..GROWTH AND LONGEVITY 'OF TREES. 
249 
procured as far as possible.Varieties should be procured, as they frequently 
tend to decide the species ; mutilated specimens should [may] be rejected; but 
as we cannot always replace them by perfect ones, it is much better to retain 
them. There is a vile practice in use among collectors, to mend such specimens 
by parts from other insects. I cannot sufficiently express my abhorrence of suck 
mays , but I should hope that no naturalist who is a lover of truth, and an admirer 
of'Nature, will ever disgrace his cabinet by such paltry specimens, as they can he 
of no use in a scientific view , and only serve to lead to errors.”* 
In the characters of the genera, &c., and descriptions of the species, many 
technical terms occur, which are not a little puzzling to the student. Were these 
abolished, the attainment of a knowledge of the science would be greatly facili¬ 
tated, but they are absolutely necessary. Mr. Swain son remarks, that “ they 
constitute, in fact, the language of Zoology , since they are employed to express 
ideas which cannot be conveyed by words in ordinary use/’f In order to enable 
the student to understand this 1,4 language,” I purpose, with the Editor’s permis¬ 
sion, to give some 44 Further Hints” on Orismology , &c., in a future number. 
Bew&ey House , Warrington ., 
March 22,, 1838. 
ON THE GROWTH AND LONGEVITY OF TREES. 
The instructive and generally-interesting character of the following article 
induces us to give it a place in The Naturalist. It appeared originally in the 
Buckinghamshire Gazette , and we feel happy in possessing the opportunity of 
giving it a more extensive circulation. 
Trees may be considered under two heads :—first, those trees which, on 
account of the mode of their growth, cannot live beyond a certain period; a 
second, those whose mode of growth admits of a possibility of their existing an 
indefinite period. 
The first mentioned class increase, when young, in diameter rather than in 
height, until a certain magnitude is attained, when they shoot up a stem, the 
diameter of which is never much altered. This is the mode of growth of the Palm 
tribe, and other intratropical plants; and it prevents them from attaining a great 
longevity. All the new woody matter produced by the leaves is insinuated down 
the centre of the stem. The effect of this is the displacing of the pre-existing 
# S am o a el le ' s Entom . Useful Compend , ( 1st Edit.), p . 322 . 
+ Treatise on the Geogr , and Class , of Animals, p. 316, 
