2 
NOTES OF OBSERVATIONS 
that from examination of the Meteorological records it appears that 
December, 1878, and January and February, 1879, were 9° below the 
average of the last 115 years: the soil was frozen to a depth of from 
twelve to twenty-one inches from December 4th till the middle of 
March ; April and May were dry and cold; and the remaining months 
until the beginning of November were cold and rainy to an unusual 
—and, as far as known, unprecedented—degree. At Sparham, near 
Norwich, the lowest temperature of the winter was 3° in the low-lying 
part of the parish, and 10° on the high ground, on December 25tli. At 
my own station at Islewortli the lowest temperature was 10 o, 5; the 
lowest observed on grass was 9°*8 on January 12tli. The earth 
temperatures at one foot deep sunk to between 32° and 33° from 
December 24tli to the 29th, and also from January 12th to 
February 6th. 
An idea being prevalent that “cold kills the grubs,” I took the 
opportunity whilst the great cold lasted of examining the state of all 
larvae and pupae I could find fully exposed to its influence, whether 
unsheltered, under bark, or in frozen ground, and found that in all 
cases, even where the earth was frozen so hard that the mass had to 
be broken up with a hammer, and the larvae or pupae were perfectly 
rigid, that on thawing they did not appear to be in any way injured; 
and in the case of the larvae of the Cabbage Weevil (which was the 
only instance in which any immediate action was to be expected) 
they continued the operation of making their earth-cases for pupation 
(as is usual with this grub on disturbance from the gall) as if nothing 
had happened. Of these observations I give the details under the 
headings of the respective insects. 
In other respects the extreme severity of the winter was favourable 
to insect preservation, as large numbers were secured from bird attack 
under the snow or in the frost-bound ground; and also the excessive 
cold (as shown by the Plienological Report of the Meteorological 
Society) caused an almost unprecedented mortality amongst the 
birds; this especially noted amongst the Turdida and Starlings. The 
cold and wet spring subsequently retarded the nesting season, and 
further diminished the ordinary amount by the great numbers of eggs 
that were addled. 
The general returns do not show that any kind of injurious insect 
has been lessened in amount of appearance by the winter cold, 
excepting (possibly) the Turnip Fly. This has been little prevalent, 
but (conjecturally) this is rather owing to failure of the Turnip crops 
than direct weather influence, as noted in the return: “No Turnips, 
therefore no Fly.” 
