_Ilex opaca_, L. (North American holly).--It is a widely diffused tree, the wood of which is said to closely resemble English holly, being white in color, and hard, with a fine grain, so that it is used for a great number of purposes by turners, engineers, cabinet makers, and philosophical instrument makers. For engraving purposes it is not equal to the dog-wood of America (_Cornus florida_); it yields, however, more readily to the graver's tools. _Natural Order Celastrineae_. 6. _Elaeodendron australe_, Vent.--A tree twenty to twenty-five feet high, native of Queensland and New South Wales. The wood is used in the colony for turning and cabinet work, and Mr. W.G. Smith reports that for engraving purposes it seems suitable only for rough work, as diagrams, posters, etc. 7. _Euonymus sieboldianus_, Blume.--A Chinese tree, where the wood, which is known as pai'cha, is used for carving and engraving. Attention was first drawn to this wood by Mr. Jean von Volxem, in the _Gardeners' Chronicle_ for April 20, 1878. In the Kew Report for 1878, p. 41, the following extract of a letter from Mr. W.M. Cooper, Her Majesty's Consul at Ningpo, is given: "The wood in universal use for book blocks, wood engravings, seals, etc., is that of the pear tree, of which large quantities are grown in Shantung, and Shan-se, especially. Pai'cha is sometimes used as an indifferent substitute. Pai'cha is a very fine white wood of fine fiber, without apparent grains, and cuts easily; is well suited for carved frames, cabinets, caskets, etc., for which large quantities are manufactured here for export. The tree itself resembles somewhat the _Stillingia_, but has a rougher bark, larger and thinner leaves, which are serrated at the edge, more delicate twigs, and is deciduous." In 1879, a block of this wood was received at the Kew Museum, from Mr. Cooper, a specimen of which was submitted to Mr. Robson J. Scott, of Whitefriars Street, to whom I am much indebted for reports on various occasions, and upon this wood Mr. Scott reported as follows: "The most striking quality I have observed in this wood is its capacity for retaining water, and the facility with which it surrenders it. This section (one prepared and sent to the Kew Museum), which represents one-tenth of the original piece, weighed 3 lb. 41/2 ounces. At the end of twenty one days it had lost 1 lb. 63/4 ounces in an unheated chamber. At the end of another fourteen days, in a much elevated temperature, it only lost 1/4 ounce. In its present state of reduced bulk its weight is 1 lb. 10 ounces. It is not at all likely to supersede box, but it may be fit for coarser work than that for which box is necessary." Later on, namely in the Kew Report for 1880, p. 51, Mr. R.D. Keene, an engraver, to whom Mr. Scott submitted specimens of the wood for trial, writes: "I like the wood very much, and prefer it to box in some instances; it is freer to work, and consequently quicker, and its being uniform in color