Five years ago you published in The China Journal an article on "Fire in Trees," and shortly afterwards I came across in an illustrated magazine published at Shanghai in the middle "eighties" a picture of such an occur rence with as descriptive note.

I put it aside with the intention of translating the note and sending the picture and translation to you; but it passed out of my mind with press of other work, and it was but recently that I ran across it again. Now I am carrying out my original intention.

Herewith I am sending to you the picture with a translation of the brief note that goes with it. I do not think that the reference in Volume XI, page 178, is to the 'same incident that is covered by the picture and accompanying note; for, as I figure it out, the 29th Day of the 9th Moon of 1921 fell on October 22 and not on December 6; and, as a matter of fact, could never fall in December.

Thinking that the above and the enclosed might interest you I am passing it on to you for what it is worth.

SPONTANEOUS FIRE IN AN OLD TREE

Old gingko trees that have stood for many years are doomed to destruction by fire. Sometimes they are 'said to have been struck by lightning, and sometimes the fire is of spontaneous origin. Frequently the fire burns continuously day and night without going out, nevertheless the tree is not immediately killed; and, although it may be half destroyed, when spring comes again it revives and puts forth its foliage as in former years. Instances are well known of the same tree having caught fire in this manner several times, but it was quite impossible to discover the cause and to explain the phenomenon.

At Chen-ju (near Shanghai) there is a large gingko tree; it is very tall indeed and it shades about a mou of ground, and with its bright green foliage it is a beautiful sight. It is thirty some odd feet in circumference and actually several hundred years old. Recently the tree was bearing fruit; and pedlars used to come and pick up what had fallen off and dropped to the ground, sell it, and thus make some trifling gains.

Suddenly on the 29th Day of the 9th Moon this tree caught fire and columns of dense black smoke were seen ascending to the heavens. People 'saw the smoke from a long distance off and thought that probably a house was on fire, so they went to investigate; but when they arrived at the spot they only smelt a very fragrant odouur, and there was nothing known as to the origin and cause of the fire. It burned for two days and then died out. The trunk of the tree is now hollow, but the outside bark is still in its original state and not damaged. Those who witnessed the incident all excitedly exclaimed that it was most extraordinary and marvellous.

It is 'said that fire* is obtained in the spring from elm and willow trees; in summer from the jujube and apricot; in mid-summer from the mulberry and hance; in autumn from the oak and "U (1); and in winter from the huai (Sopho'a japonw..a) and the hance.

That wood is a source of fire is unquestionably true and cannot be denied; but whether or not the gingko tree is outstanding in its liability to spontaneous combustion is something for the authorities to tell us.

FIRE IN TREES

The following incident was reported in the Shanghai "Hsin Wen Pao" of December 8, 1921, to have occurred during the afternoon of December 6, two days previously.

There is in the garden behind the Wen Ch'ang Tien temple a very tall and ancient tung chi"," tree. At about two o'clock in the afternoon thick black smoke was observed to issue from the crest followed almost at once by fierce flames. All the stalls in and around the temple were soon deserted by the traders and the idle crowd also fled in panic. The native fire brigade reached the scene in due course and laid on their hoses, but the tree was so high that the streams of water fell short of the flames. Before very long the fire died down of its own accord, leaving the tree unharmed save for the burnt foliage and charred small branches near its top.

The Chinese who pointed this out to me " as possibly of interest to a foreigner " showed very little surprise and no disbelief, though he admitted it was "a little cun.ous."

on the contrary, he said this phenomenon was well known in China, and that though he himself had never seen such a thing happen, many of his friends had.

He added that of course trees had fire inherent in them, and volunteered the following remarks by way of explanation.

"Before we had matches our fathers got fire by striking flint on steel, but for many ages before that by rubbing two dry sticks together. But the earliest man, more than five thou'sand years ago, secured fire by another means. He bored a hole in a living tree with an iron spike and worked the spike round and round in the hole thus made until fire came out of it. The method is called 'ku"a mu ch'u huo and the fire thus obtained is called shui. In the spring the tree used was an elm, in summer a willow, in the autumn a sophora (huaj 8hu), and in winter a scrub oak.

"Trees, therefore, contain fire, and when a tree is very old the fire works its own way up and out at the top."

The man who told me this was well educated, a "writer" for many years associated with foreign affairs. His father and grandfather before him were men looked upon as scholars in a small way.

J.H.