Springtime and Other Essays Part 18

"My escape in the Staplehurst accident of three years ago is not to be obliterated from my nervous system. To this hour I have sudden vague rushes of terror, even when riding {228} in a hansom cab, which are perfectly unreasonable but quite insurmountable. I used to make nothing of driving a pair of horses habitually through the most crowded parts of London. I cannot now drive, with comfort myself, on the country roads here; and I doubt if I could ride at all in the saddle."

In 1866 he consulted Dr Beard about symptoms of grave significance. And in 1869 Beard went down to Preston and put a stop to a projected reading, and ruled, with the approval of Sir Thomas Watson, that anything like a reading tour must be finally stopped.

In January and March 1870, he was working at _Edwin Drood_, his unfinished book. He gave some farewell readings, and his last public appearance was at the Royal Academy dinner, where he spoke of Maclise.

His daughter has given a touching account of his death. He was at Gad's Hill on 30th May 1870 at work over _Edwin Drood_, but there was "an appearance of fatigue and weariness about him very unlike his usual air of fresh activity."

On 8th June 1870 he owned to being very ill. He became incoherent, and being advised to lie down, he said indistinctly, "Yes, on the ground,"

and these were his last words. In the evening of 9th June, he shuddered, gave one sigh, a tear rolled down his face, and he died.

d.i.c.kens had wished to be buried in the little churchyard of Shorne in Kent; but the authorities of Rochester Cathedral asked that he might be buried there. Finally, Dean Stanley intervened and he was buried on 14th June in Westminster Abbey. His daughter says that every year on the ninth of June flowers are strewn by "unknown hands on that spot so sacred to us, and to all who knew and loved him."

A PROCESSION OF FLOWERS {231a}

The following pages give the results of observations on the dates at which the commoner plants flowered at Brookthorpe, near Gloucester, as well as the dates of a few other facts, such as the days in which the songs of birds were first heard.

My observations began in April 1917, originating in the obvious lateness of some of the vegetation. The record extends from 1st April to 21st August, and contains only 160 observations, whereas in Blomefield's _Naturalist's Calendar_, {231b} with which I have compared them, the number of recorded facts is much greater. I may express my indebtedness to the minutely accurate work of this author; I only wish that my small contribution to his subject were more worthy of my guide.

What interest my observations may possess depends on the fact that the spring of 1917 was exceptionally cold. For this statement I rely on the weekly Weather Report of the Meteorological Office, in which for each week of the year the deviation from the normal temperature is given for a large number of stations in the British Islands. {232} I have taken as a standard the temperature at Clifton, which seems to be the station nearest to Gloucester.

Now, though the temperature has undoubtedly a great effect on the time of flowering, it is by no means the only element in the problem. The first plant on my list is _Ranunculus ficaria_, which I noted as flowering on 1st April, whereas in Blomefield the mean of seventeen yearly observations is 28th February, the earliest date for this plant being 21st January, the latest 28th March. The extreme lateness of the Celandine was doubtless due to the cold spring of 1917. But what are the elements of the problem which fixed on this plant the general habit of flowering early in the year?

In some cases we can see the advantages in early flowering. Thus the average date on which the Hazel comes into bloom is 26th January, and this, for a plant of which the pollen is distributed by the wind, may be an advantage, since there are no leaves to obstruct the dispersal of the pollen grains.

It may be answered that those Conifers which do not shed their leaves in winter, _e.g._ the Yew or the Scotch Fir, are nevertheless wind-fertilised. But this, though a point not to be forgotten, is no argument against what has been said of the Hazel.

On the whole, however, we are excessively ignorant as to the biological meaning of the dates at which plants flower. What advantage does the orchis _Spiranthes_, well called _autumnalis_, gain from flowering in August or September? Or again, what biological characters are there to distinguish the plants flowering in June from those which do not show themselves till July? It looks, to put the thing fancifully, as if a parliament of plants had met and decided that some arrangement must be made since the world would be inconveniently full if they all flowered at once; or they may have believed that there were not enough insects to fertilise the whole Flora, if all their services were needed in one glorious month of crowded life. Therefore it was ruled that the months should be portioned among the aspirants, some choosing May, others June or July. But it must have been difficult to manage, and must have needed an accurate knowledge of their own natural history. I must apologise for this outbreak, and I will only add that this does seem to me an interesting problem, namely, what are the elements in the struggle for life which fix the dates on which plants habitually flower?

The most striking instance of the effect of the temperature is the behaviour of arctic plants. {233} In Nova Zembla the summer consists of two months, July and August, during which the mean temperature is about 5 C. In these conditions, cases such as the following occur: at Pitlekaj the last nine days of June showed a mean temperature of below 0 C., while the average for the first nine days of July was between +4 and +6, and on 10th July all the four species of Willow were in full bloom, the dwarf Birch, _Sedum pal.u.s.tre_, Polygonum, Ca.s.siope, and Diapensia were in flower, and within a week the whole vegetation was flowering.

There was, in fact, a great rush or explosion of all sorts of flowers as soon as the temperature rose: not that dropping fire which begins with us with Mezereon in January and ends with Ivy in the autumn.

In the Arctic Regions temperature seems the absolute master, but in our climate this is clearly not so. The best evidence of an inherent tendency to flower on a certain date is that given by Askenasy {234} in his observations on _Prunus avium_ (the Gean or wild Cherry). He recorded the weight of 100 buds at regular intervals throughout the year, and thus got the following results:-

_Grams_.

1st July 1 Period I.

1st August 2 1st September 3 1st October 4 1st November 4 Period II.

1st December 4 1st January 4 1st February 4 Period III.

1st March 6 2nd April 23 8th April 43

There are thus three periods: I., Formation; II., Rest; III., Development. So much for preliminaries; the really interesting point is the reaction of the buds to forcing by artificially raising the temperature. Thus branches put into a warm room at the end of October showed absolutely no tendency to develop. In December, however, they could be forced, and as time went on they proved to be more and more amenable to the effect of a rise in temperature. In other words, the invisible process of preparing for the spring was automatically proceeding. The following figures give the number of days of forcing needed at various dates to make cherry branches flower:-

14th December 27 days 10th January 18 ,, 2nd February 17 ,, 2nd March 12 ,, 11th March 10 ,, 23rd March 8 ,, 3rd April 5 ,,

My object in discussing this case is to show that the effect of temperature on plant-development is not a simple problem. The most picturesque a.s.sociation with what is known as the science of Phaenology (_i.e._ the lore of the appearance of flowers) is its practical connection with ancient agricultural maxims. Blomefield puts the thing very clearly {235}: "The middle of March may be, in the long run, the most suitable time for sowing various kinds of grain," but the husbandman may easily go wrong in this or other operations if he sticks to a fixed date. But if he knows that the conditions necessary for his purpose are also necessary for the flowering of some familiar herb, he will be safer in waiting for his guide to show itself than in going by dates. Wrongly or rightly, this a.s.sumption has been commonly followed.

Stillingfleet quotes from Aristophanes that "the crane points out the time of sowing" and the kite "when it is time to shear your sheep." An old Swedish proverb tells us that "when you see the white wagtail you may turn your sheep into the fields; and when you see the wheatear you may sow your grain." I have come across an English proverb: "When the sloe tree is as white as a sheet, you must sow your barley be it dry or wet."

Miss Jekyll in her book _Old West Surrey_, speaking of the wryneck, quotes: "When we hears that, we very soon thinks about rining (barking) the oaks."

There is something delightfully picturesque in the thought of man thus helped and guided in some of his most vital operations by the proceedings of the world of plants and animals, to whom that hard task-master Natural Selection has taught so much.

I have gone through Blomefield's _Calendar_, recording for each species the number of days between the earliest and latest known dates of flowering. Thus the Mezereon did not flower earlier than 11th January or later than 2nd February; this means that the date of flowering may, as far as we know, vary to the extent of twenty-three days.

If we look at the recorded dates for all flowers appearing in February, we find great irregularity. Thus _Daphne laureola_ has a range of twenty-two days, whereas for _Vinca minor_ the figure is 114. The average for February is 75.6, that for March is 55.6, for May 29.5, July 29.6. These figures suggest that the range of dates of flowering diminishes as the temperature becomes less variable. But the variation in summer temperature, though small relatively to the same factor in the cold months, may nevertheless be sufficient to affect the flowering habit. Yet there must be many factors in the problem of which we know nothing. It is a curious little fact that the summer range should be roughly one month.

Let us now consider my observations for 1917 as compared with Blomefield's record of the mean date of flowering of the same species.

The most striking feature occurs at the beginning of April, when Blomefield's observations are on the whole markedly earlier than my record of corresponding facts. Of those noted by me as flowering in April, one should have flowered in January, four in February, five in March, six considerably earlier in April, and two slightly earlier in that month.

In May Blomefield's dates are still mainly earlier than mine, in spite of the fact that in this month the temperature was above the normal. In June, on the whole (though with much variability), his dates do not seriously differ from mine. In the first three weeks of June the temperature was above the normal. In July, except at the beginning and end of the month, my observations are clearly later in date than Blomefield's, and during rather more than half of July the temperature was below the normal. On the whole, and in spite of many doubtful points, the difference between my results and Blomefield's seems to me to be related to the curve of temperature, in an irregular manner it is true, but sufficiently to be worthy of record. It has been said {237} that Th.o.r.eau, the American recluse and naturalist, knew the look of the country-side so intimately that had he been miraculously transferred to an unknown time of year, he would have recognised the season "within a day or two from the flowers at his feet." If this is true, either American plants are much more businesslike than ours (which is as it should be), or else Th.o.r.eau did not test his opinions too severely, and this seems even more probable.

NOTES.

* This column gives Blomefield's _mean_ dates.

+ S is the date on which the song was first heard.

L is the date of leafing.

N that of nesting.

The other entries are the dates of flowering.

No. Name Fact F. D. Blomefield.

observed *

1 Celandine April 1 Feb. 28 (_Ficaria_) 2 Blackbird S+ ,, 2 Feb. 10 3 Bramble L ,, 2 Mar. 25 4 Daisy ,, 4 Jan. 29 (_Bellis_) 5 Wild Rose L ,, 6 Mar. 15 6 Wild Violet ,, 16 April 16 7 _Lamium ,, 17 Feb. 19 purpureum_ 8 Willow ,, 19 Mar. 19 9 Elder L ,, 21 Feb. 13 10 Raspberry L ,, 21 April 2 11 Hazel L ,, 21 April 2 12 _Caltha_ ,, 22 Mar. 5 13 Chiff-chaff S ,, 22 Apr. 7 14 Humble Bee ,, 22 Mar. 17 15 Cuckoo S ,, 23 Apr. 29 16 Dandelion ,, 26 Feb. 21 17 Martin N May 1 May 3 18 Lady's Smock ,, 2 April 19 19 _Nepeta ,, 2 Mar. 30 glechoma_ 20 Blackthorn ,, 3 April 4 21 Ash ,, 3 April 11 22 Cowslip ,, 3 April 1 23 Beech L ,, 4 April 25 23a _Pedicularis ,, 6 sylvatica_ 24 Pear ,, 6 April 13 25 Sycamore ,, 6 April 29 26 Bugle May 7 May 3 (_Ajuga_) 27 Oak L ,, 7 May 5 28 _Lamium alb.u.m_ ,, 10 Mar 13 29 _Ranunculus ,, 10 April 21 auricomus_ 30 Nightingale S ,, 10 April 21 31 _Arum_ ,, 10 May 1 32 Blue Bell ,, 11 (Scilla) 32a _Stellaria ,, 11 holostea_ 33 _Lamium ,, 11 May 13 galeobdelon_ 34 _Plantago ,, 12 April 27 lanceolata_ 35 Red Clover ,, 12 May 8 35a _Vicia sepium_ ,, 12 36 _Myosotis ,, 12 May 18 arvensis_ 37 _Geranium ,, 12 May 7 robertianum_ 38 _Veronica ,, 12 April 28 chamaedrys_ 39 Ash L ,, 13 May 3 40 _Ranunculus ,, 13 April 24 bulbosus_ 41 _Alliaria_ ,, 14 April 22 42 _Asperula ,, 15 May 1 odorata_ 43 _Ranunculus ,, 16 May 2 acris_ *

44 _Allium ,, 16 ursinum_ 45 _Orchis ,, 16 May 26 mascula_ 46 Wistaria ,, 17 47 White Thorn ,, 18 May 7 48 _Chaerophyllum ,, 18 April 18 silvestre_ 49 _Alchemilla ,, 21 vulgaris_ 50 _Carex ,, 22 pendula_ 51 _Orchis morio_ ,, 23 May 12 52 _Geum urbanum_ ,, 28 May 25 53 _Rubus caesius_ ,, 28 May 28 54 Sorrel ,, 29 May 27 55 _Veronica ,, 29 May 25 beccabunga_ 56 Dog Daisy ,, 30 May 25 57 Stachys ,, 30 June 11 sylvatica 58 _Rhinanthus May 31 May 30 cristagalli_ 59 _Lychnis ,, 31 May 19 flos-cuculi_ 60 _Leontodon ,, 31 hispidus_ 61 _Ranunculus June 3 May 30 arvensis_ 62 _Vicia sativa_ ,, 3 June 8 63 s...o...b..rry ,, 4 June 2 64 _Galium ,, 4 May 29 aparine_ 66 _Urtica ,, 5 June 6 dioica_ (male) 67 _Plantago ,, 6 May 27 media_ 68 _Cornus ,, 6 June 9 sanguinea_ 69 _Tamus ,, 6 June 7 communis_ 70 _Euonymus ,, 6 europaeus_ 71 _Solanum ,, 6 June 13 dulcamara_ 72 _Scrophularia ,, 7 nodosa_ 75 _Polygonum ,, 8 May 25 bistorta_ 76 _Linum ,, 8 June 7 cathartic.u.m_ 77 _Lathyrus ,, 8 June 23 pratensis_ 78 _Poterium ,, 8 May 12 sanguisorba_ 79 _Bryonia ,, 9 May 28 dioica_ 80 Garden ,, 9 Honeysuckle 81 _Dactylis ,, 10 June 7 glomerata_ 82 _Rumex ,, 10 June 23 obtusifolium_ 83 Elder ,, 10 May 31 84 Horse Radish ,, 11 85 Wild Rose ,, 11 June 16 86 Quaking Gra.s.s ,, 11 June 15 87 _Orchis May 11 June 6 maculata_ 88 _Matricaria ,, 12 June 16 camomilla_ 89 _Helianthemum ,, 12 May 27 vulgare_ 90 Wild Thyme ,, 12 June 9 91 Milkwort ,, 12 May 15 92 _Linaria ,, 12 cymballaria_ 93 Groundsel ,, 12 94 _Epilobium ,, 12 July 2 montanum_ 95 Tway Blade June 12 May 17 96 _Trifolium ,, 13 May 23 repens_ 97 _Carduus ,, 14 June 21 pal.u.s.tris_ 98 _Genista ,, 14 tinctoria_ 99 _Centaurea ,, 17 June 20 nigra_ 100 _Chrysanthemum ,, 17 praealtum_ 101 Privet ,, 17 June 26 102 Meadow Sweet ,, 17 June 30 103 _Potentilla ,, 18 June 15 reptans_ 104 _nanthe ,, 18 crocata_ 105 _Galium ,, 18 June 15 mollugo_ 106 _Convolvulus ,, 18 June 9 arvensis_ 108 _Lapsana ,, 18 June 23 communis_ 109 _Papaver ,, 21 June 4 rheas_ 110 _Centaurea ,, 21 July 3 scabiosa_ 111 _Orchis ,, 21 July 1 pyramidalis_ 112 _Malva ,, 21 moschata_ 113 _Galium verum_ ,, 21 July 5 114 Sow-thistle ,, 21 June 16 115 Blackberry ,, 22 June 30 116 _Potentilla ,, 25 May 16 tormentilla_ 117 _Orchis ,, 25 May 31 latifolia_ 118 Enchanter's ,, 26 June 24 Nightshade 119 _Cirsium ,, 27 July 6 arvense_ 120 _Agrimonia ,, 27 July 1 eupatoria_ 121 _Convolvulus ,, 27 July 8 sepium_ 122 _Hyperic.u.m ,, 27 June 28 hirsutum_ 123 _Ononis July 1 July 2 arvensis_ 124 _Scabiosa ,, 1 arvensis_ 125 Lime Tree ,, 2 July 2 126 _On.o.brychis ,, 3 June 8 sativa_ 127 _Lysimachia ,, 5 July 5 nummularia_ 128 _Campanula ,, 6 July 1 rotundifolia_ 129 _Calamintha ,, 6 July 12 clinopodium_ 130 _Verbasc.u.m July 7 July 4 nigrum_ 131 _Achillea ,, 7 June 29 millefolium_ 132 _Scabiosa ,, 7 June 20 columbaria_ 133 _Carduus ,, 7 July 6 acaulis_ 134 Wild Parsnip ,, 7 June 16 135 _Clematis ,, 10 July 14 vitalba_ 136 Bee Orchis ,, 11 June 19 137 _Anthyllis ,, 11 June 14 vulneraria_ 138 _Stachys ,, 11 betonica_ 139 Wild Carrot ,, 11 June 20 140 _Sedum alb.u.m_ ,, 11 141 _Senecio ,, 11 July 2 jacobaea_ 142 _Parietaria ,, 12 June 19 officinalis_ 143 _Plantago ,, 13 June 28 major_ 145 _Campanula ,, 17 July 12 trachelium_ 146 _Origanum ,, 17 July 8 vulgare_ 147 _Bartsia ,, 17 July 20 odont.i.tes_ 148 _aethusa ,, 17 July 20 cynapium_ 149 _Helosciadium ,, 18 July 16 nodiflorum_ 150 Burdock ,, 19 July 22 151 _Verbena ,, 25 July 12 officinalis_ 152 _Reseda ,, 27 June 13 luteola_ 153 _Inula ,, 29 July 24 dysenterica_ 154 _Centranthus ,, 29 June 5 ruber_ 157 _Euphrasia Aug. 3 officinalis_ 158 _Inula conyza_ ,, 3 159 _Mentha ,, 8 aquatica_ 160 _Habenaria ,, 11 viridis_ 161 _Gentiana ,, 17 Aug. 31 amarella_

NOTES.

{1} From the _Cornhill Magazine_, March 1919.

{2} The large-leaved lime is described by Hooker as being a doubtful "denizen."

{3} _A Naturalist's Calendar_, by Leonard Blomefield (formerly Jenyns).

Cambridge University Press. Edited by Francis Darwin, 1903.

{4a} _Calendar_, p. 3, note b.

{4b} _The Student's Flora of the British Islands_, 3rd ed., 1884, p.

191.