OBSERVED IN HERTFORDSHIRE IN 1910. 293 
On the other hand, in the spring of 1910 there was little, if any, 
blossom on the elm-trees, and the foliage instead of being 
stunted was of average size. 
Our observer at King’s Langley draws attention to the rapid 
advance made by vegetation generally after the change to 
warmer weather in the middle of May. 
All the spring plants on the list came into flower behind their 
average dates, the coltsfoot being two days late, the wood- 
anemone nine days late, the blackthorn four days late, the garlic 
hedge-mustard one day late, the horse-chestnut three days late, 
the hawthorn five days late, and the white ox-eye five days late. 
The spring migrants also arrived later than usual, the 
swallow being eight days late, the cuckoo seven days late, the 
nightingale three days late, and the flycatcher three days late. 
The wasp first made its appearance four days late, the small 
white butterfly at its average date, and the orange-tip butterfly 
eight days late. 
The Summer. 
This was a cold, wet, and sunless summer. July proved the 
most unseasonably cold and gloomy month, and June the most 
unseasonably wet of the three months. 
The warm weather in the latter half of May, and throughout 
the greater part of June, proved of great benefit to the growth 
of the grass, as there was during that time never any lack of 
moisture in the soil. Unfortunately the frequent rains which 
set in after the grass had been cut caused the hay harvest to be 
in many places a protracted and unsatisfactory one as regards 
the condition of the crop when gathered in. No doubt the 
reason why the reports respecting the condition of the hay crop 
vary so greatly was because there were in many parts of the 
country two short periods of dry weather, one in the middle of 
June and the other in the middle of July, which enabled those 
farmers who had cut their hay at the beginning of either of 
those dry periods to get in much of their crop in excellent order. 
Throughout this season both the autumn and spring-sown corn 
greatly improved, and more particularly that growing on the 
less retentive soils. The cereals ripened slowly owing to the 
continued cold, wet, and sunless weather. The root crops 
continued to make steady progress throughout the season, and 
there was always plenty of grass in the pastures. 
In the kitchen garden the crops made good growth, and 
especially peas, which always delight in a cool and wet summer, 
but in the flower garden the low temperatures and frequent 
rains did not favour a full production of blossom. 
Insect life, as in the previous year, was but poorly repre¬ 
sented, but, unlike that year, aphides of all kinds appear to 
have been less numerous than usual. 
Taking the county as a whole the plants on the list which 
come into blossom during this season were as a rule rather early 
