8 CRAIB—REGIONAL SPREAD OF MOISTURE IN Woop OF TREES. 
between this percentage and the disposition of the moisture in 
the inner parts of any one transverse cut. Apart from this 
bare statement I reserve comment on the point. 
5. That the movement of the maximum moisture zone away 
from the centre, of which we saw the commencement in the 
December tree, is now very pronounced, and 
6. That, as before, this movement is most pronounced at the 
bottom of the trunk. 
In addition to the results summarised above, it may be noted 
that the examination of the January tree removed any lingering 
doubts as to the main conclusions being of general application 
to the species. 
Comparison of the graphs for December and January shows 
that in the interval the trunk as far up as the highest selected 
cut has completed its storage in the centre, and at the top is 
apparently—from the shape of the graph—already moving out 
of that condition. 
Doubts as to whether the results were applicable to the 
species or only to the individual were now replaced by doubts 
as to whether external factors were influencing the moisture 
distribution. The resulting graphs showed such marked in- 
equalities in the distribution of the moisture that there appeared 
some justification for the supposition that the extreme frost 
experienced about the time of the felling of this tree might have 
been acting as an arresting or retarding agent. In these circum- 
stances it became necessary to examine another tree. 
To summarise the results obtained from the February tree 
would be but to repeat what has been written for the January 
tree. One very important. result was, however, obtained, 
namely :— 
That a powerful external agent, represented by the extreme 
frost of January, had apparently no effect whatever on the 
moisture movement. 
d again more marked than in the January tree is the 
diminishing moisture content of the outer few years’ wood. 
To what extent would the concentration of moisture towards 
the outside proceed? And would it be possible to trace it 
before the new factor of root activity commenced ?—were 
questions which now suggested themselves. By this time I 
had formed the opinion that this stored moisture would probably 
not be called on until the buds had burst. In the February 
tree the buds had just perceptibly swollen, and, though not 
without some hesitation, I deemed it safe to leave the examina- 
tion of the next tree until the buds were just on the point of 
