1881.] Botany, 559 
tion with thermometrical—indeed, all that we understand by the 
word climate, decide hardiness. In this case the Eucalyptus globu- 
Jus will not stand even a white frost in many parts of the United 
States. In a letter to me Baron Mueller says that Eucalyptus 
amygdalina and £. Gunnii stand a much lower temperature in their 
own homes than the common blue gum, and are now being used to 
replace the celebrated plantations on the marshes near Rome, 
which were destroyed during the winter of 1879-80.—Zhomas 
Meehan. 
Curiosities In TREE Growrn.—Some years since a gentleman 
in New Jersey pointed out to me what he thought to be a curious 
case of natural grafting. One of the boughs of a maple tree 
(Acer rubrum) had thrown off a branch which after growing to a 
length of several feet without branches, had again united with the 
parent bough, the two forming a smooth and perfect union. The 
matter was discussed among some friends distinguished alike in 
horticulture and botany, and it was decided that such a thing 
could not take place naturally. Recently a similar case has come 
to my notice ina tree whose location, in a remote portion of 
Arizona, places it almost beyond possibility that human agency 
could have been concerned. The tree is a variety of oak, com- 
mon here, which no botanist seems at present willing to assign to 
any species. 
; S represented in figure 1, the bough forks at the point a, 
about three feet from the trunk. The two branches, after running 
nearly side by side for a distance of three feet, come together at 
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4, forming a smooth and perfect union. As the bough is dead 
and bared of its bark, the fibers of the wood can be seen with 
Sreat distinctness. The “crotch” at 4 presents precisely the same 
