Ringed Trees. 229 
there is a simultaneous lignification of the same tissues 
radially outward. Both causes operate to destroy the con- 
ductive power, and, under ordinary circumstances, it there- 
fore only becomes a question of time how long the tree will 
live. Generally a tree will put forth its leaves the second 
year, but die before the season is over. 
Under very favorable conditions of growth, the girdle may 
be bridged over in season to save the tree. One case of 
this kind was brought under the notice of the present 
writer a few years ago, in which a willow tree had been 
girdled by mice for a distance of over a foot. Yet during 
the growth of the spring immediately following, new struc- 
ture was pushed out from above in such a way as to form a 
bridge, which later united to the trnnk, and also several 
roots which struck the soil and established independent 
connection between it and the upper part of the tree. 
‘Similar reparation is known to have occurred in other cases, 
but it is usually found that the favorable conditions are 
great vitality and the presence of an excess of moisture. 
The case cited above is an interesting and peculiar one. 
It is not susceptible of explanation upon the theory of anas- 
tormosing vessels. It may possibly be accounted for upon 
the ground that the outer layers of wood in becoming 
hard, dry and filled with air, thereby established a protec- 
tive layer which prevented, or at least retarded, further 
change in that direction; while the necessarily reduced 
vital condition of the tree may have greatly retarded the 
ordinary lignifaction of the cells to such an extent as to 
render the continued passage of fluids, and thus a very 
slow rate of growth in the tree as a whole, possible. In 
such case, the final death of the tree could only be a ques- 
tion of time. and from the facts stated, it would appear that 
at the time of the last observation its end must have been 
near.—Ep. | 
