198 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
March  8,  1900. 
The  Royal  meteorological  Society — As  this  Society  will 
attain  its  jubilee  on  Tuesday,  April  3rd,  having  been  founded  on 
April  3rd,  1850,  it  is  proposed  to  observe  this  fiftieth  anniversary  in  a 
special  manner.  The  Council  have  arranged  for  a  commemoration 
meeting  to  be  held  at  3  p.m.  at  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  at 
which  the  President  will  deliver  an  address,  and  delegates  from  other 
societies  will  be  received.  In  the  evening  a  conversazione  will  be  held 
at  the  Royal  Institute  of  Painters  in  Water  Colours.  On  the  following 
day,  April  4th,  the  Fellows  will  visit  the  Royal  Observatory,  Greenwich, 
and  in  the  evening  will  dine  together  at  the  Westminster  Palace  Hotel. 
In  view  of  this  jubilee  celebration,  Mr.  G.  J.  Symons,  P.R.S.,  was 
elected  President  at  the  anmaal  meeting  of  the  Society  on  January  17th, 
but  owing  to  illness  he  has  since  been  obliged  to  resign  this  office. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  Council  at  their  last  meeting  appointed 
Dr.  C.  Theodore  Williams  as  the  President  of  the  Society. 
Xlverpool  National  Amateur  Gardeners’  Association. 
■ — The  oldest  inhabitant  of  our  city  cannot  remember  such  intense 
excitement  as  prevailed  when  the  relief  of  Ladysmith  became  known. 
At  the  Common  Hall,  Hackins  Hey,  from  multitudes  of  excited  people 
the  amateurs  of  both  sexes  had  mustered  in  fairly  good  numbers. 
The  paucity  of  exhibits  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  considering  the 
spell  of  bad  weather  through  which  we  have  passed.  After  the 
newly  elected  Secretary,  Mr.  McGregor,  had  got  his  work  well  in 
hand  and  the  Judges  had  completed  their  labours,  the  newly  elected 
President,  Mr.  A.  W.  Ardran,  gave  one  of  his  timely  addresses. 
Speaking  of  the  value  of  their  Association  as  a  means  of  mutual 
improvement,  he  remarked  that  gardening  possessed  claims  such  as 
nothing  else  could,  and  it  was  a  remarkable  fact  that  any  particular 
hobby  in  it  was  oftentimes  handed  down  in  families  for  generations. 
Many  failures  amongst  amateurs  simply  arose  through  not  seeking 
information  through  the  gardening"  press,  or  from  an  association  such 
as  theirs.  The  medals  for  points  were  distributed,  Mrs.  McGregor 
gaining  the  silver  and  Mr.  Cangley  the  bronze,  whilst  Mr.  H.  A. 
Robins  gained  the  certificate.  The  usual  votes  closed  a  most  interesting 
meeting. — R.  P.  R. 
Chester  Paxton  Society. — A  meeting  of  this  Society  was  held  at 
the  Grosvenor  Museum  on  Saturday,  when  by  special  request  the 
Honorary  Secretary,  Mr.  G.  P.  Miln,  delivered  a  lecture  on  the 
“  Artificial  Cross-Fertilisation  of  Cereals  and  Grasses.”  Although  one 
of  the  objects  of  this  Society  when  first  started  was  to  encourage 
agricultural  as  well  as  horticultural  research,  this  is  the  first  lecture 
on  a  purely  agricultural  subject  that  has  yet  been  delivered  to  the 
members.  Mr.  Miln  prefaced  his  remarks  by  giving  some  interesting 
particulars  of  the  improvements  that  have  taken  place  in  the  breeds 
of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  during  the  present  century,  and  which 
have  led  to  such  beneficial  results  to  British  agriculture.  It  was 
not,  however,  until  quite  recently  that  actual  new  breeds  of  farm 
plants  had  been  produced  by  means  of  artificial  cross-fertilisation.  The 
lecturer  explained  in  detail  the  methods  adopted  in  securing  improved 
breeds  by  the  means  of  artificial  cross-fertilisation,  and  stated  that  to 
the  agriculturist  ”  plant  breeding”  was  almost  as  of  great  importance 
as  was  the  judicious  stock-breeding  of  horses,  cattle  and  sheep. 
The  lecture  was  copiously  illustrated  by  a  series  of  specially  prepared 
lantern  slides,  which  embraced  all  the  reproductive  organa  of  plants 
as  well  as  comparative  results  between  some  of  the  old  and  the  new 
breeds  of  cereals  and  grasses.  Added  interest  was  given  to  the 
meeting  by  an  excellent  collection  of  some  two  dozen  varieties  of 
Apples  staged  by  Mr.  N.  F.  Barnes,  Eaton  Gardens.  Votes  of  thanks 
to  Mr.  Miln  for  his  lecture  and  to  Mr.  Barnes  for  his  exhibit  brought 
the  meeting  to  a  close. 
February  Weather  at  Bowlals. — Total  fall,  rain  and  snow, 
9’54  inches ;  deepest  snowfall,  14  inches  on  the  13th,  and  9  inches  on 
the  10th  and  14th.  Snow  fell  on  eight  days  to  a  total  depth  of 
36’10  inches.  Rain  fell  on  twelve  days.  Heaviest  fall  2 ’35  inches. 
The  fall  registered  in  five  days  from  the  13th  was  6’19  inches. 
Temperatures — Mean  maximum,  37'857° ;  highest  reading,  49°  on  the 
25th,  and  below  32°  on  seven  days.  Mean  minimum,  26'321° ;  lowest 
reading,  12°  on  the  6th  and  12th.  Below  freezing  point  twenty-one 
nights.  Mean  in  sun,  50‘285°  ;  highest  reading,  75°  on  the  7th.  Sun- 
less  days  ten.  The  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind  was  N.E.  and  E. 
A  very  rough  month  throughout,  especially  on  the  night  of  the  13th, 
when  a  terrible  blizzard  commenced  about  5  p.m.,  and  was  raging 
until  5  A.M.  the  following  morning,  the  drifts  of  snow  in  some  places 
being  several  feet. — Wm.  Mabbott. 
Sussex  Weather.  —The  total  rainfall  at  Abbot’s  Leigh,  Hayward’s 
Heath,  the  past  month  was  5  59  inches,  being  3  60  inches  above  the 
average.  The  heaviest  fall  was  1‘4S  inch  on  15th.  Rain  or  snow  fell 
on  twenty  days.  The  maximum  temperature  was  57°  on  the  24th  and 
26th ;  the  minimum  16°  on  the  10th.  Mean  maximum  43'18° ;  mean 
minimum  32‘22° ;  mean  temperature  37’70,  the  average.  A  thorough 
“  February  fill  dyke,”  as  they  say  in  Yorkshire.  March  has  come  in 
very  cold  but  dryer. — R.  I. 
February  Weather  at  Hodsock  Priory,  Worksop. — Mean 
temperature  of  the  month  36'2°.'  Maximum  in  the  screen,  5S‘0°  on  the 
23rd;  minimum  in  the  screen,  13'4°  on  the  13th  ;  minimum  on  the  grass, 
6‘3°  on  the  8th.  Number  of  frosts  in  the  shade  17,  on  the  grass  22. 
Sunshine  60  hours,  or  22  per  cent,  of  the  possible  duration.  Rain¬ 
fall  3’94  ins. ;  difference  from  average  +  2'28.  Rain  fell  on  eighteen 
days ;  maximum  fall,  0’97  in.  on  the  15th.  Rain  from  January  1st 
6’87  ins.  ;  difference  from  average  +  3"41.  The  wettest  February  for 
at  least  twenty -five  years,  probably  for  forty-five  years.  Sharp  frosts 
in  the  first  half  of  the  month  and  deep  snow. — J.  Mallendee. 
February  Weather  at  Belvolr  Castle,  Grantham. — The 
wind  was  in  a  southerly  direction  fifteen  days.  The  total  rainfall  was 
4’04  inches  ;  this  fell  on  twenty. one  days,  and  is  2‘23  inches  above  the 
average  for  the  month  ;  the  greatest  daily  fall  was  0’52  inch  (snow)  on 
the  15th.  Barometer  (corrected  and  reduced) :  highest  reading  30’066 
inches  on  tho  8th  at  9  A.M. ;  lowest  28'460  inches  on  the  19th  at  9  a.m. 
Thermometers  ;  highest  in  the  shade  56°  on  the  23rd,  lowest  10°  on  the 
8th.  Mean  of  daily  maxima  41'14°,  mean  of  daily  minima  30‘14°;  mean 
temperature  of  the  month  35  64,  lowest  on  the  grass  8°  on  the  8th,  12th, 
and  13th,  highest  in  the  sun  97°  on  the  18th  and  23rd  ;  mean  tempera¬ 
ture  of  the  earth  at  3  feet  37’60°.  Total  sunshine  sixty-seven  hours 
forty-five  minutes,  which  is  sixteen  hours  below  the  average  for  the 
month ;  there  were  nine  sunless  days.  The  rainfall  is  the  largest  in 
February  since  1876,  previous  to  which  the  records  are  imperfect. — 
W.  H.  Divers. 
A  Wet  February. — The  old  saying  “  February  fill  dyke”  must 
have  originated  in  some  such  year  as  this.  As  a  rule  the  month  is  one 
of  the  driest  of  the  whole  year,  and  in  the  South  of  England  it  is 
exceeded  in  this  respect  only  by  its  successor,  March.  Every  now  and 
then,  however,  it  is  distinguished,  says  a  contemporary,  as  in  the  present 
year,  by  heavy  snows,  followed  by  drenching  rains,  a  very  fruitful  source 
of  floods,  as  many  previous  records  show.  Last  month  was  certainly  one  of 
the  wettest  Februaries  we  have  ever  had.  Over  a  very  considerable  part 
of  England  the  amount  of  rain  and  snow  combined  was  at  least  half  as 
much  again  as  the  average,  and  in  many  places  it  was  at  least  twice 
as  much  as  the  normal.  In  London  (at  Brixton),  where  the  total 
rainfall  amounted  to  as  much  as  3‘8  inches,  the  aggregate  was  nearly 
two  and  a  half  times  as  much  as  the  average,  and  was  the  largest 
recorded  in  February  since  the  year  1879.  At  Greenwich,  where  the 
total  for  the  month  amounted  to  all  but  3^  inches,  a  long  record 
extending  back  for  sixty  years  gives  only  two  instances  of  so  wet  a 
February,  one  of  these  occurring  in  1879,  when  the  total  was 
3'8  inches,  and  the  other  in  1866,  when  it  was  just  over  4  inches. 
Meteorological  Observations  at  Chiswick. — Taken  in  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society’s  Gardens — height  above  sea  level  24  feet. 
Date. 
Direction  of 
Wind. 
Temperature  of  the 
Air. 
Bain. 
Temperature  of 
the  Soil. 
At  9  A.M. 
Lowest 
Temperature 
on  Grass. 
1900. 
February 
aucl 
March. 
At  9  A.M. 
Day. 
Night 
At 
1-ft. 
deep. 
At 
2-ft. 
deep. 
At 
4-ft. 
deep. 
Dry 
Bulb. 
Wet 
Bulb. 
02 
s 
to 
a 
02 
$ 
o 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
ins. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Sunday..  25 
s.s.  w. 
60-9 
50-3 
55-5 
49-1 
0-07 
45-5 
42-3 
42T 
45-0 
Monday . .  26 
S.E. 
47-3 
46-9 
67 -5 
44-8 
0-28 
46T 
43-5 
42-6 
44-1 
Tuesday  27 
N.W. 
47-5 
46*9 
49-4 
46-6 
0-13 
46-3 
44T 
42-9 
41-9 
Wed’sday  28 
N.E. 
42-2 
41-5 
42-5 
41-9 
0-04 
46-3 
44-5 
43-5 
40-2 
Thursday  1 
N.E. 
38-8 
35-0 
41-6 
36-7 
0-01 
43-6 
44’5 
43-8 
33-5 
Friday  . .  2 
N.N.W. 
38  T 
36-6 
42-2 
31-8 
0-02 
41T 
43-6 
44T 
22-6 
Saturday  3 
N.  W. 
39-0 
36-8 
43-0 
35-9 
0-01 
40-9 
42-9 
44T 
30-4 
Total 
Means  .. 
43-4 
42-0 
47-4 
41-0 
0-66 
44-3 
43-6 
43-3 
36-8 
- - 
A  dull,  sunless  week,  with  cold  northerly  winds  and  showers*  at 
intervals. 
