384 Royal Society : — 



whether he knew of any examples of meteorites having struck trees 

 in America, he replied as follows : — 



" I think you will find in the volume I left with Mr. Reeks at the 

 Museum, an account of the fall of Little Piney, Missouri, February 

 13th, 1839; in which it is stated that the stone struck a tree and 

 was shattered to fragments, it being one of a brittle character. In 

 the interior of the Cabarras county, N. Carolina, a stone (October 

 31, 1849) I know struck a tree, and I found it was difficult, indeed 

 impossible, to separate completely the adhering woody fibres from 

 the rough hard crust of the meteorite. The stone in this case is a 

 peculiarly tough one, having a decidedly trappean character, render- 

 ing it as nearly infragile as cast iron." 



Aware that some time must elapse before the precise analysis, 

 which I wished to be made in the laboratory of Dr. Percy, could be 

 completed, and that the last meeting of the Royal Society was to be 

 held this evening, I announced the notice I am now communicating. 

 At the same time I resolved to visit the locality where the tree stood, 

 and to obtain on the sjjot all the details required. Having done so, 

 accompanied by Mr. Robert Brown, Sir Philip Grey Egerton, Pro- 

 fessor J. Nicol, and Mr. Trenham Reeks, the information ultimately 

 obtained was as follows : — 



The man who helped to cut down the tree confirmed in every re- 

 spect the exadence of Mr. Poole as to its position, height, and dimen- 

 sions, and pointed out to us the stump or stool we v^ere in search of, 

 which is to be seen at nearly 200 yards to the east of the St. George's 

 Chapel, Lower Road, Battersea Fields, and at the eastern end of a 

 nursery garden, between the railwaj- and the road, occupied by 

 Mr. Henry Shailer. 



The tree was a large willow, probably about sixty years of age, 

 which stood immediately to the east of the old parsonage house re- 

 cently pulled down. Its stem measured about 10 feet in circum- 

 ference at 3 feet above the ground, and had a length of between 9 

 and 10 feet; from its summit three main branches extended, one of 

 which, pointing to the S.W. or W.S.W., had been for many years 

 blighted, and was rotten to near its junction with the top of the 

 main trunk ; a portion of this blighted main branch is exhibited. 

 The other two main branches, which rose to a height of 50 or 60 

 feet, were quite sound ; a part of one of these offsets is eJso exhi- 

 bited. 



The stool of the tree was visibly perfect and without a flaw, and 

 at the wish of Mr. R. Brown, a section of it has been obtained since 

 our visit, which is also here, and the rings of which seem to confirm 

 the supposition as to the age of the tree. 



Mr. Poole having conveyed the tree to Brixton, cut the trunk into 

 two nearly equal parts, intending to make cricket-bats out of each. 

 In doing so, he perceived that the upper portion of the lower of the 

 two segments was in a shaky or imjierfect condition, and hence he 

 resolved to saw off the upper part of it, intending thereby to obtain 

 wood large enough for the " pods " of his cricket-bats, but not such 

 entire bats as he was making out of the upper segment. 



