Regional Spread of Moisture in the Wood 
of Trees. 
I.—Deciduous-Leaved Trees during the Period 
late Autumn to early Spring. 
BY 
W. G. CRAIB, M.A., 
Lecturer on Forest Botany and Indian Forest Trees 
in the University of Edinburgh. 
With Plates CL—CLIX. 
RESULTS obtained from the determination of the moisture 
content of samples of more or less seasoned wood for the Air 
Board suggested problems the solution of which could be looked 
for only from an examination of fresh unseasoned wood. 
Material which might serve to clear up some of the difficulties 
was very fortunately to hand, for, on mentioning the matter 
to Professor Balfour, I was informed that preparations had 
been made for felling two trees—an Acer and a Platanus—in 
the Royal Botanic Garden that day. Both trees were placed 
entirely at my disposal, and, as will be mentioned later, the 
results obtained served to emphasise our lack of knowledge on 
the question of the spread of moisture in deciduous trees. 
Examination of some other species at this time confirmed the 
main results obtained from these two trees. 
Two possible lines of investigation suggested themselves : 
the examination of as large a number of deciduous trees as pos- 
sible in the so-called dormant or inactive condition, or con- 
centration on one particular species and the determination of the 
moisture spread at intervals throughout its leafless period. 
The former seemed to offer a fruitful field for study, but the 
latter was selected in spite of the fact that the terms dormancy 
or inactivity, as applied to the leafless condition of trees, suggest 
stagnation and would predicate no change in the moisture dis- 
tribution from the time of leaf-fall until the buds open, or at 
least until they begin to swell. 
The species selected for examination was Acer Pseudoplatanus. 
All the trees examined were grown under similar conditions in 
the Royal Botanic Garden, and all were about forty years old. 
Doubts might be raised of the expediency of basing any generali- 
[Notes, R.B.G., Edin., No. LI, Nov. 1918.] A 
We. 5637/134—500—1/19.—N. & Co., Ltd. Gp. 10. 
