dividual plants are the Cacao {Theobroma Cacao), a fine group 

 Nutmeg trees • •> ;, and a tree on the Cha 



covered with a luxuriant growth of Asplenium aurirnlatum, a 

 Arrostirlmni aureum. 



Oak of Mature, or Abraham's Oak. — A block of the celebrated oak 

 tree, known as Abraham's Oak, from near Hebron has recently been 

 presented to the Kew Museum by Mrs. E. A. Finn. The history of 

 this interesting specimen is as follows : — Mr. Finn, husband of the lady 

 just referred to, occupied the portion of Lrit i-h ( 'ou-ul at Jerusali'iu 

 and Palestine from 1845 to 1863. The branch, of which the specimen 

 now at Kew is part, was broken off in a snow storm, the piece was 

 purchased by Mr. Finn, who had it cut up and bronchi to Jerusalem in 

 seven camel loads. The greater part of the branch was made up into 

 small articles and sold for the benefit of poor Jews in Palestine. Dr. (now 

 Sir Joseph) Hooker, in a paper, "On Three ( )aks of l>ale-tine,"read before 

 the Linnean Society of London on 20th dune IS61 ( Transactions Linn. 

 Soc, Vol. XXIII., p. 381), refers to this tree as the prickly evergreen 

 oak thus : — " Quercus pseudococcifera is by far the most abundant 

 " tree throughout Syria, covering tie ine especially 



" with a dense brushwood of trees 8-12 feet high, branching from the 

 " base, thickly covered with small evergreen rigid leave-, and bearing 

 " acorns copiously. On Mount Carmel it forms nine-tenths of the 

 " shrubby vegetation, and it is almost e.piaih abundant on the west 

 " fianks of the Antilebanon and many slopes and valleys of Lebanon. 

 " Even in localities where it is not now seen, its roots arc found in the 

 '•' soil and dwj; up for find, as in the valley- to the south of Bethlehem. 



•' oak tartly attains its full size. We saw but few very good trees; one 



" I saw other good ones at Anturah on the Lebanon. Leaves and 

 " acorns of both these were carefully compared with tlmso of the stunted 

 «' form that grew around them and elsewhere, and presented no difference 

 " whatever. The ' Abraham's ( )ak * is popularly supposed to indicate 

 " the spot where grew the oak or hmtidc (tor ir is disputed which) 

 " under which the patriarch pitehed his tent, and is reverenced accord- 

 " ingly by Jews, Mahommedana, and Christians. In general habit it 

 " much resembles the Q. Ilex as grown in this country, but does not 

 " branch so much from the base, the bark is similar in colour and 

 " lissuring, the branches in direction, and the folia-re in colour . . . . 

 "In the winter of 1856-57 in the streets of Jerusalem (eh v. 

 '• 2,200 ft.), the -now (,.11 deep and lay lor many days. The aeeumulatinn 



'• gave way under the weight and fell to the ground. Mr. Schunbri, 

 " the highly intelligent drag-. man o! .Jerusalem, informed me that he 

 '• was employed by Mr. Finn. Lriti-h ( 'on-uk to bring the bough to that 



