culture for several years after planting, or that the quality may not suffer as much from slowness of growth as from fastness, or from the climate being too cold as from being too warm? The reason why Highland Scots oak spokes are superior to English, is, because the latter are generally split from out the refuse of the timber cut for naval purposes,—principally _the branches and tops_ of large trees; whereas, those from the Highlands of Scotland are from _the root cuts_ of copse. We believe most carpenters of Scotland are aware of this. The oak from the Highlands of Scotland is, however, for the most part, of excellent quality, growing generally on _dry gravel and rock_, not on cold moist _clayey soils_. The hardest we have ever seen was from a steep, dry gravel bank, of south exposure, in an open situation, much exposed to the western breeze. The Highland oak from these soils is generally of a greyish colour, and very dense; whereas that from moist soils is often reddish-brown, and defective. Should Sir Henry weigh portions of oak from these soils in a pair of material, in place of mental scales, we think his conclusions would be {287} somewhat different.—The strongest, hardest ash we have seen, was cut from a hard, dry, adhesive clay, of course a young tree. Sir Henry, speaking of the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, states that “it is from a want of soil, and not of climate, that woods of any given extent cannot be got up in these unsheltered, but romantic situations.” Of many situations of these bleak districts, this must be admitted, but we cannot receive it as a general fact; and even where it holds true, the want of (proper) soil, or formation of peat, is a _consequence_ of the want of climate, although _this_ may have reacted to increase the evil. There must have been a greater warmth of climate, at least in summer, when the forests grew, which lie buried in the mosses of the northern part of Scotland, and of the Orkney and Shetland Islands, as some kinds of timber are found in situations where such kinds, by no circumstances of gradual shelter under the present climate, could have grown. There are several indications of a greater warmth having been general throughout Britain, and even farther eastward, and that a slight refrigeration is still in progress. We instance the once numerous vineyards of England,—the vestiges of aration so numerous upon many of our hills, where it would now be considered fruitless to attempt raising grain, even {288} with the assistance of modern science; and the report that the Caspian is gradually overflowing her shores, a probable consequence of diminished evaporation from decrease of heat.