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exTiiblteJ some specimens of tlie wood of Q. Scssllijlora, from Holiu Lacy, -wliicli, 

 though carefully authenticated, seemed to have all the amount of flower usually 

 found in peduncvJata. The truth was that this question needed the careful 

 examination of many examples before it could be decided, and he regretted that 

 Mr. Key had not favoured the club with his ovm. observations, which would 

 have been much more valued than the opinions of the authorities that had 

 been quoted, for though Tredgold, for examjile, was a painstaking and useful 

 inquirer, he was not of such eminence as to guarantee his conclusions from being 

 afterwards upset. 



With respect to the derivation of the technical term "mailk," the important 

 point is its present meaning, rather than its derivation. The French do not seem 

 to use the word in the sense of " spot," they apply it to the medullary ray, 

 as it lies iu the wood. Thus, timber sawn in the direction of the ray, or, as we 

 should say, " on the quarter," they say is cut sur maiUe ; and the word seems to 

 bear as nearly as possible its common meaning of a stitch or network uniting 

 the ordmary fibres. (See VioUet le Due's Dictionary, article Menniscrie) : "Le 

 chene est forme d'une succession de couches comme tous les bois, mais ces 

 couches sent reunies par des especes de chevilles naturelles qui les rendent 

 solidaires : ces chevilles qu 'on nomme mailles, tendent au centre du tronc." 



In reply to a question, Blr, Blasbill said that he believed it was the fact 

 that the poorer the soil the oak gi-ew in, the better was the timber, which 

 probably meant that a very slow growth ensured hardness and toughness of fibre. 



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