THE AGE OF TREES. 87 



the age of other trees of the same species. It would even be 

 useful to take the circumference of some very old trees which we 

 may meet with, though we ai - e ignorant of the precise time when 

 they were planted. Such measurements repeated at intervals, 

 would give some idea of the rate of growth in aged trees. 



In the collection of natural history at the museum at Cassel, in 

 North Germany, is, or was a few years ago, a very interesting set 

 of volumes, as they appear to be, though, when examined, they 

 prove to be no real library, but specimens of the woods of five 

 hundred different European trees, made up in the form of books. 

 The back is formed of the bark ; the sides, of the perfect wood ; 

 the top, of the young wood, with narrow rings ; the bottom, of the 

 old wood, where the rings are wider apart. When one of the 

 volumes is opened, it proves to be a little box containing the 

 flower, seed, fruit, and leaves of the tree, of which it is a speci- 

 men, either dried, or imitated in wax. Something of this kind, 

 though with a more special reference to the age of trees, might be 

 made an interesting portion of our own collections in natural 

 history, both private and public. 



Note. — The above paper was given in competition in 1874, without name 



of author. 



