 30-413 . 
.. +0-239 
28*950® 
... 29-093 . 
.. —0.113 
• »> 
1-702 
... 1331 . 
. +0-371 
41-1 
... 38-1 . 
.. +3-0 
27-3 
... 34-8 . 
.. —7-5 
it 
100 
... 11-4 . 
.. —W 
54-3 
... 54-3 . 
0-0 
27-0 
... 19-5 . 
.. +7*5 
55*7 
... 57 3+. 
.. —1-6 
23-5 
... 16-Sf. 
.. +6-7 
40-4 
... 37*0 . 
.. +3-4 
39-5 
... 35*5 . 
.. +40 
• J» 
1*0 
2-6 . 
.. —DO 
sphere :— 
if air, grs. 2-81 
... 2-39 . 
.. +0-42 
0-20 
... 0-32 . 
.. —0-12 
554-3 
... 353 0 . 
.. +1-3 
•OtlO) ,, 
0-914 
... 0.902 . 
.. +0.012 
:. inches 
9-35 
... 2-88 . 
.. +0-47 
0-242 
... 0-208 . 
.. +0-034 
8-9 
8-0 . 
.. +0-9 
S.W. 
& W. 
inches 
1-760 
... 2-804 . 
.. —1-044 
17 
... 20-4 . 
.. —3-4 
. inches 
3-56 
— 
— 
.. 
3*03 
— 
— 
0-016 
... 0-022 . 
.. —0-006 
0-496 
... 0-682 . 
.. —0-18G 
Sale op tiie London IIobticultheal Society's House.— 
Messrs. Farebrotbcr sold this at Garraway’s Coffee House, on 
the 23rd instant, for £2,SCO. The premises, 21, Regent Street, 
are subject to an annual ground-rent of ALGO. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
ArnieoT Rt.oom Falling (Tames Fat Union ).—The bloom may fall be¬ 
cause the fruit is set; but, if the leaves sent are from the tree, it is very 
evident there is a fatal defect somewhere. Without more information we 
cannot he sure whence the mischief arises ; but we should think that the 
roots arc defective. You do not even state where the trees are growing. 
Various {J. jr.).—“ A square yard,” of course, contains nine square 
feet. Fix' your wires in the greenhouse for training Tines, nine inches 
from the glass. Guano in a kitchen garden is best applied as a liquid 
manure to Cabbages, Asparagus, and Rhubarb, whilst growing. 
Vinegar. —We shall be obliged by information in answer to the following 
from a correspondent ( W. K. B.): —“I have several gallons of vinegar 
made from the plant, but it docs not keep. I have tried sulphuric and 
muriatic acids, and yet the plant continues to form whenever it is set by 
for a few days. Can you, or any ol' your correspondents, say how it is to 
be prevented! ” 
Azalea procumbens. —“A lady would he glad to know where she can 
procure plants of the Azalea procumbens." 
French Gardening Periodical [An Unfortunate Gardener). — Any 
newsagent will give you the information you require. We know the most 
worthy works; but we know nothing about their circulation, and, there¬ 
fore, might mislead you. 
SrrrosEn Cyclamen [J. Holland).— Your plant is a miniature of a 
Cyclamen-looking plant, but not a Cyclamen. It is a small alpine plant 
from Switzerland, as old as the Alps, and called Sotdanella Atpina. We 
shall allude to it in a review of some other spring iiowers shortly. 
' Unreduced. + Mean of four years only t Moan of five years only. 
