LY REMEMBER SEEING ON THE MAJORITY OF THE SHRUBBY FORM^ '76 FRUIT MUCH 

 LARGER THAN THAT ON THE FEW BUSHES THAT HAD ON THEM ACORNS OF '76. I 

 HAD TO HUNT FOR; SOME TIME BEFORE I FOUND THEM AT ALL. 



YOU NOW READILY SEE HOW ANY ONE COLLECTING SPECIMENS ONLY EN PAS- 

 SANT, AND KNOWING NOTHING HISTORICALLY ABOUT THE PRAEMISSA ET INTERJEC- 

 TA, WOULD BONA FIDE SEND YOU ONLY SPECIMENS OF ONE KIND OR THE OTHER, 

 AND THUS LEAD YOU TO INFER THAT YOU HAD TO DO WITH TWO WIDELY DIFFERENT 

 OAKS. YCU ARE CLEARLY RIGHT IN COUNTING Q. AGRIFOLIA A BLACK OAK DES- 



nisMMtTrl 



•HERE THE MACHINE HAS PLAYED ME A TRICK*: 

 PITE ITS ANNUAL FRU I T r SINCE IT TAKES SO LITTLE DISTURBANCE TO MAKE 

 IT BIENNIAL, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WHEREVER THE GROW I NG SEASON IS MATER- 

 IALLY SHORTER THAN IT IS HERE, I T MUST AS A RULE RIPEN ITS FRUIT THE 

 SECOND YEAR. THUS ON THE MOUNTAINS, AND ON EXPOSED PLACES ON THE SEA* 

 SHORE. THAT ALSO I WILL INVESTIGATE. IT IS VE-Y CURIOUS TO OBSERVE 

 THE EFFECT OF OUR ROUGH AND PERSISTENT WESTERLY WINDS ON THE IMMEDIATE 

 COAST, ON EVN SUCH HARDY TREES AS THE AESCULUS CAL I FORNI CA, WHICH GROWS 

 HIGH UP ON THE SIBRRA NEVADA. ON THE SHj^E IT IS REDUCED TO LOW BUSHES, 

 STUDDED WITH DEAD SHOOTS THAT PRESUMED TO ASCEND TOO FAR BEYONO THE GE- 

 NERAL LEVEL, AND THE WHOLE MASS OF VEGETATION TRIMMED OFF TO A SLANT OF 

 20 TO 30 DEGREES. THE OAK DOES NOT DESCEND SO NEAR THE SHORE, BUT EVEN 

 INLAND SHOWS VERY COMMONLY A SIMILAR TRIM. YOU CAN VERY EASILY IMAGINE 

 THAT UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES, IT WILL OFTEN BE RETARDED IN ITS GROWTH 

 AS BY THE CATARPILLAR, AND BECOME BIENNIAL. 



LATER - IN HUNTING OVER THE OAKS I N OUR CAMPUS, I HAVE C0MEACR88S 

 g eg SOME ADDITIONAL TESTIMONY. IT MUST BE ^RESUMED THAT A TREE MAY SOMETIMES 

 g g MISCALCULATE THE TIME, AND FALL SHORT OF ACTUAL RIPENING OfT ITS FRUIT, 

 ° WHICH IN ITS TENDER STATE WILL THEN BE WINTER-KILLED. I HAVE FOUNO SE- 



g | VERAL TREES IN THAT FIX FULL OF DEAD UNRIPE ACORNS OF LAST YEAR, I N- 



TENDED TO BE RIPENED ON THE ANNUAL PLAN, BUT FAILING THEREIN. 



THE TWO BATCHES IN THE PACKAGE I SEND, ARE EACH FROM ONE TREE ; ONE 

 SHOWING THE BIENNIAL FRUIT, THE RESULT OF A SEVERE ATTACK OF LAST YEARJ 

 ALSO A TWIG SHOWING THE CONDITION OF THIS YEARS ANNUAL FRUIT. THE SMAL- 

 LER BUNCH SHOWS THE RESULT OF A GENTLE CATARP I LL AR I NG DURING BLOOM, IN Tfi 



THE CLUSTERING OF THE ACOl 1,111 <>NP I II M l?AT*RFWLA»E P^TW I G OFF THE SAME 



TREE. IN mi®. CArSE, BOTH ALIKE WILL RIPEN THIS YEAR, BUT WILL LOOK VERY 

 DIFFERENT WHEN THEY DO. I WILL SEND YOU EPECLMENS OF THE LATER PHASES. 



I INCLOSE A SPRIG OF A SCRUB OAK BROUGHT BY A FRIEND FROM MONTE 

 DIABLO, WHICH CERTAINLY SEEMS TO DESERVE THE NAME OF • • CHR YSOLEP I S* • , 

 WHETHER IT BE THAT SPECIES OR NOT. I AM GOING THERE MYSELF BEFORE LONG, 

 AND WILL BRING A LOT OF BETTER SPECIMENS. OTTO, I THINK, IS STILL DEAL- 

 ING WITH A SCRUBBY • • AGR I F OL I A » • . MORE ANON. 



YOURS FAITHFULLY 



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