334 
REV. M. C. H. BIRD ON ACORNS. 
The average date of foliation for each tree during the ten 
years was as follows : — Oak, May 3rd ; Ash, May 10th; giving 
an average of seven days difference in favour of the Oak, and 
bringing out the fact that in the season which was nearest to 
the average in rainfall, namely 1894, there was the greatest 
difference in the leafing of these two trees. 1888 was the 
only year in which the Ash was before ihe Oak, but there 
was no striking difference in the annual rainfall. 1892 w^as 
the wettest year of the series, and yet the two trees kept 
their regular order and interval, namely seven days. 1893 
was the driest season, and though both trees were then 
remarkably early, they still retained their natural sequence. 
A similar comparison during the omitted seasons will assist 
in conclusively proving (1) that neither Oak or Ash are true 
prophets, and (2) in corroborating the saying — “ He who is 
weatherwise is not often otherwise,” especially if he relies 
upon such old saws as these. 
If one notices a row, avenue, or wood of Oaks in early 
spring, some days’ divergence will usually be observable in 
their forwardness, which can neither be accounted for by 
difference of variety, soil, or situation, but depends entirely, 
I believe, upon the comparatively early or late date at which 
the acorn from which each individual tree first vegetated, 
this comparative earliness or lateness being annually adhered 
to in subsequent seasons by each tree. Gather a score 
acorns from the same tree on the same day, sow them equally 
carefully and at an equal depth in the same pot, and you 
will discover several days’ difference probably between the 
appearance of the plants above-ground, although all may 
have been apparently equally ripe when sown. Thus may 
the aforementioned annual springtime phenomenon be ex- 
plained and accounted for, and these remarks apply more or 
less to all trees, and emphasise the necessity of keeping the 
same individual tree under observation yearly for the purpose 
of phenological records.* 
