THE TASMANIAN FOSSIL TEEE 455 



headed boy 100 years ago to get up his classics and mathe- 

 matics. Now a boy's head at 12 and 14 is already loaded 

 with knowledge of sorts, that had for his grandfather's 

 boyhood no existence. 



But I am maudling, so no more from 



Yours ever affectionately, 



Jos. D. HOOKER. 



In March 1903 another revival of early interests was heralded 

 by a note to Professor D. H. Scott : ' I was much amused the 

 other day on finding my infant attempt upon a fossil plant 

 christened in the Geological Journal as a new (genus ?) of 

 plants.' 



The sequel appears from the following note by Professor 

 E. A. Newell Arber : 



In January 1904 I published in the Geological Magazine 

 (decade v. vol. i., p. 7) a short description of a fossil tree 

 trunk from Tasmania, which had been described by Sir 

 Joseph in 1842, in what I believe to be his first scientific 

 paper. The tree was brought to England for the Great 

 Exhibition of 1851, and was afterwards presented to the 

 British Museum. It remained in the cellars of that Institu- 

 tion until the removal of the Natural History Museum to 

 South Kensington and eventually, in the early 90 's I think, 

 was mounted and exhibited in the fossil plant gallery of the 

 Geological Department, where it remains to this day. On 

 the publication of my paper (a copy of which is enclosed) I 

 naturally sent a copy to Sir Joseph, and his reply is appended. 



To Prof. E. A. Newell Arber 



Bath : January 30, 1904, 



MY DEAR SIR, I am really very much obliged to you 

 for the copy of your paper on the Tasmanian Fossil Tree. 

 I had seen it in the Geolog. Magazine, which Mr. Winwood 

 here kindly sent me, and it came to me like ' Bread cast upon 

 the waters found after many years ! ' I am indeed gratified 

 by your generous treatment of my virgin attempt at fossil 

 botany. My paper has a history, it having been read in 

 Lady Franklin's drawing room after dinner, quite privately 

 in 1840, the occasion being the embryo meeting of her 



