69
A REMARKABLE GALL ON THE OSIER.
By the late MILLER CHRISTY, F.L.S.
[Taken as read 28th January, 1928.]
(With Two Plates)
ON the 20th February, 1916, happening to be in the osier-
ground adjoining Writtle Manor House, about a mile-
and-a-haif from Chelmsford, I observed on the stems of some of the
Osiers (Salix viminalis) a number of galls of highly peculiar
character, which I believe to be unknown and undescribed.
At all events, I can find no description of any such gall in the
works of Houard, Connold, Swanton, or any other writer.
At the time of my observation, I corresponded with various
friends, mostly members of the Essex Field Club, with a view to
ascertaining whether any plant-gall of the same kind had been
recorded previously. Among my correspondents were Mr.
E. W. Swanton, Mr. Leslie C. Hall, Miss A. Hibbert-Ware,
Miss G. Lister, Mr. Joseph Ross and Mr. Harold J. Burkill.
All expressed interest, but none was able to indicate any pre-
vious record of the occurrence of any such gall. Thereupon,
I put my observations, so far as they had gone, into the form of
an article ; but my manuscript was mislaid, owing to
hindrances due to the war, and it has only now come to light.
As it seems improbable, for reasons stated hereafter, that I
shall be able to throw further light on the matter, I now put
on record such facts as I have observed, in order that others
may be on the look-out for the gall elsewhere and that, when
they have found it, they may identify the gall-producer.
That it must be a rare species, at least in this country, seems
certain ; otherwise it would hardly have escaped record. The
late Mr. Walter Fox, of Romford, who, besides being a practical
willow-grower, had some scientific knowledge, knew nothing
of it. One may infer, indeed, that it cannot be common any-
where ; for, if it were prevalent, it could hardly have escaped
notice, as the gall must render the osier-stem brittle at the
galled points, and this would be seriously detrimental to its
practical value.
By no means all the osier-stems at Writtle were galled, but
most of those which bore any galls bore an abundance of them.
As a matter of fact, a small proportion only of the stem was
galled, and some search was needed to find a plant on which