Proceedings of the Royal Society for June

The monthly evening meeting of the Society was held on Tuesday, 13th June, Justin McC. Browne, Esq., in the chair. Includes presentation of parliamentary papers from Mr. Justin Browne. A paper by Mr. F. Abbott, Superintendent of the Society's Gardens, on the Sugar Beet lately grown by him was read. The Secretary read the following communication on the growth and preparation of cork-wood (for which the Society is indebted to Mr. Justin Browne) from Mr. W. H. Reynolds, of Otago, who had been formerly extensively engaged at home in the cork trade.
"The Cork Tree is grown chiefly in the provinces of Catalonia, Estre madura, and Andalusia in Spain; in Alemtejo, Estremadura, and Beira in Portugal; in the south of France, the island of Sicily, and Algeria in Africa. The tree is naturally of slow growth, but grows faster in rich and sandy, than in rocky soils; the best cork, however, is procured from trees grown in the latter." "The value of cork-wood varies very considerably, ranging from about £8 to £150 per ton."-Mr. Justin Browne read, as supplementary to some former publications by the Society on silk culture, the following remarks on the management of the mulberry tree in China and Japan.