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last, by the Hon. Walter Forbes of Brux, and of the existence 
of which, as it is surrounded by one of his fir plantations about 
six miles from this place, I was not aware. It is an old oak 
stool, of 3 or 4 acres, of very much stunted trees, none of the 
stems exceeding 6 inches in diameter. They, however, bore 
this year an abundant crop of acorns, which were all strictly 
sessile on the catkin. The leaves are not cottony below like 
those of the tree above-mentioned; but have longish slender 
stalks, obviously different from those of Quercus Robur in 
our plantations. I have received testimony from some aged 
persons, that they remember the cutting of old trees at this 
place, from the roots of which the present stunted ones have 
grown, so no doubt remains of their being native. 
“The position and condition of this stool mark well the 
height to which the sessiliffora will grow. It extends up the 
face of a steep hill fronting the south, and the trees dwarf 
out at its upper edge at the height of 750 feet above the sea: 
the planted firs fitrounding it above, as on all the other sides. 
This, then, may be considered the extreme height of the ses- 
siliflora in lat. 5'1? 15. 
“These trees, though small, obviously have very seldom lost 
their extreme yearly shoots by the frost; and in this they 
differ greatly from our planted trees of Quercus Robur, the 
annual shoots of which are killed half-way down almost every 
year. The tree, of course, does not thrive, and never equals 
half the size of the Beech or Mountain Elm planted under 
equal circumstances. Besides, the Robur very rarely flowers, 
although we have plantations 92 years old. We may, there- 
fore, I presume, be deemed just on the margin of its natural 
limit in the bottom of the valley 400 feet above the sea. 
** I perceive, from your British Flora, that the inferiority of 
the wood of the sessiliflora is questioned. It is now certain 
that tree was once common in this part of Scotland; but 
although we have several ancient buildings, none of them are 
constructed of it, but of Fir. Does not this show that either 
the Oak buildings have perished, or that our ancestors already 
knew to put more trust in the Fir? ings, is full of 
ancient buildings of Q. Robur. 
