HEPORTS BY THE HONORARY SCIENTISTS. 315 



different plant from the Ontario Poplar, Populus candicans, 

 A. Gray. The latter is known in gardens as P. ontariensis. 

 The Black Poplar is only native — if it be native in Britain — in the 

 south of England. Populus candicans is a North American tree, 

 and is considered now to be merely a variety of the Balsam Poplar 

 or Tacamahac, P. balsamifera, Linn. The Black Poplar is readily 

 distinguished from the Ontario Poplar, by the fact that the petioles 

 of the leaves are compressed laterally, whilst in the Balsam 

 Poplar the petioles are cylindrical. The Ontario Poplar has also 

 got a more or less aromatic smell, and there are, besides, man}' 

 technical characters by which the two can be readily distinguished. 

 Trusting this information will be satisfactory to you. — I am, 

 dear Sir, yours truly, Isaac Bayley Balfour. 



Mr D. F. Power, 



Forester, Fetternear, Kemiiay, 

 Aberdeenshire. 



The Oak in Scotland. 

 General Sir Peter Lumsden wrote : — 



BUCHROMB, Dui'FTOWX, 



Uh November 1900. 



Dear Sir, — I cannot account for oak trees in this part of Scot- 

 land, on Speyside, scarcely ever having acorns. This year, I see a 

 few coming on now, owing to the long continuous season of damp 

 weather, but in other years they have always been abortions, and 

 although there are some very fine old oak trees, there is scarcely a 

 sapling in the country. 



I have always believed in the oak being indigenous to Scotland, 

 but I cannot help thinking that all those about here have been 

 planted. Yet in these counties, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire, we 

 have many places ending with the word " darroch," which T believe 

 to be the Gaelic for oak, such as Craigindarrocb, Clashindarroch, etc. 



A friend of mine who was staying with me here, interested in 

 botany, had mentioned the fact to Sir Joseph Hooker, who said 

 that you might be able to enlighten me on the subject. If you 

 could assist me in this matter you would greatly oblige. — Yours 

 truly, P. S. Lumsden, 



