Note 66 — PART IV. NOTICES OF AUTHORS RELATIVE TO TIMBER. (continued 3)

We are indebted to our friend Mr Gorrie, Annat Garden, for the fact, that English acorns throw up a much more luxuriant stem than the Scots; they forming a step of several inches when planted next each other in the nursery line. We should consider this to arise from the largeness of the rudiments of the plant, and greater quantity of garnered nourishment in the English acorns, which are nearly double the size of the Scots, our present climate being insufficient for the proper development. This leads to the question, will the greater luxuriance balance any tenderness from want of acclimatizing? Would the oak keep its present locality in Scotland if left to nature? A careful inspection of the most elevated peat mosses in which remains of timber exist, and a comparison of the size of the seeds found there, with that of those of the present day, grown the nearest to this in situation, would resolve the question of refrigeration.