1 Pe! EP wee, a 
ee a ar tet DS 
Wirars - 
110 THE FLORIST. 
of certain soils on the peculiarity of fruit trees may become better 
understood ; in fact, that our skeleton sketch may get filled in with the 
details necessary to make it complete. We have said nothing of the 
Wealden sands and clays, nor yet of the lower and upper green sands, 
neither of which are by themselves very important fruit soils; but 
when the gault clay (which separates the upper and lower beds) 1s 
mixed with the upper green sand, a soil of great fertility is formed, on 
which orchards abound in Kent, Surrey, and other places. This 
mixture forms also the celebrated Hop grounds of Surrey and Kent, 
and the rich corn district of the Pewsey Vale, in Wilts. The peculiar 
richness of these beds is owing in a great measure to the presence of 
phosphate of lime, derived from the remains of extinct animals, Xe. ; 
the slow decomposition of which, as it is exposed to the atmosphere, 
adds to the soil one great element of its fertility. 
Our notice of manures, to conclude the series, must appear in next 
number. 
EFFECTS OF THE WINTER IN STAFFORDSHIRE. 
As last summer was unusually dry, many vegetables, &c., made 
but little progress until the autumn rains, so that they were in full 
vigour when the severe frost came in October. I never saw such 
destruction in a single night among tender, half-hardy, and even hardy 
plants. It made a clean sweep of Lettuce, Endive, and Cauliflower, 
and so far weakened the Broccoli, Cabbage, and other green vegetables, 
that the severe frosts in November and December finished any that were 
left ; old and young plants of Cabbage, Broccoli, Savoy, and even all the 
varieties of Kale perished ; Brussels Sprouts only have escaped ; Celery 
and Cardoons were frozen through; Globe Artichokes, although protected 
with straw, appear dead ; all the strong growing Parsley, from early 
sowings, and which had been pricked out, was killed, root and leaves— 
that which escaped was some plain-leaved, under an east wall, and 
some sown thick in poor groumd at the end of July ; many of the young 
shoots of Figs were killed with the first frost, as the foliage was then 
on (in fact, ripe Figs at the same time), all the young fruit was so 
much damaged that I expect we shall miss our usual supply of early 
out-door Figs, which are far superior to the late ones (we cover the 
trees with straw as soon as the leaves are off). This winter will 
thoroughly prove which of the trees and shrubs are hardy, and which 
are only supposed to be so. 
Wellingtonias are not injured in any situation ; Cedrus Deodara and 
atlantica have escaped, as have also Cephalotaxus, Thujopsis borealis, 
Thuja Lobbi and gigantea; Cupressus Lawsoniana is not hurt, while 
Cupressus Goveniana and Lambertiana are very much browned; some 
Cryptomerias have escaped, while small plants, and one 10 feet high, 
which was growing very strong late in autumn, and exposed to the 
north-east wind, had almost all the young wood killed;. Araucarias 
have escaped, except one fully exposed to the north-east, a little brown 
~ on the tips of shoots; Pinus insignis has suffered most of all—in fact, 
