December 4th, 1876.—Conversational meeting. Four Members present. 
The subject of staining vegetable preparation was the principal 
topic at this meeting. 
December 20th, 1876.—Paper read by Alfred Carpenter, Esq. .M.D., 
on ‘THe CrrcunaTion oF Sap 1n Puants.” 
The President, Mr. Henry Lee, in the chair. 
The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. 
The following gentlemen were ballotted for and duly elected 
members :—Messrs. H. Salmon, A. Walton, A. Lambert, Jun., 
Robt. Hall, J. W. Wallis, W. N. Coates, and A. G. Blake ; and E. W. 
Puxon, Park-hill, A. Freeland, Fairfield-road, W. H. Hebb, Heath- 
field-road, John Pelton, Stroud Green, were nominated for election. 
The President announced that the Annual Meeting for the re- 
ception of the Report of the Club’s Proceedings for the year 1876, 
and for the Election of Officers for the ensuing year would take place 
on 17th January. 
It was proposed by Mr. H. M. Kuaassen, seconded by Mr. A. D. 
Taynor, and carried unanimously, ‘‘ That Mr. Howard Martin and 
Mr. Theophilus Bindley be appointed Auditors for the past year’s 
accounts.” 
Dr. Carpenter then read a paper on ‘‘ Tae CrRcULATION OF 
Sap in Puants,” and said he was sometimes asked whether trees 
were not injurious to health when they were planted near to houses; 
whether an open down was not purer than a situation near to a 
wood; and whether it was not a mistake to plant trees in our suburban 
roads, because of their interference with ventilation. Many 
persons imagined that a grove was at all times an undesirable place 
of residence, only to be tolerated in hot weather, when the cool 
shade was so refreshing. He proposed, by a reference to the actual 
mode of the growth of trees, to answer these enquiries. In the 
year 1856 six young limes were planted in his garden. They were 
nearly equal in size and strength. In 1860 they were all from nine 
to ten inches in circumference, at four feet from the ground. They 
had now been planted twenty years. Three of them were 27, 26, 
and 26 inches respectively in circumference ; two were 22 and 23 
inches; and one was 163 inches only. Proceeding to explain the 
reason why there was a decrease of three inches of absolute growth 
of wood in the diameter of one of the trees, he stated that in the 
autumn of 1860 he selected three branches on three of the trees in 
nearly the same position on each four’or five feet from the 
ground. He cut out a ring of bark from each branch, about an inch 
and a half from the trunk, and about a quarter of an inch in breadth. 
The operation did not appear to influence the growth of the branch 
