Exact Mcasu7xment of Trees. 83 



addition of woody layers, numerous measurements made 

 for other purposes than testing the influence of season, 

 incidentally supply proof, which leaves no douht of the 

 baneful influence of the inclemency of last year's growing 

 months. I present in evidence the foregoing tabular 

 view of all the measurements yet taken which are compara- 

 tive. The trees measured were 53 in number, and comprised 

 the lime, beech, sycamore, sweet chestnut, horse-chestnut, 

 hawthorn, flowering-ash, tulip-tree, walnut, hornbeam, 

 common oak, Hungary oak, Turkey oak, and American oak, 

 among trees with deciduous leaves, — and, among those with 

 evergreen leaves, the Ilex, Scotch fir, Douglas pine, Corsicau 

 pine, Pinus excelsa, Sequoia, Deodar, Picea nobilis, Picea 

 Lowei, Cedar of the Atlas, Araucaria, Cypress, and Yew. 

 The trees examined are chiefly in the Botanic Garden ; and 

 all tliose are so whose site is not marked. The others are 

 either in tlie Arboretum, or in the grounds of Mr Hope-Vere 

 of Craigiehall, or on the adjoining property of Mr Campbell 

 of Cammo. All have been marked with zinc-paint, as re- 

 commended in my first paper on tree measurements; so that 

 the observations may be continued by myself or others. 



Of the 15 trees with deciduous leaves, the sum of their 

 growth in girth of trunk was in 187S, a decidedly favourable 

 year, 11-30 inches,— in 1879, SIS inches. This is equivalent 

 to a reduction of 28 per cent., or a little over a fourth in 

 1879. 



Of 17 evergreen trees,. all belonging to the pine tribe, 

 the sum of their increase in trunk-girth was 15'7 inches 

 in 1878, and 12-5 inches in 1S79, — a diminution in the 

 latter year equivalent to exactly 20 per cent., or a fifth. 

 [Since this paper was read I have been able to annex a 

 similar observation from the section, now in the Botanic 

 Garden, of a fine larch over 12 feet in girth, v;bicli was 

 uprooted at Glamis Castle, the seat of Lord Strathmore, 

 during the Tay Bridge storm of 28th December last. The 

 annual layers being in general sharply defined, I took the 

 width of those of 1878 and 1879 with great care with com- 

 passes, at twelve diiferent points of the circumference, where 

 I could measure them with confidence ; the several widths 

 were then projected on two parallel lines, and the result 

 was 3'0 inches for 1878, and 2-22 inches for 1879. The 



