New y^r/ey, Raccoon, 23 



round the ftem itfelf. The trees which 

 have thefe knobs are not always great ones, 

 but fome not above a fathom high, The 

 knobs commonly confift of the fame parts 

 as the wood itfelf, and look within like 

 curled wood. Some of them are hollow. 

 When a knob on a little tree is cut open, 

 we commonly find a number of little worms 

 in it, which are fometimes alfo common in 

 the greater knobs. This fhews the origin 

 of the knobs in general. The tree is flung 

 by infects, which lay their eggs under the 

 bark, and from the eggs worms are after- 

 wards hatched. They occanon an extra- 

 vafation of the fap, which gradually con- 

 denfes into a knob. Only the trees with 

 annual deciduous leaves have thefe knobs, 

 and among them chiefly the oak, of which 

 again the black and Spam'fo oak have the 

 greatefl abundance of knobs. The a/b 

 trees, (Fraxinus exceljior) and the red ma- 

 ple {Acer rubrimi) likewife have enough 

 of them. Formerly the Swedes, and more 

 -efpecially the Finlanders, who are fettled 

 here, made difhes, bowls, &c. of the 

 knobs which were on the a{h-trees. Thefe 

 veffels, I am told, were very pretty, 

 and looked as if they were made of curled 

 wood. The oak- knobs cannot be employed 

 in this manner, as they are commonly 



B 4 worm- 



