U7 



and some to Orletun anj other ijl.ices. He had often seen these trees siuce, 

 and he found that their after growth had depended on the character of the soil 

 in which they were placed. The more iron it contained the better they grew. 

 As to the character of the trees themselves, some were original, and some 

 produced the common leaf ; some made heads as if they were pollards, and some 

 went up in a straight line, making longer trunks. And in his experience he had 

 always found that upon examining closely the leaves of a bed of seedling oaks, 

 from the same tree's acorns, you could always find more or less variation in the 

 leaf of every tree. Thus he held that every tree grown from an acorn was an 

 original tree, and that it was impossible to tell, by gathering the seed, what the 

 tree would be. Evei-j-tliing that came from seed must have an originality in it. 

 Seedlings are never exact repetitions of the parent tree, like a row of poplars 

 grown from the cuttings of a tree, or like apple trees grafted from the same 

 parent stem. If they took two pips from the same apple, they would not get 

 two trees of the same kind : the one would differ from the other, and neither 

 show the exact character of the parent tree. And so, in his opinion, oak trees 

 had the same originality ; and if he was to be guided by his own experience 

 he should say, very decidedly, that there was but one genus of British oak, 

 but several varieties. 



]\Ir. Blashtll (vice-president) agreed with the previous speakers that the 

 most important differences in the useful qualities of oak timber were due to soil 

 and situation. Still the differences now under discussion had a different origin — 

 whatever that might be — producing sevei-al vaiieties, of which pedunculata and 

 sessilifiora were the extremes. As to their comparative value we must not be 

 afraid of inquiring into it, for even final settlements of such matters sometimes 

 needed to be reviewed. He was sure, therefore, that Mr. Key would not object 

 to have those matters upon which they differed still further looked into ; for with 

 due deference to the distinguished botanists and others whose opinions had been 

 quoted, he was convinced, upon looking at the question from all points of view, 

 that there never had been the exchisive or even preponderating usage of 

 Q. Sessilifiora, which had been claimed for it. Tlie characteristics of oak as 

 found in old buildings and as now grown were identical, presenting quite as 

 much of the " flower" then as now ; but as this matter could readily be placed 

 beyond doubt by a reference to the nearest old chui-ch, he wovdd only add this 

 expression of opinion to the specimens he had already exhibited. He had on 

 a former occasion given as exact a description as he could of the mode in which 

 the Une of cleavage passed along the timber in making park palings, and also in 

 natural cracks, supported in each case by specimens, according to which the split 

 certainly did not seem to take place by reason of the medullary ray. A speci- 

 men now in the room showed that the ray was much less liable to decay than the 

 ordinai-y fibre, and it was also remarkable that in handrails that had been 

 subjected to very heavy wear the ray had resisted it almost entirely, and stood 

 up in ridges on the surface. There was really no need to fear that good timber, 

 of either variety, would decay iinduly if kept faiiiy exposed. Dr. Bull had 



