Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-12-15

NJ. Charney, in one of his North American
papers year ago declared that lie did not
trust the concentric rings Of a shrub as a rec
ord of its age in years. He had put the pop
ular theory to n test during his Central Amer
lean explorations aud had found it to err.
Dr. A. l.. Child, in the current Popular Sci
ence Monthly, says he never until then had
seen the authority of this age-record disputed,
and when he came. some months later, to cut
down four small trees which he knew were
planted in April, 1871, he resolved TO test the
matter, and found that, although they had on
ly - years growth in them, he could count
on each from 81 to 10 concentric rings. II
could select u more distinct ones" he says,
between which fainter and narrower or sub
rings appeared. Nine of these apparently
annual rings on one section were peculiarly
distinct, much more so than any of the sub
rings yet, of the remaining it was difficult
to decide which were annual and which were
not" Dr. Child then proceeds
Now, TO ascertain what relation or connec-
ton there might be between the meteoroogy
of the several seasons and the growth made
during the same, / selected from my mete-
geological records the maximum, minimum
and mean temperature, and the rainfall
of the six growing months of Spring and
Summer of each of the twelve years of
growth. These extracts | have tabulated
and have also appended to each season the
| thickness of the ring formed, as measured on
\ the oblique cut previously described. An ex-
animation Of this table shows a general rela-
| ton of cause and effect between high temper
ature and large rainfall and greater growth
But it falls very far short of proving gener-
| al law of 80 much heat and so much water dur
ing the growing season, to produce so much
wood For example, compare the years 1875
and 1873. The temperature of 1878 for the
season is better than in excess of the sea-
son of 1875, and the rainfall only little ov-
er four inches less, and yet the growth Of 1875
| is seven times what it was in 1873 This
almost unparalleled growth of 1S7j-that is,
as compared with the other years-cannot be
explained by the above general law. But
think the May and June record of that year
throws light upon it. We see there a maxi
| mum heat in May of 9G2 (higher than l have
ever known it in an observation and record of
| % years. and a mean temperature of the
| whole month, also unequaled, of II and this
great heat continued through the month of
| June, and no cold spells after the heat set in
sufficient to check the growth. Then, in con-
nection with this heat, the ground was well
saturated with water when this heated term
began MAY g., by 1.G2 inch of rain on the
| 18th. From this on to the 2Gth of June, II
inches more Of rain fell, so apportioned over
the time as to keep the ground saturated.
This synchronous excess of heat and water
evidently produced the abnormal growth.
And probably, as this matter is further stud
led, it will be found that these agents, rightly
proportional, operating spontaneously, pro
duce these thicker rings; while as one or the
other is in excess or absent, the growth is
checked, and thus has time to condense aud
harden, and form these brings and the
more frequent these alterations, the greater
the number of them"