TREES THAT KEEP A DIARY 83 



the cell. And it is worthy of remark that at each 

 point where such a canal penetrates the thickened 

 cell-wall a corresponding passage is also left open 

 in the next cell, so that the two canals meet each 

 other, and are only separated by a thin partition. 

 Communication continues uninterrupted by these 

 pore canals." 



Thus we see that each separate plant accord- 

 ing to its own peculiar disposition records in its 

 cells its likes and dislikes, its ideas of art, of de- 

 fence, unity, and all things that go for its better- 

 ment and future good; in other words, it not only 

 gives us its minutest history but also a prophecy of 

 its future development. 



It is quite a mistake to say that a tree grows up. 

 What it really does is to add to its girth each year 

 and grow linearly at the ends of its branches. 

 This can be demonstrated by cutting some mark 

 (a love-token will do) in the bark of a young 

 sapling and observing that through the years this 

 always remains the same height above the ground. 



In all countries which have a cold winter the 

 annual ring-growth of wood in a tree's trunk is an 

 accurate indication of its age. This concentric 

 diary is sometimes illegible but always authentic. 

 In the tropics, where cold weather does not stop 

 tree-growth regularly each year as it does in the 



