530 Foreipn Notices : — Greece. 



o 



which he immediately had recourse to, and stretched black worsted across and 

 across the tree in different directions ; thereby saving a fine crop of grapes, 

 now nearl}- all ripe, and excellent of their kind. 



Mr. Anderson attributes the effect of black lines to their invmbiliti/ till the 

 birds are seated under them; but, looking up, they are terrified at what they 

 fear is a snare impending over them, and immediately fly away. — J. M. 

 Chelsea, Sept. 24. 1838. 



Art. II. Foreign Notices. 



GREECE. 



Cyfuess of Patrass. — Have you ever had any account of the enormous 

 cypress which formerly stood (and stands now, for aught I know to the con- 

 trary,) a little to the south of the town of Patrass, in the Morea ? Spon and 

 Wheeler measured its circumference in the year 1676. Spon (Voi/age de 

 Grece) calls it "peiit-etre bien le plus vieux et le plus gros du monde." " Son 

 tronc est de 18 pieds de tour ; il etend ses branches a 20 pieds de diametre," 

 &c. 1 enquired for this tree when I was at Patrass in 1820, and measured 

 the circumference on the 12th of Jan. of that year, at the height of 4 ft. 2 in. 

 from the ground. The girt was 22 Enghsh feet 2 in. Spon's feet were French 

 feet, of course ; but from this you will perceive the increase in the lapse of 

 144 years. I hope this extraordinary cypress has escaped the effects of the 

 revolution. The diameter of the branches appeared to me far more extensive 

 than that given by Spon. Its growth, however, resembled that of a spread- 

 ing larch more than a cypress. — H. L. Long. Hampton Lodge, July, 1838. 



Art. III. Domestic Notices. 



ENGLAND. 



Proposed Botanic Garden. — " The interior portion of the Regent's Park, 

 late the nursery of Mr. Jenkins, will shortly be laid out as botanical gardens, 

 the Commissioners of Woods and Forests having granted a lease to a society 

 newly formed, under the title of the Royal Botanic Society of London, at the 

 head of which is the Duke of Richmond, as president. The object of this 

 Society is, the formation of an extensive botanic garden, with a library, 

 museum, and conservatories, so that medical and scientific, as well as merely 

 ornamental, botany will respectively receive attention commensurate with 

 their importance. Public exhibitions and lectures will also be given periodi- 

 cally during the season. On the council are the names of the Duke of 

 Devonshire, Lord Teignmouth, Sir George Staunton, Sir Astley Cooper, 

 Professor Don, &c." (Hlorn. Chron. Oct. 4. 1838.) [We have seen a pro- 

 spectus printed for private circulation, and an engraving, entitled a plan of 

 these gardens ; but, we must confess, we have but faint hopes of seeing the 

 project realised. A great deal too much, in our opinion, is aimed at; and, 

 although the situation is singularly favourable, yet we do not suppose there is a 

 more unsuitable soil for a botanic garden within ten miles of London. — Cond.'\ 



Great Oak at Tilford, in the Parish of Farnham, Surrey. — The perambu- 

 lation of the lands of the Abbey of Wavei'ley are described in a charter of 

 Henry de Blois (brother of King Stephen, and Bishop of Winchester, who 

 was the builder of the original Castle of Farnham, and died in 1171), quoted 

 in the History of Surrey, by Manning and Bray, vol. iii. p. 145., from the 

 Monast. Anglic., vol. i. p. 703. The bounds of the monastery are stated in this 

 instrument to commence " from the oak at Tilford, called the King-hoe 

 (King's oak), along the King's Highway to Farnham, &c." 



" On the green between the two bridges at Tilford, stands a venerable oak, 



