REMINISCENCES OF A VOYAGE TO AND FROM CHINA. 97 
difficulty of distinguishing the timber of the sweet or Spanish chestnut, 
from that of the old English oak; and we have been informed by an 
intelligent carpenter, employed in the repairs of Westminster Hall, 
that both these kinds of timber are met with in the oldest parts of 
that building, but so like in the grain, ponderosity, and sound con¬ 
dition, that they could not be distinguished from each other but by 
a very simple test, namely, by wetting a chisel in salt and water, 
and striking it into the wood : if the tool came out and remained 
bright, the wood was chestnut, but if stained of a dark colour, the 
wood was oak. 
This story we give as it was reported to us by a most respectable 
man ; but we think that if such a test was known to one, it must also 
have been known to many ; and that as Mr. A. does not seem to be 
acquainted with either the test or the circumstance of chestnut timber 
existing in Westminster Hall or any other old building, we would 
rather be inclined to doubt the truth of the carpenter’s story. 
Thus the long-continued controversy about the identity of the 
British naval oak, and all doubt concerning the true sort, is now, 
happily, at an end. We, therefore, particularly recommend to all 
collectors of acorns for sowing, to pay attention which sort they 
gather from, to choose the stalkless acorns, and not those on long foot¬ 
stalks. The same advice we would urge on nurserymen, on whom a 
heavy responsibility will rest if they knowingly raise and sell Q. pedun- 
culata, for the Q. sessilijiora. 
We hope our correspondent will accept this our reply, as a correction 
of anything which we ourselves may have advanced on the subject, or 
have quoted from others ; and with repeating our thanks to A. S. 
(with whom we have a desire to be better acquainted,) for pointing out 
the discrepancy, we remain, his obedient servant.— -Ed. 
Reminiscences of a Voyage to and from China—( Continued). 
The Cape of Good Hope is no less interesting to the botanist, than it 
is to the navigator. To the latter it is the extreme southern point of 
Africa, round which is the highway to the riches of the East, and to 
the former it is the habitat of as great a variety of vegetable productions, 
as is found on any equally extensive portion of the earth’s surface. The 
botanical stranger is first struck by the appearance of the British oak 
shading the streets of Cape Town ; and on the level between the town 
and the Table mountain, finds it the principal tree of the groves. In 
the enclosures, orange and lemon and other European fruit-trees 
prevail; and under them, water-melons and many varieties of the 
Cucurbitacece cover the ground. The native plants on the uninclosed 
VOL. V.-NO. LVII. 
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