The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-03-06


Very curious and conclusive evidence Of
climatic changes in Great Britain has recently
been adduced by an English botanist in the
opening address before the Edinburgh Botani-
cal Society. This evidence is found in the
marked deterioration or dying out of certain
vegetable growths. which, in the memory Of
men still living, once fourished in some parts
of the United Kingdom. The alteration Of
climate, as indicated by horticultural statis-
tics, is most striking in Scotland. Prior to
1885 the gardens and pleasure grounds around
Edinburgh abounded in hydrangeas, the sweet
shrubby plants, which are quite lost to
the country, no longer beautifed by their
once prolific bloom and gorgeous and varied
tints. During the memorably cold winter of
1860-61 q veteran myrtle tree at Leachie
House, which had stood through hundred
years-an examination of its stem showing its
age to be exactly century-and regularly
lowered, was destroyed. And this appears to
have been the last survivor of its race. The
catalpa, the fuchsia, the acacia, tho cypress
and the almond in some of their varieties, seem
also to have fallen under some evil spell, and
their growth, where still alive, is dwindling and
enfeebled. Equally marked is the decadence
in the magnolia grandifora-the pride of our
Southern States-which till 1887 lowered pro-
fusely in Scotland and many other most
valuable and ornamental trees have ceased to
lend to Scottish scenery those varied charms
which once inspired the poet and the tourist.
Even the larch, the yew and evergreen
woods-the staple of industrial forest growth
have not maintained their known pristine
robustness and health.
1t may be very difficult to assign good
cause for the climatic change which has told
SO perceptibly upon the vegetation of Scot
land, and doubtless more or less on that of
the entire Kingdom. The high horticultural
authority which furnishes the above facts sug-
gests very plausibly that the failure of vegeta-
ton during the last forty or fifty years is due
to the non-ripening of the wood from lack of
sun heat The remarkable fact cited that figs,
which, till 1884, grew in abundance and with
out the aid of fire heat now seldom thrive
except in well-protected and favored spots.
would appear to corroborate this rea-
soning The thermometric observa-
tions of climate have never been suf-
fciently exact and delicate to determine
through what variations of solar temperature
and radiation our planet has been and is
passing. Great as are the bearings of such
observations on the practical work of the
gardener, the farmer and the forest-grower
they have yet to be instituted in q way to test
the question now raised. But, however the
amount of solar heat distributed over the
British Islands may have varied during the
supposed period of vegetative deterioration it
is probable the rainfall has diminished by ex-
tensive decreasing and, what is equally i'm
portant, the amount of latent heat liberated
from the clouds at the moment of their con-
densation into rain has diminished The
loss of cubic foot Of rain over given dis
trict is, we know, accompanied by loss of
latent heat that would have been sufficient to
raise hundred thousand cubic feet OF air from
the temperature of melting ice to summer
heat. And it is, therefore, obvious that with
the smallest diminuion of country's rainfall
though the deficiency would be almost inap-
probable in a rain-gauge, the amount of
heat requisite for giving bloom and vigor to
vegetation is enormously curtailed.
The subject is of universal interest and Of
worldwide economic Importance and
forcibly suggests the expediency we have long
contended for. Of guarding our climate against
the deteriorating effects of wholesale deforest-
ing. A meteorological investigation of these
climatic changes has become necessity of
agriculture AZ well a. Of science.