MARKS ON A TREE.
Fro THE EDITOR OF TEE "STECTATOlt,"] SIB,—After reading Mr. Stuart's account in your issue of April 3rd of the unusual marking on an ostrich egg, I came across in the Irvine Herald for April 2nd a paragraph describing something of a like nature in the vegetable world. I send you the cutting. I have seen the sections of the tree and can vouch for the accuracy of the paragraph. Perhaps some of your botanical readers may be able to explain the "During the recent alterations at the Cunningham Combination Poorhouse, the workmen of Mr. Hugh Johnston, builder, had ,Ncasion to cut down a plane tree. On sawing it up into short mnagths it was noticed that it was curiously marked towards the ceratre, and on further splitting it longitudinally it was found to be strongly marked from the bark inwards to the centre, as if with a hot iron, with the initials and date A. H. 1895. An examina- tion of the bark showed the same characters, almost obliterated. The tree was planted about 40 years ago, and the initials were cut fourteen years ago. The curious point is how should the lettering and dating persist into the very heart of the tree. The explanation may be that on exposure to weather or lightning the cut section blackened, and the successive years' growths followed the line of indentation."
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